It's been a week since Rainbow Dash saved Scootaloo after she jumped in to Ghastly Gorge and Rainbow Dash is keen for her to go back to school, as well as make good on a promise.
Alternate title: Titles Are Hard. It's been a week since Rainbow Dash saved Scootaloo after she jumped in to Ghastly Gorge and Rainbow Dash is keen for her to go back to school, as well as make good on a promise. What happens though when despite her best efforts, the little filly still can't fly?
You call in the one guy who can make any filly fly.
This story is a direct sequel to my story "I'm Tired Of All This" and you really should read that story first. An OC will be introduced later in the story. Here's hoping I don't get torn to pieces for that! Alternate universe tag thrown on to be safe because this fic totally disregards the events of S3, most notably Sleepless In Ponyville and Magical Mystery Cure.
An audio recording of this, and the prequel story, is being done by Shimmering Honor and can be found on this youtube channel. Finally, this fic now has a sequel that can be found here.
It had been about a week since Scootaloo had jumped in to Ghastly Gorge after everything that had happened to her shattered her heart and mind. She had been desperate to fly, or to be free from the pain, and she had decided to end it all. She had left a note detailing everything in the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, which was where she had been living, and Rainbow Dash had found it in time to rush there to catch her.
Since that had all happened Scootaloo had been staying in Rainbow Dash's cloud manor. Rainbow had offered to fly her too and from school but Scootaloo wanted to stay away from there for a while. One of the reasons she had jumped was not just the bullying she suffered there at the hooves of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, but also the gentle teasing of her friends, and fellow Crusaders, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Rainbow had taken a few days off of work to spend some time with her and make sure she was okay but after a few days she couldn't put going to work off any more. Scootaloo had been lonely, but she insisted it was better than going to school and having to deal with what happened.
Still, it had been a week, and Scootaloo could only hide away from the world for so long.
"Come on Scootaloo, you have to go back eventually." Rainbow Dash said. Her and Scootaloo were sat at the table in Rainbow's kitchen eating their dinner. Rainbow had been tired after work so they were just having simple daisy sandwiches and hay fries. Scootaloo wasn't really eating hers as she was still pretty depressed. The current topic of conversation wasn't helping with that matter.
"Do I really have to?" Scootaloo replied, toying with her fries. Rainbow Dash nodded and patted her foreleg.
"I know you don't want to but you have to. It's not good to hide away and your friends must be wondering where you are and getting worried."
"Yeah...right." Scootaloo replied, giving a derisive snort.
"I'm sure they didn't know what they were doing to you and they do want to be your friend. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom at least." Rainbow said. Scootaloo sighed and hit her head against the table before rubbing her forehead. She had hit it harder than she intended to. "It's not like much is going to change Scoots. I'll take you there, I'll pick you up too, and you'll still live here with me." Scootaloo perked up and practically beamed at Rainbow Dash.
"You mean it? I'll still get to stay here?" Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash nodded and Scootaloo jumped down to the floor and started doing a little happy dance.
"I can't have you staying in some place like a clubhouse in a field." Rainbow Dash said, though Scootaloo didn't stop dancing. "There's also something else." Rainbow added. This did cause Scootaloo to stop dancing and look at her questioningly. “I was thinking about giving you some flying lessons tomorrow. It is the weekend after all.” Scootaloo immediately continued her happy dance and added vibrant squeals of delight until Rainbow spoke up again. “There's a condition though.You have to go back to school next week. It's been a week Scoots. It's Friday now so you can take the weekend to get ready if you want. But I want you to go back to school." Scootaloo let out a large groan and buried her face in her hooves on the floor. After a few minutes of silent whining by Scootaloo and patient waiting by Rainbow Dash Scootaloo finally gave a resigned sigh.
"Fineeeeeeeee." Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash hopped down next to her and wrapped a foreleg around her and pulled her in to a hug.
"It's for the best Scoots." Rainbow said as she ruffled scootaloo’s mane.
"Isn't that what all adults say?" Scootaloo said with another sigh.
"Am I an adult now?" Rainbow Dash replied with a giggle.
"To me you are." Scootaloo replied with a giggle of her own.
"Now are you going to eat your dinner?"
"Yes MOM." Scootaloo replied, stressing the word "mom" sardonically.
"You wish." Rainbow said with a smirk, too quietly for Scootaloo to hear. Rainbow joined her back at the table and they continued eating in mild silence. Occasionally Scootaloo asked her a question about work and they would have a small conversation.
When they were finished Scootaloo helped Rainbow Dash clean up and Rainbow had to admit it made things much easier to have an extra body around to help take care of the house. Because she couldn't fly, Scootaloo was confined to the house while Rainbow wasn't around to take her down to the ground and back. Scootaloo had started cleaning up the house while Rainbow was at work. It was partly out of boredom, and partly to be useful to Rainbow Dash. When they had finished cleaning up after themselves, and cleaning up a little of the house, they passed the time playing some games before it was time for Scootaloo to go to bed.
After a bit of mild coaxing due to Scootaloo not wanting to go to bed Rainbow Dash was sat next to Scootaloo's bed with a Daring Do book and was about to start reading. When Scootaloo had first arrived at the house she had a lot of trouble sleeping and Rainbow had started reading to her at bedtime to calm her down and help put her to sleep. She didn't really need to be calmed down like that at this point, but Scootaloo was enjoying the stories and Rainbow was enjoying reading to her. She liked seeing Scootaloo's face at certain points in the story and Rainbow knew, and made sure everypony else knew she knew, how to tell a story and really get people sucked into it.
By the time Rainbow Dash finished reading Scootaloo had fallen asleep and Rainbow Dash quietly put the book away and gave Scootaloo a soft kiss on the forehead. It had been awkward the first time she had done it but Scootaloo always gave a small smile when Rainbow did so she had continued to do it and was beginning to get used to it. She walked to the door, gave one last look at the sleeping little filly, and whispered a short goodnight to her before going back downstairs to read some more before she had to go to bed herself. She sometimes pulled even herself in to a good story.
Scootaloo woke up bright and early the next day. She wasn't normally a morning pony but the promise of flight lessons from one's idol does things like that to a pony. She took a quick shower and hurried down in to the kitchen for breakfast with Rainbow Dash. When she got to the kitchen she saw that Rainbow wasn't there though. She dashed back up the stairs to see if she was in her room but she wasn't there either. Scootaloo was more than a little curious about where Rainbow Dash had disappeared to until she heard the sound of something hitting something soft coming from outside the house. It sounded almost like the sound a pony would make when they hit a cloud. When she looked out the window Scootaloo saw that was exactly what had happened. She let out a laugh at the sight of Rainbow Dash stuck with her head in a cloud, her back end presented for all the sky to see. Rainbow dragged her head back through the cloud and looked up at the little filly laughing at her. Rainbow shook her head, sighed, and made her way up to the window where Scootaloo was.
“You're up early Squirt.” Rainbow said, snapping Scootaloo out of her fit of giggles.
“Yeah I...uh...yeah.” Scootaloo replied, rubbing her forelegs sheepishly. “Why are you up so early?” she asked Rainbow Dash.
“I always get up this early to practice. Ponies think I'm lazy 'cause I nap all day but it's just that I get up so early to practice. It takes energy to be as awesome as I am all day every day and naps help.” Scootaloo knew that Rainbow Dash wanted to be a Wonderbolt, everypony did, but she didn't know how much Rainbow put in to her practice.
“You practice every morning before work?” Scootaloo asked.
“You wake up pretty late don't you Squirt? You've never seen me practice?” Rainbow replied. It was a little hard for her to believe that Scootaloo really had no idea after living with her for a week. Scootaloo shook her head and Rainbow could tell from the look Scootaloo gave her that she had earned some more of the fillies respect. That is, if such a thing was even possible. “So what are you doing up so early?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh, right! The flying lessons!” Scootaloo said with excitement as she remembered just why it was she had woken up so early and had looked for Rainbow Dash in the first place. Rainbow Dash giggled at her excitement.
“Let me get a shower and some breakfast first, then we can get started right away.” she said. Scootaloo gave out an excited gasp and jumped up, wrapping her hooves around Rainbow's neck in a hug. Rainbow grinned sheepishly and waited a few seconds before easing Scootaloo back in to the bedroom before she fell. She then got a better idea and scooped Scootaloo up in her forelegs and flew her down to what passed as Rainbow's garden and practice area. It was a large expanse of cloud that she had attached to the back of her manor so she could practice whenever she wanted. The clouds provided a soft landing in the, rather quite likely, event that Rainbow lived up to her old Flight Camp nickname of Rainbow Crash. It was a less common occurrence these days but it had only been downgraded from “inevitability” to “almost guaranteed”.
After telling Scootaloo to wait for her she zipped back in to the house and jumped in the shower. Her practice had been cut short but it had still been vigorous and she did her practice before having a shower anyway. She might not have been as smart as Twilight Sparkle, smartest pony in Equestria, but she could see how silly it would be to have a shower before doing something that would mean she had to have another. There was no point in having two showers so very early in the morning.
When she was done in the shower she had a quick breakfast of toast and hurried back outside to find Scootaloo where she had left her. She was playing with the clouds. From the looks of it she had tried to scoop the clouds up and form various shapes like a pony would with snow. She wasn't very good though and so Rainbow Dash couldn't tell exactly what she had made. It looked a little like a small hill.
“What ya making there Squirt?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo jumped in fright before realising who it was that had spoken to her. She had gotten so caught up in playing with the clouds she hadn't noticed Rainbow come back out.
“It's supposed to be you...I'm not very good am I?” Scootaloo said a little dejectedly. She really had tried to make Rainbow Dash and thought it wasn't that bad a job.
“Don't worry about it Squirt.” Rainbow said in an attempt to cheer her up. “It takes a while to get really good. It took me years to build all this” she added, sweeping a foreleg around to indicate her cloud manor.
“You built all this by yourself?” Scootaloo asked. She worshipped Dash as a hero sure, but some claims just seem a little too much no matter the pony making them.
“Sure did. I'm the fastest cloud sculptor in Equestria as well as the fastest flyer. Why do you think I'm in charge of the weather team?” Rainbow boasted.
“You're actually in charge? No wonder you nap so much, you have nopony in charge of you telling you not to.” Scootaloo teased with a smirk. Rainbow let out a sigh of exasperation as her ego was deflated somewhat.
“Yeah yeah. So do you want those flying lessons or what?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo gave a delighted squeal and flapped her wings so hard she hovered ever so slightly above the ground. She was determined that no more would that be the highest she could fly. “I'll take that as a yes.” Rainbow giggled and hovered a little in the air herself. “Now, just watch my wings and try and copy what I do.” Scootaloo watched Rainbow like a hawk as she did something nopony had ever really seen her do before; she flew slowly. She moved her wings slowly enough for Scootaloo to see how she moved them when she was flying. Because she wasn't moving her wings very fast she kept landing and then kicking back up in to the air but Scootaloo was able to get a very good look at how she flew. It wasn't simply moving her wings up and down, she was flapping them properly and folding them as she did so, generating a large amount of thrust with them to take off.
“Your biggest problem is that you're just moving your wings. You have to flap them properly when you're learning and when they're as small as yours.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“You sure do know a lot about flying.” Scootaloo commented. Rainbow Dash sighed as she stopped flapping her wings and settled down on to the cloud below.
“You don't get to be the fastest flyer without knowing a thing or two about flying. You need to stop doubting me squirt. Now, let's see you give it a go.” Rainbow said. Scootaloo gave her a salute, a hearty 'Yes ma'am!' and gave it her best shot. She started flapping her wings slowly like Rainbow Dash had done and she could feel the updraft being generated by them. She wasn't taking off like Rainbow had done so she started flapping them a little harder, creating even more thrust. She kept flapping until she was out of breath but it just wasn't any use. Her small body never left the ground no matter how much of a force her wings generated. After trying for as long as she could while Rainbow watched patiently and tried to encourage her, Scootaloo lay breathless on the cloud.
“I just...can't do it...” Scootaloo said between deep breaths. “I'm really trying but I just can't seem to get up...”
“Don't worry about it Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said as she moved next to Scootaloo and patted the top of her head. “I guess your wings are a little smaller or a little weaker than I thought. We can work on that, and try again okay?” she asked. Scootaloo nodded and smiled up at her. “For now though I think we need to get you something to eat. You're exhausted.” Rainbow said. Scootaloo tried to argue but all that came out of her mouth was another deep breath. She lay back down, defeated. Rainbow Dash giggled at her and picked her up and dropped her on her back. She carried her to the kitchen and began making something for the two of them to eat while Scootaloo sat at the table, drinking a cup of water like it was the first drink she'd had in a week.
Rainbow Dash was as good as her word and over the course of the next day her and Scootaloo did various strength and endurance exercises to help build up Scootaloo's wing power. The day had started out simply enough with the usual routine of showering and breakfast, and then Rainbow Dash had flown Scootaloo down to the ground with her scooter.
Rainbow Dash’s plan was simple enough; in order to build up Scootaloo’s endurance and power with her wings, she had to use them. Since she couldn’t fly with them Rainbow decided to have her use them to push her scooter around like she normally would. Scootaloo was smart enough to question why her wings weren’t powerful enough after her years of doing this anyway, so Rainbow suggested she push herself even harder than she ever had before. Rainbow Dash designed a small course for the little filly using rocks as markers and sent her on her way.
Scootaloo set off as fast as she could, which was pretty fast, and headed for the first rock a few hundred metres away. When she reached it she turned around it and headed down to the other rock, another few hundred metres away. There were five rocks in total for a full lap of roughly a kilometre. Rainbow Dash wanted her to zip around as fast as she could for as long as she could, to get a good gauge of her endurance. Out of her own personal interest Rainbow had done the course herself before setting Scootaloo on it and had discovered she could do it sixteen times before she had to slow down. If she started at a slower pace she could do it for longer but Rainbow Dash wasn’t really one for going slower.
To the surprise of both her and Rainbow Dash Scootaloo was able to last quite a while before she started panting and had to stop. By Rainbow’s count she had done the full course about four times. It was far more than Rainbow was expecting her to be able to do. Scootaloo had endurance so it seemed she lacked strength in her wings. Rainbow had ideas on how to fix that problem too.
“Not bad Squirt. You did pretty good.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over to where Scootaloo was resting. Rainbow gave Scootaloo a drink of water and waited until she had finished drinking before speaking again. “It seems like you can go for a while so your wings must be a bit weak, but I think I have a solution. When you can move, we’ll head up back to my house. There’s something I want to give you.” Scootaloo beamed at the prospect of getting something from Rainbow Dash and the fatigue in her bones was replaced by excitement as she jumped on to Rainbow’s back, eager to get back to the manor and see what it was. Rainbow Dash giggled at her behaviour, scooped up Scootaloo’s scooter in her hooves, and took off into the sky.
When they arrived Rainbow Dash set Scootaloo down in the living room and then hurried up to her bedroom. She paced around it, looking everywhere for what she wanted to give Scootaloo. She found what she was looking for in her cupboard where she kept all her old things from Flight Camp. Her uniform and the medals she had earned were placed neatly in a box. On top of those was a small brace and that’s what she was after. She scooped it up and ran back down to Scootaloo who was, as usual, where Rainbow Dash had left her.
“Here, try and put this on.” Rainbow Dash said before tossing the brace over to Scootaloo.
"What is it?" Scootaloo asked, looking at the device Rainbow Dash had given her. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before.
“It’s a brace, I’ll explain what it’s for when you get it on.” Rainbow replied. Scootaloo had a little trouble getting the brace on so Rainbow Dash helped her. The brace wasn’t as complicated as it looked, provided you knew what you were doing. Scootaloo didn’t, but Rainbow dash did. She told Scootaloo to extend her wings and then place them through small holes set in to the brace. When Scootaloo had done this, Rainbow pressed a small button on the back of the brace and Scootaloo instantly felt the thing tighten around her wings. She let out a small yelp of pain.
“Yeah, sorry about that. It hurts at first but you get used to it.” Rainbow explained apologetically.
“So, what’s it for?” Scootaloo asked as she attempted to nuzzle her hurt wing. She gave up after a few seconds as the brace stopped all her efforts.
“Try and flap your wings.” Rainbow Dash replied and so Scootaloo did. She tried and she tried to flap her wings but they wouldn’t move at all.
“I can’t.” Scootaloo said, straining her tiny wings as hard as she could.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to.” Rainbow replied. Scootaloo shot her a questioning look and so she explained. The brace was designed to make it more difficult for a Pegasus to move their wings. There was a setting to change how tight it was so Rainbow turned it down enough for Scootaloo to be able to move her wings. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as she moved her wings again, albeit with difficulty. Rainbow further explained that she wore the brace a lot during her school years and she attributed her great speed to them. They were designed to help Pegasi increase their wing strength, which allowed them to fly faster. Rainbow Dash had been so obsessed with speed after winning the race against the ponies bullying Fluttershy that she had continued to use them long after her classmates were satisfied with their speed. Rainbow Dash was never satisfied and had actually improved as much as the braces allowed her too. She was able to fly freely when they were at their maximum setting.
“So what do we do now?” Scootaloo asked. She understood the brace and what it did but she was still unsure as to what Rainbow had planned.
“Now we go back down to the ground and we do the course again. I guess your wings never really got stronger because they had nothing stopping them, so the brace will help.” Rainbow Dash explained. Scootaloo nodded her understanding and followed Rainbow Dash outside again. When they were outside Scootaloo hopped up on to Rainbow Dash again and the two set out for the ground.
The brace really was making it very difficult for Scootaloo to move like she had before. She couldn’t build up much speed at all, never mind maintaining it over a long distance. After a few unsuccessful attempts to reach even the first rock using just the power of her wings alone Rainbow was forced to concede it might still be set too high. Rainbow adjusted the dial a little more until Scootaloo was able to flap her wings as fast as she normally would, but not for very long. There was no point in an exercise where you had to struggle if there was no effort involved.
This time Scootaloo achieved some form of moderate success. She was able to make it to the first rock at least before she had to stop and take a small break. Rainbow wouldn’t let her rest for too long, but she was still lenient with the filly and let her get her rest when she really needed it. This trend continued on for a few hours or so. Every time Scootaloo was able to make to the second rock without having to stop Rainbow Dash tightened the brace and made it harder for her to do it again. By the time they stopped for lunch Rainbow Dash had adjusted the setting twice. It wasn’t much progress, but it was progress nonetheless. When Rainbow Dash called Scootaloo over for a dinner break the little Pegasus was more than happy to stop and take a break.
“You did really good today Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said as the two ate their dinner. Scootaloo beamed at the praise. “When we’re done eating, I think we’re going to try flying again if you feel up to it.” Scootaloo gave her sore wings a little flap to test how they felt and winced a little at the small amount of pain that shot through her body.
“I think I need a longer rest.” Scootaloo sighed. Rainbow smiled at her reassuringly and patted her foreleg.
“Don’t sweat it kid. When you’re done eating I’ll run you a warm bath and you can rest and relax in there for a bit. It should help the soreness.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded and carried on eating her lunch.
“You really think I’ll be able to take off this time?” Scootaloo asked, the apprehension and fear she felt at asking the question clearly present in her voice.
“I’m sure of it Squirt, just you wait and see. We’ll make a flyer out of you yet. They don’t call me ‘Rainbow “Filly Trainer” Dash’ for nothing.
“I thought your middle name was “Danger”...” Scootaloo teased with a giggle. Rainbow would have chastised her but it felt good to hear Scootaloo laughing again after everything she had been through recently.
“Danger and trainer sound pretty similar, so it’ll do either way.” Rainbow Dash replied before getting up and heading to the door. “I’m going to go run your bath now so make sure you finish your food.”
“Yes ma’am!” Scootaloo replied with a mock salute. She then started eating her dinner again to show that she would indeed finish it. Rainbow Dash sighed to herself with a smile and headed for the bathroom.
When Rainbow Dash finished drawing and running the bath she called Scootaloo up to the bathroom. Rainbow Dash thought Scootaloo arrived in a rather prompt and efficient manner considering her day until she remembered only her wings were sore and that the filly’s hooves were probably feeling fine. To get back at Scootaloo for her sass at the dinner table Rainbow Dash scooped her up and dropped her without a trace of elegance or flair in to the tub, causing a loud splashing sound as filly met water.Despite her unceremonious entrance into the tub Scootaloo gave out a long and contended sigh as the warm water washed over her wings, releasing a troubled day’s worth of stress and relieving a hard days work worth of soreness. Scootaloo played contentedly with the bubbles for a few minutes while Rainbow dash watched and smiled at the display of such childishness and memories of her acting in much the same way in the days of her youth. She let out a laugh as she remembered she still behaved like that.
“What’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked, her play interrupted.
“Nothing, nothing. Here let me help you out.” Rainbow Dash replied. She splashed some water on to Scootaloo’s back and began gently massaging her wings. Scootaloo was ready to complain that she was big enough to bathe herself but her complaints were lost to sighs of relief as Rainbow Dash worked her hooves.
“Say, do you take care of your wings much?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo shook her head. “It shows. This could take a little longer than I thought.” Rainbow Dash added and quickly set to work preening Scootaloo’s wings and applying care to them that should have been done quite some time ago. Pegasus wings required occasional care and attention and from the looks of it Scootaloo’s hadn’t received any in years.
“They would do it for me at the....uhhhh....” Scootaloo began before the harsh memories silenced her. She was about to reference her days at the orphanage and she didn’t want to remember that time. Especially now she was trying to be happy and she was actually living with Rainbow Dash. She didn’t want to spoil the mood. Thankfully for her Rainbow Dash got the message.
“Didn’t you learn how to do it yourself?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo shook her head and Rainbow Dash patted the top of it, ruffling her mane a little. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll show you how to do it and until you get it, I’m here to do it for you. Now wipe that water away from your eyes, this water’s soapy and I don’t want it getting in to your eyes.” Rainbow added. Scootaloo nodded and quickly wiped away the tears that had formed on her face at the bad memories. She wasn’t sure if Rainbow Dash had noticed they were tears, or if she really thought it was water from the bath, but she was thankful Rainbow hadn’t drawn attention to the fact she was crying.
The bath passed in relative silence. Occasionally Rainbow would make a sound as she worked on taking care of Scootaloo’s wings, and occasionally Scootaloo would let out a sigh or a squeak, but that was it. When Rainbow Dash had finished taking care of Scootaloo’s wings, the filly had wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow’s neck in a hug. As Rainbow tried to awkwardly shoo the filly away and loosen the grip she accidentally slipped and fell in to the bath herself. Rainbow Dash blew bubbles away from her face as Scootaloo started laughing at her. Scootaloo’s laughs were soon cut off as Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through the water and brought it up to splash Scootaloo’s face, soaking her wet.
“Well you needed to wash your mane too anyway.” Rainbow Dash said in response to the look of shock that Scootaloo gave her. Scootaloo responded by splashing Rainbow Dash herself.
“I think you needed your mane washing too.” Scootaloo said. The pair began splashing each other back and forth, their laughter ringing throughout the air. They played together in the water for about fifteen minutes or so until Rainbow Dash told Scootaloo it was time to get out the bath. Scootaloo wanted to play some more but she got serious when Rainbow explained that it was time to see how the day’s training had paid off. Scootaloo gave another salute, hopped out of the bath, and shook herself dry. She turned back towards the bath to see a newly soaked Rainbow Dash glaring at her.
“Uhh...sorry about that...” Scootaloo said, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and hopped out of the bath herself.
“Don’t worry about it kid. Let’s just get outside and see how you do.” Rainbow said. Scootaloo nodded and the pair headed outside. The sun was beginning to set but there was more than enough light to see. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings slowly again so that Scootaloo could see how to do it once more. Scootaloo started flapping her wings like Rainbow Dash had done and she could feel a difference. She could feel that her wings felt a little stronger thanks to the training and they felt a lot softer too because of the care that Rainbow Dash had shown them in the bath. There was more power in her wings, and more air was generated by them, but unfortunately for Scootaloo the result stayed the same. No matter how hard she tried, how hard she flapped her wings, she couldn’t get any higher than the tiny amount she had once gotten when she buzzed around telling her friends about Rainbow Dash. It was disheartening to say the least.
“I just can’t do it...” Scootaloo said after another failed attempt. She was starting to cry again too, the weight of her failure crushing her small spirit. Rainbow Dash walked over to her and wrapped her into a hug as tight as the one she had given her just over a week ago.
“Shhh Scootaloo, it’s going to be fine.” Rainbow Dash said in an attempt to comfort and silence Scootaloo.
“It’s not going to be fine! I won’t ever fly!” Scootaloo squealed. The attempt by Rainbow Dash to comfort her clearly failed.
“It will be fine Scootaloo. I promise you, as the element of Loyalty, that I’ll do whatever it takes. You can count on me kid.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling Scootaloo. Scootaloo calmed down a little and wiped away her tears.
“You promise?” Scootaloo asked quietly. Rainbow Dash nodded and continued nuzzling Scootaloo until her sobs and tears resided. The two stayed like that for a few minutes until Rainbow Dash perked up suddenly as an idea occurred to her.
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before...it might work....it really might...I wonder if he’d be able to do it though...” Rainbow Dash said trailing off and staring into space.
“What might work? Who’s “he”? What are you talking about?” Scootaloo asked, confused by Rainbow’s antics. Rainbow Dash snapped back to reality and practically beamed down towards the little filly cuddled up to her.
“I don’t know if I can teach you to fly.” Rainbow Dash said, causing Scootaloo to look dejected. “But I think I know somepony who can!” she added, bringing light and laughter back into the face of the filly.
“Really? You really think you know somepony who could do that?” Scootaloo asked, beaming herself.
“Yeah he’s an old friend of mine and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. He works with a lot of small fillies who have trouble flying. I’m sure he could do it!” Rainbow said, celebrating by throwing the filly in to the air and catching her. Scootaloo let out squeals of delight, both from the prospect of flying and from being thrown as she was. “Oh wait there’s a small problem.” Rainbow Dash said as her brain clicked again and she realised something. She stopped throwing Scootaloo in to the air and instead held her close again.
“What is it?” Scootaloo asked, worried that her flying lessons would be hampered before they even had a chance to begin.
“Don’t worry it’s nothing too bad.” Rainbow Dash said quickly to assuage Scootaloo’s fears. It worked and Scootaloo started smiling again. “It’s just that he lives in Trottingham so it’ll take a few days for a letter to reach him, and then another few days for him to get here.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Can’t you get Spike to send it?” Scootaloo asked.
“I would do but Spike has to know the pony to send a letter. Besides, it would still take a few days for him to get here and this falls into my other plans anyway.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Other plans? What other plans?” Scootaloo asked, although she had an idea what Rainbow Dash was talking about.
“The plan that you’ll go to school tomorrow. You haven’t forgotten that half of our deal have you?” Rainbow Dash replied.
“No, I was just hoping that you had.” Scootaloo chuckled. Her heart wasn’t really in to it though and her laughter rang hollow. “Does it really count if some stallion is going to give me lessons and not you?” Scootaloo asked, slightly hopeful she had found a loophole in “The Plan”. Rainbow dash giggled and shook her head.
“‘Fraid not Squirt. You’re still going to have to go. Remember though I’ll take you there and I’ll be picking you up too.”
“I know...”
“Tell you what Scoots, I’ll make another deal with you.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo looked up at her questioningly. “Well you’re worried about how the other ponies are going to treat you right?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo nodded. “Well I’ll come back to the school at lunch time too and if you want to, we can go home then. You don’t have to stay the full day. Does that sound good to you?” Scootaloo nodded excitedly. That sounded very nice to her indeed and she was already sure that she would only be at school half a day the next day. “Good. Now let’s get you to bed. It’s getting late and we’ve had a really exhausting day.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo opened her mouth to object but all that escaped it was a very tired yawn. She relinquished her argument before it could begin and followed Rainbow Dash back inside the house, and up to her bedroom.
“Come on Scoots, it’s time to go!” Rainbow Dash shouted up the stairs. It was the next day, otherwise known as Monday, and the day Scootaloo had to return to school. She had been relatively well behaved, having a shower and breakfast like normal, but had since disappeared to her room and hadn’t come back down. At first Rainbow Dash thought that she was just getting ready for school. Now, however, that opinion had changed slightly. “I’ll come and get you!” Rainbow called. After a few seconds passed with no response, not even the sound of moving hooves, Rainbow Dash climbed up the stairs to make good on her threat. She couldn’t have Scootaloo, or anypony for that matter, thinking that she wouldn’t follow through.
“I’m coming in Scootaloo.” Rainbow called softly as she gently pushed open the door to Scootaloo's room. She looked around the room for Scootaloo but found her right she expected her to be; on the bed. Next to the bed was an open saddlebag with various odds and ends crammed into it. Scootaloo had clearly tried, and ultimately failed, to get ready for school. Rainbow Dash sighed and walked over to the bed. She could hear Scootaloo gently crying in to the mattress. Rainbow patted Scootaloo’s mane to calm her down. Scootaloo tensed up as she felt Rainbow’s hoof touch her but eased up again when she realised who it must be. She hadn’t heard Rainbow come in, having been so caught up in her own little world.
“I-I-I-I’m sorry...I’m just so s-s-scared...” Scootaloo managed to say in-between sobs. Rainbow Dash nodded as she continued to stroke Scootaloo’s mane and also extended a wing, wrapping it around the little filly to hold her close. Scootaloo continued to cry quietly for a few more minutes but eventually the tears subsided.
“Are you feeling better now?” Rainbow Dash asked, wiping away the last few tears that clung to Scootaloo’s face. Scootaloo nodded but cuddled up closer to Rainbow, an action that betrayed the fear she was still feeling. “I know you’re scared, and you think something bad might happen but it won’t. I promise you that it won’t.”
“How do you know it won’t?” Scootaloo asked, so quietly Rainbow Dash almost missed her question.
“I won’t let it happen. The second I hear anything bad has happened, I’ll be right there.” Rainbow replied.
“How will you know if something bad happens?”
“I’m just that awesome. Don’t you trust me?” Rainbow replied, feigning hurt. Scootaloo shook her head quickly, not realising that Rainbow Dash wasn’t being entirely serious.
“It’s not that at all. I trust you. I’m just-” Scootaloo said quickly before Rainbow put a hoof to her mouth to shush her.
“I know Squirt, but I won’t let anypony hurt you. You’ll be fine and you really need to go back to school. Now would you like any help getting ready?” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded softly and together the two began correcting the disaster zone that Scootaloo’s saddlebags had become, as well as putting a few extra things in there. With the two of them working at it it didn’t take very long at all and before Scootaloo would have liked, she was all packed and ready to go. She followed Rainbow Dash down the stairs but Rainbow stopped her when they reached the kitchen door. Rainbow Dash quickly scurried inside the kitchen, much to the confusion of Scootaloo. She emerged a few seconds later with a small paper bag. She placed it inside one of Scootaloo’s saddlebags after deftly flicking it open with one of her wings.
“What was that?” Scootaloo asked, bemused.
“Lunch. In case you need it.” Rainbow Dash replied, flashing the filly a smile and a wink. “I thought you might forget so I made one up for you.” Scootaloo looked like she was ready to tear up at any second over the thoughtfulness of the gesture. Rainbow quickly scooped her up and placed her on her back, keen to avoid another crying session. She thought that making a lunch for the filly was such a small and simple gesture it wouldn’t have affected her that much. Suddenly a realisation came to Rainbow Dash.
“...It’s probably what you’re thinking...Nopony’s ever made me lunch before...” Scootaloo said quietly from Rainbow’s back. She buried her face in Rainbow’s prismatic mane for comfort.
“What did you do?” Rainbow asked. She would have turned around to face Scootaloo but she could feel her buried in her mane and didn’t want to upset the little filly further.
“At lunch? Usually nothing...I’d tell the girls that I’d eaten a big breakfast. Sometimes they gave me some of their food, and sometimes I just had to go without.”
“What about when you were at home?” Rainbow asked, growing shocked at the revelations. Home was hardly a fitting word for where Scootaloo had been living before, but it was the only word Rainbow Dash could think of.
“Sometimes I’d swipe apples from the farm, or I’d find something else to eat. I didn’t want to turn up to school with stolen apples though in case Apple Bloom knew some apples had been taken and she put two and two together.” Scootaloo confessed. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Don’t worry about anything like that now. I’ve got you and I’ll take care of you.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I know...thanks.” Scootaloo replied.
“For what?”
“For taking care of me so much. I’m sorry to be such a useless burden...”
“Hay don’t talk about yourself like that.” Rainbow Dash said, shaking Scootaloo off her back and staring her straight in the eyes. Her expression was one of seriousness and belief. Scootaloo knew just by looking at her eyes she would believe everything Rainbow Dash said. Rainbow knew this too, and was keen to use it to her advantage to stop the filly from being lost in a depression after she had done so well over the week.
“I never thought of you as a burden. My house has never looked so clean for a start.”
“I still can’t fly...” Scootaloo said dejectedly. It was hard to break out of a depressive cycle, even after having some good days. As long as the problem of her flightlessness existed, Scootaloo felt she could never be happy.
“You don’t have to fly to be useful. You don’t even have to be useful to not be a burden. I told you too that I was going to make sure you could fly. I’m going to send a letter to my friend today, and he’ll be here by the end of the week.” Rainbow said reassuringly.
“What if even he can’t teach me to fly?” Scootaloo asked. It was a simple question, and a genuine concern.
“I’ve never known him to fail. He’s a smart guy so I’m sure he’ll be able to think of something.”
“But what if he can’t?” Rainbow Dash slammed a hoof into her face. Scootaloo was being very difficult. She quickly regretted this action as she heard Scootaloo sigh loudly. She thought that Rainbow Dash was beginning to consider that she, Scootaloo, really couldn’t fly after all.
“In the really, really, really, really, REALLY unlikely event that no matter what you can’t fly...then we’ll go from there. But I promise you Scoots there is no way in Tartarus I would ever think of you as useless or a burden. Okay?” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo sighed again, dejected, but she still nodded her agreement. The thought that she would never be able to fly had occupied her mind for as long as she could remember. It wasn’t about to be banished so quickly and so easily. “That’s better.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling. She nuzzled Scootaloo again and brought a smile to the filly’s face once more. “Now, how about we get you to school at last?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh...right...that....” Scootaloo said, her face falling again.
“Yes, that.” Rainbow Dash said, scooping the filly on to her back and flying out the door before she had a chance to protest the prospect of going to school again. Thanks to the conversation they just had they were bordering on late as it was.
Luckily for Rainbow Dash, and perhaps unluckily for the small Pegasus on her back, Rainbow Dash’s reputation as the fastest flier in all of Equestria was well deserved. It wasn’t quite ten seconds flat, but she still arrived at the school in record time.
“Everything is going to be fine.” Rainbow Dash reassured Scootaloo one last time before nudging her towards the entrance to the school building. Scootaloo gave one last sigh before walking slowly into the school with Rainbow Dash trailing behind.
“Oh, Scootaloo, how lovely to see you again. We’ve been getting a little worried about you.” Cheerilee, the teacher, chirped happily. If the sound of the door opening didn’t make everypony look at the door then the words of Cheerilee definitely did. Much to her own discomfort Scootaloo found the eyes of every single pony in the room trained on her. Most of them were neutral or a little surprised that she had actually turned up again. The ones that broke the mold were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were smiling wide, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They weren’t showing outright contempt or displeasure, but it was still clear that they felt their day was made slightly worse by the arrival of one Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo one more nudge to push her all the way into the room and heard the gasps of the students as she made herself known to them. “Rainbow Dash too? To what do we owe the pleasure?” Cheerilee asked. Rainbow Dash stopped responding to the mutterings and small packets of applause that had entered the schoolroom as she realised why she had followed Scootaloo into the building.
“Do you think I could have a word Miss Cheerilee?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked up at her with worry and concern. Rainbow Dash was hardly known for her formality and manners. If she was taking the time to be formal then it meant it was something serious, which meant it could only be one thing.
“No no no no don’t. Please don’t Dash.” Scootaloo started quietly pleading. She could tell Rainbow Dash planned to tell Cheerilee what had happened and Scootaloo wanted no part of that. She didn’t want anypony to know. She wanted to pretend she was just ill or something. There was no need for anypony to know what she had done. “Please don’t do this. You don’t need to do this.” Scootaloo added, bringing her hooves together in a gesture of prayer, pleading with Rainbow Dash.
“I do Squirt. It’s for the best. Don’t worry about a thing.” Rainbow Dash said, patting Scootaloo affectionately.
“But I AM worrying.” Scootaloo replied, unconvinced. Cheerliee watched the display for a few moments to make sure that everything was okay.
“We can talk in my office if you’d like Miss Rainbow Dash, but is Scootaloo going to be okay?” Cheerliee asked. She was more than a little concerned by the emotional display of the filly.
“She’s going to be fine, aren’t you Scoots?” Rainbow Dash replied, looking down at the trembling filly. Scootaloo looked into those wide magenta eyes and her resolve reformed. She saw in them strength and she knew that she could borrow that strength any time she needed it. At the very least she couldn’t appear weak to Rainbow Dash. She stopped shaking, nodded at Rainbow Dash, and moved slowly towards her seat in the class. It was still unoccupied. Scootaloo kept her eyes to the ground to avoid the stares of her classmates and he tucked in her ears to try and silence the chattering and whispering that followed her. Cheerilee motioned towards her office to the side of the classroom and her and Rainbow Dash went inside. As soon as the door closed the class started talking immediately.
“Where have you been?”
“What happened?”
“Why was Rainbow Dash with you?”
“Are you living with her or something?”
The questions bombarded Scootaloo and she didn’t have the time or the patience to handle them all. She was too busy worrying about what Rainbow Dash was telling Cheerilee in the office. She couldn’t hear any sounds from the office but she had a good idea at what they were talking about.
“Give her some space.” a slightly high pitched voice said.
“Yeah, leave her alone. Ah’m sure if she wants to tell us then she will. Asking her won’t help.” a voice with a southern accent added. Scootaloo surprised even herself by smiling at the voices of support from her friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They were trying to help her. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“So uhh...just where were you anyway?” Apple Bloom leaned over and asked her. Perhaps the day wouldn’t be so good. Scootaloo would have been surprised if it did go well, but everypony keeps a tiny shred of hope somewhere. Inward she breathed a sigh of relief though that her friends didn’t know anything. After Rainbow Dash had caught her Scootaloo had asked her to go back to the clubhouse and retrieve the note she left before anypony else saw it. It had been where Rainbow Dash had left it but they weren’t sure if anypony had seen it. She was about to answer when a shriek from Cheerilee’s office caught everypony by surprise.
“She did WHAT!?” the class heard Cheerilee shout before the door of her office hit the wall next to it with a resounding thud and she was hugging Scootaloo.
“I’m so so sorry Scootaloo. I had no idea. If I did-” Cheerilee said, nuzzling Scootaloo.
“It’s okay Miss Cheerilee, really. I’m fine now.” Scootaloo quickly cut her off, trying to avoid making the situation more embarrassing than it already was.
“It’s not okay. It’s not okay at all. You poor little thing...” Cheerilee carried on, disregarding Scootaloo’s protests and efforts to squeeze out of her forelegs.
“Jeez, what did the blank flank do?” Diamond Tiara asked sardonically. She began giggling and Diamond Tiara joined in. They stopped as soon as they saw the look that Cheerilee gave them. It was one of pure disdain and anger. It put the look Fluttershy had given her chickens and the Cockatrice to shame. Scootaloo was shivering in her forelegs.
“You do NOT call her that.” Cheerilee said, keeping her calm. She would never, ever, shout at her students but she could strike fear in their hearts when she got serious. She left Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon with no doubt in their minds that they really were in the wrong.
“...Sorry.” they said together, much to the surprise of Scootaloo. Getting them to stop was one thing, but to apologise? Scootaloo was beginning to see why Cheerilee was such a good teacher. She know when to be nice and happy but she also knew how to control a class.
“It’s...it’s okay...” Scootaloo said.
“It’s not okay.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked over to where Scootaloo and Cheerilee were.. She had been watching from the doorway to Cheerilee’s office and gave the two bullies a glare of her own.
“Can’t I just go home? Please?” Scootaloo asked. Cheerilee gave her one last squeeze and then finally released her before she and Rainbow Dash smiled down at Scootaloo.
“I want you to stay until dinner time. You’ll keep an eye on her won’t you Miss Cheerilee?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Of course I will.” Cheerilee replied with a smile. “Everything will be fine.” she added, lowering herself to Scootaloo’s level. The same look that inspired faith was present in Cheerilee’s eyes but Scootaloo was too depressed to really accept it.
“Don’t adults always say that?” Scootaloo asked, unconvinced.
“Sometimes we mean it.” Cheerilee replied, still smiling reassuringly.
“Do I really have to stay?” Scootaloo asked.
“Just for a few hours. For me.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning down and nuzzling the filly.
“Alright...for you...” Scootaloo said with a sigh. Rainbow Dash gave her one last smile and headed for the door.
“I should probably get going. I’m already late for work as it is. I’ll see you later then Scoots” Rainbow Dash said before spreading her wings and flying out the door. She couldn’t resist one last theatrical act for her fans in the class and she hoped the display might cheer Scootaloo up a little, as well as draw attention away from her. While it didn’t really cheer Scootaloo up, it did draw attention away from her. Cheerilee got to her feet and walked up to the blackboard at the front of the class.
“Okay my little ponies, get your books out please. We have a busy day ahead of us.” she said to the class. The sound of a class full of fillies and colts preparing their schoolwork filled the air as Scootaloo gave one last sigh.
It was going to be the longest few hours of her life.
Much to Scootaloo’s pleasure the class was quiet after the incident first thing in the morning. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had stayed quiet and everypony else had been too busy doing their work to talk to her. It went a lot better than she expected, all things considered. She was worried she would have been bombarded with questions but this wasn’t to be the case. The work Cheerilee had set the class had kept her busy and distracted too. To the little filly in question, the lessons that she was so worried about turned out to be bliss. Bliss can only last so long however. Much like the silence of a filly.
“So, where have ya been?” Apple Bloom asked. Her and the other two Crusaders were sat outside the school building. It was break time for the children at the school, their first two lessons over and done with. Scootaloo sighed at the question. She was hoping she could just avoid it long enough and last through just two more lessons before Rainbow Dash would come pick her up. The day hadn’t gone as bad as Scootaloo had feared but she was still sure she would be going home as soon as she was offered the chance to.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” Scootaloo replied, looking down at the ground. A part of her considered telling her friends and shoving it in their faces that they were partly responsible, to make them feel bad and suffer for what they had done. The rational part of her mind, for it still existed, cautioned her against such a path of action. Regardless of their actions, the two were still her friends and she needed friends now more than ever.
“Are ya sure?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo nodded, still not looking up. She looked up when she felt something pressed against her face though. It was Apple Bloom, giving her a small but affectionate nuzzle. “Don’t worry ‘bout it then. I won’t press ya or make ya talk.” she said reassuringly.
“You mean it?” Scootaloo asked, looking at Apple Bloom and then looking up at her other friend Sweetie Belle. Both of them nodded and smiled in return, and Sweetie Belle joined in on the nuzzle. The three shared a small group hug as Scootaloo’s cheeks tinted a light shade of red. She knew she was right to trust her friends. They wouldn’t have hurt her if they knew what they were doing. She believed it for that moment at least.
“I’ve uhhh...been on holiday. Yeah, that’s it. I’ve been on holiday. I got sick though and Rainbow Dash came to pick me up. I’m staying with her until my parents come back. I didn’t want to ruin their holiday so I came back early.” Scootaloo lied. Her friends had been so understanding she felt they deserved some explanation, even if it wasn’t the right one. The lie sounded good to her.
“Aww, well why didn’t you just say that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“You know me, I don’t like admitting things like that.” Scootaloo said, giggling weakly. To her relief her friends bought it and laughed a little themselves.
“Hey blank flank!” came a cry from across the schoolyard. The three Crusaders sighed in unison and looked up to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon approaching them, checking for signs of Cheerilee. No bully worth their salt was stupid enough to do something in front of a teacher, and Diamond Tiara was worth her weight in salt. When you took into account her father’s empire she was worth considerably more than that. Salt wasn’t exactly expensive.
“Miss Cheerilee said not to say that.” Sweetie Belle said as she stood up, trying to look intimidating. Scootaloo curled up tighter into herself and started shaking again. Apple Bloom started patting her mane as she had seen Rainbow Dash do earlier in the day. It didn’t calm Scootaloo down totally, but she was shaking a little less.
“Like I care what she thinks. What the hay was about earlier? What did you do? Jump off a cli-” Diamond Tiara began before being interrupted.
“LEAVE HER ALONE!” shouted a voice from the sky. It took Diamond Tiara a second or two to realise where the voice had come from and she mistakenly looked around for signs of Cheerilee. Scootaloo recognised the voice though, she would have recognised it anywhere. Scootaloo looked up and smiled at the mare she saw floating in the air, a look more deadly than the combined stare’s of Cheerilee and Fluttershy combined on her face. “I said; Leave. Her. Alone.” Rainbow Dash said, landing hard on the ground and stamping her hoof down with each word, emphasising her point.
“I-I-I-I-I-I” Diamond Tiara began before turning back and running for her life when Rainbow Dash snorted at her angrily. Silver Spoon ran off shortly afterwards. She hadn’t actually said anything to Scootaloo, but she felt that it would be a mistake to point that out at that particular moment. Rainbow Dash was probably angry enough as it was and neither her nor Diamond Tiara wanted to see what the fastest flier in Equestria, and joint strongest mare in Ponyville (a position she shared with Applejack) would do when she was angry. Especially when she was standing up for somepony she cared about. When the bullies ran off, Rainbow Dash turned around to face the Crusaders. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were a little scared themselves but Scootaloo was staring at her with wonder and awe in her eyes. Rainbow Dash smiled at the three, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle let out a collective sigh of relief they weren’t aware they were holding in. Rainbow Dash walked over to the three, scooped Scootaloo up, and dropped her onto her back where she proceeded to nuzzle into Rainbow’s mane, partly for comfort and partly for protection. She felt safe whenever Rainbow Dash was around.
“Thanks for sticking up for her girls. I’ll take her from here.” Rainbow Dash said, patting the other two Crusaders on the head. She took off into the air and started flying away from the school, Scootaloo clinging to her neck so she didn’t fall off. “Oh, and tell Cheerilee what happened!” Rainbow Dash called down to the two fillies on the ground. She felt it was best for Cheerilee to know where Scootaloo was and what had happened with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The two fillies waved up at her to show they received and understood the message and Rainbow Dash picked up the pace, heading for home. “I’m sorry about that.” Rainbow Dash said so softly Scootaloo might have missed it if she weren’t holding on so tight.
“It’ll be okay. Besides you were there to save me. Again. That was awesome.” Scootaloo said, tightening her grip on Rainbow Dash affectionately.
“You’re right, I am pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash said proudly. Her face fell shortly after. “Still, I should have thought of something better. Maybe Cheerilee would let me stay with you in school or something.”
“Maybe I should just stay out of school.” Scootaloo replied with a touch of hope in her voice. There was always the chance Rainbow Dash would agree.
“That’s not very fair Scoots. I don’t see why you’d have to lose out on going to school just because of a couple of jerks.” Rainbow replied, dashing the filly’s hope.
“These aren’t just any jerks though. These are rich and powerful jerks.” Scootaloo said. She sighed, but then let out a little giggle at her joke.
“That shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll have to talk to Cheerilee again I guess.”
“It wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t there or she would have-”
“I know Squirt, I know. I’ll be nice. It was hardly her fault she wasn’t there.”
“Say...why were you there anyway?” Scootaloo asked. She was glad Rainbow Dash had appeared when she did, but she was a little confused as to how and why. Rainbow was supposed to be at work, and wouldn’t have been at the school until it was lunch time for the both of them.
“I...kinda lied earlier.” Rainbow Dash admitted, fumbling with her mane sheepishly.
“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, moving out of the way of Rainbow’s mane-probing hoof. She moved carefully so she didn’t fall off. She didn’t need to experience falling like that again.
“I never went to work earlier...” Rainbow Dash admitted. “When I left the school I just flew up into the sky and stayed there. I was feeling a little silly for worrying about you like that but I guess I was right to. Something happened after all.”
“You were really worried about me?” Scootaloo asked, a tone of shock in her voice.
“Of course I was Scoots. You were so scared and I care about you. I had to make sure you were safe.”
“You really ARE awesome.” Scootaloo squeaked, burying herself in Rainbow Dash’s mane again.
“I know Squirt. I know” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her chest proudly with a hoof. “But let’s get you home for now okay?”
“Kay.” came the soft reply from Rainbow Dash’s back. With that, Rainbow Dash picked up the pace once more, and Scootaloo smiled all the way through the journey. Her mind was awash of scenarios of Rainbow Dash always being there for her. No matter what happened she would be safe with Rainbow Dash by her side.
“Or, for that matter, underneath me.” Scootaloo thought to herself with a giggle.
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the day doing fun activities in an effort to both cheer Scootaloo up, and get her mind off of what happened at school. Rainbow Dash took her out flying across the town and together the two even engaged in a little pranking. It was mostly Scootaloo waiting on a cloud while Rainbow zipped in and did something, but Scootaloo still had a laugh and was still part of the festivities. Their first prank was simple enough; they spotted Lyra and Bon Bon doing their shopping together and laid in wait.
“What are we waiting around for?” Scootaloo asked. The pair were hiding on top of a cloud. Rainbow Dash occasionally gave a flap of her wings to make the cloud move. From below, it looked like an ordinary cloud that had been sent on it’s way by a weather pony.
“Just you wait Squirt. You’ll see” Rainbow Dash replied. She was a master prankster and knew when to strike and the time came soon enough. Lyra and Bon Bon decided to take a rest from all their shopping and, after taking some bits out of them, set down their saddlebags. Their saddlebags were personalised and had their cutie marks on them. For Bon Bon this was three wrapped sweets, and for Lyra it was a lyre. This was Rainbow Dash’s moment to strike. While the salespony was busy getting their drinks, and the two mares weren’t looking, Rainbow Dash zipped down and swapped their saddlebags around without anypony noticing. She was back above the cloud in less than ten seconds flat. Ten seconds would have been way too long to get something like this done, and she would probably have been ashamed of herself if it had taken her that long.
“So what was the point of that?” Scootaloo asked, confused. She couldn’t see any possible reason for just swapping saddlebags over. It seemed far too simple.
“Just you wait Scoots. Wait and watch.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo did as she was told and waited patiently for Lyra and Bon Bon to finish their drinks and move on again. Rainbow Dash’s smile grew as the pair didn’t notice the switch and saddled up the wrong bags. Scootaloo was beginning to see what might happen, but not all of it. That would come though as Lyra and Bon Bon continued their shopping trip. Doing something like wearing a bag with the Cutie Mark of somepony else on it spread a clear message and it was one that certainly earned the pair a few glances from the ponies that saw them together. There had been a lot of speculation about the nature of the relationship between Lyra and Bon Bon but nothing was truly known for certain. A lot of ponies seemed to get their answer that day.
“I still don’t get it...” Scootaloo admitted. She was perhaps still a little too young to understand what Rainbow Dash had done implied about the two mares.
“Don’t worry about it Squirt. Maybe you’ll get it one day.” Rainbow Dash replied, playing with Scootaloo’s mane. “In the meantime, is there anypony you’d like to get?” she asked. It was a pretty good offer for a pony like Rainbow Dash to make. Everypony knew what a prankster she was and when she offered to prank someone for you, you knew it was going to be good. Scootaloo hopped up on to Rainbow Dash’s head and looked around to try and find anypony they could prank.
“Daddy! Buy me that!” a shrill voice she recognised called out from nearby, cutting off her search. She slid back down Rainbow Dash’s neck and huddled up close to her.
“Never mind...I want to go home...” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash looked around, confused as to what had upset the filly. She spotted a small amount of pink outside a shop and she found her answer; Diamond Tiara. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had been out so long that school had broken up and now Diamond Tiara was out shopping with her dad, Filthy Rich.
“I have a better idea...” Rainbow Dash said, taking off from the cloud.
“What are you doing?” Scootaloo asked as she held tight on to Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“Oh you’ll see. Just wait, I think you’ll like this one.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo was left just as confused. It didn’t help her confusion when Rainbow Dash settled herself down on top of a storm cloud. Standing under one might have been a little dangerous, but standing on top of one was safe as long as you didn’t jump or kick it so hard your hooves went through it. That tended to end badly for the pony who did it.
“Isn’t this a little dangerous? What are you going to do with a storm cloud?”
“Don’t worry about this. This is a small one, it won’t be much of a shock.”
“It’s still a storm cloud isn’t it?”
“Yeah but a really small one. This will barely hurt at all.”
“Hurt? Hurt who?” Scootaloo asked. She was beginning to get a little bit scared at the prospect of what Rainbow Dash might do with a storm cloud.
“You’ll see...” Rainbow Dash said before giving her wings a flutter and moving the cloud. It was heading for one particular piece of pink fluff on the ground.
“Don’t tell me...” Scootaloo began.
“Sounds like you’re getting it Squirt. Don’t you want to get her back for this morning?”
“Well, yeah, but I didn’t have electrocuting her in mind!”
“I told you to relax. This’ll barely hurt her at all. It’s a trick I picked up in Flight Camp and nopony there ever got injured.” Rainbow Dash tried to reassure her.
“Relax Scoots. Hear me out, I think you’re going to enjoy this.” Rainbow Dash said. Her plan was a simple one; She would fly the cloud over to where Diamond Tiara was and Scootaloo would lean down and snatch the tiara from atop her pretty little head. When Diamond Tiara turned around to see who grabbed her tiara, she would see the cloud, and then Rainbow Dash would give it a short, sharp kick to set off a tiny burst of lightning that would hit Diamond Tiara in the flank, giving her a small and (as Rainbow Dash stressed to the worried Scootaloo) not very painful shock. It was just a simple way to get back at her for what had happened at school and get a small measure of revenge for all the times that Diamond Tiara had hurt her. Rainbow Dash assured Scootaloo that as long as they stayed low to the cloud Diamond Tiara wouldn’t be able to see through it, and wouldn’t know it was them. Scootaloo was scared and worried, but she decided to go along with it.
Rainbow Dash moved the cloud to just above Diamond Tiara. The filly and her father were too occupied with looking at all the different stalls in the market and through the windows of the stores to notice the pair on their cloud. If anypony else saw them they stayed quiet. Rainbow Dash had stuck her tail in the air so anypony who saw it would know that it was her and so they kept quiet to see a good prank. It helped that not everypony was fond of Diamond Tiara. Filthy Rich was charismatic and well liked, but his daughter was seen as a spoiled brat by the majority of ponies. They kept quiet though on account of her rich and powerful father. Plus one of the best things that could happen to a store was a spoiled brat coming by who demanded everything, and her father who had the money to buy everything said little girl wanted. Keeping them happy was just being a savvy businesspony.
Rainbow Dash gave the signal and Scootaloo gulped in fear. Rainbow thought she might not go through with it but Scootaloo leaned down over the cloud and swiped Diamond Tiara’s signature and eponymous tiara.
“Hey!” Diamond Tiara shouted as she looked around for the perpetrator. She looked left, she looked right, and then she looked up. Much to her own regret. “What the...” she began before Rainbow Dash gave the cloud a kick and sent a small bolt of lightning in to her flank. Diamond Tiara gave a small squeal of pain as her mane and tail frizzed thanks to the electricity. Filthy Rich saw what happened and tried to jump up to the cloud. It was too late though as Rainbow Dash gave a great gust of her wings and flew away with it. It was probably for the best he missed. An Earth Pony would have just gone through the cloud, and it would have ended about as well for him as it would have for Rainbow Dash if her hoof had gone through the cloud.
“You’re right, that was so worth it!” Scootaloo said when her and Rainbow Dash had reached a safe enough distance. She was squealing and laughing with delight. It was the most Rainbow Dash had ever heard her laugh.
“You’re right, that was pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash replied. She was laughing herself. Both at the prank and at seeing Scootaloo so happy. It really was a joy to see. “So, how do I look?” she asked, posing in the tiara.
“I think it looks better on you than it does her.” Scootaloo said before laughing again. Rainbow Dash was pulling various silly poses and it was hard not to laugh at her. They continued their ride on the cloud back to Rainbow Dash’s manor in this way; as Scootaloo continued to laugh and loosen up she even posed with the tiara a little herself. Perhaps if they weren’t so busy laughing and having fun they might have heard the occasional click coming from not so far away.
When Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo arrived back at the manor and opened the door they found a small enveloped with a note attached. The note was simple enough and just read “Hey Dash, I tried to give you this but you weren’t in. It’s kinda important so I hope you made it back in time to get it! Cheerilee gave it me when I picked Dinky up from school and asked me to give it to you as soon as possible.
~Derpy
Rainbow Dash smiled at the note and then hurriedly tore open the letter. If it was important then she needed to read it as soon as possible.
To Miss Rainbow Dash
I am sorry to hear what happened to Scootaloo during break time at school today. I heard from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle what happened and that you took her away from school with you. I would have preferred if you had brought her to me first but I trust you had your reasons.
As a response to the aforementioned incident I have called a meeting to take place later today between me, you, Scootaloo (if she feels up to it), Diamond Tiara, and her father. I am informed that Silver Spoon was merely a witness and so no punishment will fall on to her but I would like to discuss Diamond Tiara’s punishment and what action needs to be taken from here.
To that end I would like all of you to attend that meeting today at seven PM. I realise it’s short notice but I want to get this matter solved as soon as possible. If you don’t attend then I will just rearrange it for some other time but it is best for all parties involved this matter be dealt with quickly.
Sincerely
Cheerilee
Rainbow Dash dropped the letter and ran into the living room to check the time, leaving Scootaloo stood confused as to what was happening. The clock read half past six. If they left immediately then they would make it in time to the meeting. Rainbow Dash wanted the matter solved as quickly as Cheerilee did and she was planning on arranging a meeting herself. This killed two birds with one stone. Not that Rainbow Dash would ever kill a bird. Fluttershy would never forgive her.
“Dash? What’s going on?” Scootaloo asked as Rainbow Dash scurried about making sure that she wasn’t missing anything.
“You feel up to going back to school and meeting with your teacher? Oh Diamond Tiara and her dad are going to be there too.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s about what happened this morning. You can stay here if you want but I want to go and get this sorted. So, are you up to it?”
“....I guess. I want to know what happens and I wouldn’t want to sit here and worry about it.” Scootaloo replied.
“That’s the spirit Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said, patting her on the head. Scootaloo smiled and hopped back up on to Rainbow Dash’s back. She was beginning to spend more time there than she did on her own hooves, but it didn’t bother her at all. With nothing left behind, and Scootaloo in tow, Rainbow Dash headed out the door and set off for the school.
Scootaloo’s mind was plagued with worries and doubts along the journey. Any number of things could happen. One prospect scared her more than any other though; the thought that nothing would happen. The thought that Diamond Tiara wouldn’t be punished after everything she had done to her, not just that morning but throughout her school life, was a very daunting thought. Cheerilee was sweet and kind though, and she had Rainbow Dash on her side, so she felt something must happen. There was no way Diamond Tiara was going to escape punishment again.
They arrived at the school to see Cheerilee stood at the door, waiting for them. She informed them that they had made it in time and that Diamond Tiara and her father were waiting for them in her office. They followed Cheerilee through the school to the classroom and, by extension, her office. Scootaloo had to admit that the school was a lot creepier later on during the day when it was empty. The absence of noise from other students creeped her out most of all.
They walked in to the office to find Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara sat together at one end of the desk, as well as two separate chairs for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo next to them. Cheerilee asked Scootaloo to sit to the left, next to Filthy Rich. This way the two fillies would be seperated, and so would the two parents. Or guardians, in Rainbow Dash’s case. Technically she was neither but she had become Scootaloo’s primary caregiver. Nopony else knew that Scootaloo was an orphan, or the circumstances behind Rainbow Dash being with her all the time but they hadn’t had time to ask questions. The common theory going around town was that the two were actually sisters and their parents were out of town. Fluttershy knew this couldn’t be the case but nopony bothered to ask her and she was too shy to correct anypony.
“Now, you all know why you’re here, correct?” Cheerilee asked the ponies assembled in front of her. She was sat behind the desk in her own chair.
“I don’t see why I’m here. All I did was ask the blank flank where she’s been all this time. Aren’t I allowed to be curious anymore?” Diamond Tiara piped up. She was missing her signature tiara and even though she had tried to fix her hair after she had been shocked, there were still little black bits in it.
“That’s why you’re here. You’re allowed to be curious yes but you’re not allowed go around calling other ponies names.”
“That’s it? I’m here because I called her a blank flank?”
“From what I hear she was clearly distressed and you weren’t helping matters.” Cheerilee said.
“Distressed? How do you think I felt when her bodyguard over there jumped out of the sky and frightened the life out of me?!” Diamond Tiara shouted, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow just smirked at the memory of the scared face Diamond Tiara made when she shocked her. Both figuratively in the morning, and literally with the stormcloud. Scootaloo meanwhile was playing with her hooves nervously.
“Yes I quite agree with Diamond here. Can something not be done about Rainbow Dash threatening my little girl?” Filthy Rich spoke up.
“I didn't threaten her, I told her to leave Scootaloo alone. You heard Cheerilee say the poor girl was distressed.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I'll agree something might need to be done about Miss Rainbow Dash's behaviour, but right now we're here to talk about Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara.” Cheerilee said, adding the second half as she noticed the look she received from Rainbow Dash. “Now, I've heard everything I can from all sides and I've come to the conclusion it might be best for Scootaloo to stay at home for a few more days, and Diamond Tiara needs to apologise of course.”
“WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, slamming her hooves on to the table. “That's it?! You want her to apologise, and you want SCOOTALOO to be the one who stays at home?! She already stayed home for a WEEK. I brought her back to school. I MADE her come back because it wasn't fair that she was the one who was missing out on an education. Now you want to tell her to go back home?! Buck this. I'm taking Scootaloo with me and we're going back home. This isn't fair to her at all. What kind of teacher would punish a kid who wants to learn, instead of the one who was doing the bullying?” With that, Rainbow Dash picked up a nervous, frightened, and shaking Scootaloo in her hooves and walked out the door leaving behind a shocked Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, and ignoring the pleas of Cheerilee asking her to wait.
“Well I guess this was a waste of time now wasn't it? I guess we can see where Scootaloo gets it from.” Filthy Rich said as he watched Rainbow Dash storm off and take into the sky.
“Scootaloo is a little angel who's never in trouble, which is more than I can say for your little girl.” Cheerilee said, much to the shock and surprise of Filthy Rich.
“Well I never! I have half a mind to-”
“Oh just go. There's no point staying anymore. There's nothing left to be said.” Cheerilee said. Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara hopped down from their chairs and walked out the office, leaving Cheerilee slumped over her desk and thinking about what Rainbow Dash had said.
“Thanks for that.” Scootaloo said, breaking the silence that had formed between her and Rainbow Dash since they left the school. Scootaloo was still shaken up, and Rainbow Dash was still angry. Scootaloo had decided that what she wanted to say had to be said and she was getting tired of the silence.
“Hmm? For what Squirt?” Rainbow Dash replied, turning her head around to look at Scootaloo.
“For sticking up for me like that. For what it’s worth, I think you were right.”
“It means a lot. I just hope Cheerilee thinks that way too.”
“I think she will. She’s always been nice.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash smiled, nodded, and turned back to face the sky in front of her, continuing the journey home. The journey passed in relative silence but Scootaloo was content that both her and Rainbow Dash were feeling better and felt no need to speak up for the sake of breaking the silence. A comfortable one had fallen over the remains of an uncomfortable one.
When they arrived back at the manor they saw that it was too late to really start anything new, but too early still for Scootaloo to go to bed. Rainbow Dash came up with a good compromise and decided to just read more than she normally would to the filly. Scootaloo was asleep after an hour or so, leaving Rainbow Dash to wonder just what she was going to do with the filly if she couldn’t go to school. Cheerilee’s schoolhouse was the only one in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash briefly considered taking her to the Cloudsdale school. It would even help her out as her weather work usually started there too. This particular notion was quickly dropped when she realised something else. Cloudsdale didn’t really deal in schools. It dealt with Flight Camps, and schoolwork was a part of that. If Scootaloo went to a school for Pegasi she would be teased endlessly for being unable to fly and she couldn’t go to a Flight Camp when she couldn’t fly. Her head full of more worries and doubts than she’d ever known, Rainbow Dash laid down in her bed and struggled to sleep, wondering what answers the new day might provide.
Rainbow Dash awoke the next day to discover that no magical answers had come to her in her sleep. She had gained a hunger during her sleep however and set out to fix it. She grabbed a quick snack from the kitchen, checked if Scootaloo was awake (which she wasn’t) and then began her usual morning training routine. It was a little more disastrous than usual as her mind was occupied with thoughts of Scootaloo, but she was determined to practice anyway.
After her latest little accident Rainbow Dash heard a little giggle coming from one of the windows of the house. She looked up and saw what she expected to see; Scootaloo having a laugh at her spectacular impact with the cloud.
“Oh I’m sure that was hilarious.” Rainbow Dash shouted up to Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded and stifled another giggle. She didn’t want to upset Rainbow Dash too much and was worried she might already have done by laughing at her like that. “What are you going to do today anyway?” Rainbow Dash called up. She didn’t like how Scootaloo’s face darkened but it was a topic that needed to be addressed. The sooner they did that, the sooner that Rainbow Dash could go back to cheering her up. Even if it was by falling in spectacular fashion.
“Oh...I’m not sure. I’m going to be staying here aren’t I?” Scootaloo called back down, visibly upset at the current subject of the conversation.
“If you want you can, but you’re going to be on your own. You okay with that?” Rainbow Dash said, flying up to talk to Scootaloo face to face. It was much easier than constantly shouting up and down.
“I think I will be yeah. It’s gotta be better than going to school right?” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash couldn't disagree and so that was how their day passed. Rainbow Dash served breakfast when it was time and then kissed Scootaloo goodbye as she set off for work. Scootaloo was used to being on her own so it wasn't too hard for her to occupy her time. Even though she had been with Rainbow for a week and had gotten used to having her around all the time, the memories of her time alone were still there. She read books, cleaned the house, and tried not to think of her current situation.
While Rainbow Dash was at work she asked around if anypony had any suggestions for schools she could send Scootaloo too. They could only suggest flight camps in Cloudsdale and Rainbow Dash considered it but she thought that even though Flight Camps did have flight lessons, they were where the very young went. If Scootaloo went to a flight camp she would be stuck with the foals and Rainbow Dash thought that would be far too embarrassing and counter productive. It was much better to just wait for private lessons. This brought a realisation to Rainbow Dash. If she could get Scootaloo private flying lessons maybe she could even get her a private tutor. She wasn't entirely sure her wages would be able to cover it and decided to wait it out a little longer to see if what she had said to Cheerilee had any effect. In a way she was still in a stalemate situation. Cheerilee really was the best teacher around but Scootaloo just wasn't happy or comfortable there. Plus she would have to change her work schedule up a lot if Scootaloo had a private tutor. Rainbow Dash would probably have to stay in with her and not leave her on her own.
The new day brought a letter Rainbow Dash had been hoping for, but not really expecting. The day started the same as the one before. Rainbow Dash was practicing and Scootaloo was watching her. After waiting once more for Rainbow Dash to finish her newest trick, Scootaloo called her over.
“What do you think I’ll have to do today?” Scootaloo asked when Rainbow Dash had made her way to the window. Rainbow Dash was about to respond when a shout in the distance distracted both of them. They turned to look who was shouting at them and saw that a large white Pegasus was flying towards them. Rainbow Dash recognised it as the pony who delivered priority mail. There were two main mailponies in Ponyville. Derpy would deliver the morning mail after dropping Dinky off at school but there was another pony who delivered letters early in the morning should they be a priority and something ponies needed to see at the start of their day. Even though she knew who he was, it was probably the first time Rainbow Dash had actually received mail from him.
“I got a letter here for one Rainbow Dash.” the Pegasus said when he got closer.
“That’s me, thanks.” Rainbow Dash replied. The Pegasus gave her the letter and continued off on his way. This was important mail after all, he couldn’t wait around and deal with everypony he had to hoof out letters to. Rainbow Dash opened up the letter and read it aloud, her face lighting up as she read. It was another note from Cheerilee and one a small part of her hoped for, but did not expect.
Dear Rainbow Dash
After what you said in my office, and much thought on the matter, I have come to the conclusion that you were right. It isn’t fair on Scootaloo to have to stay at home. She paid attention in class and I’m told that before the incident with Diamond Tiara she was in a reasonably good mood. If the only thing that is preventing her from being happy is Diamond Tiara, then she shouldn’t have to stay at home. She belongs at school, like every little colt and filly who wants to learn.
To that end I have decided that Diamond Tiara, who actually seems to get in trouble quite a lot, is to be suspended for the rest of the week. Instead of Scootaloo being out of school, Diamond Tiara will be instead.
I hope to see Scootaloo back at school today. Although should this note find you late, or should you need time to prepare, she is free to stay at home until lunch time.
Sincerely
Cheerilee
“So Diamond Tiara won’t be at school? For a whole week?” Scootaloo asked when Rainbow Dash had finished reading.
“Seems that way Squirt.” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling. “So, do you want to go to school then?”
“It’s gotta be better than sitting here on my own, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were pretty nice last time. They even stuck up for me.” Scootaloo replied. She looked like she was thinking it over but her mind had already been made up as soon as the possibility had been opened up to her. She missed her friends, and now that she knew how they would react and respond to her, she wasn’t afraid of spending time with them anymore. She wanted to do it. A small part of her mind was already working on ways for them to earn their cutie marks again as the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Do you want to go now, or do you want to wait until lunchtime?” Rainbow Dash asked as she peeked into the bedroom to look at the clock on the wall. If they left soon then they could make it in time for the morning bell.
“I think I can be ready to go soon. You have work don’t you? So it’s best I go in now right?” Scootaloo replied before scurrying out of the room to prepare, not even giving Rainbow Dash a chance to respond. Rainbow Dash herself flew into her room and prepared for work.
Within ten minutes both ponies were packed up and ready. Scootaloo ran down the stairs to find Rainbow Dash waiting for her. She had two small brown bags in her mouth.
“What are those for?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash put them on the ground so she could speak properly before replying.
“One is your lunch, and the other is your breakfast. Eat it on the way, but be careful not to get any crumbs on me.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Yes ma’am!” Scootaloo replied, saluting, before scooping up both bags and hopping on to Rainbow Dash’s back. Rainbow Dash smiled back at her and took out off the front door, bucking it closed with her legs on the way out. Scootaloo thought it was a showy but still slightly impressive way to leave a building. Plus she liked it when Rainbow Dash showed off almost as much as Rainbow herself liked showing off.
A short flight later and Rainbow Dash waved Scootaloo goodbye for the day and checked her coat for any remains of Scootaloo’s breakfast. Finding none, she took off into the sky and headed for Cloudsdale for her own day of work.
Scootaloo watched Rainbow Dash take off and then headed into the schoolhouse. When she entered she looked around for any signs of Diamond Tiara. She found none and smiled as she walked to her own desk and sat down.
“Mornin’ Scoots. Ah didn’t expect to see you here.” Apple Bloom said. She had walked over from her own seat when she saw Scootaloo enter. The Cutie Mark Crusaders may have done everything together inside and outside of school, but they weren’t sat together, much to their chagrin. They had asked Cheerilee several times to be moved but she felt that allowing them to sit together all the time would lead to just as much disaster as any time they were together outside of the school.
“Oh hey Apple Bloom. Didn’t you hear that Diamond Tiara won’t be coming for the rest of the week?” Scootaloo replied. She thought it must have been common knowledge. Scootaloo had arrived just before the class had started, which meant there was plenty of time for the news and gossip to spread. Then again, the main spreaders of news and gossip had been the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves.
“I heard about that.” replied a voice from behind Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. They looked around to see Featherweight, the new head of the school paper. He still wore his camera a lot even though he wasn’t the official photographer anymore. It was his special talent after all. He was also very good at finding out about things quickly, which was how he came to know about Diamond Tiara’s predicament. “I heard her tell Silver Spoon this morning. Normally they walk to school together. It’s a shame she’s not here. I had something she might be interested in.” Featherweight added, giving Scootaloo a look that made her uneasy. Scootaloo was about to respond but the bright and cheery voice of Cheerilee interrupted her before she could speak.
“Good morning my little ponies.” Cheerilee said.
“Good morning Miss Cheerilee.” her class chorused back at her. Cheerilee smiled at the response but it was soon replaced by a frown. “I’m sorry to report to you that because of some bad behaviour your classmate Diamond Tiara will not be joining us in class for a week.” The class, minus Scootaloo, Featherweight, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon, who already knew, began chattering amongst themselves, wondering what had happened and generally responding to the news. “I’m sure you’d all like to talk about this but we have classes to do.” Cheerilee said, raising her voice to be heard over the chattering and tapping the chalkboard to emphasise her point. The class quietened down, and Cheerilee began her lesson.
After a few classes Scootaloo had to admit, to herself at least, that things were going pretty well. Everypony left her alone but this was just how she wanted things to go. Diamond Tiara finally getting her comeuppance and being punished was quickly becoming the new topic of conversation. During their morning break Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle told Scootaloo that the rest of the class hadn’t really been told about what had happened between her and Diamond Tiara. Rainbow Dash’s outburst had been loud but that had also escaped the attention of the majority of the class as the group was in a secluded area of the playground. When questioned about why Scootaloo had vanished her fellow Crusaders had told ponies that she had been sick and Diamond Tiara was too egotistical to admit to anypony, other than her father who could do something about it, what had happened between her and Rainbow Dash. The words of Featherweight, and the look he had given her, still played on Scootaloo’s mind but she didn’t see anything of him during their break, and he didn’t talk to her during class.
Soon enough lunchtime came and so did the interaction that Scootaloo was waiting for, yet fearing at the same time. Her and her fellow Crusaders were happily enjoying their lunch and discussing new ways for them to earn their Cutie Marks when Featherweight walked up to them.
“Hey Scootaloo.” Featherweight said. He was still wearing the smirk that had so unnerved Scootaloo earlier in the day.
“Hey Featherweight, what were you talking about this morning? I didn’t get a chance to ask.” Scootaloo replied. Her friends huddled up beside her in case something happened.
“I was just saying it’s a shame DT isn’t here, because I think she’d want to see these.” Featherweight replied, opening up his saddlebag and pulling out an envelope. He threw it on the ground before Scootaloo and motioned for her to open it when she looked at him questioningly. Scootaloo opened the envelope and looked inside. She quickly dropped it when she saw the contents and said contents spilled out for her friends to see. The envelope was full of pictures; pictures of Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and one tiara. Featherweight had taken pictures of Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash posing and playing with Diamond Tiara’s tiara. They were too busy having fun to notice him, and he was good enough at staying out of sight as it was.
“Is that...” Sweetie Belle began, wondering aloud. She thought she recognised the tiara in the picture.
“It is. That right there is Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash and what is on their heads and in their hooves is the tiara of Diamond Tiara.” Featherweight replied, pointing a hoof at the pictures on the ground.
“Wow, how’d you get your hooves on that?” Sweetie Belle asked, suitably impressed by the antics of her friend.
“I’ll tell you later.” Scootaloo replied to Sweetie Belle before turning to face Featherweight again. “So what do you want?”
“Me? I don’t want anything.” Featherweight replied, feigning hurt at the implication he might want something. “I think DT would want her tiara back though. I also think you were wrong to steal it and didn’t want you to think you had gotten away with it. If DT isn’t wearing her tiara next week when she comes back, I’ll know you still have it and I’ll show her these pictures.” With that Featherweight scooped up the pictures and put them back inside the envelope and walked away from the girls. Scootaloo had some answers to take away at least. Even if they did just leave her thinking more in the end. Such as thinking what she was now going to do with the tiara, and why he didn’t just show her the pictures yesterday.
“Hey Featherweight! Why didn’t you just show her yesterday?” Scootaloo called out before Featherweight could get too far. He ignored her and continued walking away.
“Who says I didn’t?” he said to himself, much too far away for anypony to hear him. Scootaloo sighed and laid down on the grass.
“What was that all about?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I have no clue. But how did you get that tiara anyway?” Apple Bloom replied, snapping Scootaloo out of her reverie. Scootaloo recounted to them the events of the day before and what happened after she and Rainbow Dash had left the school together. She told them about their little trip into town and how Rainbow Dash had decided to do some pranking and had then spotted the best target of all; one Diamond Tiara. Her friends eyes lit up and they all started laughing when Scootaloo said that she was the one who had swiped the tiara and then they laughed more as Scootaloo recreated some of the poses.
“What are ya gonna do now?” Apple Bloom asked when all the stories were told and all the laughter had been had.
“I don’t really know. The tiara is actually still in Rainbow Dash’s living room. She put it on display so whenever I felt down I could look at it and laugh knowing that I had once gotten the better of Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo explained. She had to admit that it was fun to look at the thing and laugh as she remembered the look on Diamond Tiara’s face.
“Ah guess you gotta give it back to her then.” Apple Bloom said.
“Guess so but I’m not sure how I’m going to do that. I can’t just turn up to her door and hand it back. ‘Hey Diamond Tiara, I stole this. You can have it back.” Scootaloo said, doing a very poor impression of herself.
“Well we’ve got time to think of some ideas.” Sweetie Belle tried to reassure her.
“Yeah, and maybe Rainbow Dash might have some too.” Apple Bloom added.
“Yeah maybe. I guess there’s no sense in worrying about it right now.” Scootaloo said. Her friends nodded and together they continued eating their lunches and suggesting various ways for Scootaloo to return the tiara. By the time the bell rang and signified the end of lunch, and the renewal of lessons, Scootaloo was aware of just how much she had missed the overactive imaginations of her friends.
After a busy day for the both of them, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were reunited once more at the gates to the school when their respective days were finished. Rainbow Dash was supposed to work for longer than Scootaloo was at school but she had explained the situation, as best as she could without revealing too much, and her weather team had been very helpful and willing. Rainbow Dash was good at her job and friendly with everypony there so she had earned more than a few favours. Being in charge always helped, but Rainbow didn’t like playing the “I’m The Boss” card and she didn’t want to abuse her power, so was very glad the rest of the team had been so accepting.
After much discussion it was decided that while Rainbow Dash couldn’t just leave work early, she could work shifts in the evening or in the early morning, while Scootaloo was asleep. Weather was a twenty four job after all. Shifts at the weather patrol were an hour and a half long, with a break in between. Everypony had to work four shifts in a day and a day was usually around eight hours long, taking all breaks (including a lunch hour) into account. Rainbow Dash used to work straight through a full day like most ponies, but now she finished after her third shift at three in the afternoon. This way she was able to make it to the schoolhouse by half three which was when school finished. From now on she would be working a shift overnight and had chosen to work from ten until half eleven. It meant she would probably nap more during the day, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. If she really had to she could cut into her morning training time. But only if she REALLY had to.
“Hey Rainbow!” Scootaloo called as she left the school building and saw Rainbow Dash waiting for her. Scootaloo ran over to Rainbow and cuddled up close to her.
“Hey Squirt, how was school?” Rainbow replied, rubbing Scootaloo’s mane nervously. She was casting her eyes about as she spoke, looking at the reaction of the other parents and carers to the affectionate display. She was more affectionate with Scootaloo than she ever thought she could be, but it was much different in public. She didn’t mind playing with the filly and giving her calming hugs, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about it in public. To her relief barely anypony paid any attention to them.
“It was good.” Scootaloo replied, looking up at Rainbow Dash and smiling. “Well something a little bad happened, but I’ll have to tell you about it on the way home.” she added, looking downcast as she remembered what Featherweight had told her. Rainbow Dash looked at her with concern and leaned down to Scootaloo’s level. It was mostly to give her a quick nuzzle while nopony was looking but she managed to pass it off as letting Scootaloo hop up onto her back incase anypony did see it. Scootaloo hopped up, tucked herself into Rainbow’s mane like she usually did, and held on tight as Rainbow Dash took off into the air.
“So what’s this bad thing that happened? Did somepony mess with you again?” Rainbow Dash called back to Scootaloo.
“Not exactly.” Scootaloo replied, shaking her head. “Featherweight saw us with the tiara. He wants us to take it back or he’ll tell Diamond Tiara what we did.”
“Oh? Is that it? I can do that no problem.” Rainbow Dash replied. Rainbow Dash wasn’t entirely sure of a plan straight away, but she didn’t want Scootaloo to worry about anything. She had plenty of time to come up with a plan. Time had also proven her to be quick at thinking on her hooves.
“How will you do that?” Scootaloo replied. She had faith Rainbow Dash could come up with something, but not so quickly.
“Don’t worry about it Squirt. I have to work tonight and I’ll drop it off then.” Rainbow Dash assured her. It was the very beginnings of a plan at least.
“You’re working tonight?” Scootaloo wasn’t aware of Rainbow Dash’s new working situation. It had only been worked out in the past day or two, and this was the first day of Rainbow’s new schedule.
“After you go to bed yeah. It’s so I can pick you up from school and spend the evenings with you.” Rainbow Dash explained. She felt Scootaloo’s grip around her neck tighten as the filly hugged her tighter.
“You did that for me?” Scootaloo asked. It sounded to Rainbow Dash like she was on the verge of tears.
“She really isn’t used to ponies doing things for her...” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She flipped over, catching Scootaloo in her forelegs as she did, and hugged her tight to her chest. “Of course I did you silly filly.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling Scootaloo. “So don’t you worry about anything this Featherweight said either. It’s alright, I’m Loyalty. I’ll be here ‘til the very end.” Rainbow Dash titled her head back so she could see where she was going, and continued flying how she was all the way back to the cloud manor.
A few hours later, after Scootaloo was safely tucked into bed and sound asleep, Rainbow Dash prepared a little more than usual for work. She threw on her old black outfit to hide as much of her body as she could and put the tiara in a box and then threw the package into her saddlebag. She gave Scootaloo one last check and, after seeing she was how she had been left, took off into the night.
She decided to drop the tiara off before she went into work. That way she could take the suit off and avoid any unnecessary questions from her fellow ponies working the graveyard shift. Rainbow Dash found her way to Diamond Tiara’s house and briefly considered trying to sneak through the window when she thought of an even better idea. The last time she had tried to break into somewhere it resulted in her being found and chased across the town. There was no need to repeat that performance. There was another way, one that didn’t involve breaking and entering. She landed by the front door and took out the box with the tiara in. She quickly scrawled a note that simply read “To Diamond Tiara, from Mysterious Mare Do Well” and wedged it under the box. It stuck out enough to be seen, but not so far that it could be blown away by an errant wind. With that goal accomplished, she set off for work.
The next day came and Scootaloo rushed into Rainbow Dash’s room to watch her do her morning practice routine when she found something she was not expecting to see; Rainbow Dash was still asleep in bed. Scootaloo checked the clock to make sure that she hadn’t woken up too early and saw that it was seven in the morning. Normally at this point Rainbow Dash would either be half way through some trick or nursing the wounds of failure.
“Rainbow? Hey, Rainbow!” Scootaloo called, trying to rouse Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash stirred slowly. She opened her eyes and peered at the clock next to her bed. Her eyes shot open as she saw the time and she bolted up in her bed.
“Shoot, I really overslept.” Rainbow Dash said before disappearing into the bathroom. She reappeared one short trip to the bathroom later and was just about to dive out the window and begin her practice when she finally noticed Scootaloo was watching her. “Oh, morning Squirt. You’re up early.”
“And you’re up late.” Scootaloo replied, stifling a giggle at the sight of Rainbow Dash so flustered. Her prismatic mane was messier than usual and her fur was a mess. Whatever she had been doing in the bathroom, it wasn’t cleaning herself up. She had been brushing her teeth and then decided that could wait until after training. Showering was usually done after training as well.
“Yeah, I guess this new schedules gonna be a bit tougher to adjust to than I thought. At least I managed to take care of your business with Diamond Tiara.” Rainbow replied.
“You did? How?” Scootaloo said with what was probably the largest smile Rainbow Dash had ever seen on her face.
“I put it in a box and left it on her doorstep with a note from Mysterious Mare Do Well. I think she’ll buy it and not suspect a thing.” Rainbow Dash explained, smiling.
“Mare Do Well? That really was pretty smart.” Scootaloo replied. “I wonder what happened to her actually...” Scootaloo added, staring off into space as she was lost in thought.
“She’s still around, she’s just not in the hero business anymore.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling. These days Mare Do Well was shelving books in a library, bucking apples on a farm, and baking cakes.
“Wait, you know who Mare Do Well is? Who?!” Scootaloo asked excitedly. Nopony had seen Rainbow Dash unmask her friends and they had never come out. Mare Do Well had simply vanished and left everypony wondering just who she was, and why she stopped. Rainbow Dash was about to reply when they heard a tap on the bedroom window. It was the white Pegasus who delivered the priority mail.
“Got another letter for you Rainbow Dash.” he said when Rainbow Dash walked up to the window. He dropped the letter off, gave Rainbow Dash a polite nod, and then took off again on his way to deliver more mail.
“I wonder who it’s from?” Scootaloo asked, walking over to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow herself picked up the letter and started to read it. When she realised who it was from she read it aloud because it was for Scootaloo as much as for her.
To Rainbow Dash (and Scootaloo)
It was good to hear from you after so long. Then I read your letter and find out it’s because you have yourself a little filly who can’t fly? I’m hurt you would only talk to me because you need me for something. Although, seriously, I’d be happy to help you and this Scootaloo out. I’m sure I can get her to fly. It’s not that I don’t have faith in your ability to teach a pony, I just have more faith in my ability. I sent this letter before I left and it’ll probably be a lot faster than me. You can expect me on Friday and we’ll get started on those lessons as soon as we can.
Yours,
Star Shine
P.S, you never actually explained how you know this Scootaloo, did you get yourself a special somepony?
“Me? Find a special somepony?” Rainbow Dash said when she finished reading.
“Me? Your daughter?” Scootaloo added. The two exchanged a look and burst out laughing.
“Geez Rainbow, how long has it been since you talked to this guy?” Scootaloo asked, still laughing. “It sounds like he barely knows you at all.”
“It has been a while yeah. It’s been at least half a year.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“So...he doesn’t understand how babies work? He can’t really think I’m your foal.” Scootaloo asked, doing the math in her head. A pony pregnancy lasted about eleven months. Scootaloo didn’t know quite how babies worked herself but she was smart enough to know that Mrs. Cake was pregnant for eleven months, even if she didn’t know how the babies ended up there in the first place. Unless he was incredibly stupid there was no way he would think that Scootaloo could be Rainbow Dash’s filly.
“I don’t think he does really. He just likes to joke around like that.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Oh...say, what kinda name is Star Shine?”
“I guess you’ll have to ask when he gets here. He told me once but I forgot.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “Still it sounds like you’re in a for a good week.” Rainbow said, smiling.
“How so?” Scootaloo asked, confused as to what Rainbow Dash meant.
“Well think about it Scoots. Diamond Tiara has her tiara back, she won’t be at school all week, and Star Shine is coming to teach you to fly over the weekend. That sounds like a pretty good week to me.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Hey you’re right, this is going to be the best week ever!” Scootaloo exclaimed brightly. Rainbow Dash nodded, took a look at the clock, and then jumped out the window when she saw how much time she had spent reading and talking. Her practice time was really being cut into. Scootaloo took her spot by the window, and watched Rainbow Dash fly around and practice her routine. She really did feel she was in for the best week ever.
If Scootaloo was expecting to be disappointed in her assumption that the week would be the best ever, then her expectations were not to be lived up to. With Diamond Tiara out of school she had one of the best weeks of school she'd ever had. Her friends hadn’t questioned her about her missing a week anymore and that she was just ill was becoming the recognised truth of the school. Rainbow Dash was also adjusting to her new schedule better, and she didn't oversleep anymore. She could be found napping a little more often than usual, but no weather disasters had happened so it wasn't like she was putting anypony in danger by not keeping a closer eye on the weather. Because Scootaloo was feeling happy and even a little excited at school she began to feel hopeful and excited about other things, such as her upcoming flight lessons. By the time Friday rolled around she was practically bouncing off the walls of the school, waiting for the final bell to ring.
“Ah don't remember the last time Ah saw you so excited Scoots.” Apple Bloom said. Her, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were sat outside the school enjoying their lunch. When her friends had questioned Scootaloo about how she always had a lunch now when she barely ever had one before she just told them that Rainbow Dash didn't eat breakfasts as big as her parents and so she had to eat lunch again. Her friends still though that Rainbow Dash was foalsitting her while her parents continued their holiday and that they would be back in a week, or a few days now. They still didn't know any of the details behind anything that had happened between her and Rainbow Dash.
“Didn't I tell you?” Scootaloo replied.
“Tell us what?” came Sweetie Belle's voice.
“I'm going to be starting flying lessons!” Scootaloo said excitedly, jumping up and giving her wings an enthusiastic buzz.
“That's great Scoots! Ah'm surprised it took Rainbow this long to do it though.” Apple Bloom said, wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo and holding her close. Sweetie Belle joined in to turn the affair into a veritable group huddle.
“Oh it's not Dash that's teaching me. She's been too busy with...work, so she's asked a friend of hers to teach me. He lives a while away so that's why its taken so long.” Scootaloo explained. She hadn't told her friends about her failed attempts at flight. They would have probably been reassuring, Scootaloo told herself, but she was just too ashamed and embarrassed to tell them. They weren't Pegasi like her so they wouldn't be able to understand what it was like.
“Oh, well I'm sure that they'll go well. He must be a pretty cool guy if he knows Dash, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Right.” Scootaloo replied nervously. She had been full of excitement before but the reminder of her failed attempts had taken that away from her. Where there was hope, there was now doubt. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be the best of the best, so who could teach her if not the best of the best?
“You okay Scoots?” Sweetie Belle asked, picking up on Scootaloo's sudden unease.
“Yeah I'm fine. I'm just thinking.” Scootaloo replied, putting on a fake smile to reassure her friends.
“Oh, what about?”
“About what it's like to fly of course.” Scootaloo said, giggling. It wasn't exactly untrue. She was also thinking about what it would be like to be told that no matter what you would never be able to fly too, but what it was like to fly was in there too.
“Ah'm sure you'll know soon enough, and then you can show off your fancy flyin' skills like Rainbow.” Apple Bloom said. The three continued their lunch, the topics of conversation turning lighter and more cutie mark oriented. Apple Bloom mentioned she had a plan that she thought of after the latest Sisterhooves Social but that she would need time to put it all together. She was missing one last vital ingredient she told her friends. It was something Scootaloo had asked about before but something they had never found, but she wouldn't give any more hints than that. Soon enough the school bell rang again, signalling the end of their lunch break, and the fillies went inside to finish off the school day.
When the final lesson finished and Scootaloo rushed outside to greet Rainbow Dash, who had yet to fail to turn up, she saw that Rainbow Dash wasn't alone this time. Stood next to her was a Pegasus colt with a dark blue coat and a two tone brown and black mane. It was cut like Rainbow Dash's but the colt’s was shorter. Rainbow Dash's mane continued past her shoulders and reached her forelegs but the colts stopped at the shoulder and lightly brushed his back. Rainbow Dash and the colt were talking and Scootaloo was able to see his cutie mark. It was a set of three small stars. Scootaloo shook herself out of her reverie and walked up to the pair.
“Hey Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo called as she walked up to the pair.
“Hey Squirt, say hello to your new flight instructor, Star Shine.” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile, pointing a hoof at the colt next to her. Star Shine smiled as well and brought himself down to Scootaloo's level. Scootaloo could see deep into his bright green eyes.
“Hey Scootaloo, how was school?” Star Shine said. He had a thick accent like the one Pip Squeak, the little colt from Trottingham, had. He really had come all the way from Trottingham.
“It was fine Mr. Shine.” Scootaloo replied nervously before giggling at her little rhyme.
“Please, call me Shine. I don't like being called Star, so I just go by my second name.” Star Shine replied, smiling wider and trying to make things less formal to put Scootaloo at ease.
“Why not change your name? If you don't mind me asking.”
“Oh that one's easy. It was the name my parents gave me. Wouldn't want to get rid of the second gift they ever gave me now would I?” Star Shine explained. “The first was life by the way.” he added, answering a question nopony had asked.
“What's it mean anyway?” Scootaloo asked, remembering the small piece of advice Rainbow Dash gave her. Rainbow herself grew more alert because it was something she was a little curious about herself.
“Well at first my parents wanted me to be some kind of star that shines across Equestria, but it became apparent as I got older that wouldn't happen to me because I wasn't a very fast flier. Instead I became a flight instructor because I was good at getting other fillies to fly. The fillies I teach are very good fliers and become stars themselves and so my name still meant something anyway. That's how I got my cutie mark actually.” he explained, stopping to briefly look back at the mark on his flank. “I might not get to shine across Equestria but I still help train and develop little stars who shine themselves.” he added, turning back to Scootaloo.
“Wow, so you really think I can fly?” Scootaloo asked.
“I'm yet to find a filly I can't get to fly. So, when do you want to begin lessons?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo was about to respond when Rainbow Dash finally broke her silence and spoke up.
“She can start today, but only when she's done her homework.” Rainbow Dash said, deflating Scootaloo.
“When did you get so serious?” Star Shine asked Rainbow Dash.
“Since she came into my life, I guess.” Rainbow Dash replied, wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo. Scootaloo huddled up close to Rainbow Dash.
“You really do seem to have changed Dash. For the better though if you don’t mind me saying.” Star replied, smiling at the display. He couldn’t remember seeing Rainbow Dash ever act like that before.
“She hasn’t changed much. You should have seen her when Diamond Tiara was teasing me. She dropped right outta the sky and shouted at her.” Scootaloo replied, smiling at the memory. This time it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to be deflated and look despondent.
“Sounds like we’ve got some catching up to do huh?” Star Shine said. “Let’s get back to your house and we can catch up while the kid does her homework. Then we can get started on lessons as soon as you say she can.” he added. Rainbow Dash nodded and knelt down so Scootaloo could hop up onto her back and took off into the air. Star shine took off after her and flew close to Rainbow Dash so he could talk to Scootaloo.
“So what did Dash do with you during your lessons?” he called over to the filly when he got close.
“Oh she had me build up my wingpower a little to try and make it easier for me to fly.” Scootaloo replied, thinking back to the lessons.
“Did she have you do much flying?”
“She tried. She had me flap my wings instead of moving them, saying that it’s good for a filly learning to fly.”
“Well she was right.” Star Shine replied, nodding his approval of Rainbow Dash’s teaching methods. “How did that go? What happened?”
“Not much.” Scootaloo said, shifting nervously. “I flapped as hard as I could but nothing happened. When Rainbow Dash did it she took off but nothing happened when I did it.”
“Nothing?” Star Shine was curious now. Something must have happened.
“Well, I could feel the wind under my wings, and it seemed powerful, but I still didn’t take off.”
“You can walk on clouds can’t you though?”
“Um, yeah. Why?”
“No reason. I just need to think about something.” Star Shine replied. He tried to keep his voice level so he didn’t make Scootaloo nervous but she felt that something might be wrong. She was too scared to have it confirmed or denied though and kept her silence.
Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Star Shine reached the cloud manor and began their descent onto the soft and fluffy cloud layer below. Rainbow Dash landed first and Scootaloo climbed down as Star Shine landed next to them.
“You sure have moved up in the world Dash.” Star Shine said as he took in the huge house in front of him. “Literally.” he added with a giggle as he walked to the edge of the foundations and looked down at the land below.
“It’s easy to get a giant house when you build it all yourself.” Rainbow Dash remarked, pushing the front door open and allowing Scootaloo to run inside. She had confided in Rainbow Dash that while she loved living with her in the cloud manor there was a small part of her that was afraid of falling off the edge and so she liked to stay inside. There might have been a time she was too afraid to admit a weakness in front of Rainbow Dash but there was no way she could be after the events of the past few weeks. There’s no point in hiding anything from somepony who had actually read your suicide note and saved your life. If anything it was a good thing to have somepony to confide in at long last for the little Pegasus filly.
“Ladies first.” Star Shine said to Rainbow Dash as she stood holding the door for him.
“Ah, but you’re the guest. Doesn’t that cancel it out?” Rainbow replied with a sigh. Star Shine had always been the gentlecolt and it was something she hadn’t missed about him. Given how she was friends almost exclusively with mares, she had long since stopped caring about the social norms of the different genders.
“I suppose you’re probably right.” Star Shine conceded after a few moments thought. He walked inside and was followed shortly thereafter by Rainbow Dash. The pair walked into the living room and saw that Scootaloo had already taken out her homework and began to work on it.
“Nothin’s gonna stop you is it kid?” Star commented as he walked over and looked at what homework Scootaloo had to do. It looked like some simple maths and Equestrian history, and certainly nothing she might need help with. Equestrian history was one of the easiest subjects in school as the answer was “The Princesses” more often than not. They were responsible for most of the major advancements of ponykind and even made most of them possible by defeating Discord all those years ago.
“Maybe something might...” Scootaloo replied, remembering her life’s most recent events. A lot of things had stopped her. “But not for very long.” she added with a smile as she looked up at Rainbow Dash, who had herself come to see what homework Scootaloo had to do.
“That’s the spirit Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said, giving Scootaloo a pat on the head. Scootaloo smiled at both the affection and the praise.
“Aye, remember that spirit Scootaloo. You might need it.” Star Shine added. There was a hint of sadness in his voice.
“What do you mean?” Scootaloo replied. She recognised that tone. It was the tone Rainbow Dash used when she thought that Scootaloo couldn’t fly. It was the tone her parents and the orphanage had used when they had given up on her. It’s a tone that said “You won’t get what you want, and you’re going to have to live with it.”
“Nothing really. I just meant that you should stay happy. Don’t you agree we should all be happy?” Star Shine replied with a reassuring smile.
“I...guess?” Scootaloo replied. She had been a little put off by his reply. She also recognised that smile. It was one adults gave children to reassure them that everything was going to be fine when it wasn’t. It was one that no longer worked on her.
“How about before you have your lesson, you watch me and Rainbow Dash race? You know she’s never actually beaten me in a race?” Star Shine asked. If trying to reassure a child fails, simply offer a distraction. Scootaloo wasn’t used to this trick, so it worked. Plus it was something she wanted to see.
“That sounds awesome! Is it really true you’ve never beaten him? He looked kinda slow on the way over here.” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash. There was a slight red tinge to her cheeks.
“Well we only raced a few times and it’s been a long time since we did. Actually we haven’t raced since Flight Camp. I had speed but he had control, so he could turn the corners a lot faster than me. I lost but that won’t happen again.” Rainbow Dash declared with determination.
“Sounds like a challenge to me. I’ll go set up the course, you help Scootaloo with her homework or something. I need some time to think anyway.” Star Shine replied before drifting, more than flying, out of a window. He was muttering to himself about something or another and Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash watched him with confused looks. He was flying a little haphazardly, and seemed to be barely functioning in the real world anymore.
“What do you think he’s got to think about?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash nervously.
“Hay if I know Squirt. That guy’s mind goes a mile a minute and it’s hard to understand what he could be thinking about. He’s got a tendency to mutter like that about anything that comes into his head. He could just want a minute to himself or something.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Do you think he’s thinking I can’t fly?” Scootaloo asked. She asked this question more nervously than the last one. It was the conclusion her mind had come to given Star’s behaviour.
“I’m sure that’s not it all Scoots.” Rainbow replied quickly, giving Scootaloo an affectionate and reassuring nuzzle. “I’ve seen that guy get fillies with injured wings to fly. I’m sure that if there’s something wrong he’ll be able to fix it. Now let’s hurry up with your homework okay?” Scootaloo nodded and turned back to her homework. Star Shine wasn’t the only pony who could distract a filly and put their minds at ease.
Soon enough Scootaloo had finished her homework and Star Shine declared the course to be finished. It was a course that ran along the length of Rainbow Dash’s house so Rainbow Dash dropped Scootaloo off on the roof so she could see all the race as it unfolded around her. The course itself was made up of a few loops made of cloud that the racers would have to fly through and, to give himself a little bit of an advantage, Star Shine had set up plenty of twists and turns. In a strange way it reminded Scootaloo of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark. The parts of the course between the loops were reminiscent of a lightning pattern and the clouds reminded her of, well, clouds. The starting line was the roof where Scootaloo was sat so she could start the race. From there they would race forward for a few hundred metres and from there break left and complete two laps before coming back to Scootaloo. The first pony to make it back to Scootaloo won the race, and most likely the respect of Scootaloo.
Star Shine and Rainbow Dash were leaning forward at the start line, preparing to take off quickly. Scootaloo was stood a short distance in front, a flag in her mouth.
“On your marks!” Scootaloo managed to call, her voice muffled by the flag.
“Say Rainbow, do me a favour and go slow on the first lap. I want to talk to you about something.” Star Shine said quickly into Rainbow Dash’s ear.
“What?!” Rainbow Dash hissed back.
“Get set!” Scootaloo called out again.
“That’s why there’s two laps. Race me properly on the second lap, but let me talk to you on the first.” Star Shine replied. Something was clearly on his mind but Rainbow Dash couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Go!” Scootaloo shouted and waved the flag before Rainbow Dash had a chance to respond. Star Shine zipped off and Rainbow Dash followed a split second later, her mind not entirely focused on the task at hoof. They were neck and neck as they flew straight past Scootaloo, whipping up a wind that played with her mane as she turned around to watch them go. She had a large grin on her face, unaware that as she was watching the two were about to discuss her future. All she knew and all she saw was a friendly race between two ponies who hadn’t seen eachother in a while. Children really were ever so easily distracted.
Rainbow Dash was actually curious and confused enough to limit her speed and after the first turn in the course her and Star Shine were side by side. They were close enough to talk but to Scootaloo it would look just like the race was a close one. That it would make the race more exciting for Scootaloo to watch was an added benefit. Star Shine was beginning to feel that Scootaloo could do with all the happiness and excitement she could get.
“So what’s this all about?” Rainbow Dash called over to Star Shine, keeping her voice raised to be heard over the wind ripping the air between them. Star Shine wasn’t as fast as Rainbow Dash but he wasn’t that slow either.
“I don’t suppose you know somepony who would have something that can detect magic power? I have one but I left it at home. I didn’t think I’d be needing it.” Star Shine called back.
“My friend Twi might have one, but why would you want something like that?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused. She couldn’t think of a reason a Pegasus might need a device to measure magic power.
“I just need you to go borrow it for me while I give Scootaloo her first lesson. While you’re at it pick up something to measure wingpower too.” Star Shine said. The pair passed through one of the cloud rings. Occasionally one of them would fly a little further in front than the other to give Scootaloo a good show and help build the tension.
“Star Shine tell me what’s going on! Scootaloo’s getting scared! She thinks you can’t help her.” Rainbow Dash pleaded as they turned a few corners. That she had used his full name showed Star Shine just how serious Rainbow Dash was. Now was not the time to lie or hide something from her.
“That’s just the thing Rainbow, I don’t think I can.” Star Shine said so quietly Rainbow Dash almost missed it.
“You have to help her! You can get any filly to fly can’t you?!”
“There are some things even I can’t fix. I hope to Celestia I’m wrong, but I might not be.”
“Tell me what this is about! What might be wrong with her?!” They passed through another ring and were coming up on the end of the first lap.
“I think she might have Vacuus Medeis Syndrome. The magic tester will let me know, and knowing her wingpower will let me know if she needs to be tested.”
“What’s this Vacuus Medeis thing?” Rainbow Dash asked. She had never heard of it, and from the sound of Star Shine’s voice, it must have been terrible. She didn’t even know there were problems regarding flight he couldn’t solve.
“It’s a fancy way of saying ‘without magic’ and it’s the one problem I can’t fix. It’s the worst problem a Pegasus can have. She’s a lot older than I thought she was too. I was expecting a little foal, but she’s as old as you were when you graduated Flight Camp. If she can’t fly at her age, and after training, I’m worried she might have it. I’ve actually only ever seen it once in my life, but the signs are there.” Star Shine said dejectedly as he picked up speed and pulled ahead of Rainbow Dash. The first lap was over and it was time for the race to begin properly.
“What’s this ‘without magic’ thing?” Rainbow Dash asked as she caught up to him. Star Shine said nothing and continued flying and trying to pull away from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash could tell he was focusing on the race now, and she wouldn’t get an answer out of him yet. She focused on the race herself, a silent oath that she would get to the bottom of everything playing out in her head.
Rainbow Dash caught up quickly enough but would lose a little ground on the turns, like she would when she was younger. She was better than that now but her mind wasn’t completely on the race and she wasn’t focusing. Her eyes wandered and she found herself looking down at the smiling face of Scootaloo. It was then that she realised that she was losing the race, in front of the filly that idolised her. She shook her head clear and focused solely on the race. There was no way she could lose in front of her number one fan, in front of the filly that had come to rely on her so much. Star Shine was better at the corners when they were younger but Rainbow Dash had trained and grown and wasn’t the speed freak she had been before. Not totally anyway. Now she had more control and she used that to her advantage.
In all the time she had been thinking the race had progressed to the last turn and Star Shine was about to finish it and head for Scootaloo. He was about to head for victory. Rainbow Dash laughed to herself at the notion she might lose a race and picked up speed, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she zoomed around the corner and passed by Star Shine before touching down in front of Scootaloo. Scootaloo cheered loudly and jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck so she was giving her a dangling hug. Star Shine himself touched down a few seconds later.
“Geez Rainbow, you’re better than I remember. Where’d you learn that kind of control?” Star Shine asked.
“It was all the training I did for the Best Young Flyers competition. I did a trick where I weaved between clouds and I really had to practice that one hard.” Rainbow replied. She raised a foreleg to cradle Scootaloo close and support her incase she fell.
“I guess you’ll be a Wonderbolt before you know it huh?” Star Shine commented. Rainbow Dash blushed a little but didn’t deny it. She felt that it was only a matter of time before she was a Wonderbolt. The fact she had felt that for a few years now didn’t mean anything. If anything she had to be closer now than ever before simply because she was better trained now than she was before. “So, do you think you can do what I asked you to do?” he asked.
“What does he mean?” Scootaloo asked, confused. Rainbow Dash gently knelt down and lowered Scootaloo softly onto the cloud below.
“I have to go to Twilight’s to borrow something from her. Do you think you can stay here and have your first lesson on your own? I’ll be right back and Star’s really nice. You’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash explained. Scootaloo looked a little crestfallen but she quickly hid it behind a smile.
“Don’t be gone too long or you’ll miss me fly.” Scootaloo replied.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Rainbow Dash said before leaning down to give Scootaloo a kiss on the forehead. It didn’t matter to her that Star Shine was there to see it. If he was right about this Vacuus Medei then Scootaloo needed love and reassurance more than anything right now. She gave Scootaloo one last little squeeze, and took off into the sky at a high speed. Scootaloo watched her leave and Star Shine was content to wait.
“So Scootaloo, why don’t you show me what Rainbow Dash taught you while we wait?” he said after Rainbow Dash had disappeared.
“Yeah, sure.” Scootaloo replied, turning around to face Star Shine. She flapped her wings as Rainbow Dash had shown her and once again a draft built up beneath her wings, but the filly didn’t take off.
“Okay, now try jumping while you flap, I want to see what that does.” Star Shine suggested after he was content that Scootaloo was generating wingpower, but still wasn’t taking off. Scootaloo was puzzled but tried what he suggested anyway. He was supposed to know what he was talking about. Scootaloo jumped as she flapped her wings but it didn’t seem to have any discernable effect. She didn’t fall any slower at least.
“One last thing then. Could you jump up onto my back and then flap?” Star Shine said.
“On your back? Are you sure?” Scootaloo asked. She was more confused than ever, and a little scared if she was honest with herself. Star Shine nodded and knelt down to allow Scootaloo to climb up. She gulped nervously and climbed on top of his back anyway. She could allow Rainbow Dash to see the fear but she didn’t want this pony who was a stranger to her know she was afraid. She wasn’t even sure what she was afraid of. Star Shine was a friend of Rainbow Dash’s, nothing could happen. Star Shine spread his wings as he stood up. He looked like he was about to take off any second. “What...what are you doing?” Scootaloo asked. She was really becoming frightened that something might happen now.
“Don’t worry about it Scootaloo. I’m just spreading my wings so I can feel your wingpower. That’s all. I promise I’m not going to take off.” Star Shine replied reassuringly. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief and spread her own wings. She flapped her wings hard again and Star Shine could feel the wind from them hitting the feathers on his wings. It was pushing against them and separating them. He was going to have to preen his wings later but this was a necessary test.
“As I thought...” Star Shine said, mostly to himself, after Scootaloo had finished.
“What did you think?” Scootaloo asked. She was nervous again and thinking that her earlier assumptions of being forever flightless were about to be proven true.
“Rainbow tried to raise your wingpower didn’t she?” Star Shine asked. The tone of his voice was calm and level. Scootaloo couldn’t tell how he was feeling or what he might be thinking.
“Yeah she did. She put a brace on my wings while I used my scooter, but it didn’t seem to help much.” Scootaloo explained.
“Well I asked her to go get something that’ll help measure your wingpower. When she gets back we can test you, and then we’ll take it from there okay? Everything is going to be fine.”
“You know, you’re the third adult to tell me that this week.” Scootaloo replied.
“Did you believe it?”
“No.”
“Somehow I doubted it.” Star Shine replied with a chuckle.
“You’re telling me that I’ll never be able to fly aren’t you? I knew it.” Scootaloo said. It sounded to Star Shine like she was crying.
“Scootaloo, look into my eyes.” Star Shine said, turning around to face the filly on his back. He had stopped laughing and Scootaloo looked deep into his large green eyes and saw the sincerity and honesty beneath them. “I assure you Scootaloo that, as long as you want to, it is possible for you to fly. You can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t forget that.” Scootaloo nodded and hunkered down on Star’s back. Star Shine resumed watching the sky for signs of Rainbow Dash.
“Can I ask you something?” Scootaloo asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.
“Sure, what is it?” Star Shine replied, turning his head around to face Scootaloo again.
“It’s just there’s something I can’t help thinking. Rainbow Dash seemed to give up training me pretty quick. She tried one thing and then when it didn’t work she just dropped it. Why would she do that?” Scootaloo asked. From the tone of her voice, and how it was breaking, it was clear that this was something that was bothering her.
“Do you think she gave up on you?” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo nodded, looking down and away from him. “I don’t know why she stopped so quickly because I’m not her, but I do know that she would never give up on you. If she had given up on you then she never would have sent me a letter. Why don’t you ask her? Scared that you might be right?” Scootaloo nodded again, burying herself a little deeper into Star Shine’s coat. “Want me to ask her?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo nodded one more time.
“She gave up after two days.” Scootaloo said quietly. Scootaloo saw and felt Star Shine’s wings bristle.
“Two days? She only tried for two days?!” he said, his voice rising at his surprise.
“Didn’t you know that?” Scootaloo asked.
“She didn’t say how long she had been trying.” Star Shine said, shaking his head. “I thought she’d last at least a week. It doesn’t sound much longer but even a day or two more can make all the difference in the world. I can’t believe she gave up so quickly. I hadn’t considered it could happen. I mean, she’s impatient but THAT impatient? I got so worried about what it could be. I’ve had days on my own trying to work out the problem but I didn’t have all the information. I’m probably wrong now. One thing I’m not wrong about is that I’m so stupid, stupid, STUPID! Now Rainbow is worried about something she doesn’t need to worry about and it’s my fault because I’m so STUPID!” During his tirade Star hit himself on the forehead several times and by the time he was done he was laid on the ground, burying his face in the cloud layer. “Things can’t be as bad as I thought if it’s only been two days.” he added, a little louder than he intended to. Scootaloo curled up on his back and silence passed between the two again as they waited the return of Rainbow Dash. Star Shine was thinking about how much Rainbow Dash was going to kill him for worrying her, and Scootaloo was trying not to think about what Star might have meant with his last words.
Whilst Scootaloo and Star Shine were busy with their bare bones lesson Rainbow Dash was busy flying to the Golden Oaks library, the home of Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was the smartest Unicorn in all of Equestria who knew everything about everything. At least everything about everything that was in a book she had read, and she had read a lot of books in her time. Rainbow Dash’s mind was moving as quickly as her body was and she wasn’t really paying any attention to her surroundings. She was thinking about what Star Shine might think was wrong with Scootaloo when she heard a massive crash and felt a sudden burst of pain as she impacted with the door of the library, flew through it, and collided with a bookshelf before being pelted with a whole shelf full of fallen books. She crawled her way out of the wreckage to find a pair of stern purple eyes staring at her. The eyes belong to an equally purple, and equally stern, Unicorn.
“Rainbow Dash, how nice of you to...drop in.” Twilight Sparkle said sardonically as she looked at the mess that Rainbow had created. Rainbow Dash looked at the mess before looking up at Twilight sheepishly.
“Yeah...sorry about that. I was distracted.” Rainbow Dash said, climbing to her hooves and dusting herself off.
“It would take something pretty distracting to cause this mess. What’s on your mind?” Twilight replied. Spike, her Draconian number one assistant, burst into the room from the basement before Rainbow had a chance to respond.
“Hey Twi, I heard a crash. Is everything...” he began before being silenced by the state of the room he had just walked into. “Oh...kay...I’m going to have to clean this aren’t I?” he asked to Twilight, a pleading look in his eyes that said ‘please don’t make me’.
“I’m afraid so Spike. I think me and Rainbow have a lot to talk about. I’ll help when we’re done though.” Twilight said. She picked up a few books with her magic and put them back where they belonged to show she meant well, but ultimately left Spike to deal with the problem on his own. Twilight lead Rainbow Dash out of the main room into a side room for privacy. As they left they could hear Spike grumbling to himself about something or other.
“I hope he’s going to be okay...” Rainbow Dash said when they were alone.
“Oh don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine. I’m more worried about you. What were you about to say before Spike came in?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, right. Do you have something that measure magic power? Like that thing that measured wingpower?” Rainbow asked, remembering the small device Twilight had that measured the wingpower of a Pegasus.
“I do, but what would you want one for?” Twilight replied as she walked to the other end of the room.
“I’ve got a friend who needs one. It’s to help Scootaloo. Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, moving after Twilight to keep up with her.
“I’m going to get what you wanted. Who’s your friend and what’s this about Scootaloo?” Twilight asked, opening the door and stepping into a supply cupboard. It was too small for Rainbow to follow her through so she stood at the door and waited. Rainbow facehoofed as she realised none of her friends had any idea of what had happened between herself and Scootaloo.
“My friend’s Star Shine, a colt I met at Flight Camp. He’s giving Scootaloo flight lessons and he wanted something to measure magic for some reason. He said something about Vacuus Medeis. You have any idea what that means?” Rainbow Dash asked. If anypony knew anything about it then it would be Twilight.
“Scootaloo is finally going to get flying lessons? That’s great news but why aren’t you teaching her? I’ll look up Vacuus Medeis for you, it sounds a little familiar.” Twilight replied, coming back out of the cupboard with a small device in her magical grip. It looked like the thing she used to measure wingpower, a small device with a fan attached, except instead of having a fan this device had small diodes on it. Twilight dropped the device onto a table and pulled down a book from a shelf. The label on it read “Twilight Sparkle’s Big Book Of Everything”.
“I’m too busy with...work. Say, what’s that?” Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at the book. She would have told Twilight more about the situation but she felt it wasn’t her tale to tell. It would be a betrayal of Scootaloo’s trust in her to go around talking about her problems. She had only told Cheerilee because it was vital the teacher knew. She felt bad enough about that, and was in no hurry to tell anypony else.
“It’s uhh...it’s my personal reference book.” Twilight explained, looking sheepish. “I have so many books, with so many things in them, I started making my own reference book to keep track of it all.”
“Oh...so how do I work this?” Rainbow asked, picking up the device on the table and looking it over. “By the way do you still have that little thing you used to measure wingpower? He said he wanted one of those too.” Rainbow Dash asked. The similarities between the devices had reminded her, her mind being so occupied by the need for answers,
Twilight Sparkle’s horn lit up and something else was pulled out of the supply closet. It was the device Twilight had used to measure wingpower. Twilight set it down on the table where the magic measurer had been before going back to her book.“It’s simple enough.” Twilight said in response to Rainbow’s first question, the second having been answered by her getting the device out. “You just put the little diodes on a horn and it measures a unicorn’s magic power. It can also be used to measure the amount of magic in something that’s been enchanted.”
“Scootaloo doesn’t have a horn. I wonder what he wants it for.” Rainbow Dash mused. She had been confused enough when Star Shine asked her for something that measures magic.
“Maybe he has something that’s enchanted, and wants to know how much power it has left?” Twilight suggested. Rainbow shrugged, put the device back down, and walked over to Twilight.
“So you found anything yet?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight closed her Big Book Of Everything and put it back on the shelf.
“I found something yeah, but it doesn’t make much sense.” Twilight replied. She did look quite confused to Rainbow Dash.
“So, what is it?” Rainbow asked. She was beginning to fear the worst. If something didn’t make sense to Twilight Sparkle then it was probably something very bad.
“Well it means ‘without magic’ and it’s a name given to a very rare genetic disorder.” Twilight began to explain.
“A genetic disorder? You mean there’s something wrong with Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her heart was pounding and there was sorrow and fear in her eyes.
“That’s what doesn’t make sense. It’s a problem that only affects Unicorns. It’s when a Unicorn is born unable to do magic. That’s what ‘without magic’ means. It means when there is no magic in a Unicorn horn.” Twilight explained.
“What are you saying Twi? That Scootaloo has some kind of Unicorn disease?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“That’s why it doesn’t make sense. It’s supposed to only affect Unicorns.” Twilight replied. Rainbow Dash hovered slightly in the air, picked up the magic measuring device and the wingpower measurer in her forelegs, and made for the window.
“I don’t care what Star Shine says, I’m getting answers. I need to know what’s going on here.” Rainbow Dash said before turning around and bucking the window open. Twilight would have chastised her for doing that but Rainbow was determined and Twilight knew when she got like this, nothing would stop her.
“Good luck Rainbow. If you find anything out, or if I can help, then let me know.” Twilight said to her. Twilight’s horn lit up for a few seconds, as did the objects in Rainbow’s hooves.. “I put the Cloud Walking spell on your things, so you can put them down on clouds.” Twilight explained in response to Rainbow’s puzzled expression. Rainbow Dash nodded in reply and flew out the window, heading back towards the cloud manor.
“I suppose I’d better go help Spike clean up those books now.” Twilight said with a sigh as she closed the window. She walked back into the main room and began helping Spike clean up, her mind racing and trying to connect dots that weren’t there.
Star Shine was looking out into the distance when he saw a blue dot appear. It was approaching at pretty high speed. It could only be Rainbow Dash.
“Here she comes. Now I want you to stay out of sight for a minute.” Star Shine said to Scootaloo, who was still on his back.
“Why?” Scootaloo replied.
“It’s just for a minute. You’ll see. There are some things she might not say in front of you.” Star Shine said, raising his wings to hide the filly on his back. A few more moments passed and Scootaloo heard something hit the clouds below them as Rainbow Dash landed.
“Where’s Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around for any sign of the filly. Rainbow Dash dropped the machines on the cloud and marched over to Star Shine, who brought his wings together tighter to try and hide Scootaloo better.
“She just nipped to the bathroom, she’ll be back in a second.” Star Shine replied, avoiding Rainbow’s eyes. He was always a terrible liar but if he avoided the eyes he could almost pull it off. “I need to ask you something actually while she’s gone.”
“That’s funny because I need to ask you something too.” Rainbow Dash replied. She was getting much too close to Star Shine for his comfort. If she just peered around his neck she might have seen Scootaloo. He straightened his neck, both to look more assertive and also to help hide Scootaloo.
“Me first. Now why did you give up on Scootaloo after two days?” Star Shine replied quickly, not giving Rainbow Dash a chance to interrupt or ask her own questions. Star felt Scootaloo tense up at his words and he carefully moved a wing to gently stroke her.
“Give up? I didn’t give up on anything!” Rainbow Dash replied indignantly. She found the idea that somepony thought she had given up on something to be utterly offensive. Offensive enough to temporarily forget what she wanted to find out in the first place herself.
“You tried to teach her to fly for two whole days before you gave up and called me in.” Star Shine kept his voice level. He knew the best way to anger Rainbow Dash and to provoke a response was to keep calm and not respond with anger. Plus he wasn’t actually angry at Rainbow Dash about anything. He just had to make her believe he was.
“I didn’t give up on her! I would never give up on her!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“That’s not what she thinks.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was stunned to silence and her face dropped. Star Shine afforded himself a small smirk that his plan had actually worked. Rainbow Dash didn’t talk for a few seconds, her mind racing.
“She thinks I gave up on her?” Rainbow Dash replied quietly, looking up at Star Shine. Star Shine nodded and Rainbow’s face fell again. “I wouldn’t give up on her. I’d do anything for her. I didn’t mean for her to think that. She just wasn’t getting it and I wasn’t able to do anything about it. What I tried didn’t work and you know how impatient I can be. I didn’t give up on her though. I gave up on myself. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to teach her so that’s why I called you. I didn’t give up on her, I swear I wouldn’t. If it was any other pony I wouldn’t have even bothered calling you. I thought you’d be able to do something I couldn’t. I didn’t mean to ups-” Rainbow Dash said before being cut off by the feeling of something brushing against her leg. Rainbow Dash had been so caught up in her own world and her grief at the thought of upsetting Scootaloo she hadn’t noticed the filly at all. While Rainbow Dash was talking Star Shine had lowered his wings. Scootaloo had hopped down and walked over to Rainbow Dash when she had heard enough and was now cuddling up to Rainbow’s legs.
“It’s okay Rainbow. I get it now.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash leaned down and nuzzled Scootaloo.
“Hey Scootaloo. How much of that did you hear?” Rainbow Dash’s voice was returning to normal. She had started breaking up while talking trying to explain to Star Shine her reasons for calling him so quickly.
“All of it. I was on Star’s back. He said you might not say anything if I was around.” Scootaloo replied.
“I’m sorry Scoots. I didn’t mean for you to think that way. I want you to know I’ll always be there for you.”
“I know. I’m sorry too, for thinking like that.”
“Never be sorry for how you think Scoots. Tell me next time though, okay?” Rainbow said, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. Scootaloo giggled and nodded in response. “You can be a real jerk sometimes.” Rainbow Dash said to Star Shine.
“I was right though wasn’t I? You wouldn’t have talked like that if she was around.” he replied with a smug smirk on his face.
“I probably would have said it to her, but you’re right I wouldn’t have told you.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo laughed as she saw the smirk disappear from Star Shine’s face.
“Well you still love me right?” Star Shine asked, looking a little hurt.
“Wait, love? You don’t mean?” Scootaloo asked, looking between the pair in shock.
“No he doesn’t mean that. He told me once that I’m not his type.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“You mean he’s?” Scootaloo began.
“No I don’t think he is.” Rainbow Dash cut her off, guessing what the next words out of Scootaloo’s mouth might be.
“He must be if he doesn’t like you.”
“I’ve thought that too, I mean look at me.” Rainbow Dash replied, striking a few poses while Scootaloo laughed and clapped her hooves together.
“Mares...” Star Shine said, rolling his eyes. The topic of conversation had left him slightly flustered and just a little annoyed. He had broken one of the few actual rules of being a colt and had allowed two mares to gang up on him.
“I’m sorry what was that?” Rainbow Dash asked mid-pose.
“It sounded to me like he said something nasty.” Scootaloo added.
“I didn’t say anything. ANYWAY,” Star Shine replied, raising his voice to cut off any retort by the pair and cover any retort they might already be making. If there was an argument then he would not win it and would just end up incredibly embarrassed, and he was embarrassed enough. “I’m pretty sure that Scootaloo has a flying lesson.” Star Shine finished, lowering his voice again.
“Oh right, that’s what I wanted to ask you.” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing. She had been so caught up in everything that had happened since she got back she had forgotten to ask Star Shine about Vacuus Medeis.
“Don’t worry about that anymore. I’m really stupid and it’s nothing to worry about. I thought you had tried for longer than you did and I freaked out. I’ll talk to you about it later but right now I have a lesson to give.” Star Shine replied, taking a guess at what Rainbow Dash might have wanted to ask him about. Even if it was anything else he was keen to get started with the lesson and get some answers for himself anyway.
“Alright, I guess, but you owe me.” Rainbow replied. She didn’t want to interrupt Scootaloo’s lesson or bring it up in front of her.
“I promise I’ll talk to you about it.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Now, Scootaloo, do you think you could get your scooter?” he asked Scootaloo.
“Huh?” Scootaloo asked. She had been caught up in things herself and was wondering what Rainbow Dash and Star Shine had been talking about. “Right, I’ll go get it.” she said before wandering to the door. She turned around when she got there. “Wait what do I need that for?” she asked. She jumped when she saw how close Star Shine was to her. He had been following her, wanting to get something from the house himself. He was also slightly worried about what might happen to him if he was left alone with Rainbow Dash for too long. His plan to distract her away from his mistake had succeeded. There was no point in staying in a situation where it would be brought up. He would have told Rainbow Dash what she wanted to know sooner but was afraid the details might make her freak out more. It would take a while to explain everything to her and as long as Scootaloo was around, a while was not an amount of time they could really afford.
“We’re going down to the ground. I want to test your wingpower and, if it’s too small, I have a brace of my own that’s better than Rainbow’s. I’m going to go get that, while you get your scooter.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo nodded and ran inside.
“I’ll be back in a second.” Star Shine called back to Rainbow Dash before following Scootaloo inside. Scootaloo and Star Shine split up once inside the house. Scootaloo ran upstairs to her bedroom while Star Shine went into the living room. He had arrived with some luggage and had left it here before going to the school with Rainbow Dash to pick up Scootaloo. He hefted his saddlebag onto the table and opened it up. He pulled out the brace before closing his saddlebag and setting it back down. The brace looked just like the one that Rainbow Dash used except there was no dial on it. Instead there was a panel with buttons on it. There were three in all. A blank one in the middle, a button with a minus sign to the left, and a button with a plus sign to the right. He opted to slip the brace on instead of carrying it and once it was on, pressed the minus button a few times so it wasn’t holding his wings back at all. It was designed for ponies smaller but it still stretched around his frame.
Scootaloo kept her scooter in her room when she wasn’t using it. She hadn’t really thought about how it never went through the clouds. If she had asked Twilight she would have learned that when something is made by a Pegasus, or when it is owned by one long enough, the magic that allows a Pegasus to walk on clouds seeps into it, allowing the object in question to stay on clouds. She picked it up and rested it on her back before walking to the stairs unsteadily as she was supporting her scooter with a foreleg.
“Do you want a hoof?” Star Shine asked as he saw her carefully make her way down the stairs.
“I’m okay.” Scootaloo replied. Normally Rainbow Dash would have helped her or carried the scooter, but she didn’t trust Star Shine enough to let him carry the scooter. Star Shine held out a hoof to support Scootaloo instead and stop her from falling down the stairs.
“Thanks. What’s that you’re wearing?” Scootaloo asked, giggling a little at how silly he looked in it.
“It’s the brace you’re going to have to wear.” Star Shine replied.
“I’m going to have to wear that? Great.” Scootaloo said sarcastically.
“Hey you wore Rainbow’s. This is just a different design.” Star Shine said defensively. He liked his little brace.
“I guess.” Scootaloo replied, rolling her eyes. “Thanks again.” she added as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“No problem. Now let’s go get you flying.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically and the pair hurried back outside to Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo jumped up onto Rainbow Dash’s back and told her to go down to the ground before she had time to question anything. Rainbow Dash took off and Star Shine followed her down to the ground after grabbing the measuring devices Rainbow had dropped.
“I still want to talk to you.” Rainbow Dash said to Star Shine. They, and by proxy Scootaloo, were still flying down towards the green grass of Equestria below the cloud manor. She had been distracted by what Star Shine had said about Scootaloo’s feelings but Rainbow Dash was still eager for answers of her own about what she had found out at Twilight’s house.
“I know you do, and we’ll talk. Not now though.” Star Shine replied.
“Why not now?” Rainbow Dash asked. Star Shine shifted his head back in response, motioning to Scootaloo. She was huddled against Rainbow Dash’s back, protecting herself as best as possible from the wind rushing around her. Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation and continued to fly down. They reached the ground and Star Shine dropped the measuring devices on the ground. He then took the brace off, taking a deep breath once the constricting device had been removed. It wasn’t too tight but there was no denying it was made for a body that was smaller than his. He’d either need to lose some weight, or buy a bigger brace. If the brace was too large then it wouldn’t fit around a filly so he didn’t have too much choice in the matter. The brace was also a one of a kind device, and he couldn’t just replace it.
“Okay Scootaloo, this works just like the one Rainbow Dash did but there’s a small difference. This one is magic.” Star Shine explained to the filly as he began playing with the magic measurer. He put the diodes on the brace and then flicked a switch on the machine.
“Magic?” Scootaloo asked, a little confused.
“Twilight said you might have something that was enchanted, but I thought you wanted the thing to te-”Rainbow Dash said before Star Shine interrupted her. She was thinking he might want to hook it up to Scootaloo to test if she had magic on her wings.
“Test how much power was in the brace, that’s right.” he said to Rainbow Dash, emphasising the last two words and sneaking a glance at Scootaloo. “It’s magic in that it can tell how strong your wings are, and adjust itself to you. That way you can just keep it on and not have to worry about adjusting it. It also has manual settings.” Star Shine explained, pointing to each of the buttons. “This one”-the minus button-“makes it less tight and easier to move your wings. This one”-the middle button-“resets it back to automatic. Finally this one”-the plus button-”makes it tighter and harder to move. You get it?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo nodded and the measuring device beeped, informing those around it that it had finished measuring the magic power. Star Shine looked at the display on the device and smiled. “Good, there’s enough power for a few days. I was worried it wouldn’t last long. Before we put it on though we need to test your wingpower okay?” Star Shine said to Scootaloo.
“What do you need me to do?” Scootaloo replied. Star Shine walked over to the wingpower measurer and began setting it up.
“It’s simple enough.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning down to talk to Scootaloo. “You just fly, or in your case scoot, past that thing there as fast as you can. It’ll tell you how much power your wings have.” Rainbow Dash explained. She was well versed in how to use it after seeing Twilight use it. Rainbow Dash took a few steps back and motioned for Scootaloo to come over to her. “I think from here should do. Go as fast as you can okay?” she said. Scootaloo nodded and Star Shine called over that he was ready for her to go. Scootaloo flapped and buzzed her little wings as hard as she could and took off towards Star Shine. She zipped past the device and the small part at the top that measured the windspeed generated by wings moved a small amount.
“So how’d she do?” Rainbow Dash asked, walking over to where Star Shine was.
“It’s not good. I could tell it wasn’t good when she was on my back but I didn’t think it was this bad.” he said, looking over the results. Rainbow Dash moved next to him and gasped when she saw the results.
“How could it be that low? She rides her scooter pretty quickly.” Rainbow Dash asked.
“The scooter is pretty light and she’s had it so long it has Pegasus magic in it, making it even lighter. The reason she’s never developed her wingpower much isn’t because she’s been getting stronger, but because the scooter has been getting lighter.” Star Shine explained slowly, applying logic and reasoning to the situation as he went along. It was a guess but it was the best one he could offer and it made sense once he had finished saying it.
“So what’s it say? Pretty good huh?” Scootaloo asked as she came up to them herself.
“I think it’s best you tell her.” Star Shine said to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow nodded and turned around to face Scootaloo.
“It’s uhh...it’s 0.03.” Rainbow Dash said, unable to sugarcoat the news at all. Star Shine facehoofed at her lack of subtlety and her bluntness.
“I knew I should have said it.” Star Shine said quietly to himself. He turned around himself and saw that Scootaloo looked like she was on the verge of tears. “Don’t cry Scootaloo, it’s actually pretty good.”
“Good? How can that be good?!” Scootaloo squeaked. Her voice was cracking as tears formed at her eyes.
“It’s good because a Pegasus needs to have at least 0.1 wingpower to be able to fly. So you see, the reason you can’t fly is because you’re just too weak to.” Star Shine explained.
“Oh thanks, that makes me feel SO much better!” Scootaloo replied sardonically, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t you see Scoots, this means that you CAN fly if you train up your wingpower!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, wrapping Scootaloo up in a hug. “And you thought I said things badly.” Rainbow added to Star Shine. Star Shine sighed and rubbed his mane sheepishly.
“So how do I raise my wingpower?” Scootaloo asked once she’d calmed down.
“With this.” Star Shine said, pointing towards the magic brace on the ground. “Think you can put it on?” he said to Scootaloo. She nodded and with a bit of help from Rainbow Dash put the brace on. Star Shine offered to help but Scootaloo said she wanted Rainbow Dash to do it. Rainbow Dash was really the only pony she trusted. “Okay this might hurt a bit, but it’s the best way to raise your wingpower.” Star Shine said before pressing the button in the middle of the brace. It took a split second of waiting for the device to suddenly tighten around Scootaloo’s body. She let out a small wince of pain and Rainbow Dash wrapped a foreleg around her.
“Does it hurt?” Rainbow Dash asked, worried.
“Only about as much as yours did.” Scootaloo replied, rubbing her body where it had hurt. Rainbow Dash tentatively nuzzled Scootaloo’s wings, preening them a little as she did so. Scootaloo giggled at the feeling.
“All better?” Star Shine asked.
“Lots.” Scootaloo replied, still giggling. “So what are we going to do then? Do you want me to go around on my scooter like Rainbow did?” she asked.
“Not this time no.” Star Shine replied, shaking his head. “I want you to keep moving your wings while we take a little trip.”
“Trip? Where are we going?” Rainbow Dash asked, moving away from Scootaloo so she could start flapping her wings. Scootaloo did begin flapping her wings and it was clear from the strained expression on her face it wasn’t easy.
“Just keep moving your wings Scootaloo, you’ll get used to it eventually.” Star Shine said to the struggling filly. “As for where we’re going. Well, we’re going shopping of course!” he added to Rainbow Dash.
“Shopping? You want to go shopping?” Rainbow Dash asked him. Her confusion was clear on her face.
“Sure do.” Star Shine replied, nodding. “I didn’t bring anything at all with me from Trottingham so I want to get a few things. That’s all. Besides I’ve been stuck inside a train for the past few days. I’m a bored and want to stretch my legs.” Star Shine replied. He turned around and set off in the direction of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash’s house wasn’t too far out so he was content to walk. He also wanted to walk so that Scootaloo would keep up moving her wings. She might have stopped if she was resting on Rainbow Dash’s back.
“Geez, how many ulterior motives can one pony have?” Rainbow Dash said quietly to nopony in particular. It was clear even to her that Star Shine was probably hiding something.
“I heard that.” Star Shine said, making Rainbow Dash jump. “By the way, the answer to that is, of course, DOZENS!” he added as he turned around with a mad look on his face that would give Pinkamena a run for her bits. He laughed as he continued walking on.
“Come on Scoots, let’s go see what he wants.” Rainbow Dash said before walking after Star Shine. Scootaloo ran after her.
“Are you sure you can trust him?” Scootaloo asked when she caught up.
“I can trust him alright, don’t worry about that. He’s just a little weird and sometimes I think even he doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling and giving Scootaloo a reassuring nuzzle.
“Oh he’s weird alright...” Scootaloo replied as she smiled at Rainbow Dash’s gesture. To her ‘weird’ may have been too soft a term. “What was he like in Flight Camp?”
“Honestly? Exactly the same.” Rainbow Dash replied, laughing at some memory Scootaloo wasn’t privy to. “Now come on, he’s getting away from us.” Rainbow Dash picked up her speed and looked behind her to make sure that Scootaloo was still close to her and she wasn’t running too far ahead. Scootaloo kept pace as best as she could, her wings buzzing as quickly as she could manage.
“I was serious earlier you know.” Rainbow Dash said to Star Shine. They were walking through the streets of Ponyville now. Scootaloo had run ahead of them, still moving her small wings. Rainbow Dash had taken the chance to talk seriously to Star Shine while Scootaloo was out of earshot.
“So was I. Probably. But what are you talking about?” Star Shine replied.
“Just what are you doing?”
“I’m going shopping to get some things, why? I’ve also really been cooped up for days travelling here. I could do with some fun. I’d carry on Scootaloo’s lesson but she needs to build up her wingpower first.” Star Shine tried his best to give a reassuring smile but Rainbow Dash didn’t buy it.
“You owe me answers about this Vacuus Medeis thing. Twilight said it’s something only Unicorns get.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I’ll tell you everything later. For now just let Scootaloo enjoy herself, alright? And remember we won’t know anything until her wingpower is built up.” Star Shine replied, motioning to Scootaloo who was looking in the various shop windows. Rainbow Dash sighed.
“For her sake.” she replied, picking up her pace to stand next to Scootaloo and see what she was looking at. She was mildly put at ease by the fact that they wouldn’t know anything for sure until Scootaloo built up her wingpower. She wanted answers, but she was more content to wait than before. Star Shine caught up and saw that the pair were looking at some Wonderbolts memorabilia. Rainbow Dash had her fair share of the stuff but you could never have enough memorabilia, especially not of something you really loved. The store was full of merchandise for various things including the Wonderbolts, Daring Do, and even the popular radio drama Doctor Whooves. There were posters hanging on the wall, cardboard cutouts, books and figurines. Star Shine smiled and ducked into the shop. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo watched from the window as he walked to the counter. They couldn’t see what he bought but he came back out a minute later with a small bag tucked under his wing.
“Whatcha got there?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the bag. Scootaloo glanced over too, as curious as Rainbow Dash.
“Just another one of my nefarious schemes. You’ll find out soon enough.” Star Shine replied, tucking the back further into his wing and out of sight.
“You should probably stop doing that you know.” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh.
“Doing what?” Star Shine asked, playing innocent.
“Plotting like that. What are you up to?”
“What I’m ‘up to,” Star Shine replied, walking over to Scootaloo and pulling the bag back out, “is helping little Scootaloo here fly.” he finished, patting Scootaloo on the head. If it was anypony besides Rainbow Dash who did that to her Scootaloo would have probably shoved their hoof away but Scootaloo was beginning to like Star Shine. She found his antics weird but a little amusing. What he did next certainly helped her opinion of him. He held the bag up with one hoof and carefully tipped the contents out onto the other hoof. A small figure of Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, landed on his hoof and he offered it to Scootaloo.
“Is that for me?” Scootaloo asked, her wings buzzing with excitement. As much as they could buzz with the brace trapping them. Star Shine nodded and put it back in the bag. Scootaloo’s face fell a little.
“It is, but I’ll hold on to it for now. We don’t have any saddlebags and you need to keep moving your wings.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo nodded her understanding and smiled brightly again. “See, that’s all it was. A little present for her.” Star Shine said, looking up at Rainbow Dash.
“Okay okay. Sorry for jumping to conclusions.” Rainbow Dash replied with a resigned sigh. This time it had been nothing but she was sure that Star Shine was still hiding things from her.
“No problem Dashie. Don’t worry about anything else either. I’ll tell you anything you want to know later. For now though let’s just enjoy a day out.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow nodded and the trio continued their walk into town.
“Thanks for buying something for her. She certainly looks happier.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo certainly was looking happier. Her wings were buzzing quicker than they had been before and she was running around the town excitedly. “Errr...how did you pay for it though?” she asked, checking Star Shine for any sign of a wallet or purse.
“Technically I didn’t. I need you to watch Scootaloo for a minute while I go back to the house and pick up my wallet. Make sure she keeps moving her wings.” Star Shine replied sheepishly. He took off before Rainbow Dash had a chance to argue.
“Oh for Celestia’s sake, not again.” Rainbow Dash sighed, watching Star Shine fly away. Scootaloo heard him take off and turned around to see he was indeed gone.
“Where’d he go?” Scootaloo asked, walking over to Rainbow Dash.
“Back to the house he said. He had to go get his wallet. He also said you need to keep moving your wings.” Rainbow Dash replied, turning to face Scootaloo.
“I think it’s broken or something. I’ve not felt it tighten yet.” Scootaloo said, looking at the brace around her. As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them as the brace tightened a little and she gave a sharp intake of breath in response to the pain. “Oh, there it is.” she said with exasperation. Rainbow Dash giggled and patted Scootaloo’s wings.
“It’s for the best. Come on, let’s keep looking around while we wait for Shine to get back. I’m sure he’ll be able to find us.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded and the two of them continued to walk around town.
***
“At least this time I’m not hiding anything. Wonder if she’ll think that though.” Star Shine thought to himself as he flew towards the cloud manor. He hadn’t been lying when he said he was going back there for his wallet. Because ponies didn’t really keep their money on them at all times thanks to not having a convenient place to store it, a lot of shopkeepers were willing to let ponies pay them back later in the day. Ponies only tended to keep their saddlebags on when they were going shopping. Ponyville, and Equestria in general, was full of trusting ponies and the honour system was present in various aspects of life. While he had told Rainbow Dash he wanted to go shopping, he had hardly prepared for it. Going out like that had been a spur of the moment decision. Star Shine made it back to the cloud house and flew in through an open window. Although technically all the windows were open as you couldn’t really put glass in a cloud window. Whilst It was a pretty poor security feature, Rainbow’s house was out of the way and ponies trusted their neighbours. Ponyville was the kind of place where you could leave your door unlocked and nothing would happen and Rainbow Dash was close enough to Ponyville for it to count.
Star Shine made his way to the living room and picked up his saddlebags, putting them down on the table. He took the figure of Spitfire and placed that on the table too. He then took a few things out of his saddlebag including a small drawstring bag that served as his wallet, a piece of paper, a pen, and an envelope. He wrote a note on the paper and put it in the envelope along with some bits from his wallet and the bag he had taken the figure out of. He had picked up more than just the one figure for Scootaloo. This was something he wanted to be a surprise though and so he had found a way to get away from the girls to do it. He noted an address down on the envelope, popped it in his mouth for safe keeping, and headed back out the window, returning to the town below after also biting down on the strings of his wallet and securing it in his mouth. He would have tucked it under a wing but it’s very difficult to fly like that.
Before heading back to Rainbow Dash he had to make a few stops. The first stop he made was the post office. It was away from the collectible store and there was a chance Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash would be close by there so he decided it would be best to go to that store second. He walked into the post office and handed over his letter, as well as enough bits to cover the postage. He arrived shortly before they closed for the day and breathed a sigh of relief when he found he made it in time. The mare behind the counter was not as pleased as he was about the last minute work.
With that task done he headed back towards the store. He couldn’t see Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo anywhere but they couldn’t have gotten very far. He could worry about finding them again when he had paid the store owner. He walked in, hoofed over some bits for his purchase, and then walked back out again. He held his wallet in his mouth again as he took off into the sky to look for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. After a few moments of searching he found them walking by a restaurant a few streets away and took off after them.
Star Shine landed a few metres behind Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and walked the rest of the way towards them. He was pleased to see that Scootaloo was still moving her wings like he wanted her to.
“Hey girls.” he said as he came into pace besides Rainbow Dash, making both of them jump. He chuckled at their reaction.
“Don’t make me jump like that.” Rainbow Dash scolded him, nudging his side with a hoof. “So, everything taken care of then?” she asked him.
“Sure is. You girls want to get something to eat?” he asked, pointing a hoof towards the restaurant. “I think Scootaloo needs a break anyway.” he added, looking down at Scootaloo. She was clearly very tired. Her wings were still moving but nowhere as fast as they were before and her coat was glistening with sweat.
“A break...would be nice...” Scootaloo said between deep breaths.
“Come on then, let’s get something to eat. You can stop moving your wings for now while we have dinner.” Star Shine said. He began walking towards the restaurant as Scootaloo stopped moving her wings. She gave the beginnings of a cheer before collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.
“Yayyyyy...” she commented weakly from the ground. Rainbow Dash sighed and lifted Scootaloo up, depositing her on her back so she could rest.
“Geez Squirt, you should have said something if you were that tired.” Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo sprawled out across her back.
“I didn’t want him to yell at me...or think I was weak.” Scootaloo said softly. Rainbow Dash sighed again and reached a hoof behind her head to pat Scootaloo.
“Hey if he tries yelling at you I’ll buck his teeth into his face.” Rainbow Dash said.
“And if he thinks I’m weak?” Scootaloo asked, giggling.
“Then I’ll let you buck his teeth into his head and show him you aren’t.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling herself. Scootaloo burst out into laughter before deciding in her current state it hurt to laugh and so she stopped. She settled for smiling instead.
“Hey are you coming or not?” Star Shine called from the door to the restaurant.
“Do you think you can buck him anyway?” Scootaloo asked as Rainbow Dash moved towards the doorway.
“Don’t tempt me Squirt, he tempts me enough as it is.” Rainbow replied with a laugh. She made it to the doorway and entered with Star Shine following just behind her. Whilst the place was full of tables it was also full of customers owing to the fact it was early evening, the universal time for dinner. After looking around a little Star Shine managed to spot an empty table and the small party made their way towards it. When they reached the table Scootaloo hopped down from Rainbow Dash’s back and sat down on a chair. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine sat down themselves and looked through the menu. A waiter came to serve them and Star Shine asked him to get a drink for Scootaloo while they looked over the menu some more. The waiter came back with a drink of water that Scootaloo quickly vanquished. Everypony ordered their food, and another drink for Scootaloo.
The food came after a short wait and Rainbow Dash and Star Shine tucked in. Scootaloo simply watched them for a few minutes instead of eating.
“Are you alright? Your food is going to get cold.” Star Shine asked when he realised how long Scootaloo had been just watching. When he looked at her he thought he saw tears welling in her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked up at Scootaloo herself and knew what she saw was indeed tears forming. She hoofed over a napkin to the filly.
“You might want to wipe that sweat away from your eyes Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said, covering for Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded and wiped her eyes.
“I’m fine thanks. It’s just, we’re like this and it’s like...it’s like...” Scootaloo started to say before the tears came back to her eyes. This time she couldn’t hold them back and they fell freely. Rainbow Dash quickly got up and wiped the tears away from Scootaloo’s face, giving her an affectionate nuzzle.
“Like what Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked softly.
“Like..like...a family.” Scootaloo finally managed to say before crying some more. She had been sent to the orphanage pretty quickly so didn’t have many memories of family meals and while the children at the orphanage had eaten together, it wasn’t the same as the scene she now found herself a part of. This truly was the closest she had ever come to a family meal in a long time. Even if she didn’t see Star Shine as a father figure. He was barely even much of a friend as the two had only just met.
“Do you remember much about your family Scootaloo?” Star Shine asked stoically. He was trying not to react to the scene in front of him. He was also talking quietly. wary of a room full of listening ears and a little filly who might not enjoy the world being privvy to her private lifeScootaloo shook her head..
“Not really. They carted me off to the orphanage pretty quickly when I didn’t have any bursts of flight like most foals and my mom got pregnant again.” Scootaloo replied before slapping a hoof to her mouth. She was so emotional she wasn’t thinking and just responded on instinct, purely and honestly. She had said far more than she meant to. She did prove something to herself though; if somepony took the time to ask her the right questions about her family sincerely, she might have told them.
“I’m really sorry to hear that Scootaloo. I had no idea. I just took a guess. I’ve worked with orphans before you know.” Star Shine replied sympathetically.
“Really? You have?” Scootaloo replied, looking up. Star Shine nodded.
“I’m sure you saw first hand how proud and, sometimes cruel, Pegasi parents can be.”
“Only my dad was a Pegasus. My mom was a Unicorn.”
“A Unicorn? That is interesting.” Star Shine said, rubbing his chin with a hoof in contemplation.
“Why is that interesting?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash repeated the question. She had been gently patting Scootaloo while Star Shine was talking to her and she was curious as to how it could be noteworthy that Scootaloo was from a mixed family.
“Well like I said, Pegasi are proud. It’s kind of rare for them to breed with different pony breeds. Typically when you see a Pegasi and a Unicorn it’s because the Pegasus wasn’t born to Pegasi parents and didn’t have the pride instilled in them.” Star Shine explained.
“I guess that’s true. But is this really talk for a dinner table?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her patience was running out and she didn’t want Scootaloo to get more upset than she already was.
“Your mother is right.” Star Shine teased, raising his voice to try and lighten the mood. It was an attempt to bring a smile back to Scootaloo’s face. He succeeded, even if he did incur the wrath of Rainbow Dash. She jabbed him in the side again as she took her seat at the table. “Right then, let’s continue this family meal then, shall we?” Star Shine said, rubbing his side where Rainbow Dash had hit him. He gave Scootaloo a wink and she smiled, nodded, and began eating her food at last.
“Don’t you get any ideas.” Rainbow Dash said, poking Star Shine in the side again.
“Ideas? I get lots of ideas. I can’t help it. It’s not my fault I’m so smart.” Star Shine replied sarcastically, earning a more violent jab to his sides.
“I’d stop if I were you. She told me she’s pretty close to bucking your head in.” Scootaloo commented.
“You traitor!” Rainbow Dash gasped, holding a hoof to her heart, feigning pain and betrayal.
“But he’s kinda funny and I don’t want you to kill him.” Scootaloo replied. She gave Rainbow Dash the widest puppy eyes she could and Rainbow fell victim the greatest weapon in the arsenal of a filly; cuteness.
“Don’t worry Scoots, she won’t kill me. She knows if I die then I can’t train you.” Star Shine reassured her with a smile.
“Hey, you called me Scoots.” Scootaloo replied, looking a little shocked.
“You want me to hit him for it?” Rainbow Dash asked, bringing her hoof back in preparation to strike. She knew that Scootaloo only let ponies she liked call her Scoots. For a while only Rainbow Dash herself had called her that. Star Shine didn’t know any of this and had merely used the nickname to help lighten the mood.
“No please, I want to live. I’m sorry don’t kill me.” Star Shine replied hurriedly, cowering from Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo let out another laugh.
“It’s okay. He’s funny so he can live.” Scootaloo said to Rainbow Dash with mock authority in her voice. Rainbow Dash saluted Scootaloo and then still poked Star Shine in the side.
“Owww, what was that for? She said I could live.” Star Shine asked, rubbing his side.
“She didn’t say I couldn’t hurt you.” Rainbow Dash replied, laughing. The rest of the meal passed like this with the three of them playing with eachother. They toned it down when the manager informed them a lot of the other customers had been complaining and that they were dangerously close to being kicked out. It was still the most fun Scootaloo had ever had at the dinner table and it really was like a family meal to her. At least how she imagined them to be. By the time they had finished, and were ready to begin the journey home her little wings were buzzing at full power once more.
When all the food had been eaten, and a lot of fun had been had, Star Shine, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo left the restaurant. Star Shine left behind a generous tip to make up for their disruptive behaviour and breathed a sigh of relief when he was told he was not in fact banned. He didn’t get to Ponyville much but he had enjoyed the food and wanted to be able to return one day. The trio would have continued their day out together but as they left the restaurant Rainbow Dash saw how late it was getting and instead declared their day had to come to an end as it was coming up on Scootaloo’s bedtime. Scootaloo’s protests were short lived and left utterly defeated when she yawned mid-sentence. Star Shine told Rainbow Dash he was staying at a hotel for the night and said Scootaloo could keep the brace for him. With that they parted ways, Rainbow Dash heading for home, and Star Shine heading to a nearby hotel.
Halfway towards her house Rainbow Dash cursed as she realised she still didn’t have any answers. She considered hunting Star Shine down but she had a filly to put to bed and a job to get to.
Saturday came as it always would after Friday. Rainbow Dash may not have worked on weekends but she still trained and as such was always up early. She let Scootaloo rest and lie in to recover from her exhaustion from the day before. Rainbow Dash was in the middle of a particularly amazing trick involving countless spins and turns when she heard somepony shouting her name from the ground.
“Rainbow! Hey Rainbow! You’re up early!” the voice shouted. Rainbow Dash was distracted and spun out of control, flying straight into the cloud layer. She hit it with enough force for her head to go through it. This allowed her to see who was shouting at her, although she recognised the accent. There were only two ponies in Ponyville with that accent and the voice was too deep to be Pip Squeak. Rainbow Dash looked down and saw Star Shine looking up at her. He was smiling like usual but his mane was a mess. She guessed he hadn’t showered before coming out. Star Shine took one look at her and fell flat on his back laughing.
“I’ll get you for that.” Rainbow Dash grumbled. She was so far away that Star Shine would have never been able to hear her. “What do you want?” she shouted down at him.
“I thought I’d come say good morning. How are you this fine day?” Star Shine called up, taking off and moving towards Rainbow Dash.
“I have my head stuck in a cloud, so how do you think I feel?!” Rainbow called back. Star Shine laughed again and flew past her, beyond the cloud layer. She felt the cloud layer shift behind her as Star Shine landed.
“No, no, no, don’t you dare!” Rainbow shouted as she felt a pair of forelegs wrap around her. Star Shine was trying to pull her out of the cloud layer. He flapped his wings for an extra burst of power and Rainbow Dash came free. The momentum sent the pair of them flying backwards and they tumbled in the air before crashing down on the cloud layer, Rainbow Dash on top of Star Shine.
“You could at least buy me dinner first Dash. I paid yesterday.” Star Shine teased with a laugh. Rainbow Dash tried to stamp a hoof into him but Star Shine kept moving his head out the way.
“Sit still and let me hit you!” Rainbow Dash shouted, getting angrier by the miss.
“Why would you want to hit him?” Rainbow Dash heard a voice call out from above. Rainbow turned around and Star Shine looked up to see Scootaloo looking down on them from Rainbow’s bedroom window. Rainbow Dash was frozen in place and Star Shine took the opportunity to squeeze out from under her. He flew up to Scootaloo before Rainbow Dash could hit him.
“Hide me from the mean mare!” Star Shine pleaded with Scootaloo, feigning fright. Scootaloo giggled and moved to the side, allowing him to fly in through the window. Rainbow Dash flew up to the window just after. She looked around the room but Star Shine had already disappeared.
“Where is he?” Rainbow Dash asked, snorting in anger.
“Why is he here?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash calmed down at the sound of Scootaloo’s voice and smiled as she formulated a plan.
“Why? I don’t know. Maybe he came for breakfast?” she said loudly. A little too loudly considering she was talking to a pony who was stood right next to her.
“Breakfast? Yes please!” Star Shine said as he popped up from under the bed. Rainbow Dash let out a triumphant shout and jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. “Drat, foiled by my stomach.” Star Shine said solemnly, looking down at his stomach with as much disapproval as one can hold towards their own stomach.
“And now you die!” Rainbow Dash declared, lifting a hoof and taking aim while Star Shine cowered beneath her.
“Didn’t I say you aren’t allowed to kill him?” Scootaloo said, coming forward and sitting on Star Shine, getting in Rainbow’s way.
“Awwwww, can’t I hurt him just a little?” Rainbow Dash asked, lowering her hoof dejectedly. Scootaloo shook her head defiantly as Star Shine’s heart rate and breathing slowly returned to normal. “Do we have to feed him now?” Rainbow asked with a sigh. Scootaloo nodded and jumped off of Star Shine. Rainbow Dash got off him too and helped him back to his hooves.
“She can’t protect you forever.” Rainbow Dash whispered in Star Shine’s ear so Scootaloo couldn’t hear.
“So what are we having for breakfast?” Star Shine replied, completely ignoring the threat.
“That’s a good question. What are we having?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash facehoofed and then rubbed her muzzle gently, she hadn’t intended to hit herself quite so hard.
“It’s like I’m looking after two kids...come on, let’s go see what I have.” Rainbow Dash said before making her way to the door. Scootaloo and Star Shine followed after her excitedly. Despite how early she got up she wasn’t much of a morning pony and was feeling worse after finding herself in an embarrassing situation and now being ganged up on. At the bottom of her heart a small part of her was smiling to see Scootaloo acting so childish for once. She was a child after all.
“Thanks Scoots.” Star Shine said, leaning down low to talk to Scootaloo.
“Anytime Shine.” Scootaloo replied. The pair giggled together as they followed Rainbow Dash down the stairs and into the kitchen. They sat attentively at the door as she looked through the cupboards for food.
“Ponyfeathers. Looks like we don’t have much left. Guess we’ll have to go back into town later. Is toast okay for you two?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking back at the two sat by the door. Star Shine and Scootaloo nodded in unison before giggling again.
“Seriously. It’s like having two kids. Two annoying, bratty, kids.” Rainbow Dash commented, putting bread in the toaster. Star Shine and Scootaloo took their seats at the table. While Rainbow Dash’s back was turned Star Shine leaned over and whispered something in Scootaloo’s ear.
“Hey Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo called out. Rainbow Dash turned around to face her. “Can Shine stay here tonight? I mean, his stuff’s already here, so he might as well.” Scootaloo asked.
“Did he tell you to ask that?” Rainbow Dash replied. She wasn’t totally averse to the idea but liked honesty.
“Umm...” Scootaloo began before Star Shine cut her off.
“Yes I did, and I know you wouldn’t let me if I got her to lie for me, so yes I told her to ask you.” Star Shine said, hoping the truth would win him some points with Rainbow Dash.
“I suppose. Your stuff IS here. What happened to staying at the hotel?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh...that...well I sort of lied about that. To be honest I actually slept rough last night. It’s why I was here so early. All the hotels are full. I think there’s some kind of boring formal thing happening soon. Or something boring like that.” Star Shine explained.
“You’re lying again now aren’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked, calling Star Shine on his bluff. If he wanted to stay then he needed to be perfectly honest with her. Scootaloo looked between the pair as Star Shine sighed.
“Yes, but only about the hotels being full. The total and honest truth is that I didn’t have enough bits. I’ve already spent more than I thought I would. The banks are closed on weekends so I can’t get any money until Monday, so it’ll only be for a few days.” Star Shine admitted.
“There, was that so hard?” Rainbow Dash asked, having finally got the truth out of him at last.
“Guess not.” Star Shine replied, shaking his head. Rainbow Dash smirked smugly but it was soon wiped off her face as the toaster popped behind her, making her jump. She had forgotten she was even making toast.
“I take it you haven’t eaten since we went to the restaurant then?” Rainbow Dash asked, putting the toast onto a plate. Star Shine shook his head. “You can have the first few pieces then.” Rainbow Dash said, placing the plate in front of Star Shine. Star Shine thanked her and then tucked into the toast like it was the first meal he’d had in days. Scootaloo giggled at the display. “I get that you haven’t eaten in a while, but can you please eat nicely? I don’t want you being a bad influence.” Rainbow Dash scolded.
“Sorry...” Star Shine said, gulping down the toast stuck in his mouth. He started eating it slower as Rainbow Dash prepared more toast for herself and Scootaloo and filling some glasses with juice for everypony. She served the toast up when it was ready and sat down with Star Shine and Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled to herself as what what she was almost beginning to think of as her small and dysfunctional family had a simple meal together once more.
With breakfast finished Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Star Shine took turns using the shower. Star Shine certainly smelled and looked like he had slept rough. With everypony clean and ready to seize the day by the proverbial horns Rainbow Dash helped Scootaloo back into the brace and they set out into town. Star Shine insisted Scootaloo wear the brace whenever she possibly could.
They walked around the marketplace and Rainbow Dash bought various items of food for herself and Scootaloo, as well as a few extra things for Star Shine. Star Shine, being the one lodging rent free, was assigned the duty of carrying everything in his saddlebags. He was keen to be useful so didn’t mind it too much.
“Hey Scoots, you want to go to the park after we’re done here?” Star Shine asked, leaning down to talk to Scootaloo who was keeping close to Rainbow Dash. Her face lightened up and she was about to reply when Rainbow Dash replied for her. She had heard what Star Shine said and wanted to voice her opinion.
“We can go later I guess, but do you really want to carry those bags all day?” Rainbow Dash said, looking at the heavy bags on Star Shine’s back. He sighed as he looked back at them himself.
“I guess not.” he replied.
“Then we can go later when we get all this stuff home.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo jumped up and punched the air triumphantly, hovering for just a second. It wasn’t much but it was more than she ever had done before. Star Shine noticed and smiled to himself but unfortunately for herself Scootaloo didn’t notice and Rainbow Dash wasn’t looking. Star Shine kept quiet about it and so Scootaloo had no idea.
Later in the day, after the shopping had been deposited and they had a nice lunch together, the trio made their way to the park. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine watched from the bench as Scootaloo ran about and played. Rainbow Dash was smiling at the sight of Scootaloo having a lot of fun for once and being able to enjoy herself.
“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said to Star Shine, giving him a brief nuzzle.
“For what? I didn’t do anything.” Star Shine replied. He was more than a little confused.
“You’ve given her a pretty awesome last few days for one thing. I can’t remember the last time I saw her this happy. Coming to the park was a good idea. It’s nice to see her so...childish.” Rainbow Dash said, watching Scootaloo play in the fountain. “I don’t care why you did it. I’m just glad to see her like this.”
“Isn’t it possible I’m just being my usual awesome self? Besides she was already pretty happy before I got here. You’re good for her Dashie.” Star Shine replied.
“You saw me earlier, being all stern and grumpy. That’s not really like me.” Rainbow Dash replied dejectedly.
“I really think your change is for the better Dash. You’re only just getting used to it. You’ll lighten up again soon. It’s easy for me because I’m not taking care of her, so I get to be the cool big brother with all the fun ideas. You have fun ideas too, and I’m sure you cheer her up too.” Star Shine reassured her. Rainbow Dash was about to answer him when she heard Scootaloo call out.
“Hey Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo shouted, waving at something in the distance. Rainbow Dash looked in the direction Scootaloo was facing. Sure enough, Sweetie Belle was walking down the path and she was accompanied by her big sister Rarity. Rarity was a pure white Unicorn with a delicately coiffed purple mane. She also happened to be one of Rainbow Dash’s best friends who had no idea about Rainbow Dash’s current situation.
“Oh buck...” Rainbow Dash said quietly.
“Something I should know?” Star Shine asked her, leaning in close.
“Rarity’s one of my closest friends but none of them have any idea what’s going on except Twilight. She only knows you’re giving Scoots lessons too. Act like nothing is wrong with Scoots.” Rainbow Dash pleaded, looking Star Shine in the eyes. He nodded and Rainbow Dash gave a sigh of relief.
“Hey Rarity.” Rainbow Dash said with a wave when she knew it would be safe. Scootaloo ran across to Rainbow Dash and waited with her for Rarity and Sweetie Belle to meet up with them.
“Good afternoon darling.” Rarity said as she approached Rainbow Dash.
“Hey Scoots, you’re looking better.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Better? Whatever was wrong with her?” Rarity asked, slightly concerned.
“I was a little ill. But I’m feeling much better now thanks.” Scootaloo replied, playing with her mane sheepishly.
“I’m glad to hear that dear.” Rarity said with a smile. “And who might you be?” she asked as she spotted Star Shine sat next to Rainbow.
“Me? I’m nopony. I’m just Scootaloo’s flight instructor.” Star Shine replied, bowing his head a little in greeting. Rainbow Dash nudged his ribs. Star Shine was sure he hadn’t said too much.
“It’s about time the little dear got some lessons. I must say though I’m surprised Rainbow Dash here never tried.” Rarity replied.
“Oh she di-” Star Shine began before Rainbow Dash poked him again to shut him up.
“I was going to but I’ve been so busy lately. Star Shine is a friend and so I asked him to teach her for me.” Rainbow explained. It was pretty close to the truth and it was the same thing she had said to Twilight and there was no denying it was a good idea to stick to one story.
“Well work hard Scootaloo and I’m sure you’ll be flying in no time.” Rarity said reassuringly to Scootaloo. It was when Rarity looked down at Scootaloo properly she noticed the device she was strapped into. “I say, just what is that thing she’s wearing? It doesn’t look...comfortable.” she asked. She didn’t think it looked very appealing either but was trying to be nice.
“It’s something that’s made to make her wings stronger so it’s easier for her to fly. It’s not very comfortable, or pretty, but it does help a lot.” Star Shine explained.
“Sounds...nice.” Rarity mused. “Well anyway, come along Sweetie Belle. We need to get back to the boutique. Little Spikey-Wikey said he’d drop by to help me finish this order.” Rarity said, moving down the path.
“I’ll see you at school?” Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Scootaloo replied, smiling. Sweetie Belle gave her friend a quick hug and trotted off after her sister.
“By the way darling, I simply love your accent. Where are you from?” Rarity called back.
“Me? Trottingham. Came into town a few days ago.” Star Shine replied. He had guessed that Rarity meant him because he was the only one Rarity had just met.
“Trottingham? My you have come far. You must be some kind of special friend to come all this way for her.” Rarity said. There was a very obvious implication in her voice and her words.
“Yes I am. The specialist.” Star Shine replied happily. Rainbow Dash facehoofed and cursed his name. Unfortunately for her Star Shine was a very oblivious pony sometimes. Rarity giggled at the juicy gossip and trotted off back towards her boutique with Sweetie Belle in tow.
“What did you say that for? To think I was saying how nice you were a minute ago!” Rainbow Dash said, jabbing Star Shine in the sides.
“What did I do? I didn’t say anything wrong.” Star Shine replied, confused. Scootaloo was just as confused so watched and hoped Rainbow Dash would explain for her.
“Yes I am. The specialist.” Rainbow Dash said, mocking Star Shine’s accent. “You do know what she was asking you, don’t you?”
“Sure. She was asking me if I was special, and I told her I was a specialist. Which I am. I’m a specialist flight trainer. Doesn’t that count? I’m your specialist friend.” Star Shine replied. He was still oblivious to the situation at large. Rainbow Dash facehoofed and cursed his name again.
“She wasn’t asking you that! She was asking if you were my coltfriend or something!” Rainbow Dash shouted straight in Star Shines ear. He winced and tapped his ear.
“Oh...Oh....Oh well.” Star Shine said simply as the realisation and implications hit him and then passed as quickly as they had come.
“Oh well? Oh well? Oh well is all you have to say?” Rainbow Dash was getting just a little bit angry.
“Well we know that’s not the case, so what does it matter?” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was about to explode when she saw the look on Scootaloo’s face. She had been watching the whole scene unfold and she was getting more upset by the second.
“It...it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re here having a day out for Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash said, resigned. Scootaloo started smiling again, melting Rainbow Dash’s heart and cancelling all plans of wreaking vengeance upon the colt sat next to her.
“You want to know something funny Shine?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Star Shine.
“What’s that?” Star Shine asked, smiling as he leaned forward to reach Scootaloo’s level.
“I would have said that you were my older brother.” Scootaloo said with a giggle.
“That would have been a good plan. You’re a smart little thing.” Star Shine replied, causing Scootaloo’s smile to widen.
“I doubt it. Knowing Rarity she’d have probably thought I was trying to marry into your family or something.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh you don’t need to worry about that. Everypony already thinks you’re my sister. Apple Bloom told me at school. They think that’s why I’m living with you.” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to explode again.
“They think WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, earning her the attention of everypony in the park and scattering birds from nearby trees. Fluttershy would have been ashamed of her. Luna may have been proud.
“Hey it could be worse.” Star Shine said, quick to try and defuse the situation before Scootaloo could think Rainbow Dash wouldn’t want to be her sister and get upset again. “They could think you’re her mother.” he added in response to Rainbow Dash’s quizzical look. He started laughing and soon Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were joining in.
“I am far too young to be a mom.” Rainbow Dash said when the laughter had subsided and the mood of everypony had been lightened.
“I don’t know, you seem to be doing okay to me. Don’t you think so Scoots?” Star Shine said, winking at Scootaloo. Scootaloo laughed again and nodded before heading back out into the park to play some more before they had to go home.
“You’re not so bad.” Rainbow Dash said, utterly deflated.
“I know.” Star Shine replied.
“Don’t go getting any ideas though.” Rainbow Dash warned him.
“We’ve been through this before.” Star Shine teased.
“We’ve also been through what’s going to happen if you keep teasing me.” Rainbow Dash replied, sitting up on the bench and readying a back leg to buck Star Shine.
“If I die then who’s going to teach Scootaloo?” Star Shine replied, completely unfazed and not believing the threat for a second. Rainbow Dash sighed and sat back down. She had been defeated once more.
“Jerk.” Rainbow Dash said as she jabbed Star Shine in the sides.
“That’s really starting to hurt you know.” Star Shine said, rubbing his now very sore sides.
“I know, that’s why I keep doing it.”
“And you called me a jerk.”
“That I did.” Rainbow Dash said, jabbing him again. “That you are.” she added, along with another jab. Star Shine sighed and got off the bench. He started walking in the direction of Scootaloo.
“Hey where are you going?” Rainbow Dash called after him, getting up herself.
“To go play with Scoots. She won’t hurt me.” Star Shine replied, pouting at Rainbow Dash before laughing and running up to Scootaloo.
“Hey wait for me.” Rainbow Dash called out as she ran after him.
Chapter 23; Vacuus Medeis And You; A Beginner's Guide
The trio continued to play in the park for a few more hours but like most things, it had to come to an end. The sun was setting and Scootaloo was getting very tired so Rainbow Dash wanted to get her home to bed. Star Shine agreed and together they headed back to the cloud manor with Scootaloo on Rainbow Dash’s back as usual. Rainbow Dash wanted Scootaloo to have a bath but gave up on the idea of her having one when she saw how tired Scootaloo was. Star Shine removed the brace from Scootaloo, who gave a very happy buzz of her now freed and very relieved wings, and Rainbow Dash put her to bed. Star Shine watched from the doorway as Rainbow Dash read Scootaloo a bedtime story and headed downstairs shortly before Scootaloo fell to sleep. Rainbow Dash finished the story and gave Scootaloo a quick goodnight kiss before heading downstairs.
“I was right earlier, you probably would make a good mum. To Scoots at least.” Star Shine commented as Rainbow Dash entered the living room. He was sat on the couch, watching the stairway. “You seem to have changed a fair bit.”
“Maybe I needed her as much as she needed me. Really though I’m more like a big sister. You said yourself Pegasi parents are cruel.” Rainbow Dash replied as she walked across the room and sat down next to Star Shine. “Anyway I think it’s about time we had a talk, and you gave me some answers.” Rainbow Dash had waited far too long to finally hear the truth.
“I can answer any question you have. So, what’s on your mind?” Star Shine asked.
“Well first of all what’s this Vacuus Medeis thing? Twilight said that it’s something only Unicorns get.” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I’m sure your friend Twilight would have explained it to you. It’s a rare genetic disorder where a Unicorn is born without the ability to cast magic.” Star Shine began to explain. Rainbow Dash nodded and he continued his explanation. “Well that’s true, but it can also affect Pegasi that have a Unicorn parent.”
“So that’s why it was interesting Scootaloo had a Unicorn mom?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah, if she had a Unicorn for a mum then there’s a very, very, very small chance she has it. It affects probably one in every few million Pegasi foals. It’s such a rare thing that only specialists like myself know about it and we only run into it maybe once in our lives. I’ve only seen it once.” Star Shine explained.
“Even so, it’s when a Unicorn can’t cast magic. Why would it be so bad for Scoots to have something like that? Pegasi don’t cast magic.” Rainbow Dash asked. She felt like she was either talking to a child, or being treated like one, and she didn’t like it.
“We don’t cast it no, but we still use it.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash looked confused and felt she was definitely being treated like child here. “Have you ever thought about how Pegasi fly?” Star Shine asked.
“Not really. It just seemed so natural, and not something worth questioning.” Rainbow Dash replied, spreading her wings and looking at them in wonder.
“It IS a natural instinct, and that’s one part of Vacuus Medeis for Pegasi. To them they don’t have the natural instinct of flight. But there’s another part that’s much worse. Pegasi wings are coated in magic and that’s how we fly. Birds have hollow bones and are light but that wouldn’t work for Pegasi. Do you see what I’m getting at now?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash gasped as the implications hit her.
“You’re saying if she can’t use magic...then she’ll never fly?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly, afraid for the filly sleeping above her. Star Shine nodded solemnly.
“Yes that’s what it means, but it’s not the end.” Star Shine replied.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s still a good chance she doesn’t have it. I wasn’t lying when I said her wings aren’t powerful enough to support flight. We’ll know in a few more days if she has it or not.” Star Shine explained.
“Is that why you’re less worried now than you were when you got here?” Rainbow Dash asked. She had noticed Star Shine had seemed a lot less fatalistic when she had returned from Twilight’s house.
“Yeah, Scootaloo told me you had only tried for two days. I was worried but when she said that I thought it might just be a lack of time.” Star Shine replied with a smile.
“So what if she does have this disorder thing?” Rainbow Dash asked. It was a question she didn’t want to ask but she needed answers all the same. She had to know if there was going to be no chance Scootaloo could fly.
“Even then, it’s not the end.” Star Shine reassured her. “It’s just if that’s the case, it’s something she has to overcome on her own.”
“How?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wasn’t liking the idea that there was something she couldn’t help with.
“It’s simple enough, but also very complicated. Vacuus Medeis stops the part of her brain where her magic is from reaching her wings. That’s the true nature of it. It blocks the brain from transferring magic. In a Unicorn this means that magic can’t pass through their horns, and in Pegasi it means it can’t pass through their wings. She wants to fly so badly it leaks out though which is why she can walk on clouds and why her scooter got lighter. In the last case I saw the poor foal couldn’t even walk on clouds. If she really wanted to she could use her scooter on a cloud and Cloud Walking Spells work just by applying a small amount of magic to hooves. The pathways are still there though, and with enough willpower and determination she can push through, and open them up, spreading the magic throughout her body. Once it’s open, it can never be closed again, and she’ll be able to fly for as long as she wants.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash nodded along as he explained, soaking up the information. “Of course once she can fly she’ll still need some training and that’s where I come in as a flight instructor.”
“Sounds simple enough.” Rainbow Dash said when Star had finished explaining.
“Yet also much easier said than done.” Star Shine added.
“Why?” Rainbow Dash was beginning to get tired of asking that.
“I’ve worked with a lot of kids and I can tell she’s hiding something. She seems happy but I don’t think she is. If she was happy she’d have beaten this by now. The last kid beat it when he was half her age. Some never beat it. She’s not like you Rainbow. She can’t just push through anything. You did a Rainboom through sheer force of will and hers isn’t even strong enough for her to fly. You have to tell me what happened between you two.” Star Shine demanded.
“What do you mean what happened?”
“I’m a smart pony Rainbow. I know that you aren’t related, so something must have happened. Back at the park you told me to not tell Rarity that something was wrong with Scootaloo. I didn’t know anything was wrong with her other than being unable to fly. I don’t even think that’s anything wrong. So, what’s wrong with her?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash facehoofed at her mistake. She had completely forgotten that just as her friends didn’t know anything, neither did Star Shine. She was tempted to say she just meant that Scootaloo couldn’t fly but felt that if she didn’t want Star Shine to hide anything from her, then she shouldn’t hide anything from him. Rainbow Dash got up and walked towards a cupboard in the room. She opened it up and took out a piece of paper and placed it on the table.
“Nearly two weeks ago I was looking for her when I found this. I managed to catch her in time and we’ve been together since.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine looked down at the paper and examined it. It appeared to be a note and judging from the hoofwriting and letters stained with tears it was written by a young, and very upset, foal. When he reached the end of it he realised what it was. It was a suicide note. Written by Scootaloo. It was the original note Rainbow Dash had found in the clubhouse. Scootaloo didn’t know she had kept it.
“Why do you still have this?” Star Shine asked when he had finished reading it.
“I never want to forget what she was like then. A part of me hoped to show it to her again one day so she can look back and see how far she’s come.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“I had no idea. I guessed she might be upset, but not this upset.” Star Shine said as Rainbow Dash picked up the note and put it away again. “If we tell her there’s a chance she won’t fly then it’ll break her heart. She’ll probably never get over that and she won’t be able to beat anything.”
“I have faith in her.” Rainbow Dash said sternly, daring Star Shine to put Scootaloo down again.
“And I still have a few tricks left up my sleeve.” Star Shine said, inspecting his foreleg. “Or...foreleg I guess.” he added when he realised he wasn’t wearing sleeves.
“Oh yeah? What like?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was beginning to wonder just how much one pony could be hiding. She was thankful she had finally gotten some answers, but less than happy at the prospect Star Shine was still hiding things from her.
“You saw how happy she was with us today. I think that no matter what Scootaloo will probably be fine as long as she has you around. If she can overcome all of that, and she can remove all her doubts, she’ll be fine.” Star Shine explained. He was smiling again. Rainbow Dash was really beginning to distrust that smile of his. He always looked like he was still hiding something.
“You have to stop hiding things from me Star.” Rainbow Dash said sternly and with a disapproving glance.
“I will, I am.” Star Shine said defensively.
“You are what? Hiding things?” Rainbow Dash asked, advancing him him. Star Shine backed up out of fright. He’d been hit by Rainbow Dash enough for one day.
“I’m not hiding anything. Really I’m not.” Star Shine said hurriedly. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him, staring right through him.
“If you say so...” she said slowly, backing away from him. Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief and slowly made his way down from the back of the couch. “Well it’s late so I’m going to bed. G’night.” Rainbow Dash said suddenly, looking at the clock, before disappearing upstairs.
“Phew. I thought she’d never go.” Star Shine said as he breathed another sigh of relief. He slinked down from the couch and made his way to the kitchen to get a drink before laying down in bed himself. Well, the couch. He drank his water and as he was leaving the kitchen he placed an ear against the cloud of the wall. He smiled to himself as he heard the faint tapping of somepony on the stairs tapping their hoof impatiently.
“I’m not about to admit to hiding anything.” Star Shine said loud enough for whoever was on the stairs to hear him.
“Rats.” came the muffled reply of Rainbow Dash before he heard her trot up the stairs. Her plan was foiled. She knew Star Shine had a tendency to talk to himself and hoped he would this time. He didn’t and so she decided to just read for a while before it was time for her to go to bed. She had reason to doubt him, but not enough to confront him. Star Shine made his way to the couch and laid down on it.
“Certainly not while you’re around at least.” he said quietly to nopony before closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep.
Sunday was a fairly normal, average, and overall boring day. Much like most Sundays. Scootaloo wanted to try flying again but Star Shine insisted it was still too soon to test her wingpower again and there was no point giving her a flying lesson when she wouldn’t be able to fly. He might have tried to teach her some basics and things that don’t require flight, but without that natural instinct to fly she might not have gotten it and it would have potentially depressed her. He had worked far too hard in the past few days to go about depressing her now. Scootaloo was still wearing the brace on her wings in the manor and a few hours after eating lunch she noticed something strange. Her, Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were sat in the living room. Rainbow Dash was reading a Daring Do book, Star Shine was reading The Foal Free Press (the paper scaled down after Gabby Gums left but it was never just a school newspaper again, and now even had a Sunday edition) and Scootaloo herself was redoing her homework. Star Shine had taken a look at it and told her what she had gotten wrong. He didn’t want to depress her but much like Rainbow Dash, he thought she needed a good education. He had also decided to be the bad guy a few times and let Rainbow Dash be the cool big sister instead of the nagging mum.
“Hey Shine, I think the brace is broken or something.” Scootaloo said, looking a the device on her back and giving her wings an experimental flap.
“What do you mean?” Star Shine asked, putting the paper down and moving across to examine the brace. Rainbow Dash put her book down and watched curiously.
“I can move my wings easier than before. It was hard a second ago and then it just stopped.” Scootaloo explained. Star Shine tapped the plus and minus buttons a few times experimentally.
“Any change?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo shook her head. Star Shine sighed and fidgeted with the brace, taking it off of Scootaloo.
“What’s up with it?” Rainbow Dash asked. Star Shine threw it at her and Rainbow Dash had the good sense and reflexes to catch it before it hit her in the face. “Hey be careful!” Rainbow Dash scolded.
“It’s out of magic, and it’s fully automated. It needs magic to work, even when you set it to manual. Could you take it to your Unicorn friend...what’s her name...” Star Shine trailed off.
“Twilight?” Scootaloo offered.
“Right, Twilight. Could you take it to Twilight and ask her to put some more magic in it? I’d ask her but she doesn’t even know me.” Star Shine explained.
“I suppose so. I’ll be back in a bit then.” Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air. “Star Shine, look after Scootaloo, Scoots, you look after Shine.” she teased before flying out the window. Star Shine was beginning to wonder why she even built a front door when he’d only seen her use it once.
“How long should it take?” Scootaloo asked.
“Depends how powerful this Twilight is. It takes a regular unicorn about an hour to give it a full charge.” Star Shine explained.
“She’ll probably be back in about five minutes then.” Scootaloo said with a giggle. Star Shine looked at her curiously. “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle?” Scootaloo asked.
“She’s THAT Twilight? Then it shouldn’t take long no.” Star Shine said with a smile. Scootaloo smiled back but Star Shine’s faded after a few seconds when a realisation came to him. “I’ve just reduced THE Element of Magic...Celestia’s personal protege...to charging a battery...I’m so dead.” he said as visions of Twilight Sparkle and Celestia herself punishing him came to his mind. Scootaloo waved a hoof in front of his eyes to snap him back to reality.
“Don’t worry about it, Twilight’s really nice. I’m sure she won’t mind.” Scootaloo reassured him.
“Well at least when Rainbow Dash gets back you can tell her that you did look after me.” Star Shine said, patting Scootaloo on the head. “Now it’s time for me to take care of you though, so let’s get back to your homework.” he added. Scootaloo sighed and turned back to her homework and continued working on it with Star Shine’s help. *** While Star Shine and Scootaloo talked and did homework Rainbow Dash flew towards the library. This time she wasn’t panicking or in a real hurry so she was able to stop outside the door and knock on it, instead of flying through it. Spike answered the door and when he saw who it was he moved aside to let her in.
“Hey Twilight, it’s Rainbow Dash.” he called through the doorway leading to the basement while Rainbow Dash found a table to sit at. Spike would have talked to Rainbow Dash a little himself but he didn’t even get Sundays off. The library might have been closed to the public but there was always cleaning and reshelving to be done. Sunday was named as such after the battle between Nightmare Moon and Celestia. It was named after Celestia and was taken off as a sign of respect. It was also one of the last times anything interesting happened on a Sunday. She put the brace on the table The sound of hooves on stairs followed and Twilight Sparkle herself was soon stood at the door. She walked over to Rainbow Dash and joined her at the table.
“Hey Rainbow. You have any more information for me?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash was confused and the look on her face got the message across clearly and so Twilight elaborated. “About Scootaloo? Did you find anything out?” Rainbow Dash shook her head as the realisation and memories came back to her. She had told Twilight she would keep her up to date and had been kept so busy and distracted that she had totally forgotten.
“Oh, right. That.” Rainbow Dash said simply before explaining what Star Shine had told her about Vacuus Medeis and how it can affect Pegasi. Twilight had done more research on the disease but she still hadn’t found out that little detail.
“So does she have it?” Twilight asked, scared for the little filly. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“We don’t know at this point. Her wingpower is less than 0.1 so she can’t fly right now anyway. Star Shine has her wearing this to boost her wingpower.” Rainbow Dash explained, pointing a hoof at the brace.
“What is it?” Twilight asked, lifting the brace up with her magic and turning it around to get a good look at it.
“It’s a brace that makes it hard for her to move her wings. It strengthens the muscles in her wings. It can tell how powerful her wings are and adjusts to them too actually.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“How’s it do that?” Twilight asked. When she found something new she always wanted to understand everything about it.
“It runs on magic and actually that’s why I’m here. Shine says that it’s outta power and he was wondering if you could fill it up with magic again.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Why didn’t he ask me himself?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
“He said he thought you wouldn’t do it because you don’t know him.” Rainbow Dash replied. Twilight sighed in response.
“I’m not likely to know him either if he always sends you to do a job.” Twilight said, closing her eyes and focusing. The magic field around the brace grew in intensity. “This could take a minute.” Twilight said as she felt the depths of power the brace could store. It had quite a large amount of space, which made Twilight very curious. She had never seen anything like it. Rainbow Dash had a brace, and there were many other braces, but she had never found one that ran on magic. Magic was the realm of Unicorns and only a Pegasus would want, or make, such a device. She knew there was no point in asking Rainbow Dash about it though because Rainbow herself knew as little as she did about everything. There was only one pony who could give her the answers she wanted and very little could stop Twilight Sparkle getting answers. The magic field suddenly cut off and the brace dropped onto the table.
“Are you done already?” Rainbow Dash asked. It didn’t seem like it had been long enough to her.
“Yes. The brace has enough power to last a week. It’s not fully charged. Tell your friend if he wants it to be fully charged he can come ask himself in a weeks time.” Twilight explained.
“Is that alright?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wasn’t sure how Star Shine would take the news.
“I want to meet him and this seems like a good way to set up a meeting. Tell me, has he met Rarity?” Twilight asked as something occurred to her.
“Yeah I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it. He accidentally said something and I’m surprised Rarity hasn’t told everypony she knows yet.” Rainbow Dash said, shivering at the memory of Star Shine accidentally saying he was Rainbow Dash’s most special friend. Twilight shook her head.
“I haven’t seen her in a few days, I’ve been busy with research. You know what I can get like when I learn about something new.” Twilight said, playing with her mane sheepishly.
“So why’d you ask if he met Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Oh it’s just that really any Unicorn can do this. If he wants to avoid meeting me he might just ask you to go ask her to do it instead. Do you think you can convince him to only come to me?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash wracked her brains and tried to come up with a plan. After about a minute of musing, she still hadn’t thought of one.
“I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises. I’ll definitely try though.” Rainbow Dash said, determined to do her best for her friend. “Besides, he’s always acting so smart, I’d like to see somepony get the better of him sometime.” she added, grinning at the thought of Star Shine finally getting his comeuppance for all the times he’d acted like he was smarter than her.
“Well I can’t make any promises either, but I’ll do my best.” Twilight said. The two mares giggled at their collective plotting.
“Good luck Rainbow, I’ll see you in a week if I don’t see you sooner.” Twilight said as Rainbow made her way to the door, the brace in her hooves. Rainbow Dash gave one last giggle before leaving the library, and it’s librarian, behind.
Rainbow Dash returned to the manor and entered the same way she had left, the living room window. Part of her was considering what the point in the front door was at this point. She saw Star Shine and Scootaloo looking down at something on the table and when they didn’t look up as she arrived she moved across the room to see what it was. It must be something important if it had kept them so distracted they didn’t even notice her. Rainbow Dash dropped the brace on the table, making Scootaloo and Star Shine jump and alerting them to her presence.
“Oh, it’s just you Dash. Done already?” Star Shine asked, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, Twilight’s pretty good. She said that it should last for a week.” Rainbow Dash replied. She looked past Star Shine and noticed Scootaloo trying to hide the newspaper.
“A week? That’s odd. It’s supposed to last longer than that...” Star Shine mused.
“It does. She wants you to go back and ask her personally to recharge it in a week.” Rainbow Dash explained, trying to see what Scootaloo was doing. Star Shine noticed where Rainbow Dash was looking and tried to move to stop her from looking as Scootaloo scooped the paper onto the floor and hid it under the table.
“Great, I knew she was going to kill me for asking her to do that. Why didn’t you tell me she was THE Twilight Sparkle?” Star Shine asked.
“Nah she just wants to talk to you about something I think. Never mind that, what’s Scoots up to? What’s she hiding there?” Rainbow Dash asked, sweeping Star Shine to the side and trying to see what Scootaloo was hiding. It was too late as the paper was already securely hidden and Scootaloo sat next to the table, looking up at Rainbow Dash with the most innocent face she could manage.
“Welcome back Rainbow. I was just...doing a little cleaning up.” Scootaloo said. It was clear from the tone of her voice she was hiding something, and not just the paper.
“By putting it under the table?” Rainbow Dash asked. It seemed absurd to her, as it would to most ponies, that you would clean something up by making more of a mess. Scootaloo nodded, still not breaking her shaky smile. Rainbow Dash sighed and swept a hoof under the table, dragging the newspaper out. Star Shine protested but she didn’t listen. Rainbow Dash placed the paper on the table and skimmed through it, looking for anything they would want to hide from her. Then she saw it, about halfway through the paper. There was a large picture of herself, Scootaloo, and Star Shine at the restaurant they had eaten in together. “Well news certainly seems to travel fast in this town.” Rainbow Dash commented before having a look at the article. “Or should I say gossip.” she added as she saw who it was written by; Gabby Gums. “I thought you and your friends were Gabby Gums?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. While Rainbow Dash wasn’t looking Star Shine tried to swipe the paper but Rainbow Dash firmly planted a hoof on it when she felt it slipping from under her. She was more determined to read it than before with how much they had tried to hide it from her. She also hated other ponies talking about her personal life and assuming things.
“We were, but I know none of us wrote that. They weren’t there at the restaurant and I certainly didn’t write it. It doesn’t even look like something we’d write.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash knew Scootaloo wouldn’t lie to her and she didn’t see either Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom at the restaurant. She sighed and began to read the article.
“Just Who Is This Mysterious Colt?” The headline read. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed the article was about a mysterious new visitor to Ponyville in Star Shine and nothing to do with Scootaloo or herself. Then she continued reading. Her face fell as she read the article.
Hello there everypony. It’s Gabby Gums here with you once more. Don’t call this a comeback though, as I’m only here with some of the juiciest gossip I’ve come across in a long time. It was so good I knew I just had to share it with you. I know the last time I was here I told you I was three little fillies but Gabby Gums is so much more than any pony, or even three ponies. Gabby Gums is an idea. Gabby Gums is gossip, and when there is gossip there will always be Gabby Gums. Although please, don’t send the Elements of Harmony after me, I’m not some kind of entity who controls ponies and brings about eternal darkness like that Nightmare creature.
Anyway that’s more than enough about me. I’m not here to tell you about me, I’m here to tell you about the colt seen here with Ponyville’s own Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. We all know Rainbow Dash; she’s the Element of Loyalty and is seen alongside Twilight Sparkle a lot, but we don’t know much about Scootaloo. We know even less about this colt right here in the picture with them. All we know about him is his name; Star Shine. Scootaloo herself was absent from school for a whole week a few weeks ago and when asked about it her friends said she was just on holiday, and had come back early. She also came back with something new; Rainbow Dash. Just what happened between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash? How does this colt fit in? He was heard at the restaurant by other visitors referring to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo as his family and he was even heard saying that Rainbow Dash is Scootaloo’s mother. Now we all know that Rainbow Dash is far too young to have a secret love child hidden away, but this colt certainly seems older. Is it possible that he could be Scootaloo’s father? According to her friends Scootaloo said she was on holiday with her parents but came back early when she was sick, and that Rainbow Dash was taking care of her until her parents came back. A week later and who shows up at Scootaloo’s school to pick her up with Rainbow Dash but this colt called Star Shine.
Is it actually possible for this colt to be Scootaloo’s father? If so then where is her mother? I asked Rainbow Dash’s friends but only one of them has even met this colt. She said his name is Star Shine and that he referred himself as Scootaloo’s flight instructor, but he also said he was Rainbow Dash’s ‘specialist friend’. If we are to believe this colt could be Scootaloo’s father, and Rainbow Dash’s ‘specialist friend’ then we can assume that he would lie about his relationship with Scootaloo to help hide what is undoubtedly an affair. Perhaps he is simply waiting for the right time to come out about the nature of his relationship with both girls. We can only speculate but if you look closely, all the pieces are there and they all fit.
This is Gabby Gums, signing out.
“Who wrote this?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her voice was calm but it was obvious she was angry.
“We don’t know. It seems like it was someone who was with us in the restaurant.” Star Shine said.
“And I did tell my friends I was just ill on holiday and that you came to fetch me. So they must have asked them about it.” Scootaloo added.
“It sounds like they talked to your friend Rarity too.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash started shaking in anger and Scootaloo took a few steps away from her. Star Shine walked up to Rainbow Dash and whispered something in her ear. Rainbow Dash gasped and stopped shaking. Star Shine took a few steps back while Rainbow Dash sighed and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
“Let them talk. I’m going to go have a shower. I’ve been flying around a lot and I could do with one.” Rainbow Dash said before heading up the stairs. Star Shine and Scootaloo watched her go in silence and eventually heard the sound of running water.
“What did you say to her? I thought she was going to explode or something.” Scootaloo asked Star Shine.
“I simply told her the truth. That she was scaring you, and that if she took off in anger now, it would just make it worse for you.” Star Shine replied with a smile. Scootaloo walked up to him and nuzzled into his legs.
“I was so scared. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that angry.” Scootaloo said quietly. Star Shine felt his legs get wet as Scootaloo’s wiped her tears on him. Star Shine bent down and nuzzled her.
“She really doesn’t like ponies invading her privacy and making things up about her. But she would never do anything to scare or hurt you.” Star Shine reassured Scootaloo.
“I know, but what about my friends? I thought I could trust them but then they go and talk to who was pretending to be Gabby Gums. What about her friends? Why would Rarity do that?” Scootaloo asked.
“You’re back at school tomorrow aren’t you?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo nodded. “So you can ask them what happened then. Maybe you can even find out who it was.” Star Shine suggested.
“I don’t think I could do it. I’m not as strong as you or Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo replied.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve always got a plan or two. Sometimes even three.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo giggled a little but she was still nervous about what the new day might bring. She wanted to trust her friends, she really did, but there in fine print were the words that she had told them in confidence. In that newspaper was clear proof that they had betrayed her trust in them. In the silence that passed between Scootaloo and Star Shine another sound could be heard over the running water of the shower. It sounded like screaming.
“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked. She was a little worried if Rainbow Dash was screaming about something. Star Shine pricked up his ears to hear better and winced when he made out several screams and curse words he felt Scootaloo was too young to hear.
“It’s uhh...it’s nothing to worry about. I think she just hit her hoof on something or the water was too hot.” Star Shine replied sheepishly. “I’ll go and check on her.” he added. He made his way up the stairs and walked to outside the, thankfully closed, bathroom door. “Hey Rainbow, you okay in there? Scootaloo thinks you hurt yourself or something. We heard you screaming from downstairs.” Star Shine called out. The water stopped and Rainbow Dash opened the door a little, poking her head through the gap. Her hair and face were soaking wet and her hair was falling down over her face.
“What did you hear?” she asked him. Her voice was already starting to go a little.
“Scootaloo couldn’t make anything out but I did. Where’d you learn words like that?” Star Shine asked in a teasing manner to try and lighten the mood and calm Rainbow Dash down. Given how she blew her hair out of her face and glared at him, he guessed it didn’t work.
“Never mind that. I’ll be quieter now.” Rainbow Dash replied, shutting the door in Star Shine’s face. The shower started up again not long after. Star Shine sighed in resignation and headed back downstairs to reassure Scootaloo that Rainbow Dash really was fine, and could be some time in the shower.
When Rainbow Dash had finished showering, and sufficiently worked out her frustration under the cover of the sound of running water, she joined Star Shine and Scootaloo in the living room once more. Her time in the shower had also given her time to think and she had come to see that Star Shine was probably right when he said it would be better to deal with Rarity in the morning. She would go see her during one of her breaks at work while Scootaloo was in school. For now she was resolved to just put it out of her mind and not let it get to her. There wasn’t much she could really do about it without causing more unnecessary upset and worry.
“All better?” Star Shine asked as she entered the room.
“Loads. Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said hoarsely. From the sounds of it she was losing her voice after managing to shout it hoarse. Losing her voice had also helped her come to the conclusion she should wait to talk to Rarity.
“You okay Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked after hearing how Rainbow Dash sounded. She was more than a little concerned.
“I’m fine Scoots. Just feeling a little...don’t make me say it.” she said, deciding no force in the known universe would actually make her say she was feeling a little hoarse.
“I don’t get it. Feeling a little what? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked, looking between Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. In her concern she couldn’t pick up what Rainbow Dash was about to say.
“Hoarse.” Star Shine replied, stifling a giggle. “She’s feeling a little hoarse. Which may be one of the most unfortunate phrases known to Ponykind.” he added. Scootaloo laughed at the unsaid joke while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure it’s hilarious to you but it’s not to me.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo stopped laughing and looked downcast, afraid she had hurt Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed and wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo. “Don’t worry about it Squirt. I’d be laughing if it happened to Shine over there.” Rainbow Dash reassured her.
“Celestia forbid I should ever lose my voice.” Star Shine said, rising to his hooves. Rainbow Dash personally thought it might not be such a bad thing for him to lose his voice. Even if he had made her see reason he was still a little too smug for her tastes at times. Scootaloo had no real opinion on the matter. Star Shine walked to the kitchen and returned a minute or so later with a cup of water balanced on his wing. He walked over to the table and slid it down in front of Rainbow Dash. She drank it and coughed a few times.
“Thanks for that.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice getting a little closer to normal. “Still hurts to talk.” she added, rubbing her throat.
“Then don’t talk. As hard as that might be for you.” Star Shine commented, sitting back down on his chair. Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Scootaloo and whispered something in her ear.
“Can I really do that?” Scootaloo asked, surprised at what Rainbow Dash had asked her to do. Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Just this once.” Rainbow Dash said, nudging Scootaloo into action. Scootaloo walked over to Star Shine.
“Hey Shine, can you lean down? There’s something I want to ask you.” Scootaloo said, giving her most innocent look. Nopony ever suspected a child.
“Hmm? What is it?” Star Shine replied, leaning forward so he was on Scootaloo’s level.
“Sorry about this.” Scootaloo said quickly before turning around and bucking Star Shine in the face. Luckily for Star Shine Scootaloo wasn’t very strong, but a good bucking still hurts, no matter the size of the pony who gives it.
“Owwwww, what did you do that for?” Star Shine asked, rubbing where Scootaloo had kicked him. All his teeth were intact and the initial pain caused by shock soon subsided to a dull ache.
“She still likes me more than you.” Rainbow Dash answered weakly. Her voice was still fading. Scootaloo puffed her chest out proudly.
“Well here’s something for you both to consider. If you, Dashie, can’t talk, and if you, Scootaloo, breaks my jaw...who’s going to read Scoots a bedtime story?” he asked. Rainbow Dash was tempted to tell Scootaloo to give him another kick but internally she knew he had a good point. There was no way she was going to be able to read Scootaloo a bedtime story in her current condition.
“You know I can read right?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash allowed herself a small laugh.
“I know you can, but you must admit it’s better to have somepony else read to you.” Star Shine countered.
“I guess.” Scootaloo conceded. “Anyway that’s not for a few hours yet. Dash’s voice might come back in time.” she added, keen to not just lose the argument so quickly.
“Scoots do you know how long she was in the shower for?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo shrugged and Rainbow Dash looked away nervously. “Neither do I, but I do know she was in there for a while. I don’t think she’ll be talking again properly until morning.” Star Shine said.
“What does being in the shower have to do with her voice?” Scootaloo asked. She was confused and couldn’t see the connection. Star Shine could guess that the real reason Rainbow had jumped into the shower was to vent her frustration away from Scootaloo and she had pretty much confirmed it for him when he talked to her before. That her voice had gotten worse meant she had continued venting her frustration after then. He also knew that telling Scootaloo Rainbow Dash had been screaming and shouting in the shower probably wouldn’t be a good thing either. Rainbow Dash would have shouted herself hoarse all over again if he did that.
“No real reason. Now who’s hungry?” Star Shine said quickly to try and steer the conversation away from that subject. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked up at the clock and saw it was coming up on dinner time.
“You gonna cook?” Scootaloo asked him. Star Shine nodded and moved towards the kitchen. As he passed Rainbow Dash she gave him a hard nudge in the sides. She didn’t want anything. She just wanted to poke him for teasing her.
“Yes? Something you want dear?” Star Shine asked her, smiling. This was one of the only chances in his life he would get to be sarcastic with Rainbow Dash and not face her wrath. He was not about to waste it. He also wanted to try and keep the mood light. He saw Rainbow Dash lacking a voice as a giant sign saying “I can’t possibly yell at you.” Rainbow Dash gave him a harder nudge in response and began pushing him into the kitchen. It was her way of saying “I might not be able to yell, but I can still hurt you.” Luckily for his own sake, Star Shine got the message and decided it would be in his best interests to not mess with her right now. There was also always the chance she would buck him herself after seeing him recover so quickly from Scootaloo doing it. Even when she was younger Rainbow Dash had been powerful and he had no interest in having those hooves shoved into his face at speed.
“What are you going to do about Rarity?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash while they waited. Star Shine could only distract them while he was in the room.
“I don’t know. Talk to her I guess. Ask her why she did it, and who she talked to.” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug. Her voice was weak and still going but she wasn’t about to leave Scootaloo hanging when she asked a question. “What about your friends?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked down at the ground.
“I’m trying not to think about it. But I guess the same. Do you think we’ll find out who did it?” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane and Scootaloo looked up at her.
“I don’t care what Star Shine says or thinks, I can’t just let this go. If he won’t help then I’m gonna find out on my own.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning down to nuzzle Scootaloo. The two stayed curled up together for a little longer.
After about an hour Star Shine called the girls into the kitchen for their dinner. He wanted what he had made them to be a surprise so he had stayed in the kitchen even while it was cooking. He was used to spending time on his own so it hadn’t really bothered him much. When the girls were seated Star Shine served them their dinner; a delicious looking vegetable lasagne that he had made. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo tried it and Scootaloo gave the comment that Rainbow Dash couldn’t thanks to her lost voice and possibly her ego.
“This is delicious! Where did you learn to cook?” Scootaloo asked.
“I’ve been living alone for quite some time really. I had to get good at cooking.” Star Shine replied, smiling.
“You live on your own?” Scootaloo asked, curious.
“Yeah. I never really found anypony special or anything. Didn’t you think it odd I could just up and move here at the drop of a hat?” Star Shine replied. Living alone did have some benefits. He didn’t think if he had a special somepony they would be too happy about him moving out for a while.
“I never really thought about it. I’d never really had anypony special until Rainbow Dash came along.” Scootaloo replied, looking up at Rainbow Dash and smiling. Rainbow Dash smiled back, partly at the sweetness and partly because Scootaloo didn’t get that Star Shine meant he’d never had a marefriend.
“Oh she’s something special alright huh?” Star Shine said, winking at Scootaloo. He half expected to be hit by Rainbow Dash but the blow never came. He risked a glance over at her and saw that instead of looking angry, she was still smiling.
“She sure is.” Scootaloo replied, giggling. She started eating her dinner again and Star Shine ate his too. Rainbow Dash had never really stopped eating hers, being unable to even talk properly anymore.
When dinner was all taken care of, and all the washing and cleaning up had been done, the trio of Pegasi passed the time left until bed playing board games. Even when she couldn’t talk Rainbow Dash was a fierce competitor and won every game bar one. She only lost because she let Scootaloo win. Star Shine was left feeling a little less than spectacular. After Scootaloo and Star Shine were done playing a game of Battleclouds (Rainbow couldn’t participate thanks to her voice, and Star Shine still lost) Rainbow Dash tapped Star Shine on the foreleg and pointed at the clock. He saw that it was getting late and got the message.
“Come on Scoots, it’s getting pretty close to your bedtime.” he said, packing the game away. Scootaloo groaned but it turned into a yawn halfway through.
“Do I have to go to bed?” Scootaloo asked.
“Seeing as you can’t even groan without yawning, yes you do. Come on, I’ll read something to you.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo sighed and made her way up the stairs and to her room. After finding out which book Rainbow Dash was reading to her, and where in it she was, Star Shine began to read to Scootaloo. He couldn’t really do any different voices for the characters but his voice was still soothing and soon enough Scootaloo was sleeping soundly. When he was sure she was asleep Star Shine put the book away and walked towards the door, where Rainbow Dash was waiting for him. A frown crossed Scootaloo’s sleeping face.
“Is she okay?” Star Shine whispered to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash thought for a second what the problem might be and then it occurred to her. She crossed the room and planted a small kiss on Scootaloo’s forehead. A smile crossed the face of all three ponies in the room.
“Thanks.” Rainbow Dash managed to say as she walked past Star Shine and towards her own bedroom. As she passed Star Shine she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
“Don’t...don’t mention it.” Star Shine replied slowly as he watched Rainbow Dash enter her own bedroom. He stood there for a few minutes before bringing himself back to reality and heading downstairs to the couch. He had some things to think about. Once again he was going to have some trouble sleeping.
The next day started as normally as any other day would. Rainbow Dash woke up before anypony else and began her morning practice while Scootaloo slept a little bit longer. Scootaloo still woke up in time to catch Rainbow Dash before Star Shine woke up. After checking downstairs to make sure he was still asleep, Scootaloo ran back up into Rainbow Dash’s room and made her way to the window from which she always watched Rainbow Dash practice. Scootaloo waited until Rainbow Dash had finished the trick she was practicing so she wouldn’t distract her.
“Hey Rainbow!” Scootaloo called down to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked up and made her way to the window when she saw who it was.
“Hey Squirt, you’re up early.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo always woke up early to watch her practice but it seemed like she was up earlier than usual.
“Well I got an idea. Do you think we can make Star Shine breakfast?” Scootaloo asked, playing with her mane sheepishly. She didn’t think Rainbow Dash would be against the idea, but she still felt a little awkward asking it.
“We probably could, but why?” Rainbow Dash replied. She floated into the room and stood next to Scootaloo.
“He’s just been really nice and he even read me a bedtime story because you couldn’t and I wanted to...thank him.” Scootaloo managed to say, pondering for a second on how to phrase it.
“We’d best hurry up then before he wakes up.” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. Scootaloo smiled back and together they made their way to the kitchen, walking through the living room quietly so they didn’t disturb the colt sleeping on the couch. “So what do you want to make?” Rainbow Dash asked when they were safely in the kitchen.
“I actually hadn’t thought that far ahead. I don’t think there’s anything I can make actually.” Scootaloo admitted, looking downcast.
“Don’t worry about it Scoots. I know how to make a few things myself. Will pancakes do?” Rainbow Dash reassured her. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash and nodded her head. Rainbow Dash found all the ingredients while Scootaloo watched. When she had found everything she told Scootaloo how to stick them all in the blender and how to use it to make the batter. Scootaloo was in a hurry and didn’t put the lid on the blender before turning it on and Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop her in time. She managed to stop the blender before too much mess occurred. The damage was mostly contained to the counter and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo’s faces, which were now covered in pancake batter. They looked at eachother and broke out into laughter before cleaning themselves up.
“Okay this time, put the lid on.” Rainbow Dash said, still laughing. Scootaloo put the lid on the blender and started it up again. Rainbow Dash took over from here as all that was left was to cook them. Scootaloo laid plates down on the table while Rainbow Dash cooked and served the pancakes. When everything was ready Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash made their way to the front room. Star Shine was still asleep. Scootaloo walked over to him and started nudging him in the side to try and wake him up.
“Hey, Shine, it’s time for breakfast. Get up. Please?” Scootaloo said as she tapped him. Star Shine shifted in his sleep but didn’t wake up.
“Let me try. You might wanna move out the way.” Rainbow Dash said, moving behind the couch. She leaned over it, planting her hooves behind Star Shine, and pushed him onto the living room floor. He landed on the floor with a soft pomf but the falling sensation had been enough to wake him up. He barely felt anything as he landed on the soft cloud below.
“Huh? What?” Star Shine asked lazily. He wasn’t with really awake yet but Rainbow Dash was ready to change that.
“It’s time for breakfast, so get up. I wanted to just leave you be but Scootaloo insisted we feed you. You owe her one I guess.” Rainbow Dash said, nudging Star Shine until get got up onto his hooves.
“Gonna owe her more than that.” Star Shine said quietly. So quietly Rainbow Dash didn’t hear him. Something he was most grateful for. Scootaloo had taken Rainbow Dash’s advice and was stood by the kitchen door, so there was no chance she could have heard him. Star Shine stood up, brushed himself off, and made his way to the kitchen. He stumbled a little at first before shaking the last of his weariness out of his body. Scootaloo ran into the kitchen ahead of him and Rainbow Dash followed shortly after. When he entered the kitchen Star Shine saw that there were three plates of pancakes laid out already. “You made these?” he asked, turning to face Rainbow Dash.
“You’re not the only one who’s been living by themselves for a while. Squirt here helped.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked past him and patted Scootaloo on the head, causing the filly to smile brightly. “Actually the whole thing was her idea. She wanted to thank you for reading her a bedtime story.”
“That so?” Star Shine asked, bending down to face Scootaloo. She nodded happily. “Well thank you then.” Star Shine said, giving Scootaloo a brief nuzzle. “Thank you too, I guess.” he added to Rainbow Dash, electing to not give her a nuzzle.
“Hey I cooked it all.” Rainbow Dash protested. She wasn’t asking for a nuzzle or anything, she was just a little annoyed that he seemed to pass over her so quickly and she wanted what she had done to be recognised.
“I know, and I thanked you for it. It really was a nice thing to do. Unless...you’re not complaining I didn’t nuzzle you are you?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo giggled as she watched the pair.
“No.” Rainbow Dash replied flatly, though there was a soft pink tinge to her cheeks that wasn’t there before. Star Shine felt it was in his best interests to not mention it. “I just worked hard is all.”
“You did. Thank you.” Star Shine said, giving her a very brief nuzzle while Scootaloo giggled again. Rainbow Dash sighed but didn’t really protest. Star Shine sat down at the table before he could do any more damage and Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash followed suit.
“These really are nice.” Star Shine appraised as he ate his pancakes. “I’ve never really had anypony cook for me before either.” he added, smiling at the two mares who made his breakfast. Scootaloo smiled back and started eating. Rainbow Dash was already eating and didn’t look up. She had worked up quite an appetite with her morning practice. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence and soon enough all the plates were empty and three well fed ponies breathed a contented sigh.
“We should hurry up. It’s nearly time to take Scoots to school.” Rainbow Dash said as she looked at the clock.
“About that, I’d like to take her with you if that’s okay.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash looked at him quizzically.
“Why’d you want to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked him.
“I don’t mind.” Scootaloo commented. Star Shine looked down at her and smiled.
“I’d just like to go. Besides if we’re seen together then we can deny all those nasty rumours that we’re a couple and let ponies know the truth.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment before deciding it was a decent argument.
“I guess there’s no harm anyway.” Rainbow Dash relented. “Alright, you hurry up and get ready.” she added to Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave her a salute and began collecting all her homework and school supplies. Star Shine smiled at the display and watched her work.
“You’re really going to come along just to do it?” Rainbow Dash asked Star Shine while Scootaloo was busy.
“What are you afraid of?” Star Shine replied.
“That you’re going to do something.” Rainbow Dash said. She had grown used to Star Shine hiding things and at this point expected him to be hiding something no matter what the situation was.
“I only ever do what’s best.” Star Shine said innocently.
“That’s the problem. You have a very different opinion to the rest of us about what’s best.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“I already promised Scootaloo. I can’t change my mind now.” Star Shine said quietly, looking down at the floor.
“I knew you were planning something. What is it?!” Rainbow Dash hissed.
“It’s nothing bad! I promised Scootaloo I would find out why her friends talked to Gabby Gums. That’s all. I’m only doing what she asked me to. Really.” Star Shine said quickly. While he technically hadn’t promised Scootaloo anything he had as good as given his word he would.
“If she asked you to do it then it’s fine. Just don’t hurt her or I will hurt you.” Rainbow Dash threatened.
“You two okay?” Scootaloo asked, walking over to them. She had her saddlebags on and they looked packed. “I’m all ready, are we going?”
“Yeah, I was just talking to Star Shine here about something. Let’s get going.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling at Scootaloo. Scootaloo looked up at Star Shine and he smiled and nodded. With Scootaloo convinced nothing was wrong, Rainbow Dash helped her up onto her back and they set off for the schoolhouse.
Star Shine asked Rainbow Dash if they could hurry up because he wanted to talk to Scootaloo’s friends before school started. They picked up the pace and arrived with time to spare. It was the earliest Scootaloo had been to school since she had been living with Rainbow Dash. When she was alone, she saw no reason to hang around the clubhouse for longer, and would leave early in the morning so nopony found her there. When she was with Rainbow Dash, Rainbow was just so fast she didn’t really care much about when she left, as long as she made it in time. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine landed on the playground and Scootaloo hopped down onto the ground.
“Hey Scoots.” called a voice from across the playground. It was Apple Bloom and she had Sweetie Belle in tow.
“Glad you could make it.” Sweetie Belle added as she ran up and gave Scootaloo a hug.
“I told you, I wouldn’t miss it.” Scootaloo said, squeezing back. She released the hug and took a step back, motioning up at Star Shine. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, meet Star Shine, my flight instructor. Star Shine, meet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, my friends and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Scootaloo said, motioning between the ponies as she introduced them to eachother. Part of Scootaloo wanted to pretend what happened in the newspaper hadn’t happened, and part of her remembered that Star Shine said he would do the talking for her.
“It’s nice to meet you girls” Star Shine said, leaning down to get a good look at them. “Tell me, what do you think of Scoots here?” he asked, wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo and pulling her close to him. Scootaloo looked a little nervous, wondering where he was going with this.
“She’s awesome on her scooter!” Apple Bloom said excitedly, motioning with her hooves how Scootaloo would zip around on her scooter.
“Yeah and she always comes up with great ideas on how we can get our Cutie Marks.” Sweetie Belle added, nodding her approval of Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled at their praise and looked away in mild embarrassment.
“So you really like her then?” he asked. Both girls smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Rainbow Dash watched the entire display curiously. She too was interested in where Star Shine was going with all of this. “So you wouldn’t want to hurt her right?” This time both girls shook their heads, looking confused.
“Shine, where are you going with this?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her patience was running out and she was tired of Star Shine dancing around the subject.
“I just want to know why they’d bully her so much if they like her.” Star Shine replied, looking back at Rainbow Dash. He never thought before he spoke when he was asked a question and always gave very direct answers.
“Bully her?” Apple Bloom asked, surprised at the notion they would ever bully her. Sweetie Belle looked equally as confused and Scootaloo tensed up. She was suddenly very worried about where this was going. Rainbow Dash scrutinised him but Star Shine kept his eyes on the fillies in front of him. It was too late to back out now. He had begun digging this grave for himself and now he had to lie in it.
“You call her a chicken don’t you? I think that counts.” Star Shine said. He knew he was going to regret this.
“What?!” the four ponies around him chorused. The fillies looked surprised. Rainbow Dash looked angry.
“We tease her a little maybe, but we don’t bully her.” Sweetie Belle said. She was keen to fix the misunderstanding.
“Do you know what that did to her?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo started panicking as the only outcome available made itself known to her.
“Don’t Shine. Don’t. Please don’t. Don’t tell them. Please. I don’t know how you know but please don’t tell them.” Scootaloo said quickly, pleading with Star Shine. He looked down at Scootaloo and his heart wrenched when he saw the look in her eyes. He sighed, knowing that he would never be able to go through with his plan now.
“I’m sorry Scootaloo, I wo-” Star Shine began before Scootaloo fidgeted out of his grasp and jumped on Rainbow Dash’s back. Rainbow Dash looked back at Scootaloo and wondered what was happening. She hadn’t worked out for herself what Star Shine was planning to do. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were just as confused and hoped somepony would clear things up for them.
“Stop him Rainbow. Please stop him.” Scootaloo begged Rainbow Dash. She was panicking and after he had said sorry she came to the conclusion he planned to go ahead and tell Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that she had jumped into the gorge. She still didn’t know how he knew but if he knew they called her a chicken, he had to know something. Something she didn’t want her friends to know.
“Shine, what’s going on? What are you going to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wanted to know what was happening and why Scootaloo was so afraid.
“I was going to tell them about the note Scootaloo left but I changed my mind.” Star Shine replied simply and honestly. He had planned to force the conversation on Scootaloo but spending time with her had shown him that maybe there was another way to go about it. He wanted Scootaloo to confront her friends and learn the truth but he had been able to do that for her. If they didn’t like her then he wanted her to get it out the way and move on with her life. Now he knew her friends liked her and so did Scootaloo. There was no need to mention the note any more. Except he just had.
“You idiot! You just told them now!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Scootaloo started shaking in fear. It was out there now and there was nothing anypony could do to stop it. The situation Star Shine had chosen to avoid in the end was unravelling before him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset Scootaloo. I lo-” Star Shine started before Rainbow Dash cut him off.
“I don’t care what you have to say!” Rainbow Dash shouted, stomping a hoof into the ground in anger. “Just go already. Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage?” Star Shine turned around and lowered his head in sadness before giving a great gust of his wings and taking off into the air. Scootaloo watched him leave, having looked up when it almost sounded like he was going to say he loved her. She was sure she saw a tear fall from his face before he took off.
“She was doing so well too...” Rainbow Dash said sadly in reference to the progress Scootaloo had managed to make. Even if she wasn’t flying she was beating her depression and seemed happier. She felt even worse because she attributed part of that happiness to Star Shine.
“What was that all about? What’s this about a note?” Apple Bloom asked.
“And what we did to her?” Sweetie Belle added.
“It’s nothing girls. Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash replied with a shaky smile. She wanted to try and change the subject. She felt something move on her back as Scootaloo crawled along it and leaned her head around Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“It’s okay Rainbow.” she said, sighing. “There’s no point in trying to hide it anymore is there? I’m not gonna be able to run away this time.” she said, looking up at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed and lowered herself to the ground. She patted the grass in front of her to signal to Scootaloo she should hop down. Scootaloo got the message and hopped onto the ground. Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo and held her close.
“If you say so. I’ll be right here, like I always will be.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo managed to smile and then looked at her friends.
“There’s something I never told you. Well, really, there’s a lot of things I never told you. I’ve lied to you a lot and I am so so so sorry about that.” Scootaloo began. She decided she might as well get the whole truth out and let her friends know everything. A part of her was worried about it ending up somewhere it shouldn’t but she wanted to believe her friends did like her and didn’t realise what they had done to her. She felt they needed to know. Things had gotten so much better for her when Rainbow Dash knew and she thought maybe things would be better with the Crusaders if they knew too. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came up close to her.
“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Lied about what?” Apple Bloom added. They were both very confused by the recent events.
“First of all, I guess, I lied about where I was that week. I wasn’t on holiday with my parents. I was just living with Rainbow Dash. To be..to be totally honest...”Scootaloo said, gathering her courage. Rainbow Dash tightened her grip on Scootaloo to comfort her.
“I’m here Scoots. You can do it. You’re not alone anymore.” Rainbow Dash encouraged her. Scootaloo took a deep breath.
“To be totally honest...I don’t have any parents. Before I moved in with Rainbow Dash I didn’t even have a home.” Scootaloo admitted. Her friends walked up to her and nuzzled her.
“Where were you living?” Apple Bloom asked. She didn’t have parents herself and knew it wasn’t an easy subject to talk about so she chose to avoid that particular part of the sentence.
“At first I lived wherever I could. But then I met you guys.” Scootaloo said. She was starting to shake and considered stopping but having Rainbow Dash so close was helping her stay strong.
“What’s so special about us?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“We built that clubhouse.” Scootaloo said. It took a second or so for the message to get through to her friends. They let out a collective gasp as they both realised what she meant.
“You mean...” Apple Bloom began. Scootaloo nodded.
“Yeah, I’ve been sleeping in the clubhouse. It wasn’t bad really. It got a little cold but it was better than where I was sleeping before.” Scootaloo explained. Her friends squeezed against her tighter and she felt tears start to fall. Something occurred to Sweetie Belle.
“So how did you end up with Rainbow Dash?” Sweetie Belle asked. It was one of the questions that Scootaloo had been dreading the most.
“Just before I disappeared for a week I did something really really stupid. I...I...I can’t.” she said, burying herself into Rainbow Dash’s sides.
“What did she do?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash.
“Is it okay for me to tell them for you?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. She felt her sides move as Scootaloo nodded. “Do you want to come back home with me after this?” Scootaloo nodded again. “Then I’ll take you home once we’re done.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded one last time before becoming completely unresponsive. She didn’t want to be alert or even remember what was about to happen. Rainbow Dash turned to address Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. “This isn’t even going to be easy for me to say girls.” Rainbow Dash told them. She sighed and continued speaking a few seconds later. She decided to just say it and get it over with. “She jumped into Ghastly Gorge.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gasped in shock and gave Scootaloo the tightest hug they possibly could.
“Why would you do that?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo still didn’t respond. She was just staring ahead of her, barely even blinking. Her mind had totally shut down on her.
“She wanted to fly. From the sounds of the note she left, she thought that if she could fly, then everything would be better. Not being able to fly was the thing that upset her the most and she thought that if she couldn’t fly, she could at least be...free of the pain.” Rainbow Dash explained. Tears formed on Scootaloo’s face but they were quickly taken by Rainbow Dash’s coat.
“Note? You mean the one that Star Shine guy said about?” Sweetie Belle asked. “He said we did something to Scootaloo. What did he mean?” she added.
“Is it okay for me to tell them?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were really beginning to panic at this point. Scootaloo came back to reality long enough to nod before closing her eyes and trying to shut out the real world harder than ever.
“This is going to be even harder to say girls. How much Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon teased her was in there as a reason she jumped, and so was...so was how much you guys tease her, called her a chicken, and how uninterested you are in her life. You’ve never once asked her about her life and she took it as a sign you didn’t care about her.” Rainbow Dash explained, deciding that once again she should just say things as bluntly and simply as possible.
“Oh...” Apple Bloom said.
“Sweet Celestia.” Sweetie Belle finished for her. They both began talking so quickly that neither Scootaloo nor Rainbow Dash could make out what they were saying. Rainbow Dash shushed them and motioned for them to speak one at a time. She pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom who started talking.
“Ah’m so sorry Scoots. Ah had no idea and you know we love you. Or at least, Ah thought ye did. I was only teasin’ when Ah called you a chicken and Ah didn’t mean to upset you or nothin’” she said, cuddling up to Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash then pointed a hoof at Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, we didn’t realise how much you were hurting. If we had known we would have asked. I’m sorry too Scoots, and I do love you. We thought things were fine for you because you never said anything. To be honest we did talk about you sometimes. We always decided it would be best though to not say anything. We didn’t want to upset you and thought if something was wrong, you’d just tell us.” Sweetie Belle said, also cuddling up. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were crying but Scootaloo was still dead to the world.
“She’s going to be okay now though.” Rainbow Dash assured her friends, wrapping all three of them in her forelegs. “She has me, and she has you guys. I knew you wouldn’t hurt her but when you get as sad as she was, these kinda thoughts happen.”
“What’s going to happen with that Star Shine guy?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I thought you were friends or something?”
“We were friends. I can’t believe he did this. I know he didn’t want things to go this way but still...I’ll go see if I can find him after I take Scoots home. Tell Cheerilee she was sick or something for me.” Rainbow Dash said. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle released Scootaloo, nodded, and took a few steps back.
“I want to see him too.” Scootaloo said suddenly, surprising everypony. She had been so quiet but now she sounded almost determined. Her mind had been a mess and she needed time to work everything out. Try as she might she couldn’t take herself away from the world and she had heard everything that was said. She had processed what her friends had told her in the time she had been silent. When it was just her and Rainbow Dash anger had taken hold and she had refused to see the truth. In this situation she quietly accepted what her friends said. Her emotions had simply cut out and it allowed her to find faith in her friends. She might not have any answers about the Gabby Gums incident, but she knew how her friends felt and they knew how she felt. They knew the basics at least and they were under the impression things were either better now or on the mend. That was good enough. She also had more pressing things to attend to. She wiped her eyes before looking up at Rainbow Dash. “Don’t take me straight home. I want to see him too.” Scootaloo said again.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked a bit better but Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how good an idea it was. Scootaloo nodded and jumped up onto Rainbow Dash’s back.
“I wonder where he went.” Sweetie Belle said.
“He’s still an old friend of mine. I know there’s only one place he goes when he’s upset and wants to be alone.” Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air.
“Where’s that?” Apple Bloom asked her.
“The library.” Rainbow Dash said before setting off in the direction of the Golden Oaks Library.
“I hope Scoots is going to be okay.” Sweetie Belle said, watching Rainbow Dash soar through the air.
“Me too. Me too.” Apple Bloom replied, a little quieter the second time. She leaned against her friend for a moment before the school bell rang, signalling the start of the school day.
“I can’t believe he did that! He said he was going to ask about the newspaper, he didn’t say anything about the note.” Rainbow Dash said, soaring towards the library. Everything after Star Shine had left had calmed her down but she wasn’t perfectly calm. Even if Star Shine didn’t deliberately say anything he had admitted that he was going to. Scootaloo didn’t say anything, she was too busy thinking. She had noticed something that was bothering her.
“Was he crying when he took off?” Scootaloo asked after a few moments silence.
“What does it matter if he was? Rainbow Dash replied harshly. She softened up as she remembered who she was talking to.
“I think he might be hurting enough if he was.” Scootaloo replied. She was young but if there was one thing Scootaloo knew about, it was pain. She knew all too well emotional wounds hurt far more than physical ones. “Maybe it was an accident...he said he changed his mind, didn’t he?”
“Even if it was an accident...even if he didn’t mean to do it, he still said he was going to. He says a lot of stupid stuff but that was, by far, the stupidest thing he’s ever done.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Rainbow...how did he even know about the note?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash didn’t answer and instead looked down and slowed down too as the wind was taken out of her proverbial sails and anger was replaced by sadness.
“I...I showed it him.” Rainbow Dash finally replied.
“Why?” Scootaloo replied. She had guessed as much but it still hurt to have it confirmed. She didn’t even know Rainbow Dash still had it. “Why do you even still have it?”
“He said he knew something was bothering you...he wanted to know what it was. I thought it might help. I still have it because I wanted to show it you when you were flying. I wanted you to see how far you’d come.” Rainbow Dash replied, still looking at the ground and talking softly. So softly she had even stopped flying so the wind wouldn’t steal her words.
“So you told him everything? The same way he was going to tell my friends?” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash let out a surprised gasp as she realised that she had made the same mistake Star Shine did.
“I...I’m sorry Scoots.” Rainbow Dash managed to reply.
“I know you are. I’m sure he is too. Do you think he really would have said something?” Scootaloo asked. If anypony knew what Star Shine might be thinking it would be Rainbow Dash.
“Honestly?” Rainbow Dash replied, turning her head around to face Scootaloo. “I don’t know. I do think he wouldn’t hurt you though. He can be a bit of a know it all but he doesn’t mean any harm.”
“Any idea why he started crying?” Scootaloo asked. She’d never seen him respond emotionally to much with anything besides humour. Even his own mistakes.
“There’s only one time I’ve seen him cry.” Rainbow Dash said. She looked away in mild embarrassment at the memory.
“When? What happened?” Scootaloo asked, doing her best to lean around Rainbow Dash without risking falling off her back. Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck and leaned close to her face. Partly for support and partly because it looked like Rainbow Dash could do with the hug.
“It’s really silly...” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her mane sheepishly. “It was something I did.”
“You made him cry?” Scootaloo was a little shocked at the revelation. She couldn’t imagine Rainbow Dash making somepony cry. Not one of her friends at least.
“When we were in Flight Camp together I...I asked him to be my coltfriend. That’s when he told me he wasn’t interested in me in that way...” Rainbow Dash explained quietly. It was a memory she wasn’t fond of.
“You made him cry by asking him out?” Scootaloo asked, trying to stifle a laugh. She failed and within seconds was laughing so hard she almost fell off Rainbow Dash. She didn’t find it that funny but it was the funniest thing that had happened in a while and after the depressing events earlier in the day she was happy to be able to laugh.
“No that’s not what happened.” Rainbow Dash said coolly, giving a derisive snort and waiting for Scootaloo to stop laughing at her.
“Sorry...sorry...” Scootaloo said when she calmed down and saw Rainbow Dash wasn’t laughing with her. “So what happened?”
“I was a silly teenage filly who didn’t know what I wanted and he was the cool older guy. When he turned me down I got upset and ran off. He found me a few hours later and starting saying sorry and crying himself because he upset me.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Older? I thought you were in the same class?” Scootaloo asked. Everypony in her class was the same age and she didn’t think a Flight Camp would be any different.
“We were but he’s a few years older than me. He started really, really late. I never did find out why actually.” Rainbow Dash explained. She had assumed maybe his parents wanted to try and teach him themselves or for some reason he just couldn’t go when he was supposed to. “Anyway, the only time I’ve ever seen him cry is when he thinks he’s really upset somepony.”
“I bet he thinks that a lot.” Scootaloo said. She surprised Rainbow Dash a little with that.
“What makes you say that?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo pushed herself off Rainbow Dash’s neck and settled back down on her back instead.
“He’s a little...off. He almost seems too happy but then, when he’s sad, he’s really really sad. He kinda reminds me of me.” Scootaloo explained, looking down at the blue fur below her.
“I don’t know about that...I’ve known him most of my life.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I guess if anypony knew how he felt it would be you then.” Scootaloo replied, smiling up at Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t convinced Star Shine was always happy but she also didn’t want to speculate about a pony wildly. She’d had it happen to her and now Rainbow Dash far too much to do it herself.
“Yep...so...am I forgiven? For showing him the note?” Rainbow Dash asked softly, shifting her hoof through the air nervously. She expected she probably was given how Scootaloo had just been with her but you could never be too certain.
“I don’t mind him knowing.” Scootaloo reassured Rainbow Dash. “At first I did but now I’ve calmed down...maybe it was for the best. I know why you did it and if it’ll help me fly, I’d have told him myself. I just wish you’d asked me.”
“I know...So when’d you get so smart about feelings anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning her head back to nuzzle Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash had never considered Star Shine might be hiding how he really felt and was still surprised that Scootaloo might have thought it.
“I know what it’s like to blame yourself for something and be upset by it.” Scootaloo replied, looking back sadly at her wings. “...I know what a painful reminder feels like.” she added, sighing.
“You know that’s not your fault, don’t you?” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded and tried to fight back tears.
“I know, but that doesn’t stop me blaming myself for it.” Scootaloo said quietly as tears fell freely from her eyes. Rainbow Dash bucked Scootaloo into the air, span, and caught the filly in a hug, a recreation of the maneuver she had pulled before. She held Scootaloo close for a few moments before her face lit up as she got an idea.
“I just got a brilliant idea!” she exclaimed, making Scootaloo jump. Rainbow Dash threw Scootaloo up into the air and caught her a few times.
“What...” Scootaloo began before she was thrown into the air again. “Is...” she got out. “It?” she managed to finally ask over a series of throws. Rainbow Dash pulled her into a hug and whispered it into Scootaloo’s ear and watched as the filly’s face brightened and she gave a wide smile.
“That sounds great! When can we do it?” Scootaloo said, giving Rainbow Dash’s idea her seal of approval.
“Not sure, we’ll have to do some stuff first. With everything that’s happened though, I think you could use something like that. Don’t you?” Rainbow Dash asked, smiling at Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded again. First of all though we gotta go find Star Shine, alright?” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded and was flipped into the air by Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash turned around so Scootaloo would land on her back and took off for the library once more with Scootaloo securely on her back. She stopped again a few seconds later. Scootaloo was almost thrown off of Rainbow Dash but managed to hold on.
“What was that all about?!” Scootaloo asked loudly. She was still shaken up from the sudden stop. Rainbow Dash turned to face her and Scootaloo saw she was grinning widely.
“I think we shouldn’t tell Star Shine exactly what we’re doing.” Rainbow Dash said, giggling like a madmare.
“How are we going to set it up without him knowing? Won’t he need a suit?” Scootaloo asked, confused.
“Leave that to me. I just won’t tell him what we’re doing. He needs a lesson in how to keep a secret so we should keep one from him.” Rainbow Dash explained. “Think of it like a prank. I haven’t played a good prank in forever. Plus he told me I’d have some fun ideas and I really don’t want to hear him say ‘I told you so’.”
“...Alright I guess, but be nice! He’s really sensitive.” Scootaloo said. She personally felt Star Shine was probably just going to end up being more upset by this but she decided to go along with Rainbow Dash’s plans in the end. They were Rainbow Dash’s plans and Scootaloo was her number one fan after all. Rainbow Dash took off towards the library for what Scootaloo hoped was the last time. Along the way she occasionally let out another unnerving laugh. Scootaloo thought maybe Rainbow Dash was enjoying herself way too much. Both of them needed a good laugh so she kept her silence and resolved to watch Rainbow Dash’s plan unfold. It was a good lesson for Star Shine, even if Rainbow Dash mostly saw it as a prank and a way to make the guy squirm.
***
Rainbow Dash knew her friends well. After Star Shine had taken off he headed in the direction of the town. He considered going back to Rainbow Dash’s house but he also considered that he might not be welcome there anymore. The look in Rainbow Dash’s eyes when she shouted at him had convinced him she hated him now. There really was only one place he went when he was in this kind of mood and that was the library. He had always loved books and found solace in them when he was alone as a kid, and even as he grew older. He flew around the town until he noticed a large tree that had been converted into a house. In front of the tree was a sign declaring it to be the library. Part of him considered if it was an irony for books to be kept in a tree, the very thing they were made of, but the rest of him was keen to just get inside and bury his troubles in a good book. After making sure the library was actually open he walked through the front door and was greeted by a purple Unicorn.
“Good morning and welcome to Golden Oaks Library.” Twilight Sparkle said, motioning around her at the stacks and stacks of books that surrounded her. “Are you new in town? I don’t think I’ve ever met you before.” she added when she saw who had walked in. Ponyville was a relatively small town and even though nopony else knew everypony quite like Pinkie Pie did, most of the regular residents knew enough about everypony else to know when they met somepony new.
“I’m not exactly new in town, but I haven’t been here very long. I’ve been staying with a friend. A friend I might have just lost.” Star Shine said solemnly as he thought about his actions and the possible consequences. Rainbow Dash had quickly forgotten how him calling her Scootaloo’s mother at the restaurant was in the paper but this was a much bigger deal. If there was one thing Twilight loved solving it was problems, especially friendship problems.
“Well come in then, sit down and I’ll make you a nice cup of tea and you can tell me all about it.” she said, pushing Star Shine towards a seat at a nearby table. Star Shine was still depressed and allowed himself to be moved around at the whims of Twilight Sparkle. “Spike, could you make two cups of tea? One for me and one for my new friend here.” Twilight called across to one of the side room. Twilight took a seat opposite Star Shine and he heard some grumbling coming from another room and a minute or so later saw a small purple dragon with green scales walk into the room carrying two cups of tea. Spike wasn’t one for mornings and it took him a few hours to really be his usual cheerful self.
“Oh...look at that. A Dragon.” Star Shine said simply, taking in the sight before him. “A Dragon...serving tea...to a pony.” The whole thing seemed very absurd to him. Spike grumbled again but otherwise said nothing as he continued serving the tea before heading back to the kitchen. He was a friendly dragon at heart but preferred being thought of as Twilight’s assistant, not her servant.
“You must be distracted.” Twilight said. “Normally ponies new to town freak out a little more at the sight of a Dragon. Even a baby one like Spike.” she explained.
“Yeah...I did something really, really stupid..” Star Shine replied. He was looking past Twilight at a spot beyond her.
“What did you do that could have been that bad?” Twilight asked. This pony certainly did seem to have problems.
“I let down my best friend, and one of the ponies she cares about most. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.” Star Shine explained. He snapped himself out of his reverie long enough to take a sip of tea. Tea was a delicacy where he was from after all, and he wondered how it had been passed on to the other parts of Equestria. “Hey this is quite good.” he said, drinking some more of the tea.
“Spike IS a Dragon. He’s a natural at getting the perfect temperature for something.” Twilight explained. “So, who’s your friend? Maybe I can help.” she asked.
“My friend? One of the best there is. You might know her even, she is the Element of Loyalty after all. Hey I guess that means I just let down the Element of Loyalty. That’s gotta be some kind of cosmic irony, don’t you think?” Star Shine asked. When he got depressed he tended to get a little philosophical.
“Of course I know Rainbow Dash. She is one of my best friends after all. I thought I knew all her friends.” Twilight replied, thinking about who the colt sat in front of her might be. “Let’s see...You’re a Pegasus colt, and you have a Trottingham accent, so it’s no wonder I don’t know you. You aren’t Star Shine by any chance are you?” Twilight asked him. Star Shine was a little taken aback she had come to the conclusion so quickly.
“Yeah that’s me. Who are you?” he asked.
“Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and unofficial Princess of Friendship. No wings you see.” Twilight replied, winking at Star Shine and showing her lack of wings.
“Well that’s just perfect...first I upset Rainbow Dash and then I run into one of her best friends. A friend who happens to be the most powerful Unicorn in Equestria and one that I reduced to charging up a magical battery.” Star Shine said. He certainly did feel down on his luck. He was beginning to think he might be needing something a little stronger than tea by the time he was done with the day. He wasn’t much of a drinker but some days really made you one.
“That reminds me. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that brace.” Twilight Sparkle said as a lightbulb went off in her mind. “I thought I wouldn’t get to talk to you for a week but this is a good opportunity, don’t you think?” she asked him. She was smiling and there was a glint in her eye. One that unnerved Star Shine to say the least.
“What about the whole ‘I upset Rainbow Dash’ thing?” Star Shine asked. He wasn’t sure which topic he wanted to avoid more so settled for trying to stick to one particular topic.
“Oh that? Don’t worry about that. I think Rainbow herself would have to be here for us to do anything about that. So tell me about your brace. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Twilight said. She was wondering about what happened with Rainbow Dash but she had been curious about the brace for longer. Plus she was right that she would probably need Rainbow Dash present to patch things up between her and Star Shine.
“Well you see-” Star Shine began before a large crash interrupted him as something flew into, and through, the front door. As if on cue, or summoned simply by the mention of her name, Rainbow Dash crashed into a bookshelf.
“Not again!” Spike called from the side room, taking a guess at what had happened.
“Careful next time Rainbow, I’m back here too.” Scootaloo said, brushing the dust off of her coat. Luckily for her Rainbow Dash had absorbed all the impact and Scootaloo had only been mildly shaken up. Rainbow Dash made her way to her hooves groggily but came to her senses when she saw Star Shine looking at her, a mixture of confusion and worry on his face.
“There’s your target Scoots!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing a hoof at Star Shine. He was beginning to really panic now while Twilight watched on in confusion. Neither pony, for all their smarts, could work out what was happening.
“Yes ma’am!” Scootaloo responded, giving a salute. She trusted Rainbow Dash knew what she was doing. That trust began to waver when Rainbow Dash planted a hoof behind her and flicked her at Star Shine a little harder than she wanted to. Rainbow Dash sometimes wasn’t sure of her own power. Star Shine could have avoided her but he knew if he did Scootaloo would hit the wall behind him and there was no way he was going to let that happen. He saw the panic in her eyes and managed to catch her. Scootaloo gave a sigh of relief and smiled up at him.
“Thanks.” she said before turning to face Rainbow Dash. “Don’t do that again! I want to fly sure, but not into a wall!” she shouted back across the library. Rainbow Dash played with her mane sheepishly and looked away. She thought she had been perhaps a little too enthusiastic and gave a silent thanks to Star Shine for managing to catch Scootaloo.
“Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo? What the hay is going on here?” Twilight demanded, she had finally seen enough. The shouting hadn’t helped. They were in a library after all. Rainbow Dash walked over to Twilight.
“I came here looking for him. I found him, and now he’s going to pay.” Rainbow Dash explained, bringing her hooves together with a sadistic smile. Star Shine was tempted to run away but Rainbow Dash could have caught him easily.
“Just make it quick.” Star Shine said, sighing in resignation. He was also keen to get any and all punishment over with quickly.
“What did he even do? He came here so upset and worried that you’d never forgive him.” Twilight asked. For a brief moment the smile on Scootaloo’s face faltered as she began to empathise with Star Shine and thought the plan was a bad idea. He needed reassurance and not trickery.
“I’m so so so sorry Scoots. I didn’t mean to say anything.” Star Shine said quietly as he held Scootaloo close to himself. .
“You were really that upset?” Scootaloo asked. Star Shine nodded and Scootaloo could see where his fur had stuck together thanks to his tears. She surprised everypony in the room by nuzzling up against him.
“To be honest it didn’t go that badly.” Scootaloo said. She tried to sound honest but her voice was a little shaky.
“Really?” Star Shine replied, unconvinced.
“Okay so it didn’t go well. Rainbow ended up doing most of the talking. But my friends know now and maybe it’s better that way.” Scootaloo explained.
“Plus I kinda made the same mistake you did...” Rainbow Dash added, scuffing the floor with a hoof. “We both messed up so get a move on, we’ve got things to do and ponies to see.” she added as she moved towards Star Shine and Scootaloo. Twilight looked between Rainbow Dash and Star Shine, more confused than ever.
“I don’t get it, what did he say? What did you do?” Twilight asked Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed as she came up alongside Star Shine.
“I’m sorry Twilight but I can’t tell you that. Not yet. It’s bad enough I told him something I shouldn’t and Scootaloo already had the choice taken away from her once today, and I don’t want to make it twice. “ Twilight sighed but smiled.
“I understand. But what are you going to do? You won’t hurt him will you?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash looked like she wouldn’t actually hurt him, but Twilight was a little concerned for his safety. Although part of that concern was that he might die before she got her answers about his brace.
“Don’t worry about that.” Scootaloo said as she hopped out of Star Shine’s hooves. He was confused and his confusion quickly became fear as Rainbow Dash pulled him onto her back to stop him trying to fly away. “Rainbow Dash won’t hurt him or she won’t be able to do what she said. It’s something the two of them are going to do.” Neither Twilight nor Star Shine were very convinced and Star Shine was a little worried about what Rainbow Dash might have said he would do. He considered fighting out of her grasp and flying away but Rainbow Dash was faster than him, and she’d probably hurt him more if he tried to get away.
“I guess I’ll see you later this week then? We can talk all about your brace.” Twilight asked Star Shine. He nodded but was afraid to open his mouth, lest he land himself in more trouble.
“Hitting on Celestia’s student now are we? Congratulations, you’ve made things worse for yourself. You even want to put her in a brace? I had no idea you were into that stuff.” Rainbow Dash said, narrowing her eyes.
“It’s not like that! Tell her it’s not like that!” Star Shine exclaimed, begging Twilight to help him. She was too busy laughing to actually help him and his protests fell on deaf ears as Rainbow Dash left the library with Scootaloo in tow.
“What the hay was that all about?” Spike asked, walking into the room and surveying the damage.
“I have absolutely no clue. I wonder what they’re going to do to that guy.” Twilight replied, sitting down at the table and drinking the rest of her tea. She continued to hear Star Shine’s protests through the door until eventually they faded into silence as he was taken far away enough. “I’ll have to ask him what they did next time he drops by.” Twilight mused.
“I hope he drops by, and not in.” Spike quipped, taking in the mess and damage Rainbow had caused. Twilight looked around and giggled.
“Come on. I guess we’d better get this cleaned up.” Twilight said, rising out of her chair. Her horn lit up as books began to put themselves away and Spike joined in, putting books away by claw instead of by magic.
Star Shine stopped protesting when he realised nopony was going to help him. He sighed and resigned himself to being stuck on Rainbow Dash’s back.
“Can I get down now? I won’t run away but I’m getting tired of all the looks I’m getting.” Star Shine asked, looking at the ground so he didn’t have to look at the ponies pointing and laughing at him.
“You can stay there. This is part of your punishment. Do you think I like carrying you around? You said yourself Pegasi don’t have hollow bones.” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine wasn’t actually being punished for anything anymore but playing up to his guilt had been Phase One of The Plan. If he thought he was being punished he wouldn’t question what Rainbow Dash was going to do with him.
“Does it annoy you to carry me around?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly hit by a terrible thought.
“Nah, you’re small, light, and most of all, cute.” Rainbow Dash reassured Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled and jumped up to nuzzle Rainbow Dash quickly.
“I’m cute too..” Star Shine protested quietly. Rainbow Dash laughed.
“Maybe a little.” Rainbow Dash admitted. “But you’re not small and you’re not light.” she added. Star Shine sighed and looked downcast again.
“At least the view isn’t bad.” Star Shine said, turning his head to look at Rainbow Dash’s flank. Rainbow Dash swung her tail around and hit him in the face with it. Star Shine massaged his face where he had been hit and chose to look in front of him rather than behind.
“That’s it, you’re getting off. But no running away.” Rainbow Dash said, bucking Star Shine off her back. He landed flat on his haunches with a resounding thud.
“Where are you even taking me anyway?” he asked as he got up to his hooves and walked in place besides Rainbow Dash.
“Oh you’ll see.” Rainbow Dash said gleefully. Star Shine was a little worried about her tone of voice. “It’s something nice for Scoots. You DO want to be nice to her don’t you?” she asked, leaning close to Star Shine and raising an eyebrow.
“...sorry.” Star Shine said quietly, looking down at the ground sadly.
“I know you are. Don’t worry about it.” Scootaloo said, giving him a quick nuzzle. She didn’t want him to place all the blame on himself and wanted him to feel a little better. It wouldn’t be good for anypony if he couldn’t even look her in the eyes anymore.
“Why are you being so nice?” Star Shine asked her. He expected to be in a lot more physical pain at the moment.
“So you’re finally stumped huh? It took long enough for you to not have the answer.” Rainbow Dash called to him. It was a moment she had waited a long time for and thought she would have to wait until he was with Twilight to see.
“I guess you can’t be right all the time.” Star Shine said, playing with his mane sheepishly. It was one of the hardest things for him to admit.
“I never thought I’d hear you say that.” Rainbow Dash said. “This must really be eating away at you.” Star Shine nodded and Rainbow Dash patted him gently with a wing. She was beginning to think that maybe she should just tell him everything. She expected he would actually really love the idea. All three of them having a fancy dinner together in Canterlot was something he would definitely enjoy.
“It was just an accident, don’t beat yourself up about it so much.” Scootaloo reassured Star Shine, tapping his foreleg with a hoof. She’d have tapped him on the shoulder but she couldn’t reach it.
“So why won’t you just tell me what you’re doing and where we’re going?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo raised herself onto her hind legs, shrugged, and pointed a hoof at Rainbow Dash before coming back down onto four hooves.
“It’s her idea, not mine.” Scootaloo said to exonerate herself. Star Shine looked at Rainbow Dash for answers.
“It’s more fun this way.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing. “Plus I think you need a lesson in keeping secrets and it’s nice to see you, the Prince of Know It All’s, to not know something.” she added, winking at Star Shine. He sighed and accepted his fate. The part of him that insisted living in guilt considered it an apt punishment.
“Please don’t be sad.” Scootaloo said quickly, huddling up to him. She was worried he might still be blaming himself.
“I messed up big time though.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo hopped up onto his back and wrapped her forelegs around his neck in a hug.
“It was just an accident. I know you didn’t mean to do anything.” Scootaloo said softly into his ear. “Don’t punish yourself like this okay?”
“Punishing myself?” Star Shine asked, his eyes wide with surprise. “What makes you think I’m punishing myself?”
“I’ve been hurt a lot and let down before. What you did was pretty tame really. I punish myself sometimes too...so don’t do it.” Scootaloo said in a commanding tone. Scootaloo had been hurt so much before she understood the pain of others well, and knew that emotional wounds could hurt a lot more than physical ones. On the one hoof, Star Shine was grateful, but on the other he was deeply saddened by how much pain Scootaloo must have endured to learn one of life’s harshest lessons.
“You really are a wonderful little pony. Never let anypony tell you different.” Star Shine said to her, amazed by her levels of maturity.
“I won’t.” Scootaloo beamed back at him.
“I won’t let it happen either.” Rainbow Dash said, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. Scootaloo hopped onto Rainbow Dash’s back, cuddled up to the back of her neck, and then jumped down onto the ground once more.
“Where are you even taking me anyway?” Star Shine asked. He hoped that if he asked them suddenly they might just say it, much like he himself might have done. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash shook their heads.
“You’ll have to find out when we get there.” Rainbow Dash said. Star Shine gave Scootaloo a pleading look but she just shook her head again and wouldn’t tell him anything. Star Shine sighed and accepted this was probably how it was going to be. At least he’d find out soon. Scootaloo still liked Rainbow Dash more and as this was her idea, she felt Rainbow Dash should be the one to tell him. If she didn’t want to, then Scootaloo wouldn’t say anything either.
“We’re here.” Rainbow Dash said a short time later. Star Shine gave a sharp intake of breath at the sight before him. It was a large building that was designed to look like a carousel and his eyes trailed until they found a sign. The design made sense to him as he saw the name of the place; Carousel Boutique.
“Why are we at a boutique? What are you doing?” Star Shine asked. He was panicking a little but Rainbow Dash ignored him and just pushed him inside the shop. She didn’t like being in a boutique any more than he did and wanted to get the experience over and done with. Scootaloo trailed close by and followed them inside.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique” Rarity called as they entered. It was the way she normally greeted customers and she said it out of instinct before realising who it was that had entered her shop. “Ahh if it isn’t Rainbow Dash and your handsome little coltfriend. Star Shine was it?” Rarity asked. Star Shine feared for Rarity’s safety.
“He’s not my coltfriend, and we’ll talk about that later. For now though I’d like you to make him a suit.” Rainbow Dash replied. She was content to wait to talk to Rarity about Gabby Gums. Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief at how easily Rainbow Dash had brushed aside the ‘coltfriend’ comment but panicked when he realised what else she had said.
“Suit? Why do I need a suit?” Star Shine asked. “I have a perfectly good suit at home.”
“Yeah, at home in Trottingham. You need one for here.” Rainbow Dash replied. Rarity was curious but she had a job to do. Questions could wait.
“Stick him behind the screen there and I’ll measure him, then get to work.” Rarity said. Rainbow Dash started pushing him but Star Shine moved ahead of her.
“I can walk you know. You don’t have to carry me everywhere.” Star Shine commented as he moved behind the screen. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stood on the other side while Rarity disappeared behind the curtain and began measuring Star Shine.
“So what’s the occasion? A date?” Rarity asked Star Shine as she measured his forelegs. She was talking quietly so Rainbow Dash couldn’t hear. Star Shine lifted up a foreleg in a shrug and Rarity tapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t move your forelegs while I measure them dear.” she chastised.
“Sorry. I don’t know what she’s planning. She just dragged me here without telling me anything.” Star Shine explained. Rarity hmmed as she thought over the implications.
“So it’s true that you aren’t a couple?” Rarity asked, measuring the length of his back.
“Yes ma’am, I really am just Scootaloo’s flight instructor, and an old friend of Rainbow Dash.” Star Shine explained. He wanted to get all the confusion sorted as quickly as he could.
“But last time I saw you, you said you were her specialist friend. Her most special friend.” Rarity replied, her face showing her confusion and misunderstanding.
“Yes, I’m a specialist at training fillies to fly. I can get any filly to fly and that’s what I meant. Sorry about the confusion.” Star Shine replied.
“Oh no dear. I should be the one apologising for the things I said that ended up in that churlish gossip column. I sure hope Rainbow wasn’t too angry.” Rarity said. She sounded sincere and Star Shine was keen to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“You’re still alive aren’t you?” Star Shine asked. Rarity nodded, confused by the question. “Then she wasn’t too angry.” Star Shine reassured her. Rarity giggled in response and began measuring his hips.
“It’s a shame you and Rainbow Dash aren’t a couple.” Rarity commented.
“Why’s that then?” Star Shine asked, confused. He was trying not to move much while Rarity worked her way around his lower body.
“Well look at you darling,” Rarity said, raising her voice so Rainbow Dash could hear her, “an impressive figure honed by years of flight, a charming accent, you have a good job, and you’re wonderful with kids. Especially her little Scootaloo. What more could a girl want?” Rarity surmised.
“I heard that.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo giggled at Rainbow’s reaction. She wasn’t well versed in love and the last time she had tried to pair two ponies up it ended in disaster so she tried to avoid having an opinion on that matter. She still found how uncomfortable Rainbow Dash was about it amusing though and wondered if Rainbow Dash still felt the same way she had all those years ago.
“You were supposed to.” Rarity said, leaning around the screen and smiling at Rainbow Dash. “Well I’m all done, and he’s all yours again.” she added as she put the tape measure away and tapped Star Shine on the flank. He jumped at the unexpected contact and moved out from behind the curtain. There was a red tinge to his dark blue cheeks. “The suit will be ready by tonight. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?” Rarity asked.
“Don’t you want to know what I’d like my suit to look like?” Star Shine asked, confused. He thought he would get some opinion on the matter.
“Darling please, I know what my customers want. I learned a long time ago not to let my customers design their own outfits. Those were some of the worst dresses I ever laid my beautiful eyes on.” she said, shuddering at the memory of the time her friends had designed their own dresses. “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?”
“There is one thing...” Rainbow Dash began. Rarity turned to face her but Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything.
“Yes, what is it?” Rarity asked, confused by her friend’s silence.
“She wants a dress. Two actually. One for her, and one for me.” Scootaloo said on Rainbow Dash’s behalf. There was still no way Rainbow Dash was about to admit to wanting a dress.
“Does the one you got for the gala not fit anymore?” Rarity asked. Inside she was practically glowing at the thought of making Rainbow Dash a new dress. Even if Rainbow herself hadn’t actually asked for it.
“It fits fine. I’d just like something...special.” Rainbow Dash replied, so quietly Rarity almost missed it.
“What was that? You want something what?” Rarity asked, teasing Rainbow Dash into admitting what she said loudly.
“Special. I want something special.” Rainbow Dash managed to say. There was a very pink tinge to her cheeks. “It doesn’t matter what it looks like because he’s paying too.” she added, pointing a hoof at the shocked Star Shine.
“I’m paying for these?” he asked, taken aback. He expected to have to pay for something, but not a new suit and two new dresses.
“You heard what Rarity said, you have a good job. I’m going to pay for something else, but this is the more expensive thing.” Rainbow Dash replied, taking her place behind the curtain. Rarity ducked behind the curtain herself.
“You really can’t tell me anything?” Star Shine asked Scootaloo. He was curious about a lot of things and not having answers was close to torturous for him.
“I almost want to but I think she’s right about you needing to be taught a lesson.” Scootaloo replied. Star Shine sighed and lowered himself onto the ground mentally watching all his bits fade away. “I can tell you I think you’d like it too.” Scootaloo added. Star Shine started shaking as he imagined what Rainbow Dash might have in mind and Scootaloo patted his mane in a comforting manner. She had to admit it felt good to be the one giving comfort for once instead of receiving it.
Rarity began measuring Rainbow Dash but Rainbow kept fidgeting and wasn’t making it easy.
“Hold still darling or this is going to take a lot longer than it should.” Rarity chastised. Rainbow Dash fidgeted a little more and then managed to stand still.
“Sorry, I just don’t like standing still.” Rainbow Dash said. She continued fidgeting but tried her best to only move the parts Rarity wasn’t measuring. “By the way I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Who did you talk to about Star Shine? I want to find who wrote that story.” Rainbow Dash asked. Like Star Shine, she was willing to give Rarity the benefit of the doubt and let her explain herself. In the end it had been a blessing in disguise she lost her voice and had the time to calm down and not ruin her friendship with Rarity over something that was, in the grand scheme of things, so small. The day’s events had really put her situation into perspective.
“To be perfectly honest dear I couldn’t tell you who he was.” Rarity answered. There was sadness in her voice. She genuinely felt bad that she couldn’t help her friend.
“What? How can you not know that?” Rainbow Dash hissed, turning around to face Rarity. Rarity made Rainbow Dash face forward so she could continue measuring before answering.
“I mean what I said. I don’t know who they were. They had a picture of your little Star Shine there and asked me if I knew anything about him. I just told them what I knew. I didn’t know it would end up where it did.” Rarity explained.
“Do you remember what they looked like?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Of course, it was only a few days ago. But I don’t think knowing what they look like is going to help much.” Rarity said. Rainbow Dash turned to face her and Rarity turned her head back again. “They were wearing a lot of clothes. Far more than anypony usually does. All I can really tell you is that it was a stallion. He was wearing a suit that covered most of his body including his cutie mark. He also wore glasses and a hat. I think that look has been done to death, but I must admit he pulled it off well.” Rarity said, her inner fashion critic shining through. “He also looked really official and that’s why I talked to him. I was almost afraid of him.”
“Makes me think who Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom might have talked to. We forgot to ask them that after everything that happened.” Rainbow Dash replied, facehoofing at her failure to ask the Crusaders about Gabby Gums.
“Oh you don’t need to worry about that. I was there when it happened.” Rarity said, moving the tape measure down Rainbow Dash’s back and eliciting fresh squirming from Rainbow Dash.
“When what happened?” Rainbow Dash asked after she had regained her composure.
“A stallion talked to her too. He came over to the Boutique looking for her Friday night. He said he was the assistant of somepony who’s on the school board of governors. He asked her where Scootaloo vanished to because Cheerilee never made an official record of it. According to the records Scootaloo just disappeared for a week and the school wanted to know what happened. They asked Cheerilee but she said she didn’t know, and recommended asking her friends if they knew anything. He found out where she lived and came and asked her about it. Sweetie Belle only told him what Scootaloo had told her, and she did it because she didn’t want the little dear to be in trouble.” Rarity explained as she finished up measuring Rainbow Dash.
“Did you ask Cheerliee about it?” Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity nodded.
“I went to talk to her on Saturday about it and she said that the stallion had come to the school on Friday after the children left.” Rarity replied. Rainbow Dash sighed. It seemed like her investigations were nipped before they could really begin. All she had to work with were two mystery stallions, one of which worked for an important pony at the school. At least the list of suspects was narrowed down. But then there was the problem with how the ponies were connected and who took the information and turned it into the wild speculation that it became.
“Well thanks for helping.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Don’t mention it. I’m just ever so sorry that it ended up there at all. If I’d have known it would, I wouldn’t have said anything.” Rarity replied, looking downcast. Rainbow Dash could tell she genuinely meant it and felt bad about what happened.
“Don’t worry about it. I got over it.” Rainbow Dash said, giving her friend a brief nuzzle to reassure her.
“No doubt thanks to that little coltfriend of yours?” Rarity replied, giggling and raising an eyebrow.
“For the last time Rarity he’s not my coltfriend.” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing and then rubbing her now aching muzzle. “Although he did help calm me down.” Rainbow Dash relented. It was true that if Star Shine hadn’t told her she was scaring Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash would have exploded in a flurry of anger and curse words. She had proceeded to do that in the shower, but keeping calm long enough to get to the shower to do it had been a small victory in itself. “Anyway, when will the dress be ready?” Rainbow Dash asked, coming back to her senses.
“Well I could have a suit done by tonight, but a suit and two dresses is going to take a little longer. They should be done by tomorrow afternoon if that’s okay?” Rarity replied after calculating how long it would take to fill this order, as well as all the other orders she had going on. She would have done Rainbow Dash a favour and worked on her clothes immediately but she had too many priority orders from high society.
“Yeah that’ll be fine thanks. There’s something else actually.” Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly.
“Oh? More? Whatever is it?” Rarity asked.
“Well I’m not going to ask you to do this for free, I mean you’re making something for Scoots and Shine as well as me, but could you give him a discount? These things are expensive aren’t they?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was starting to feel just a little guilty about taking all of Star Shine’s money.
“You’re feeling a little guilty about taking his money?” Rarity asked. As a dress designer with a hooves on approach she had come to help a lot of ponies with their problems, and knew one when she saw one. Rainbow Dash nodded, shifting uneasily.
“A little yeah. I mean, he doesn’t even know what we’re doing with them.” Rainbow Dash said. Rarity mulled it over and smiled at Rainbow Dash.
“I suppose he can have a little discount.” Rarity said, winking at Rainbow Dash. “But please dear don’t do anything rough in them.” she added. Rainbow Dash had a tendency for horseplay and she didn’t want these dresses to get ruined.
“How much longer are they going to be?” the pair of mares heard Scootaloo whine. They had lost track of time and hadn’t realised how long they had been.
“I dunno. Maybe Rainbow Dash has a giant flank and it’s taking a while to measure it.” Star Shine joked before giving a small cry of pain. Rainbow Dash surmised Scootaloo had hit him for his transgressions.
“I could give him a little less of a discount?” Rarity offered sheepishly.
“Yeah, I’ll go for that.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling. Rarity smiled at her and her horn lit up as she moved the screen aside, revealing herself and Rainbow Dash to Star Shine and Scootaloo. The pair were sat on the floor. Star Shine was rubbing his sides where Scootaloo had hit him and he and Scootaloo looked up when they heard the screen move at last.
“Oh? All done then?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash nodded and walked over to Scootaloo.
“I heard what he said, good girl.” Rainbow Dash whispered into Scootaloo’s ear before laughing and giving the filly a small hoofbump.
“Now it’s up to you two what I do from here.” Rarity said, bringing the attention of everypony towards herself. “I can measure Scootaloo, or I can just use Sweetie Belle’s measurements. They’re pretty much the same size and if Scootaloo is so sick she’s off school then I suggest just taking her home.” Neither Star Shine nor Rainbow Dash had actually told Rarity why Scootaloo wasn’t in school and whilst she was curious, she could only take the best guess for now. Even if Scootaloo didn’t really look ill and even if that still left the question of why she was out of the house if she was ill.
“Right. She’s ill and should be in school right now. Oh hay I should be in work! Shine, take her home for me and make sure she stays in bed!” Rainbow Dash said quickly before zipping out of the door. Scootaloo ran up to the door and watched Rainbow Dash take off into the air. Star Shine walked up behind her. Rainbow Dash quickly flew back to give Scootaloo a small kiss on the cheek and say goodbye before heading back in the direction of Cloudsdale.
“Come on, you heard what she said. Let’s get you home little lady.” Star Shine said, patting Scootaloo on the head and scooping her onto his back. “Thanks for your time Miss Rarity. If I might ask, how much is all this going to cost?” Star Shine asked, turning around to face Rarity.
“Well Rainbow Dash said she wanted something special for herself, then there’s a small dress for Scootaloo, and lastly your suit.” Rarity said, thinking about the cost. After a bit of mental maths she applied the discount and came up with the answer. “All in all that’s going to be two hundred and seventeen bits.” Rarity said. Star Shine went stiff with shock and it almost looked like he’d had a heart attack and slipped into a coma.
“Two...two hundred and seventeen bits?” Star Shine managed to say slowly. Rarity nodded and smirked at him.
“It was going to be less but then you commented on Rainbow Dash’s flanks.” Rarity explained. “She asked if you could have a discount but then you did that.”
“But I think she has lovely flanks! I mean..arrgh...” Star Shine said hurriedly before realising what he was saying and stopped before he could say anything else stupid. He’d said enough stupid things for one day.
“Well it’s nice you think that, but she’s not around to ask for a discount. Maybe you should compliment her when she’s actually around.” Rarity said, giggling at Star Shine’s embarrassment.
“Well thanks anyway. When should I come by to pay for and collect the clothes?” Star Shine asked with a sigh. If he was going to do this then he wanted it to be over and done with. He still didn’t know what Rainbow Dash wanted the new clothes for either.
“They should be ready by tomorrow if you want to come by. Try to do it after Scootaloo is done with school and Rainbow Dash is done with work though. I want to see their reactions to their new outfits, and you’re going to want to compliment Rainbow Dash on how she looks in her’s, am I right?” Rarity replied, giggling as a fresh blush made it’s way to Star Shine’s cheeks. Scootaloo popped her head around Star Shine’s neck and prodded his cheeks.
“I’ll bet, with how warm his cheeks are.” Scootaloo said, giggling. Star Shine looked like he was going to crumble under the onslaught but he sighed and pulled himself together in time.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then Miss Rarity.” Star Shine said, bowing his head politely to Rarity.
“Until tomorrow then. Get better soon Scootaloo.” Rarity replied, waving at Scootaloo as Star Shine turned around.
“Thanks Rarity. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Scootaloo replied, waving back. Star Shine walked out the door and took off in the direction of Rainbow Dash’s house. Rarity watched him fly away for a minute before turning around and getting started on her work, her face positively aglow as she thought what a cute couple Rainbow Dash and Star Shine would make in their new outfits. In her own, overly romanticised mind at least
Scootaloo was quiet during the journey back to the manor and Star Shine let her be. Dealing with flightless Pegasi meant he had also dealt with a lot of depressed children and knew if they wanted to talk, then they would. A short time later they arrived back at the cloud manor. Star Shine opened the front door and walked in. Scootaloo hopped off of his back and scurried up the stairs. Star Shine watched her in confusion, shook his head, and sat down on the couch. He leaned down and pulled a small book out of his saddlebags. He opened it up and laid it down on the table. He looked down at the contents and let out a long winded sigh.
“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked, making Star Shine jump. She had come back downstairs and was now looking down at the book. It was full of numbers and dates but she couldn’t make sense of it.
“This? It’s just how many bits I have in the bank. This is how much,” he said, pointing a hoof at one of the numbers, “and this is when it was.” he added, pointing at one of the dates. Scootaloo looked down at the numbers again and gasped when she saw the one closest to the current date.
“That’s a lot of zeroes...” she said. It wasn’t actually that many but more than she’d ever seen.
“Being a private tutor can be a lucrative job, and I’ve never had a very special somepony. I never really spend much on myself, so I have all this money and no idea what to do with it.” Star Shine explained.
“I thought you trained orphans? You actually charge orphans a lot of bits?” Scootaloo asked. She was disgusted at the idea of charging orphans a lot of money. Her orphanage had considered getting her private lessons but it had been decided they were far too expensive.
“Don’t be silly. I think that flight is a gift all Pegasi deserve. I train orphans for free.” Star Shine explained. “Not every trainer thinks that way though.” he added with a sigh. He was equally as disgusted at the idea of not teaching orphans or poor children just because they couldn’t afford it.
“So what’s with all the zeroes? How’d you get all that money?” Scootaloo asked, tapping Star Shine’s bank book.
“That? That’s from the parents who can afford to pay me. I have to make a living too.” Star Shine said, winking. Scootaloo nodded, seeing his point and agreeing with him.
“I wish we had somepony like you around when I was at the orphanage. They would have given me lessons but said they couldn’t afford them.” Scootaloo said, looking down at the ground. Star Shine patted her on the head and pulled her up onto the couch, setting her down next to where he was.
“My orphanage said the same thing. Luckily by then I could fly and they were telling somepony else that. I taught them to fly though and that’s how I got started training foals to fly actually.” Star Shine said, looking away from Scootaloo and into the past.
“You were an orphan?” Scootaloo asked in wonder. She really had no idea about Star Shine’s past. Star Shine nodded and smiled.
“That’s right. Though don’t tell Rainbow, she has no idea.” Star Shine said, zipping his lips.
“Why did you never tell her?” Scootaloo asked. She was growing more curious by the second.
“She never asked, and I never wanted her to know. Isn’t that what it was like for you?” Star Shine asked. Much like Scootaloo he had always hidden the more dark aspects of his life from his childhood friends. Scootaloo nodded and looked down at the ground again.
“I didn’t want them to pity me, or think I was weak.” Scootaloo said. Star Shine wrapped a foreleg around her and pulled her close. He smiled when Scootaloo didn’t fight her way out of his touch like he had been half expecting her to.
“Do you know what that tells me about you?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo looked up at him and shook her head. “It tells me that you are one strong and brave little pony.” he said, smiling. Scootaloo smiled but it faltered as she remembered something.
“I’m not that strong. You saw what I did...you told my friends about it.” Scootaloo said, snorting. Her anger at that situation hadn’t totally disappeared.
“Even the strongest of us needs help at times Scoots. When I ended up in the orphanage I was lost and alone, like you were. Then I found Rainbow...like you did actually. Tell me something Scootaloo; do you think I’m a strong pony?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo was confused but thought the question over anyway. After a moment of thought she nodded her head.
“Yeah. You brush everything off and stay calm even when Rainbow doesn’t. Today was the only time I’ve seen you anything but happy. You just laugh at everything.” Scootaloo said, coming to her conclusion. “It’s why I like you.” she added, turning away in mild embarrassment. She didn’t like admitting to liking ponies much. Other than Rainbow Dash of course.
“You like me?” Star Shine asked, a little taken aback. He thought that after what he had done that morning he had ruined any chance he had at getting close to Scootaloo.
“A little. You’re funny and all, but you did really mess up.” Scootaloo said. Star Shine winced at the reminder.
“Well anyway, do you know the main difference between me and you Scootaloo?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo was confused again but she thought the question over. She looked Star Shine up and down.
“Besides you being a boy and having a Cutie Mark?” Scootaloo asked, giggling a little. Star Shine smiled and shook his head.
“Those are differences, but the main one is that I wasn’t alone for as long as you were. I also had purpose. When I was alone in the orphanage I started teaching the other foals how to fly, and then I went to Flight Camp and met Rainbow. She really is something special isn’t she?” Star Shine asked, thinking about how much one little mare had changed the life of not just one, but two ponies.
“Do you like her?” Scootaloo asked, stifling a giggle.
“She’s alright. Bit brash and reckless, but you can’t deny how good she’s been to the both of us.” Star Shine replied, a little confused by the question. He thought it was obvious he and Rainbow were friends. He was once again displaying his amazing ability to miss the point.
“I didn’t mean like that.” Scootaloo said, facehoofing. Star Shine giggled.
“I know. I’m stupid but I’m not THAT stupid.” he replied.
“Are you sure about that?” Scootaloo asked, laughing as she remembered Star Shine’s more hilarious mistakes, such as accidentally telling Rarity he was Rainbow Dash’s coltfriend.
“I’m pretty sure. I got good grades at school at least. I’m book smart anyway. I’m not very good when it comes to feelings. I told Rainbow Dash a long time ago I wasn’t interested. I’m no good at working out how I feel and she doesn’t like me much anyway.” Star Shine replied. He had never been very good at working out his feelings, especially when it came to other ponies. It was the main reason he’d never found a very special somepony.
“She might, if you stop doing stupid things.” Scootaloo said, smiling. Star Shine smiled and sighed.
“But me being silly makes you smile doesn’t it?” Star Shine asked.
“Sometimes, it depends what you’re doing.” Scootaloo replied.
“You aren’t going to let me live this morning down are you?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo shook her head but huddled up to Star Shine, showing that she didn’t think he was all bad. “I guess I’ll never let myself live it down either.” he said quietly.
“Can I ask you something?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Star Shine.
“Sure, you can ask me anything.” Star Shine replied, nodding.
“Would you really have told them?” Scootaloo asked, looking away as soon as she asked the question. It was one that had been bothering her since the incident. She could almost move past it and understand how much Star Shine was hurting as much as her, but she still couldn’t understand why he would have done it in the first place. Star Shine looked away in sadness.
“I might have done. I really thought it was for the best until I saw how much it would have hurt you. I knew that eventually you would have to have that talk with your friends, and so I thought I’d bring it about early. It wasn’t good for you to question your friends like that and you had to know they love you. I tried to find out without telling them anything and nearly did, then Rainbow rushed me.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo could understand that. She had felt for herself the niggling thoughts and feelings she held towards her friends. Her doubts as to their true feelings. She had thought they liked her before, and then thought they didn’t. She could see his reasoning and hadn’t really thought that Rainbow Dash had rushed him and was partly to blame for him slipping up.
“So what happens when I fly anyway? Are you going to go away?” Scootaloo asked, still looking at the ground. She had her answer as to why Star Shine would have done have told her friends and now came questions about what would happen after his job was done. “Is this what you do? You move in for a while to make sure a foal wears your brace and then go away when you’re done?” she added. “I’m not even wearing the brace.” Scootaloo said quietly as she looked back at her wings and realised that she really had forgotten to put the brace on.
“I’m no Element of Loyalty like your mother, but I do stick around for as long as I’m needed. I’m not about to go anywhere until you can fly properly on your own.” Star Shine replied, nuzzling Scootaloo’s cheek.
“And what about after?” Scootaloo replied. She had enjoyed the time that her, Rainbow, and Star Shine had spent together. She didn’t like the idea that it would all be over so quickly. That she would be abandoned once more by a pony who had come into her life. Especially one who genuinely seemed to care about her. One who would go so far as to break her trust and lose her faith for what he felt was good for her.
“You know I’ve never actually moved in with a client before? And that you, and only you, are the only pony besides myself to wear that brace?” Star Shine asked.
“You haven’t? I am?” Scootaloo replied. Part of her had assumed that it was normal for him to be some kind of live in instructor, and that he put the brace on every little pony who couldn’t fly.
“I still haven’t moved in with a client.” Star Shine replied, shaking his head.
“But you live here don’t you?”
“But you and Rainbow aren’t my clients. You’re my friends.” Star Shine said, nuzzling Scootaloo. “Besides I don’t actually live here. I actually told Rainbow Dash I’d be leaving today...” he added, remembering the day and that he only asked if he could stay until Monday.
“So you’re going to leave? I knew you were going to leave. Everypony leaves don’t they?” Scootaloo replied. She had been left behind far too many times.
“It’s not up to me. It’s up to Rainbow Dash. Speaking of Dashie, she’s not likely to ever leave you either.” Star Shine said, patting Scootaloo gently. “I’ve had some real laughs staying with you guys so I’m in no hurry to leave myself.”
“Do you think Rainbow will let you stay?” Scootaloo asked.
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Scootaloo nodded.
“Then she’ll let me stay. I’m sure she’d let me live here if you want me to. I might fear for my life a little when you’re in bed and it’s just me and her, but I’ll be here.” Star Shine said reassuringly.
“Do you think she’ll actually hurt you?” Scootaloo asked, giggling.
“I wouldn’t put it past her. She hits me enough as it is.” Star Shine said, rubbing his sides that still ached a little from all of Rainbow Dash’s jabbing.
“I think she does that because she likes you.” Scootaloo said, jabbing Star Shine herself to emphasize her point. “If she was trying to hurt you, she’d aim for your face.” she added, laughing.
“If she aimed for my face, I’d definitely die. So don’t let her do that okay?” Star Shine replied worriedly. Scootaloo laughed and nodded.
“So how come I’m the only pony who’s ever worn that brace? Why take it everywhere if you never use it?” Scootaloo asked. Star Shine sighed and looked away sadly.
“Remember how I said that life and my name were the first things my parents gave me?” he asked. Scootaloo nodded, curious as to where this was going. “That brace...it’s special and one of a kind. It does a lot more than simply building wingpower. Normally I would use a normal brace, like the one Rainbow uses, if I had to. I take my brace with me everywhere because if my life, and my name, were my first presents from my parents, then that...that was the last.” Star Shine said dejectedly before looking at the clock and getting off the couch. He stretched his limbs before heading towards the kitchen.
“Where’re ya headed?” Scootaloo asked him, leaning on the side of the couch. She was interested in hearing more of the story and found his sudden movement strange. She was also interested in what else the brace was for.
“We talked so long it’s time for your lunch. Rainbow told me to take care of you.” Star Shine replied.
“So you’re only taking care of me because you’re afraid of Rainbow Dash? Gee, thanks. I thought you cared.” Scootaloo replied, pouting and sniffling. Star Shine hurried back to her and leaned down to her level.
“Yep.” he said, smiling. Scootaloo swiped at his face and hit him in the jaw. Star Shine took a step back and rubbed his jaw. He was smiling despite the pain, having successfully lightened the mood and avoided talking about a very personal subject.
“Rainbow’s right, you are a jerk.” Scootaloo said, huffing out her chest and sitting back down on the couch.
“But a loveable jerk right?” Star Shine asked, flashing his best smile. Scootaloo wasn’t looking so it was a wasted effort.
“Nope, just a jerk. Now go make my lunch.” Scootaloo replied, crossing her forelegs indignantly. Star Shine sighed and made his way back to the kitchen.
“I didn’t mean it you know. I do care.” he said as he stood at the doorway. Scootaloo looked over at him.
“I meant what I said, you’re a jerk and I’m hungry.” Scootaloo replied. She sounded mad and upset, but there was a smile tugging at her lips, betraying her amusement at the situation.
“I’ll go make you something to eat then.” Star Shine said, looking dejectedly at the ground and turning around slowly. Scootaloo watched him leave the room, not allowing herself to fall for the same trick she had just used herself. She had known Star Shine was only joking, and she guessed he knew she was too, and she wasn’t going to fall for it. Star Shine returned to the room about ten minutes later with a plate of sandwiches and hay fries balanced delicately on a hoof. He put it down on the table and went back into the kitchen to get a few drinks. The pair started eating, splitting the food on the plate between themselves.
“Say...Scootaloo...Go get my brace. I just got the best idea ever.” Star Shine said when the food had been eaten and the washing up cleared away. Scootaloo was confused but did as she was asked. She had been keeping the brace in her room. She grabbed it and ran back downstairs to Star Shine, who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
“What’s the brace for?” Scootaloo asked when she reached the bottom.
“You know how to play hide and seek?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Yeah, doesn’t everypony? It’s like, the most boring game ever.” Scootaloo replied.
“You won’t be saying that after this.” Star Shine replied. He quickly put the brace on Scootaloo before she could respond or protest. Scootaloo gave a small gasp of pain as the brace tightened in response to her wingpower. “Okay now go hide, and buzz your wings. Like you do when you ride your scooter.” Star Shine said.
“I thought buzzing was bad for me?” Scootaloo replied, remembering when Rainbow Dash had told her that she had to flap her wings, not just move them.
“For flight yes, but not for what I have in mind. Now go scoot, Scoots.” Star Shine replied, shooing Scootaloo and laughing. Scootaloo sighed at the bad pun that she had heard a million times before, but otherwise did as she was told, still completely confused about Star Shine’s plans.
Rainbow Dash made her way home after work. She had been chewed out by her team for being late and had worked harder than usual to make up for it and had stayed behind late at work too, trusting Star Shine to look after Scootaloo while she was gone. She was looking forward to getting home and having a nice, quiet nap and a peaceful few hours before heading back to work for her evening shift. She was to be utterly disappointed.
She arrived home, using the front door for once, and walked into a veritable disaster area. The house was a mess and Star Shine and Scootaloo were nowhere to be found. Rainbow Dash took a few steps towards the stairs but stopped when she saw something small and orange tumble down down them. She recognised what fell as Scootaloo and ran over to help her.
“Hey it’s Rainbow. Dash’s back!” Scootaloo squealed before Rainbow Dash could say anything. Scootaloo jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash, hugging her tight.
“Hey Squirt. Aren’t you hurt? You just fell down the stairs.” Rainbow Dash said, looking Scootaloo over to check for injuries. She noticed Scootaloo was wearing the brace on her wings again.
“Nah I’m fine. House made of clouds, remember? Soft landing.” Scootaloo replied coolly, shrugging off any potential damage. Star Shine appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Rainbow? Hey, welcome back! Wow, we totally lost track of time.” he said, walking down the stairs. “You okay?” he asked Scootaloo when he reached her. He had seen her fall down the stairs.
“Yeah she’s fine. Apparently a house made of cloud means you always have a soft landing.” Rainbow Dash replied nonchalantly. “Now, what the HAY DID YOU DO TO MY HOUSE?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, her voice rising as she motioned around the room at the mess.
“Oh...that...We were playing hide and seek.” Star Shine said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he surveyed the damage. It was worse than he thought.
“How can you do THIS with hide and seek?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I was hiding really well. Star Shine had to really look to find me. He came up with a fun game too.” Scootaloo piped up. Rainbow Dash sighed in exasperation and sat down on the floor, lifting up a foreleg to support the still dangling Scootaloo.
“Let me guess; he had you hide in the mess?” Rainbow Dash asked sardonically. Scootaloo giggled.
“No, he told me to wear the brace and buzz my wings. He’d follow the buzzing to find me. Pretty smart huh?” Scootaloo explained, looking up at Star Shine and smiling.
“I’m sorry about the mess Rainbow. Like I said we lost track of time. We were going to clean it up. We will clean it up, won’t we Scoots?” Star Shine said, leaning down. Scootaloo nodded and hopped down from Rainbow Dash. She stood next to Star Shine and saluted Rainbow Dash. Star Shine joined in and Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh a little at the sight.
“Alright guys. I’ve had a really busy day, so I’m going to hit the hay for an hour or so. I want this place to be clean by the time I wake up. Got that?” Rainbow Dash said, staring into the eyes of Star Shine and Scootaloo.
“Ma’am yes ma’am!” they said in unison, giving her another salute. Rainbow Dash nodded and walked up the stairs, trying not to slip on anything that had been left on them. Scootaloo and Star Shine continued staring forward until Rainbow Dash was up the stairs and then they burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of what they had just done.
“So much for me staying here a little longer. She won’t let me stay if this is what we do.” Star Shine said when the laughter had subsided. He started moving around the room and collecting the mess, as well as putting things back where they belonged.
“I think she’ll be okay. She looked really tired. I bet she’ll feel better after her nap.” Scootaloo reassured him, joining him in cleaning up the room. “She wouldn’t have known if you’d just checked a clock anyway. She was late back and we still didn’t clean up in time!” Scootaloo added. She sounded angry but she was still trying to hold back a laugh.
“Me? I was busy looking for you. YOU should have checked a clock while you were hiding.” Star Shine countered, pointing an accusatory hoof at Scootaloo.
“But then I wouldn’t be hiding would I? It’s all your fault anyway.” Scootaloo replied, kicking a ball of paper at Star Shine that bounced off of his head.
“My fault? How is it my fault?” Star Shine replied. He wanted to kick the ball back at her but he wanted to clean up and avoid the wrath of Rainbow Dash more.
“It was your idea to play hide and seek!” Scootaloo argued. Star Shine stayed silent and carried on cleaning. Scootaloo had a point and he didn’t have a comeback. “It was a lot of fun though.” Scootaloo added after a few minutes silence. She was a little worried she had upset Star Shine, having got a taste of how much he could blame himself for things earlier.
“It sure was. But come on, we’ve got to get this all cleaned up.” Star Shine replied, smiling at Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled back and together they continued to clean up. When they cleaned up the kitchen Star Shine took a break every few seconds to prepare a meal ready for Rainbow Dash when she woke up. At the very least it might have earned him a little more forgiveness. Between the pair of them, Scootaloo and Star Shine were able to clean up all the mess. Scootaloo braved going up to Rainbow Dash’s room when the meal that Star Shine was preparing was finished. Altogether it had been about an hour since Rainbow Dash had started her nap.
“Rainbow?” Scootaloo said nervously as she made her way into Rainbow Dash’s room.
“Mmm?” Rainbow Dash mumbled, moving her head in the direction the noise had come from. She gave a large yawn and shook her head to wake herself up more.
“We finished cleaning up, and Star Shine made you dinner. Sorry about the mess.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash reached out a hoof from under the cover of her bed and patted Scootaloo.
“Don’t worry about it Scoots. I’m blaming him.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling. “Sorry I yelled.” she added somberly. Scootaloo walked up to Rainbow Dash and nuzzled her.
“It’s okay. But Shine made dinner for you and it’s getting cold.” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash sighed and worked her way out of the bed. She yawned again, had a good stretch, and together her and Scootaloo walked downstairs to the kitchen where Star Shine was waiting for them. This time Star Shine had made a pizza for them and Rainbow Dash could smell that he was hiding an apple pie somewhere. Star Shine smiled nervously at Rainbow Dash as she sat down. He wasn’t aware of her mood and there was a chance she could still be mad at him.
“Thanks. For cleaning and cooking. Oh and watching Scoots all day.” Rainbow Dash said as she sat down. Scootaloo sat down afterwards, filling up the table.
“We had fun didn’t we Scoots?” Star Shine asked, looking across at Scootaloo. She smiled and nodded in reply. “Sorry about the mess though. We really were going to clean it up.” he added, looking across at Rainbow Dash.
“I know you would. I just had a really busy day at work. I can get pretty cranky without a nap.” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly.
“I had no idea. Now if everypony is done feeling guilty, the food is getting cold.” Star Shine said, motioning down at the food on the table. Rainbow Dash’s stomach growled. She gave a small laugh and then happily tucked into the food. Scootaloo and Star Shine joined her after. In no time at all the food had been eaten. Star Shine announced he had made a dessert too and disappeared into the living room. He returned and produced the apple pie that Rainbow Dash had smelled earlier. Star Shine had left it to cool in the living room so he could surprise Rainbow Dash with it. There was the chance she would see it on her way down the stairs, but he was trusting Scootaloo to take her directly to the kitchen. Star Shine served it up and Rainbow Dash tried a piece.
“It’s not bad, but Applejack’s is better.” she critiqued.
“I agree.” Scootaloo said, nodding after trying a piece herself.
“Oh? Who’s Applejack?” Star Shine asked. He was hoping for a bit more approval of his apple pie.
“A friend of mine who does wonders with apples. I guess growing all the apples that Ponyville eats has something to do with that.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“One pony grows all of Ponyville’s apples?” Star Shine, eyes wide in amazement.
“Don’t be stupid, stupid.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling. “One FAMILY grows all of Ponyville’s apples.”
“Ohhhh...” Star Shine replied, amazed not at the thought of one pony growing all the apples, but at his own stupidity. Scootaloo let out a giggle. “There is something else actually...” Star Shine began, looking over at Scootaloo and being reminded of something.
“So you buttered me up with food to get something?” Rainbow replied, putting down the piece of pie she was about to eat. She didn’t want to eat it if it was a bribe.
“Actually I was just being nice and thoughtful. But I was wondering if I could stay here for another night? I’ve been so busy with Scootaloo today I haven’t had time to go to the bank or a hotel.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash looked over at Scootaloo for her opinion and she smiled and nodded her approval of Star Shine staying.
“Alright, you get another night. Try not to make this a habit though and if you insist on taking Scootaloo to school then watch what you say. Got that?” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine nodded solemnly. “Now if we’re all done eating...” Rainbow Dash began. Scootaloo and Star Shine snapped to attention. Rainbow Dash looked at Scootaloo first. “Scoots, I want you to take a bath before bed. I’ll be up soon, I just want to ask Star something first.” Scootaloo gave a salute and hopped down before running upstairs. Not long after Rainbow Dash and Star Shine heard the sound of running water as Scootaloo began running her bath. Star Shine was a little scared at the prospect of being left alone with Rainbow Dash and some unknown question.
“So, what can I do for you?” Star Shine asked nervously. Rainbow Dash approached him and Star Shine felt his heartbeat quicken. He was more frightened than anything else, suspecting it could only be something bad if she had gotten rid of Scootaloo first.
“Relax ya idiot.” Rainbow Dash said, tapping Star Shine’s shoulder as she reached him. Star Shine let out a nervous laugh and felt his heart rate slowly go back down. “I’m just wondering what you did to Scoots.”
“What do you mean?” Star Shine asked, confused.
“You saw how happy she was when the two of you were playing. I haven’t seen her that happy in a while. I didn’t think she’d be like that for a long time. With either of us. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working, and I want to know what it is.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Oh that? That’s easy. I’m a complete idiot.” Star Shine replied simply. Rainbow Dash giggled.
“Not disagreeing about that, but how’s that help?”
“By being stupid I make her forget her problems. I had to remind her about the brace. She totally forgot about flying if you ask me. Turns out there was something she wanted more than to fly, but I doubt she’s realised it yet.” Star Shine replied.
“What’s that?” Rainbow Dash asked. Now it was her turn to be confused. She thought that flying was all that Scootaloo ever wanted. She had actually jumped to her possible death over it.
“To not be alone. I do what I can to show her she’s not alone. I don’t let her dwell on her problems and she actually forgets them for a while. I think she’s the same with her friends. Maybe you should ask her about it, and not me.”
“I might just do that. Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said. She turned around and walked to the kitchen door. “For being there for her.” she added as she left the kitchen and went upstairs to the bathroom.
Rainbow Dash made her way into the bathroom as Scootaloo was turning off the water and hopping into the bath. Rainbow Dash had the misfortune of walking in at the wrong time and getting splashed in the face. She spluttered, making Scootaloo jump. Scootaloo calmed down when she saw it was just Rainbow Dash.
“Sorry ‘bout that.” Scootaloo said, laughing sheepishly at Rainbow’s wet face. Rainbow Dash blew stray strands of her mane out of her face but still smiled back, showing she wasn’t upset or anything.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I’ll get you back.” Rainbow Dash replied, moving alongside the bath. Scootaloo turned around and faced away from Rainbow Dash, guessing what she was up to. Scootaloo was more than old enough to bathe herself but Rainbow Dash still preened her wings for her. Scootaloo spread her wings as wide as they would go, having taken off the brace and deposited it on the floor. She gave out a contented sigh and sank a little into the water as Rainbow Dash started working on her wings. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo shrugged, indifferent to the suggestion. Rainbow Dash took it as a sign she was free to ask something. “What did Star Shine do to you?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo fidgeted away from Rainbow Dash and turned around to face her.
“What he did? Did he do something?” Scootaloo asked, checking her body to make sure everything was okay and she hadn’t missed something. The question took her by surprise and she had no idea what Rainbow might have meant.
“He’s not done anything you silly filly.” Rainbow Dash replied, chuckling and ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. Scootaloo calmed down and let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh. So what did you mean?” Scootaloo asked again. Rainbow Dash sighed, unsure as to how to phrase it. She opted to just say what she had said to Star Shine himself.
“It’s just that you seemed really happy earlier. You were playing games with him and he told me you even forgot about wearing the brace. He had to tell you to get it.” Rainbow explained, doing the best she could.
“Oh that? I don’t know really Rainbow.” Scootaloo replied, playing with the water. “I guess it’s just he knows what it’s like to be alone and depressed.” Scootaloo was doing her best to skirt around the subject. Much like Rainbow Dash, she didn’t feel right telling somepony about somepony else’s problems.
“Him? Alone and depressed? Nah. There’s no way. He was always so bright and happy at Flight Camp. He kept everypony else smiling no matter what.” Rainbow Dash said, remembering all the times Star Shine had defended her in Flight Camp and the time he had suggested she “Rainbow Crash” right into the kids making fun of her. Actually doing it was one of the reasons she was eventually kicked out of Flight Camp. She was allowed back in when she managed to convince the pony in charge it was an accident. It wasn’t, but they didn’t need to know that. “Whenever I saw him he always had that same goofy grin on his face.”
“Rainbow can I ask you something?” Scootaloo asked. She was looking at the water and not at Rainbow Dash.
“Sure Squirt, what is it?” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. Scootaloo looked like she was getting depressed again and Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to let that happen on her watch.
“Did I...Did you ever think I was depressed? Same goofy grin...never letting anypony be down...I think I was like that.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash was something she wasn’t very often; stunned. Scootaloo had always come across as happy. Even her friends were shocked to learn the truth about her. Everypony had assumed that she was happy based on outward appearances but if they had seen her alone, just once, they would have known the truth instantly. She began to wonder if the same was true for Star Shine. She didn’t see him much outside of Flight Camp. When she thought about it, she realised she never actually met his parents, or ever saw where he lived. He had gone to her house sometimes but she had never gone to his. She remembered excuses he would give.
“I’ll just be a second Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said, turning towards the door. Scootaloo watched her curiously. “Hey Star Shine, get your flank up here!” Rainbow Dash yelled loud enough for anypony in the house, and probably for a short distance outside it, to hear. Star Shine ran up the stairs as fast as he could, worried by the sudden shouting.
“What is it? Is Scoots okay? She didn’t slip or anything did she?” he said as he ran towards the door. He tried to stop in time but he couldn’t. He hit Rainbow Dash, who tumbled over backwards, dragging Star Shine with her, and together they both fell into the bath. Scootaloo was able to make it out of the way in time. “Owwww...” Star Shine complained, rubbing the aching pain in his forehead. He opened his eyes and when he realised he was in the bath, and extremely close to Rainbow Dash, he jumped out the bath as fast as he could and stared straight at the door in an effort to hide his shame and embarrassment. “I’m really, really, really sorry about that. Is Scoots okay?” he asked.
“Yeah she’s fine.” Rainbow Dash replied. “ I’m fine too, thanks.” she added sardonically as she turned herself over so she wasn’t on her back. She looked over at Scootaloo, who was huddled against the corner but otherwise unharmed, and got out the bath.
“So what as all the yelling for? I thought something had happened.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash quickly dried herself off with a towel and Star Shine shuddered as he felt her drape it across his back.
“I wanted you, you idiot. Don’t you think I’d say if Scoots was in danger?” Rainbow Dash replied, clipping Star Shine on the ear.
“Besides, how can I be in danger with Rainbow Dash around?” Scootaloo added, leaning over the side of the bath once she decided it was safe to move again.
“...Am I in trouble?” Star Shine asked nervously, making his way slowly towards the door. Rainbow Dash cut him off and so he started to back up. This plan was foiled when he remembered he had a bath behind him and didn’t want to have another unscheduled bath. He was trapped and consigned to his fate. He cowered in fear and shut his eyes as Rainbow Dash walked towards him. She hadn’t answered his question, making him think he might actually be in trouble for something. He opened his eyes slowly as instead of feeling Rainbow Dash hitting him, he felt something he wasn’t expecting at all; Rainbow Dash was hugging him.
“Why did you never tell me you were alone?” Rainbow Dash said quietly.
“What? I’ve never been alone Rainbow. I’ve always had you.” Star Shine replied, returning the hug.
“Bleh...” Scootaloo commented, faking a retch. She was happy to see the pair being close but she still wasn’t fond of sappy displays. Rainbow Dash whispered something in Star Shine’s ears and his wings gave a small pop as they extended in surprise and a few other feelings. He brought them under control and folded them into his body again. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes on Scootaloo and gave Star Shine a small kiss. Scootaloo retched again and turned away from the display. Rainbow Dash seized her chance and hopped over to the bath. She swiped her hooves through the water and splashed Scootaloo with as much water as she could.
“Told you I’d get you back.” Rainbow Dash laughed as Scootaloo spluttered.
“Yeah...hilarious.” Scootaloo said when she had calmed down.
“Hey Shine, did you see that? I totally got...her...” Rainbow Dash said, trailing off as she turned around and saw that Star Shine wasn’t in the room anymore. “Where’d he go?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning back around to face Scootaloo.
“Guess you scared him off.” Scootaloo replied, shrugging. She hadn’t seen herself where he had vanished to. “Hey is that why you’ve never had a coltfriend? You keep scaring all the nice ones away?” Scootaloo asked, teasing Rainbow Dash.
“Nice? He’s not nice.” Rainbow Dash replied coolly, shrugging off the comment about her scaring away colts.
“He’s nice to me.” Scootaloo replied. “...Usually.” she added uneasily. “Maybe you’re doing something wrong.”
“I’ve noticed you’re nice to him too. Actually why is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, curious as to how Scootaloo could play with Star Shine and have fun with him, but not with her. Rainbow had noticed that the two of them had never really played and when they talked the conversation tended to turn a little depressing. Scootaloo shrugged. She’d never really thought about it or considered it noteworthy.
“Did he say anything? Seems he has an answer to everything.” Scootaloo replied, giggling.
“Actually he did...lousy know it all. He said it’s because he doesn’t talk about your problems and he just likes to play games with you. He said it was like that with your other friends and I think he has a point. I’ve seen you really happy with your little Crusader friends, and I’ve seen him pretty happy with me.” Rainbow replied, thinking it over. Scootaloo shrugged as she thought about it herself. She had been happy a lot with the Crusaders, and Star Shine seemed way too happy given his past and, according to Rainbow, had been the same in the past. “Makes me wonder what’s different about me and him.” Rainbow Dash added, looking down at the floor.
“Different about you and him?” Scootaloo asked, confused.
“Well think about it Scoots. When I found you that day you were really sad and depressed. Now I see you playing games with Star Shine and he seems to know everything about you and it’s like I don’t know anything. He seems to have done a lot more for you than I did. He...seems to make you happier than I do. It’s like I failed you...like I failed him. He was upset and I never knew it.” Rainbow Dash said sadly. It wasn’t something she admitted to easily, but it was something that had been eating away at the back of her mind. Scootaloo climbed out the bath and walked over to Rainbow Dash, huddling up to her.
“If it wasn’t for you, I’d have never met him. I don’t think he ever wanted you to know he was upset Dash. Besides he doesn’t know everything about me and YOU were the one who told him what he does know, not me.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly. “As for being happier...well, I’m not.” Scootaloo admitted. “He makes me laugh sure, so do Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but...but...” Scootaloo trailed off, trying to think of how to finish that sentence.
“You can do it Scootaloo...you’re a smart girl when it comes to emotions.” Star Shine said quietly from his vantage point by the stairs. He had ducked out of sight after Rainbow Dash had kissed him and was now quietly supporting from the sidelines. He considered interfering but he wanted Scootaloo to realise this on her own. There was always the chance he could be wrong. It was small, but it was there. Plus he was also busy trying to bring his wings back under control again.
“But what Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning down and holding Scootaloo close. Scootaloo thought about it a little longer before her mind made the connection.
“But when they’re gone, I’m alone again. I was lonely when I was in the clubhouse, or when I wasn’t with them. You’ve given me more than a house Rainbow, you’ve given me a home. I’m never alone with you.” Scootaloo explained, huddling up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane. “And I don’t let them in.” Scootaloo added. “I lied to my friends for so long, and I lied to you too, but then I let you in. If you hadn’t been there that time, then I wouldn’t even be here Rainbow. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be alive.” Scootaloo said, her eyes wide with the realisation that she really did owe pretty much everything she had now to Rainbow Dash.
“Fat lot of good I’ve been Squirt. I couldn’t even get you to fly or anything.” Rainbow Dash said, still a little dejected.
“Hey Star Shine hasn’t gotten me flying yet either. Are you sure he’s an instructor?” Scootaloo asked, giggling. Star Shine let out a sigh at the verbal assault. He considered defending his pride but was able to swallow it, some things were more important than pride.
“Yeah he showed me his fancy certificate.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling herself. Star Shine stood up and prepared to walk into the bathroom to defend himself when he heard Scootaloo talk again.
“There’s something else.” she said. Rainbow Dash looked at her curiously. “I feel better talking to you about things. Much better than I do after playing with Shine, or my friends, and even though I know talking helps, I only want to talk to you. You really do help Rainbow. A lot more than Star Shine and his silly brace.” Scootaloo said, cuddling up to Rainbow Dash.
“He’s watching us isn’t he?” Rainbow Dash whispered into Scootaloo’s ear. Scootaloo nodded. She had seen Star Shine but tried to pretend she didn’t know he was there.
“Good girl.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing as she ruffled Scootaloo’s mane.
“It’s still all true though.” Scootaloo reassured Rainbow Dash. Even if she had said it a little louder than she should to tease Star Shine, she had still meant every word. “Awww I think he’s actually upset.” Scootaloo added, picking herself up to get a closer look at Star Shine. He turned away from the pair and headed down the stairs, keeping his eyes on the ground.
“C’mon, let’s go see how he’s doing.” Rainbow Dash said. She let go of Scootaloo and started walking towards the stairs. Scootaloo trailed behind her.
When the pair made their way downstairs they found Star Shine laid down on the couch and looking off at nothing in particular through the window. He was so caught up in his own little world he didn’t notice Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo as they hugged the walls and made their way across to him. Rainbow Dash was a master of sneaking, and Scootaloo was a master of staying on Rainbow Dash, so they made a formidable team. It was also remarkably easy to sneak on a cloud as it barely made a sound. Rainbow Dash made her way behind Star Shine and, once she reached him, hefted Scootaloo up and dropped her into his back. Star Shine let out a cry of pain as Scootaloo hit him and jumped up into the air. He hovered and tried to look at his own back to see what hit him but all he did was spin around in circles while Rainbow Dash laughed at him. He stopped turning when the laughter rang through his ears and he looked down to see Scootaloo was on the couch and also laughing at him. She had fallen off when he jumped up.
“Well done...you got me...” Star Shine said sardonically as he lowered himself back onto the couch. Rainbow Dash put a foreleg around his neck, still laughing at him.
“Awwww, did we go too far?” Rainbow Dash asked once she’d calmed down and realised Star Shine wasn’t laughing with her. Star Shine was a friend and she didn’t like pranking ponies who were her friends, and wouldn’t see it as a joke. She thought he might appreciate it given his silly sense of humour. Despite how much she was enjoying make him squirm over what the new clothes would be for she did also see it as a lesson for him. If it wasn’t for that she probably would have told him by now. Scootaloo cuddled up to him, worried that she had upset him. She had gained a new appreciation and liking for him over the day and didn’t want him to hate her already. Star Shine sighed but a smile tugged at his lips.
“I’ll be fine. How about you two?” he asked, pulling wrapping a foreleg around each of them.
“What about us?” Rainbow Dash replied, looking between Star Shine and Scootaloo in confusion. Scootaloo gave a shrug to show she had no idea what he meant either.
“I heard you talking. Were you really worried about Scootaloo liking me more than you?” Star Shine asked Rainbow Dash.
“Umm...maybe a little...” Rainbow Dash replied, looking away sheepishly. Scootaloo worked her way out of Star Shine’s foreleg and used him as a platform to jump onto the top of Rainbow Dash’s head. She dropped down onto it, resting her legs over Rainbow Dash’s face, and began nuzzling the top of Rainbow’s head.
“I could never like anypony more than you Dash.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash giggled a little at the feeling of Scootaloo rubbing into the top of her head.
“I could have told you that, you silly filly.” Star Shine said, rubbing Rainbow Dash’s cheek like she was a filly that needed comforting. Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out at him, perhaps proving that in some ways she was.
“That’s not your job though. Do you know what your job is?” Rainbow Dash asked him, slipping out of his foreleg himself. She moved carefully so that her Scootaloo hat didn’t fall off.
“To sit here looking awesome?” Star Shine offered, laying back on the couch and trying to look cool.
“That’s Rainbow’s job.” Scootaloo replied, causing Star Shine to sigh and sit up properly.
“Sure is Squirt.” Rainbow replied, giggling and moving a foreleg to pat Scootaloo. “Your job,” she said to Star Shine, “is to get Scoots here to fly. I think it’s about time you did it. She’s been wearing that brace of yours for a while, she’s gotta have 0.1 wingpower now.” Star Shine rubbed his chin, mulling over how much time it had been. He thought about it and was shocked to realise that he had only been in Ponyville four days. A lot had happened in such a short amount of time and it felt a lot longer.
“Well...I originally told Scootaloo it would take about a week to build her wingpower. It’s only been four days, but we can test her again. She’s a strong little filly after all.” Star Shine replied, smiling up at Scootaloo. She smiled back and played with Rainbow Dash’s hair.
“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash said, turning around and raising a foreleg in the air, preparing to march towards the door. A cough from behind her cut her off. She turned around to face Star Shine. He was looking at her sternly. “What?” she asked sheepishly.
“Have you looked out the window? Or at a clock? It’s Scootaloo’s bedtime. We can do it tomorrow after we pick up the clothes from Rarity. Maybe then you can tell me what we’re doing anyway.” Star Shine said, pointing a hoof out of a window. He had been looking out the window at the brightly lit moon in the distance. He had always been fond of looking up at the moon. It wasn’t just Scootaloo’s bedtime, it was past it. It was coming up on Rainbow Dash’s final shift of the day. She didn’t want to be late twice in one day.
“Awwwwww...” Scootaloo sighed dejectedly. She thought she might have time for a quick flying lesson before bed.
“Shine’s got a point Squirt. It’s past your bedtime and I gotta get to work. Wouldn’t want to be late twice in one day.” Rainbow Dash said, trying her best to wink at something she couldn’t see. Rainbow Dash started walking towards the stairs and looked back at Star Shine when she reached them. He was still sat on the couch and was watching them leave. “You comin’?” Rainbow asked him. Scootaloo peered over at him.
“Not this time.” Star Shine replied, shaking his head. “It’s bad enough I read her a story once already. That’s something special the two of you do, and I don’t want to intrude on that.” Rainbow Dash nodded her understanding. Scootaloo looked slightly confused but after a few seconds she got what he meant and smiled at his thoughtfulness.
“Scoots could you go up first? I’ll be up in a sec.” Rainbow Dash said, peering up at her fringe. She felt Scootaloo hop off of her head and saw her land softly on the stairs below. Scootaloo looked back at Rainbow Dash curiously but did as she was told. She headed up the stairs and into her room. Rainbow Dash walked over to Star Shine on the couch.
“Shouldn’t you go up to her? You don’t have long if you want to read her a story before going to work.” Star Shine said, eyeing Rainbow Dash curiously as she walked towards him.
“Yeah but you’ll be asleep when I get back and I wanted to say thanks.” Rainbow Dash replied, giving Star Shine the briefest of nuzzles before stepping back away from him. Much like Star Shine himself, Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure of her feelings. Four days wasn’t enough time and Star Shine had managed to screw up and upset both her and Scootaloo quite a lot considering the small amount of time he had been there. She didn’t want to give him the wrong idea by being overly affectionate.
“Thank me? For what?” Star Shine asked, confused by both Rainbow Dash’s words and her actions.
“For being a considerate jerk, for once.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling.
“I’m not a jerk...” Star Shine replied, looking hurt.
“Not a total one. I guess.” Rainbow Dash conceded. “Thanks for thinking about me and Scoots, and staying down here.” she added.
“It’s no problem, really, but you’re going to have to get upstairs quick if you want to read to her before work. She might have fallen asleep already.” Star Shine replied, looking at the clock that told him it was half past nine. Rainbow Dash looked at the clock herself, yelped in surprise, and ran up the stairs. Star Shine laughed a little at the display and settled back into the couch.
When Rainbow Dash made it to Scootaloo’s room she saw that Scootaloo was laid in bed, but wasn’t asleep yet.
“Shine’s still alive right? You didn’t break him?” Scootaloo asked when Rainbow Dash walked in.
“Don’t tell me you think I’m just going to hurt him too...” Rainbow Dash replied as she walked over to Scootaloo’s bed. Scootaloo laughed softly and it turned into a yawn as she curled up in bed.
“Nah I don’t think you’ll hurt him. I think you’ll kiss him. Again. He breaks when you do that.” Scootaloo teased, giggling. She had noticed how Star Shine tended to freeze up whenever Rainbow Dash did anything affectionate.
“I only kissed him so you’d look away. You’re lucky you’re so cute.” Rainbow Dash teased, prodding Scootaloo and eliciting a laugh as she tickled her. Rainbow Dash continued to tickle her for about half a minute or so before stopping and letting Scootaloo catch her breath.
“It’s too late to read me a story isn’t it?” Scootaloo asked, a little sadly. She was aware of the time and as much as she enjoyed being read to, she knew she wasn’t supposed to be up so late and Rainbow Dash had work to go to.
“‘Fraid so Squirt, but at least you have your lessons again tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash replied, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. Rainbow Dash pulled the bed cover over Scootaloo and kissed her softly on the forehead before making her way out of the room.
“Hey Rainbow?” Scootaloo called before Rainbow Dash could leave.
“Yeah Squirt?” Rainbow Dash answered back, turning around. Scootaloo was stilled curled up in bed though and had her eyes closed. She was just about to fall asleep.
“I love you.” Scootaloo said softly.
“I know. I love you too Scoots.” Rainbow Dash replied before heading out the room. It was the first time either of them had said it since that day at the Gorge. Rainbow Dash didn’t realise it had been that long, and was determined to make sure it wasn’t that long again until she said it once more. She headed downstairs, said a goodbye to Star Shine, and headed out to work.
Chapter 36; You'd Think I'd Be Better At Naming Chapters By Now
The new day came and this time Scootaloo did not elect to wake Star Shine up, or give him breakfast. Instead he was left at the home as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo left for the schoolhouse. It wasn’t likely that he could somehow cause more damage now everything had come out, but it wasn’t a risk the girls were willing to take. As well as this, given the things recently said in the Gabby Gums column, just having him there might have been trouble for everypony. Rainbow Dash wanted to wake him up because she found the concept of sleeping past nine crazy but Scootaloo wanted to just head to school and leave him there as they were running late thanks to Rainbow Dash oversleeping but insisting she should still practice for the same amount of time. Even after the nap she had the previous afternoon her evening shift at work had really taken it out of her. Rainbow Dash left him a note detailing the situation and left for the school together with Scootaloo. The note also told him to meet her at Rarity’s boutique at quarter to four in the afternoon as Rainbow Dash planned to head straight there after picking up Scootaloo from school, barring any kind of mental or emotional distress causing Scootaloo to not even go to school in the first place.
The pair were running late so when Scootaloo arrived she was one of the only ponies in the schoolyard. Most of the other fillies and foals had already gone inside ready.
“I’ll see you later Squirt. Remember we’re going to Rarity’s later. Oh and tell Sweetie Belle too, Rarity asked if we could take her with us. Save her a trip and all that.” Rainbow Dash said after Scootaloo hopped off her back. Scootaloo nodded her understanding and started to walk towards the schoolhouse before Rainbow Dash called her back after a few moments hesitation. Scootaloo walked back to Rainbow Dash curiously. When Scootaloo reached Rainbow Dash she saw her look around quickly before grabbing Scootaloo and hugging her close. “I love you Scoots. Don’t forget that, and you’ll be okay.” Rainbow Dash whispered in Scootaloo’s ear. She was trying to hide her worry to encourage Scootaloo but it came out in the end.
“I know. I love you too Dash.” Scootaloo replied, hugging Rainbow Dash back. Rainbow Dash put Scootaloo down and watched her walk towards the schoolhouse when something occurred to her.
“Hey Scoots?” Rainbow Dash called out.
“Yeah?” Scootaloo called back, turning her head around to face Rainbow Dash.
“Are you sure about wearing that thing?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a hoof at Scootaloo’s back. She was wearing Star Shine’s brace over her wings. Rainbow Dash understood the concept of wearing it at all times but thought school was an exception. She was a little worried Scootaloo would just open herself up to a lot of teasing by wearing it.
“Yeah I’ll be fine.” Scootaloo replied, looking down at the brace as best as she could. “Star said he was going to test me again later and I want to get some last minute practice in.” she explained, smiling back at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash nodded, smiled, and gently took off into the air. She had already taken up too much of Scootaloo’s time and if she took up any more they would both be late. Rainbow Dash waved goodbye to Scootaloo and watched her walk into school before turning around and heading to work.
Scootaloo headed into the schoolhouse and sat down at her desk shortly before the bell rang, signalling the beginning of class. It also meant that nopony could talk to her before the class started, including a certain little prissy pink Earth pony she hadn’t seen in over a week. Cheerilee also couldn’t welcome her back personally but Scootaloo didn’t mind so much and felt it would just draw unwanted attention towards herself. Instead Cheerilee began teaching her lesson.
“So class, who can tell me the answer?” Cheerliee asked after writing a math equation on the board.
“I know Miss Cheerilee!” called out a voice from near Scootaloo as a familiar pink hoof shot up into the air. It was a hoof belonging to one Diamond Tiara. “42!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed brightly as Cheerilee acknowledged her. Scootaloo watched Diamond Tiara in near stunned awe. She had never been known for answering questions and had certainly never answered one so quickly and so enthusiastically.
“That’s right Diamond Tiara, well done.” Cheerilee replied, smiling brightly. “You sure have changed since you came back.” she complimented.
“I guess being away really did me some good.” Diamond Tiara said sweetly. Cheerilee smiled again and continued her lesson. Scootaloo spent most of it wondering what was going on with Diamond Tiara.
**** “I don’t believe it. I don’t buy it for a second.” Scootaloo said to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. It was recess now and Diamond Tiara had spent the past few lessons getting questions right, right, and right again. Scootaloo did not believe what she perceived to be an act and couldn’t understand why everypony else did. “What happened yesterday?” Scootaloo asked. That was the only day of Diamond Tiara’s return she had missed and so anything that happened was bound to have happened then. She was almost beginning to regret not staying.
“It was tha strangest thing.” Apple Bloom replied, looking over at Sweetie Bell who nodded.
“She came into school after you...left and told Miss Cheerilee she wanted to say something to the whole class. Cheerilee let her and she hopped up onto Cheerilee’s desk and said the one thing we never thought she would.” Sweetie Belle explained.
“What’s that?” Scootaloo asked. Of all the rude things she could think of, she didn’t think Diamond Tiara of all ponies would have a problem saying any of them.
“Sorry.” a voice from behind Scootaloo said, making her jump. Scootaloo turned around and saw Diamond Tiara stood there. She was extending a hoof in apology. Scootaloo looked down at the hoof, then back up at Diamond Tiara’s face. Diamond Tiara was smiling but Scootaloo still didn’t buy it.
“You’re what?” Scootaloo asked, making sure she had heard correctly.
“I said I’m sorry. I would have said it yesterday too but you weren’t here. I missed you.” Diamond Tiara repeated, shaking her hoof, asking Scootaloo to shake it and accept the apology.
“You don’t expect me to believe that do you?” Scootaloo asked angrily, feeling like she was being treated like a fool. “I KNOW you wrote that Gabby Gums column in the paper!” she said, pointing an accusatory hoof. She didn’t know for sure but she could think of nopony else who might have done it.
“If you remember right dear Scootaloo I was demoted to printing. I haven’t written anything in there. I just print what Featherweight tells me to. Why don’t you ask him who wrote it?” Diamond Tiara replied, a little less coolly than she intended to.
“Featherweight? Why didn’t I think of that?” Scootaloo said, slapping a hoof into her temple to kickstart her brain. If anypony knew who had written that thing then Featherweight would. He even seemed kinda nice. He had blackmailed her into returning the tiara but he hadn’t really asked for anything in return and, as far as she knew, hadn’t shown Diamond Tiara the pictures. Not if she was this well behaved. He might tell her if she asked him. “Thanks for that, but I still don’t believe your nice girl act.” Scootaloo said.
“I didn’ believe her either at first.” Apple Bloom said. “But you shoulda seen her, being so nice and everythin’.”
“You’ve changed a lot lately, haven’t you? So why can’t she?” Sweetie Belle added. Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Every time she thought her friends could be trusted and that she was wrong about them, they seemed to just do something that proved her right and told her they couldn’t be. First what she told them ended up in a newspaper and now they were taking Diamond Tiara’s side. Against her no less! When Scootaloo allowed herself to think it over for a few seconds though she heard the truth in Sweetie Belle’s words. She herself had changed so much in such a short amount of time. She was more open and had even made flying her second priority after Rainbow Dash. The only reason Rainbow Dash lost out to flying before was that Scootaloo thought she would have to fly to catch Dash’s attention. She knew in her heart that a pony can change, and a part of her wanted to believe Diamond Tiara really had changed for the better. She knew if she didn’t encourage Diamond Tiara now, then she would possibly be stopping a positive change. Plus Diamond Tiara had just given her a great solution to her problems. In the end she felt she had no choice. She reluctantly extended out a foreleg and shook Diamond Tiara’s hoof.
“This doesn’t mean I like you, or trust you.” Scootaloo said. It looked like it was painful just for her to shake Diamond Tiara’s hoof. Liking, and definitely trusting, was most certainly a long time away.
“You don’t have to. I know I can’t change your mind overnight. But I am sorry and I hope you see that in time.” Diamond Tiara said before turning around and walking away. She started muttering to herself but none of the Cutie Mark Crusaders could make out the words. Scootaloo recognised the tone though, it was the same one Star Shine used when he was rambling on about something, often a plan or a mistake he had made. She was walking shakily too, clearly more focused on what she was thinking and not what she was doing.
“What the hay just happened?” Scootaloo asked when the bizzarity of the moment had passed and she realised she had just technically forgiven the bane of her existence.
“Ah think ye just accepted DT’s apology.” Apple Bloom said, walking up to Scootaloo and slapping a foreleg around her.
“I still think she’ll slip up. There’s no way she’s nice now.” Scootaloo replied, turning back around. She saw Sweetie Belle looking at her and remembered something. “Oh.” she said, facehoofing. “Sweetie I forgot to tell you, you’re walking home with me and Rainbow today. We’re going to Rarity’s to pick up some things.”
“Will that guy be there?” Sweetie Belle asked, tapping her head as she tried to remember Star Shine’s name.
“Yeah, poor guys paying for the things.He’ll be meeting us there though” Scootaloo replied, giggling.
“Oh. Say, what’s that on your wings?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing a hoof at Scootaloo’s sides. She hadn’t really had a chance to ask with Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara dominating their conversation. Apple Bloom looked down and noticed the brace. She took a few steps back so that Scootaloo could show it to them.
“Oh this?” she asked, spreading her wings as far as she could. “It’s something Star Shine gave me. It’s to boost my wingpower and help me fly.”
“You’re flying now? That’s awesome!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, a small burst of magic flying out of her horn in her excitement. Apple Bloom cheered and hugged Scootaloo, spinning her around.
“Uhh...no....” Scootaloo said when Apple Bloom stopped and her world stopped spinning. She was tempted to lie about it given how her friends were so excited for her and she didn’t want to ruin that. She knew she shouldn’t lie about it and she wanted to tell her friends more about her life though.
“Oh...sorry...” Apple Bloom said nervously. She had gotten a little too excited for her own good and so had Sweetie Belle. They both knew how much Scootaloo had always wanted to fly up high in the sky.
“Don’t worry about it girls cos I’ll be flying real soon. Shine’s giving me another lesson today and I know I’m going to do it this time.” Scootaloo said with determination. Her friends huddled up to her and they sat like that for a minute before they heard a bell ringing. It was the signal that their break time was over and Scootaloo headed back inside with her friends and a newfound determination to fly. Not just for herself but for her friends too.
Chapter 37; I'm Not Okay (And I Refuse To Make This A Reference)
The rest of the morning classes passed pretty much like the first ones had. Diamond Tiara continued to get questions right and acted like the perfect student. She paid attention and didn’t try and distract the class or talk to anypony, not even Silver Spoon. The two were seen together at recess so it wasn’t like they had fallen out. Diamond Tiara was just behaving all of a sudden. Scootaloo took advantage of a particularly quiet time in class to lean over and talk to Featherweight.
“Hey, Featherweight, I got something I wanna ask you.” she said. The rest of the class were busy talking to eachother so she didn’t really need to try and hide that she was talking.
“If it’s about the work ask somepony else.” Featherweight replied. He was having a little trouble so if Scootaloo wanted answers about work, she wasn’t going to get them from him.
“It’s not that. I’m just wondering who the new Gabby Gums is. Do you know anythin’?” Scootaloo asked. She wanted to avoid letting Featherweight know how much it had affected her and Rainbow Dash. She acted like she was just genuinely curious.
“‘Fraid not actually. You aren’t the first to ask me that.”
“How can you not know who it is?” Scootaloo replied, confused.
“That one’s easy. They slid the envelope under the door along with a note saying that they would never come forward. They learned from your mistake of being found out.” Featherweight replied, looking up from his work.
“So you really have no idea?” Scootaloo asked. Featherweight shook his head. “So why’d you print it?”
“It seemed harmless enough and Gabby Gums was a big seller. I made the choice to print it and that’s all there is to it really.” Featherweight explained. Scootaloo couldn’t quite see his reasoning but her short time in journalism had shown her she wasn’t cut out for it. She sighed in resignation and returned to her own work. Once again, the investigation had been cut off before it had begun. Whoever the new Gabby Gums was, they sure were good at covering their tracks. Soon enough lunchtime rolled around, along with a conversation Scootaloo had been anxious to avoid.
“I really don’t get what Diamond Tiara is doing. You guys have any clue?” she asked her friends. They looked at eachother nervously and Apple Bloom nodded to Swetie Belle, signalling that she should say something.
“Um...Scoots?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.
“First she says sorry and now she’s acting nice in class? Plus Featherweight says he’s got no idea who Gabby Gums is so that plan was a bust too. I bet Diamond Tiara knew he didn’t know anything.” Scootaloo said, a little louder to try and control the conversation. It was a trick she had picked up from Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. If you think you know what somepony is going to say and you don’t want them to, talk over them, talk quickly, and try and distract them. While it had worked during recess thanks to the intervention of Diamond Tiara and her friends sudden interest in her brace, it wasn’t about to work this time.
“Scoots, about yesterday...” Sweetie Belle said, trying to steer the conversation where she wanted it to go. Unfortunately for her it was a direction Scootaloo was trying to avoid at all costs.
“Yesterday? Yesterday was a great day. I had an awesome time. I’m getting a new dress, Rainbow Dash is taking me and Star Shine to dinner but don’t tell him. He doesn’t know. I talked to him actually. Spent the day with him. Let me tell you something girls, that guy is DE-PRESSED. I mean, seriously, I thought I was depressed but that guy is on a whole other level. At least I don’t...try to hide it...At least my parents aren’t...dead. They just...didn’t want...me” Scootaloo said, rambling at top speed until the end when she started to stumble over her words and begin crying. By the end of it she was laid on the ground with her head buried in her hooves.
“I thought ye were...better now.” Apple Bloom ventured, unsure of how to phrase it. She was tapping Scootaloo gently on the back. Scootaloo snapped up and shoved Apple Bloom’s foreleg away, making her and Sweetie Belle jump.
“Better? BETTER?! You don’t magically get ‘better’ from something like that!” Scootaloo snapped, making sarcastic quote marks in the air with her hooves. “Everypony just thinks this, and thinks that, and none of them know the truth.” she said angrily. “‘Oh she’s living with Rainbow Dash? They must be sisters or something. A strange guy moved in with them? Hey maybe it’s her dad and now he’s with Rainbow Dash. Oh we’ve never seen her fly? Well she must be able to fly. I mean, what kind of broken down, useless, worthless Pegasi can’t fly?!” she added in a simpering accent until screaming at the end and dropping back down to the ground when she was done. “Even you guys went and told everypony what I said to you in private. Star Shine let me down, Rainbow Dash let me down. Everypony just keeps letting me down and I’m getting sick and tired of it.” she said quietly. She really didn’t want to think badly of Rainbow Dash but the darker parts of her heart saw Rainbow Dash being unable to teach her how to fly as a let down. She knew Rainbow Dash couldn’t help it and she had reassured her it was okay but a lot of things were festering in her little heart. Even the lighter parts of it saw Rainbow Dash showing Star Shine her suicide note as a let down and betrayal of trust. Star Shine had been nice to her but he had let her down as much as everypony else had by telling her friends about the note. Part of her had moved past it, but part of it hadn’t; The part that had been in control when she was caught by Rainbow Dash. Right now that part was in control once more.
“Are you...are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked when Scootaloo had stopped screaming. She was still crying.
“What do you think? Leave me alone.” Scootaloo said, sighing into the ground. Her friends looked at eachother in confusion and sadness, and backed away from Scootaloo, giving her the space they thought she wanted. “Wow. I can’t believe they actually left me alone. Can’t they see the last thing I need is to be left alone?” Scootaloo said quietly to herself as she watched her friends leave her. “I knew everypony would leave me in the end.”
“Of course they’re going to leave you if you shout at them like that and tell them to.” said a voice from behind Scootaloo, making her jump and spin around to see who was there. It was a pony she wasn’t expecting to see at all. Rainbow Dash walked up to her and knelt down on the ground with her, holding Scootaloo close. “You really think I let you down? I’m sorry if I did.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I don’t think you let me down...but I do...It’s so confusing Rainbow. I don’t even know what I think and feel anymore.” Scootaloo replied softly, crying into Rainbow Dash’s side.
“I can’t tell you that Squirt but I can tell you that I think you need to go talk to your friends again. They’re worried about you.” Rainbow Dash replied, motioning to something in the distance. Scootaloo looked across the playground and saw her friends were sat together watching her. “I think they’re waiting until it’s safe for them to come back over.”
“I didn’t mean to shout at them. I didn’t want to say that. I didn’t say anything yesterday cos I was afraid that would happen. In the end it did anyway. Way to go me.” Scootaloo replied, looking down at the ground dejectedly. Rainbow Dash reached a foreleg under Scootaloo’s chin and held her face up.
“I know you didn’t, but those are the ones you have to say sorry to, not me. You think you can do that?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked across at her friends and nodded. Now that she had calmed down she knew they meant well. Like Rainbow Dash had said to them the day before, Scootaloo knew what was true but when you get depressed and angry, the wrong thoughts take over your mind. It was an experience Scootaloo didn’t want to have to have again. “Besides, you have to make up with Sweetie so we can go to the Boutique with her later.” Rainbow Dash added with a smile. Scootaloo gave a small half hearted laugh but her mood was lightened a little.
“I guess so, huh?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Thanks Rainbow. Why are you here anyway?” Scootaloo asked, huddling up to Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t complaining Rainbow Dash had appeared but did still find it confusing.
“I’m not really here. I’m a figment of your imagination. I told you Squirt, I’ll always be here with you.” Rainbow Dash replied. She tried to say it seriously and keep a straight face but she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Scootaloo’s shocked face. “I’m kidding Scoots. I was doing weather duties and I heard you shout so I thought I’d see what’s up.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“So I’m not going crazy?” Scootaloo asked, breathing a sigh of relief.
“No more than usual Scoots.” Rainbow Dash replied, patting Scootaloo on the head.
“I’m not crazy.” Scootaloo replied, indignant. Sometimes she felt it a little but that didn’t mean she was.
“Then go talk to your friends. I’ll see you after school okay?” Rainbow Dash replied, nuzzling up to Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded, returned the nuzzle, and then set off for her friends. She turned back to wave goodbye to Rainbow Dash and saw her take off into the sky to take care of whatever weather business needed to be done. Scootaloo continued walking over to her fellow Crusaders, wondering just what she was going to say. When she reached them she looked into their sad and scared eyes and her mind went blank. She wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn’t. After a few seconds her heart kicked in and took over.
“I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you like that. I’m not better no. I really won’t magically be better instantly. But I won’t ever be better without my friends.” she said, looking down at the ground and avoiding looking at the two ponies she might have just scared away for life. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle didn’t respond and instead walked up to Scootaloo and cuddled up to her.
“I don’t think yer useless or broken. Why yer one of the best friends Ah ever had.” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie Belle nodded her agreement and assessment of Scootaloo.
“Do you...do you have outbursts like that often?” Sweetie Belle asked gently. She was trying to avoid another outburst but sometimes curiosity has to be sated.
“I didn’t want it to happen this time. I’ve only done it once. Can you forgive me?” Scootaloo asked. It felt like a silly question given how they were all squeezed together but it still had to be asked.
“Of course silly. Just tell us next time okay?” Sweetie Belle said.
“If ye tell us things then we won’ have to assume nothin’.” Apple Bloom added. “Ye can tell us anythin’ Scoots. That’s what friends are for right?” she asked, smiling. Scootaloo nodded her agreement and wrapped a foreleg around each of her friends. She started walking, admittedly very awkwardly on two legs, back to where the trio had left their lunch.
“Sure, but for now let’s just eat lunch okay? I’m starving.” she said, giggling. Her friends slipped out of her grip so she could walk properly and the three of them walked together across the playground. Scootaloo’s friends were something she hadn’t been in a long time; innocent and pure. The weight of the world had long since crushed Scootaloo but her friends were still very forgiving and willing to just put things behind them. They weren’t totally sure everything was going to be fine now. Scootaloo had pretty much said it wouldn’t be fine for a long time, but they were left feeling that from now on they wouldn’t be left out of Scootaloo’s life and that, if she needed them, they could be there for her. Things weren’t totally fixed, but they weren’t as broken as they were before.
“She’s right you know. What kind of...what was it? Oh yeah. ‘what kind of broken down, useless, worthless Pegasi can’t fly?’” Diamond Tiara said to Silver Spoon. Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one who heard Scootaloo’s outburst.
A few hours of a more behaved Diamond Tiara later and the bell signalling the end of the school day rang through the air. Cheerilee bade her students a warm goodbye, wished them a safe and pleasant journey home, and sent them on their way. The Cutie Mark Crusaders hitched up their saddlebags and left together. They split up at the doorway as Apple Bloom moved towards Applejack and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle headed for Rainbow Dash. Work on the farm was fickle at best and sometimes Granny Smith would pick Apple Bloom up but Applejack managed to find the time to do it.
“Hey Rainbow!” Scootaloo called out as she neared Rainbow Dash and ran the rest of the way. “...Thanks for earlier.” she added, cuddling up to Rainbow Dash’s legs.
“Earlier?” Rainbow Dash asked as Sweetie Belle came up to them. She didn’t feel as much of a need to run up to Rainbow Dash and hug her as Scootaloo had felt.
“Yeah you talked to me at lunch when...well...you were there. Maybe I am just going crazy.” Scootaloo trailed off, remembering the small conversation after and thinking, once again, maybe she had imagined the whole thing.
“Nah I was there.” Rainbow Dash said, giggling and ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. “I didn’t think you’d wanna talk about it. Don’t mention it Squirt.” Rainbow Dash explained. She knew Scootaloo didn’t really like talking about her problems, especially when her friends were around.
“Why were you there?” Sweetie Belle piped up. She had been content to watch the display. She’d never really seen Scootaloo act like that with anypony before except perhaps the day before. It was a new sight, but not an unwelcome one. Sweetie Belle had never really known Scootaloo needed somepony to be there for her but was glad to see she had found one at last.
“That? I was just flying over the school and heard her shout. I came to see what was wrong. I landed just after you guys ran off.” Rainbow Dash explained. Sweetie Belle rubbed her mane at the thought of how she and Apple Bloom had just left Scootaloo alone. Scootaloo had told them to, but she couldn’t help but feel a little bad about it. Scootaloo was supposed to be one of her best friends after all.
“Oh Celestia I hope nopony else heard that.” Scootaloo said, facehoofing at the idea other ponies might have heard her little outburst. Nopony else had asked her about it so she thought either nopony had heard, or they were afraid of her. Either one was good as it meant she wasn’t likely to be asked about it. That was a situation she could easily live with.
“Don’t worry about that Squirt. I was flying pretty low. I didn’t hear what you said when you were shouting. I landed just after your friends walked off.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“You were flying low? Why?” Sweetie Belle asked as Scootaloo shook herself to calm her nerves.
“No particular reason. Now come on, let’s get you home and get Star Shine before Rarity does something to him.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing at the thought and turning around to walk towards the boutique.
“I wouldn’t worry about that. She still thinks you and him should get married.” Sweetie Belle replied and all three of them laughed.
“Trust Rarity to think of that. I hope she knows I asked her for a normal dress and not a wedding one.” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh before laughing at the thought again. It sounded to her like something Rarity might have done.
“Hey Rainbow!” a voice called out across the schoolyard before Rainbow could get away. She was tempted to just make a run for it but she recognised the voice and knew even if she could get away, she’d be chased down later and have it much worse. She turned around and saw Applejack approaching her with Apple Bloom in tow.
“Oh, hey AJ. How’s the farm?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously.
“Farm’s doing fine thanks.” Applejack replied, smiling. “Feels like it’s been far too long since we talked though don’t it?” she asked.
“I guess it has.” Rainbow Dash replied. She was nervous because she wasn’t sure what Applejack wanted to talk about. Applejack probably still got the Foal Free Press and if she did she probably had a lot of questions. Questions Rainbow Dash wasn’t really in a hurry to answer. “I’m kinda busy now though actually. Gotta get Sweetie here home and pick up some things from Rarity.” Rainbow said, turning around and preparing to make her escape.
“Ah’m just wonderin’ if it’s true that y’all have a coltfriend now. Seems like the kinda thing yer friends should know.” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. If it wasn’t a question about Scootaloo she’d be happy to answer it. Especially if it would stop rumours she wasn’t fond of.
“Star Shine? Nah he’s not my coltfriend or anything. He’s just an old friend staying for a few days. He’s visiting from Trottingham is all.” Rainbow Dash explained. It was pretty close to the honest truth. The only detail missing was that he was a flight instructor. Rainbow Dash might have mentioned that but to her the guy hadn’t done a whole lot of instructing.
“So he ain’t your daddy or nothin’?” Applejack asked, leaning down to talk to Scootaloo directly. Scootaloo was a little taken aback by the question but responded how she normally did when the subject of her parents came up.
“Nah, my parents are away on business.” Scootaloo said. She had gotten used to saying that she was able to say it quick enough for nopony to question it. That everypony believed her lies so easily was another reason nopony had really asked her about her past. She was too good for her own good. “They were on holiday and came back a few days ago and saw how well I was doing with Rainbow. They asked if she could watch me for a little longer while they took care of some business. They’re really busy ponies and were happy they found someone who could take care of me.” Scootaloo explained effortlessly. Sweetie Belle wondered why Scootaloo would lie like that, but didn't call her out on it. With how hard it had been for Scootaloo to hide the truth about her parents from her own friends she could understand that lying was just easier for Scootaloo than admitting the truth. It wasn't exactly healthy but Sweetie Belle didn't want to push Scootaloo like that. She had reacted so badly to Star Shine doing that and didn't want that to happen to her as well. She vowed to support her friend through everything, even her lies.
“That true?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash. She wasn’t entirely convinced. Rainbow Dash nodded nervously, not trusting herself to speak and potentially give it all away. “Alright sugarcube, I won’t pry or nothin’, but you know Scootaloo, Ah know a thing or two mahself about missing parents. Ah lost both of mine in a terrible storm years back. You ever need anypony te talk to ye can come to me.” Applejack said, wrapping a foreleg around Apple Bloom and holding her close. It was a story most of Ponyville knew. There had been an accident at the Weather Factory and Applejack’s parents lost their lives trying to protect the farm and Ponyville itself from the storm damage. They had been tying down a particularly large tree when it was struck by lightning and fell down on them. The pony in charge of the Weather Factory had been fired and replaced by Rainbow Dash. She was the youngest Team Leader in history but she had proven herself to be the best at her job and during the storm she had tried her best to contain it. Applejack could tell Scootaloo was hiding something, but there wasn’t much she could do about it if neither of them would tell her.
“My parents aren’t dead AJ. They’re really just not around right now.” Scootaloo said. She was getting uncomfortable talking about death and she didn’t want Apple Bloom to feel uncomfortable either. It was clear given how she was hugging up to Applejack that she didn’t like being reminded of her parents anymore than Scootaloo liked being reminded of her own.
“Alright. Ah’m sorry for bringing up somethin’ Ah shouldn’t.” Applejack said, gently nuzzling Scootaloo. She stood up and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Ah guess Ah’ll let ye be on yer way.” Applejack said, tipping her hat to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash nodded and gave Applejack a hug. She knew how much it still upset Applejack to mention her parents and Scootaloo had pretty much brushed it all off.
“I’m sorry about that. She doesn’t really like it when ponies talk about her parents.” Rainbow Dash whispered in Applejack’s ear. Rainbow Dash released the hug and Applejack turned around and headed towards the farm.
“Scoots, go say sorry.” Rainbow Dash said sternly as she watched her friend leave.
“What? I didn’t ask her to tell me about her parents.” Scootaloo replied. She was indignant at the idea she had done something wrong when Applejack was the one who had made assumptions.
“She’s upset, so go say sorry. You’re upset too and she said sorry for upsetting you. I know your parents aren’t dead and so does she. But you still brushed off what she said. How would you feel if after you said everything to me, I just walked off?” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo thought about it for a few seconds before chasing after Applejack. Scootaloo jumped up onto Applejack’s back and wrapped her forelegs around Applejack’s neck in a hug.
“I’m sorry Applejack. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive.” Scootaloo said. Applejack jumped when she felt something land on her back but calmed down when she heard Scootaloo’s voice in her ears.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it none Scoots. I don’t mind talkin’ about my folks. Doesn’t make it any easier though.” Applejack replied, nuzzling Scootaloo.
“Yeah, I don’t like talking about some things either. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.” Scootaloo replied.
“It’s all okay. Now you get back to Rainbow. You and her have stuff to do don’t ya?” Applejack replied. Scootaloo gave one last squeeze and hopped off of Applejack and headed back towards Rainbow Dash.
“Good girl.” Rainbow Dash said, patting Scootaloo on the head when she returned.
“Thanks. I can’t believe I acted like that.” Scootaloo said, sad that she had reacted so badly to Applejack.
“You said sorry, and she said it’s alright, right?” Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo nodded with a smile in reply.
“Now come on girls, before Rarity gets worried about Sweetie Belle...or does something really bad to Star Shine.” Rainbow Dash said to lighten the mood. It worked and the three of them laughed and set off at last for the Boutique.
Because they had left the school later than they intended to, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle arrived at Carousel Boutique a little later than expected. Star Shine wasn’t waiting for them outside like Rainbow Dash had been expecting him too and his absence made Rainbow Dash a little worried that Rarity might have done something to him.
“I bet Rarity’s done something to him. Five bits says he’s in a dress.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing at the mental image of Star Shine in a dress. Rarity was known to stick ponies in dresses but how she treated colts wasn’t quite so well known. Sweetie Belle sighed as she remembered the times Rarity had stuck her in a dress against her will, including the time it ended up in the Foal Free Press.
“He is a...little weird. Would he do it anyway?” Scootaloo mused. She knew Star Shine was more than a little weird at times really. “We’re still not sure if he’s...you know...” she added, trying to think of a way to phrase her thoughts that Star Shine might be the kind of colt who wears dresses anyway.
“Nah not every boy who likes colts wears dresses.” Rainbow Dash said, brushing the idea he might do it willingly off. He’d never had a marefriend but he didn’t seem to her to be the type to wear a dress. She also didn’t want Scootaloo to grow up believing an absurd stereotype.
“He likes colts?” Sweetie Belle asked a little nervously. She was curious but it was still a sensitive subject. To her relief Rainbow Dash burst out laughing.
“Nah. We don’t know really. He’s just never had a marefriend.” Rainbow Dash explained. She herself wasn’t one hundred percent sure on Star Shine’s orientation and had learned a thing or two about ponies assumptions causing pain in the past few weeks.
“Not even you?” Sweetie asked. Rainbow Dash ran a hoof down her face in exasperation while Scootaloo giggled.
“Why does everypony keep saying that? We’re not together and never have been. I don’t even know if I can trust him.” Rainbow Dash said. The truth was she was starting to open up to Star Shine and had begun liking him. His mistake at Scootaloo’s school had ruined the chance of anything developing until Rainbow felt she could trust him and trust isn’t won easy. Everypony made mistakes but he seemed to be making a fair few more than most. She would laugh and play with him, and accepted he could make Scootaloo happy, but she would never forget what had happened at the school any more than he himself would.
“Oh. Sorry...” Sweetie Belle said running a hoof across the ground solemnly.
“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. She patted Sweetie Belle on the head and then pushed her gently towards the door of the boutique. “Let’s just go see what your big sister went and did to my idiot of a big brother.”
“He’s your big brother? Good job you’re not together then.” Sweetie Belle commented as they walked through the door of the boutique. Rainbow Dash sighed and facehoofed.
“He’s not her brother, but he is an idiot.” Scootaloo clarified for Sweetie Belle.
“Oh, so is he your brother?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Sorta, but we’re not really related.” Scootaloo replied.
“He really is just an old friend and I don’t see why nopony understands that.” Rainbow Dash added with a sigh of exasperation. She knew Sweetie Belle was just curious and didn’t want to upset her but she was getting pretty tired of all the assumptions. She was beginning to understand a whole lot how Scootaloo felt about everypony assuming things about her. Plus it was her own fault Sweetie Belle asked if they were related. She had called him her brother. “Never mind all that, where is everypony?” Rainbow Dash asked. The storefront was empty and Rarity hadn’t appeared from anywhere to greet them. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle couldn’t see them either.
“Oh darling I love it!” they heard Rarity squeal with delight from one of the changing rooms.
“First Twilight...now Rarity...For a pony who’s never had a marefriend he sure gets around.” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh. She had come to an assumption that neither filly in front of her would have come to. Sweetie Belle had lived with Rarity long enough to assume it was something to do with fashion and Scootaloo was totally lost. “I swear Star Shine if you’ve touched one hair on her-” Rainbow Dash said as she walked towards the changing room Rarity’s voice had come from. She was interrupted by Rarity poking her head over the top of the door to the changing room.
“Whatever is the matter darling?” Rarity asked. Her hair was still perfectly styled and from what Rainbow Dash could see, not a hair on her coat was out of place either.
“You sounded like you were...never mind...” Rainbow Dash said quietly, aware of the young ears around her. “Is Star Shine here?”
“Why yes he is. He’s in here with me of course.” Rarity replied, smiling.
“I KNEW he was in there. Star Shine get your flank out here right now so I can beat it!” Rainbow Dash declared. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked a little shocked at her outburst but Rarity didn’t move from the door.
“Beat him? Whatever for?” Rarity asked, confused. She wasn’t about to step aside and let somepony be beaten for no good reason. She couldn’t even think of a good reason.
“He’s in there doing Celestia knows what with you! I come in here and hear you squeal about how much you love something...” Rainbow Dash began before trailing off as she noticed Rarity’s smile getting bigger and realised she had come to a very incorrect assumption.
“Oh please, I’m not that kind of lady. He’s trying on suits for me. It’s not often I have a colt come by and model for me. I simply love how he looks in them.” Rarity explained. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were unsure what Rainbow Dash meant and kept their silence. “Were you jealous?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow and suppressing a giggle.
“What?! No!” Rainbow Dash denied vehemently. She was blushing slightly but it had more to do with embarrassment at her mistake and being teased than actual hidden feelings. “He’s a jerk and I don’t want him messing around with my friends.”
“Well it’s nice you want to protect me dear but I do think he’s quite harmless. I also wouldn’t want to intrude on your relationship.” Rarity said. She stepped down from the door at last and walked through it, standing beside the changing room. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tried to sneak a glance at Star Shine’s new outfit but couldn’t see him properly.
“Relationship? What relationship?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Never mind that now dear. For now, feast your eyes upon the new and improved Star Shine!” Rarity declared. Her horn lit up with magic as she used it to open the door to the dressing room. Star Shine certainly didn’t feel very new or improved and nervously made his way out of the dressing room. His hair had been washed and brushed back except for a few stray streaks that dangled in front of his face. He was wearing a fairly ordinary black tuxedo jacket and a light blue bowtie. Under the jacket was a waistcoat that was the same light blue with seven buttons. The buttons were just for show as the waistcoat slipped on like a shirt and the jacket was undone, showing the waistcoat off. The buttons on the waistcoat were an individual colour and there was a button for every colour of the rainbow. For an added bonus touch there was a magenta rose in the lapel. Sweeite Belle looked at the ensemble in awe, impressed by the care and craftsmanship that had clearly gone into it. Scootaloo was impressed by how Star Shine looked. Even Rainbow Dash was smiling and looked shocked at how he looked when he was all cleaned up properly.
“Well, what do you think?” Star Shine asked tentatively. He was nervous because of how Rainbow Dash was looking at him.
“I really like it. You look awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. Sweetie Belle nodded her agreement.
“Yeah you do look pretty awesome like that.” Rainbow Dash admitted, looking Star Shine up and down.
“Would you go as far as to say I look handsome?” Star Shine teased, playing with the bow tie with a foreleg.
“Not now, no.” Rainbow Dash said, giggling as Star Shine sighed, his ego deflated. Rainbow Dash walked up to Star Shine and looked closely at the suit. Something looked incredibly familiar but she couldn’t quite place her hoof on it. “I’ll admit it looks pretty cool and you look great in it but there’s something about it...” she said. Before Rainbow could say anything else Star Shine was shoved away by Rarity. Rarity then pushed Rainbow Dash into the changing room and disappeared into it herself, pulling a dress into the changing room with her magic. A few sounds of fidgeting later and Rarity stepped outside and once more stood to the side.
“And now, the new and improved Rainbow Dash!” she declared, giggling with glee as she opened the changing room door with her magic. Rainbow Dash stepped out of the changing room even more nervously than Star Shine had. Despite asking for something special Rarity had designed what looked like a fairly simple dress. The specialness of it was hidden within the design. The dress itself was made of two dark blue pieces of fabric separated by a lighter blue as well a trim of the same light blue running around the edges. Much like her gala dress this dress was held together by straps that ran around Rainbow Dash’s neck. The straps of this dress were a dark blue and the clasp that held them together on her chest was in the shape of a white star. To go with the dress she also had silver shoes. The shoes had ribbons going up her legs in a crisscross pattern.
“Wow Dashie, you look beautiful.” Star Shine said, looking at Rainbow Dash in amazement. Rainbow Dash shifted nervously as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded their approval and smiled as brightly as Star Shine.
“Thanks...are you sure it’s not too much?” Rainbow Dash asked, standing up on her back hooves and letting everypony get a good look at her. She looked down at the dress herself and was hit by a realisation.
“Rarity...these colours...Star Shine’s outfit...” Rainbow Dash said as her brain joined all the dots.
“It’s about time you noticed. They match! Isn’t it wonderful? Your outfits incorporate the coat colour of eachother.” Rarity said, beaming as she looked between Star Shine and Rainbow Dash. Star Shine did the same and wash surprised he didn’t notice. The waistcoat was the same colour as Rainbow Dash’s coat and the buttons were the same as her mane and tail. The straps of Rainbow Dash’s dress were the same colour as Star Shine’s coat, as was the dark blue part of the dress. He had to admit it was a simple but brilliant touch.
“I think it’s a marvelous touch.” Star Shine said, voicing his thoughts.
“Me too, you both look awesome.” Scootaloo commented, looking between the pair. After all this she could hardly wait to see what her dress would look like. She didn’t like dresses much but she was pretty interested now.
“I’ll admit it looks nice.” Rainbow Dash conceded. “But why’d you do it?” she asked Rarity.
“I wanted you and Star Shine to match for your date of course.” Rarity replied with a smile. Rainbow Dash sighed. She was about to speak when Sweetie Belle spoke up.
“Date? I thought they weren’t together and that he didn’t like mares?” Sweetie Belle said. Being so young she didn’t know anything about tact. Star Shine, well versed in the ways of children and how they just said whatever was on their minds, laughed and lowered himself to Sweetie Belle’s level.
“I don’t think we’re actually going on a date, but I do like mares. I’m weird and I’ve never found a marefriend, but that doesn’t mean I’ve had a coltfriend either. I’m just...fun.” Star Shine explained. He would have used the word “camp” but he wasn’t sure how he would have explained what he meant if she didn’t know.
“No it’s not a date.” Rainbow Dash clarified. Rarity looked a little upset but she wasn’t serious. She was wondering why these two ponies who she had decided were perfect for eachother hadn’t seen it for themselves. Just because she had decided that didn’t mean the universe, or at least Princess Cadance, the princess capable of creating love, agreed.
“So what did you need the clothes for?” Rarity asked. Star Shine stood to attention and prepared to learn the fate he had been worrying about for the past day. Rainbow Dash wanted to make him sweat for longer but decided it would be as good a time as any.
“This Friday I’m taking Star Shine and Scootaloo out to a fancy dinner in Canterlot. He’s paying for the clothes and I’ll be buying dinner.” Rainbow Dash said. Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief as it wasn’t as bad as he had been expecting. He could handle a dinner in Canterlot. He was expecting something way worse.
“So it’s a date then?” Rarity asked, giggling. She saw it as a date even if Rainbow Dash didn’t.
“A date would be just the two of us. If it was a date he’d be taking me to the Wonderbolts Derby. Scoots was so happy the last time we all ate together I thought she’d want to do it again and she said yes. She went through a lot and I wanted to do something just for her so it had to be something she’d like. I wanted to go the Wonderbolts Derby but it’s too expensive.” Rainbow Dash explained her reasons for why it wasn’t a date. The Wonderbolts Derby was closer to what Star Shine was expecting and he breathed a huge sigh of relief that wasn’t what he had to do. He didn’t like crowds much.
“And I don’t like crowds.” Scootaloo added, looking down at the ground and shifting her hooves nervously. Crowds made her very nervous and uneasy and the Wonderbolts Derby would come with one large crowd attached. Rainbow Dash walked over to Scootaloo and patted the top of her head.
“And that’s why we’re going to Canterlot instead.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling down at Scootaloo.
“I’ll go sort out the reservations and everything tomorrow then I guess. I don’t have anything else to do during the day.” Star Shine said.
“You’ll take care of that? Thanks. You can always come to work with me if you want?” Rainbow Dash offered. She hadn’t realised how bored Star Shine must get sat at home on his own all day. If he was willing to go to Canterlot for her just to have something to do then he must need something to do.
“Maybe the day after tomorrow. It’ll take me a while to get to Canterlot and back anyway.” Star Shine replied. He was tempted by the offer and happy that Rainbow Dash would even make it. He was still under the impression she secretly hated him.
“Say what you like dear but I can tell you like him.” Rarity piped up. Rainbow Dash sighed again and Scootaloo giggled.
“Of course I like him really, just not in that way.” Rainbow Dash replied. Rarity pouted and was still unconvinced.
“I’ll be happy with you just liking me. I thought you still hated me.” Star Shine replied, smiling. Rainbow Dash was about to reply when she heard Rarity awww at the situation.
“I’ll talk to you back the house.” Rainbow Dash said to Star Shine, keen to have the rest of that conversation away from prying ears. Star Shine nodded and Rainbow Dash turned to face Rarity. “Well we’ll be going now then. Thanks for the outfits. How much does he owe you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Hey I’ve not seen my dress yet!” Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping in front of Rainbow Dash’s face to get her attention.
“Oh that’s right..” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing. She had been so distracted by the recent topics of conversation she had forgotten that Scootaloo had a dress too.
“Don’t worry about payment, he’s already paid. I have Scootaloo’s dress in the back. I’ll be back in just a second.” Rarity said quietly. She looked upset even. With that she disappeared into the back room, leaving behind Star Shine, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle
“Gee, I wonder what her problem was?” Rainbow Dash said, looking at Star Shine with a confused expression. Star Shine sighed and shook his head. Rainbow Dash could tell Rarity seemed upset. She couldn’t think of a reason why Rarity would be however.
“You mean other than you brushing off all her hard work and everything?” he replied, sounding a little meaner than he had intended.
“What?! I didn't do any of that!” Rainbow Dash replied harshly. She didn't see how she could have done any of that.
“I don't think she sees it that way. You should go talk to her. I can't tell you how she feels.” Star Shine said, shooing Rainbow Dash away with his hooves.
“...I'm going but not because you told me to.” Rainbow Dash said defiantly before doing as she was told. Not because she had been told to do it but because she didn't like the idea Rarity was upset. Especially at something she hadn't intended to do. Rainbow Dash really wanted to patch things up with Rarity. She turned around and left the room, following the steps Rarity had taken.
“Do you really think Rainbow did something wrong?” Scootaloo asked. She had seen that Rarity looked a little upset but couldn't work out herself if it was something Rainbow Dash had done.
“I hope she's okay.” Sweetie Belle added, concerned for her older sister. The two had their fallings out but they still cared deeply for eachother.
“Even if Rainbow Dash didn't do anything wrong, she's probably the best pony to go see to Rarity. That's what friends are for. I'll be there for Rainbow, she'll be there for Rarity, and you two will be there for eachother won't you?” Star Shine explained, smiling down at the two friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at eachother before nodding at Star Shine with smiles on their faces. Despite their recent differences the Cutie Mark Crusaders had always felt they would be there for one another for as long as it took to earn their Marks, and then even after that.
***
Rainbow Dash entered the back room and found Rarity slumped on the ground in front of one of her mannequins. It was a filly sized mannequin and on it was a spectacular dress. It was a smaller version of the dress Rarity had made for Rainbow Dash for the Gala and there were small gems set into the rainbow trail. They shone brightly in the daylight shining through the window.The dress was also missing the fluffy cloud trim at the bottom. Atop the head of the mannequin was a midnight blue tiara. The design was a little erratic and the metal moved up and down in so many ways Rainbow Dash couldn't trace it all, and got a bit of a headache looking at it for so long. Above the erratic design were three points that stuck up, each topped with a small star. The design of the dress was obvious, but Rainbow was a little confused about the tiara. Nevertheless, she found the entire thing to be incredibly beautiful.
“Please tell me that's Scootaloo's dress. It's incredible.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked up to Rarity. Rarity was so caught up in her musings she hadn't heard Rainbow Dash enter the room. She had slumped onto the ground as soon as she had reached the dress. Rainbow Dash settled herself down on the floor next to Rarity. Rarity pulled herself together and looked across at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and Rarity turned back towards the dress.
“I thought you had forgotten about that dress.” Rarity said. “But yes, this is for Scootaloo. I'm glad you like it.”
“Like it? I love it! I know she will too.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She saw how excited Scootaloo had looked and knew for a fact she wouldn't be disappointed with this. “I'm sorry I forgot about it. I was just so distracted and it slipped my mind. I was so caught up in mine and Shine's clothes too...I'm really sorry Rarity. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything.” Rainbow Dash said, wrapping a reassuring wing around her friend. Rarity smiled and leaned into Rainbow Dash.
“I'm glad you like them. I wasn't sure how you felt. I can deal with you not liking them though.” Rarity replied.
“So what's eating at you?” Rainbow Dash asked. If it wasn't how she had responded to the outfits then she was keen to know what it was.
“It's silly really...” Rarity said, fidgeting uneasily and looking at the floor. She knew her friends tended to see her as being a little melodramatic and felt that it would happen again if she said what was on her mind.
“I don't think it'll be silly.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. Rarity let out a sigh after a few more seconds silence.
“...It's the thought you don't trust me.” Rarity said at last. Rainbow Dash looked at her in stunned surprise. She hadn't been expecting that.
“You wouldn't talk to Star Shine in front of me...you're afraid if you say something to him I'll talk about it and it'll end up in that gossip column for all of Ponyville to see.” Rarity explained dejectedly. It might have sounded crazy but it was how she felt.
“That stupid gossip column again! Star Shine says not to worry about it but it's coming between me and my friends now.” Rainbow Dash replied angrily, stomping a hoof into the floor and making Rarity jump. “I trust you Rarity, I really do. I know you didn't mean for anything to happen. If Scootaloo can forgive her friends, I can forgive mine. It's not that I didn't trust you, it's just I felt it was kinda a personal and private thing.” Rainbow Dash explained softly. Rarity nodded her understanding and stood up. Rainbow Dash stood up as well after Rarity. Rarity gave Rainbow Dash a quick hug and wrapped the ensemble on the mannequin in a magic field. She walked towards the door, dragging the ensemble with her.
“Come along darling, you don't want to miss the grand reveal do you?” Rarity said to Rainbow Dash excitedly. “Oh and please, don't sit on the floor in that dress again. You'll stain it.” she chastised, appearing at the door a few seconds later before disappearing again. Rainbow Dash smiled as her friend was her old self again and walked after her. She was excited herself about how Scootaloo would react and she was curious about the design of the tiara and the gems set into the dress. She expected that, as with most things in life, the answer would be revealed soon.
***
Rarity walked back into the main room and the three occupants looked up and smiled when they saw how happy she looked. Whatever Rainbow Dash had said to her had worked. They couldn't see the dress because Rarity was hiding it behind herself. Rainbow Dash appeared shortly after and continued walking past Rarity to Scootaloo and Star Shine. She patted Scootaloo on the head and directed her attention to Rarity. Rarity cleared her throat, directing the attention of everypony else to her as well.
“Ladies and gentlecolt, and especially little Scootaloo,” Rarity began, making Scootaloo's smile grow wider in anticipation, “I present to you the pièce de résistance of this small collection.” Rarity walked over to Scootaloo, skill keeping the dress hidden, and closed her eyes. There was a flash of light from Rarity's horn and then nothing. Rarity stepped back to admire her handiwork and Scootaloo felt the eyes of everypony in the room on her. Everypony except for Rainbow Dash was also looking shocked and amazed. Scootaloo noticed something felt a little odd and looked down. She let out a gasp of shock and surprise when she saw the dress. She also hefted herself up onto her hind legs so that she could get a good look at it properly. There was another flash of light from Rarity's horn and the gems on the dress sparkled in the light. Everypony gave another gasp, including Rainbow Dash who felt the display was still just as stunning the second time around. Scootaloo felt that there was also something on her head. She lifted her forelegs up and removed the tiara, bringing it down to take a good look at it. Her smile grew when she saw the tiara and recognised the star motif. She put it back on top of her head where it belonged.
“Well, what do you think?” Rarity asked, although she thought she knew what the answer to that question would be.
“I...I...I...I...I LOVE IT!” Scootaloo exclaimed happily, jumping up and down. She even did a little backflip that caused the tiara to fall from her head. Rarity caught it in her magical grip and when Scootaloo stopped jumping about put it back on her head. “Thanks.” Scootaloo said, playing with her mane sheepishly. She didn't want to break anything as soon as she had just gotten it and was happy to see the tiara wasn't damaged.
“Think nothing of it, but tell me; your face lit up when you saw that tiara. Did you recognise it?” Rarity asked her. She was sure Rainbow Dash didn't recognise it and wanted to know if anypony had.
“I did yeah.” Scootaloo said, grinning. “Well, I recognised part of it anyway.”
“Wait you know what that's about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yeah. The stars anyway.” Scootaloo said, taking the tiara off again and looking at the stars on it.
“So what are they?” Rarity asked her. Scootaloo jumped onto Star Shine's back and pointed a hoof at his flank. Specifically his Cutie Mark.
“These, right?” Scootaloo said. Star Shine turned his head around to look. Rainbow Dash looked at the stars of Star Shine’s cutie mark, and then at the tiara and she had to admit that they did look pretty similar. She was also a little surprised she didn’t see it herself.
“Is that right?” Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity laughed and nodded, glad that somepony had seen her genius at work.
“I didn’t know what to expect but all of this is...well I don’t think wonderful covers it really. Every little detail is so well thought out and put together perfectly.” Star Shine said happily, looking between Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and admiring the sight. “Although there are a few things, if you don’t mind me asking?” he added as a few things occurred to him.
“Yes, what is it?” Rarity replied, smiling at the praise.
“The gems on Scootaloo’s dress. Why are they on Scootaloo’s, when Rainbow doesn’t have any? I was also wondering about the design of the tiara; I get that the stars are my Cutie Mark, but I don’t know about the rest of it.” Star Shine asked. “Although there could be nothing else to the tiara.” he added with a chuckle. Rarity cleared her throat again and adopted a dramatic pose with one foreleg raised and crossing her chest, the hoof placed roughly over her heart.
“I’m glad you asked. The gems are there to help Scootaloo sparkle and shine brightly. She’s spent so long in the background I think she should show the world just how bright and beautiful she is. One day she shall fly among the rainbows and I want her to have a taste of what that’s like.” Rarity explained. Scootaloo blushed a little but understood and appreciated the sentiment. “As for why Rainbow Dash doesn’t have any...well, I don’t think she needs any kind of help to do that, do you?” Rarity asked, winking at Star Shine. He smiled and shook his head. Rainbow Dash looked away nervously. “Lastly, as to the design of the tiara, you’re right that it too is perfectly designed. The stars are, as Scootaloo herself said, a representation of you, but so is the entire design. The design is erratic at best. There’s no telling when it ends and when it begins. From the little I know of you I imagine you are the same. Your mind is all over the place and you come across yourself as somepony quite erratic and all over the place.” Rarity explained. Star Shine let out a whistle.
“Then I’m thoroughly impressed and apologise for ever doubting you.” Star Shine said.
“Consider it in the past darling. You certainly are charming though.” Rarity said, suppressing a giggle and deliberately failing to hide the blush that formed on her cheeks.
“If you love him so much why don’t you marry him?” Sweetie Belle asked. She had kept quiet long enough and saw the perfect chance to tease her sister. A chance she delighted in taking.
“Oh hush you.” Rarity chastised, but she was still giggling.
“Well as delightful as that would be, I have to test Scootaloo’s wingpower. I imagine with all of this everypony forgot about that too.” Star Shine said.
“Oh yeah...guess I did forget...” Scootaloo said slowly. She hopped down from Star Shine’s back and began fidgeting her way out of her dress. “I can’t really do that in this.” she added to explain her behaviour. Rainbow Dash began to take her dress off but Rarity shoved her into the dressing room.
“Darling please! There are colts present!” Rarity exclaimed. She shoved Rainbow Dash into the changing room then sat in front of the door. She pointed a hoof towards the back room. “You can get changed in the back room.” she said to Star Shine. He nodded and walked off towards the back room.
“Hey Rarity, do me a favour?” Rainbow Dash called from the back room.
“Yes dear?” Rarity replied.
“Can you keep the clothes for us? We’ll come before we go also...this is sorta embarrassing...” Rainbow Dash asked before pausing, unsure of how to phrase it in the least embarrassing manner possible.
“I can keep the clothes yes, what else is there? Come on, you can tell me.” Rarity replied, poking her head into the changing room. “He’s in the back room, so I doubt he’ll hear it dear.” she added, guessing it had something to do with Star Shine. Rainbow Dash leaned up to whisper in Rarity’s ear.
“When we come back, can you fix his mane again? And...is there anything you can do with mine?” Rainbow Dash managed to ask.
“Yes I can do that. You like his hair like that?” Rarity replied, giggling. Rainbow Dash turned around to hide her blush and Rarity took her silence as a yes.
“He looks nice like that, and we’re going to Canterlot. So he has to look nice. So do I.” Rainbow Dash said when she had managed to think of a suitable defense.
The three Pegasus ponies bid goodbye to Rarity and Sweetie Belle and made their exit. Star Shine had accepted Rarity keeping the clothes as a good idea although Rainbow Dash neglected to tell him it was also so Rarity could style their manes when they came back. She didn’t expect him to mind much.
“So where are we going?” Scootaloo asked as the trio made their way through the town. It was early evening so the streets were mostly empty except for some shops and the restaurants that were seeing ponies enjoying their dinners together. Rainbow Dash was keen to avoid eating in public again for a while. At least in Ponyville. The reason she had chosen Canterlot for the meal together had been partly because it was so out of the way and they should be able to enjoy their privacy.
“I think the field under Rainbow Dash’s house should do nicely. The place we did it before. It’s quiet and best of all, out of the way.” Star Shine replied, thinking over where the best place to go would be. “Plus all the stuff we’ll need is there.” he added, smiling. Scootaloo nodded and jumped onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Rainbow Dash jumped at the suddenness of it.
“Woah there Squirt, you okay?” she asked as she looked back at Scootaloo. She was worried something might have happened even though she’d not seen any reason to believe that.
“I’m fine but it’ll be faster if we fly won’t it?” Scootaloo replied with a giggle. Rainbow Dash smiled as she got the message and took off into the air.
“Hey wait for me!” Star Shine called as he took off after them. They had left so quickly he hadn’t realised what was going on. Back on the ground of Ponyville a pink Earth Pony with a bubbly pink mane let out a cry. She was dragging what appeared to be some kind of wagon with a large chest on it. It was pink with spots of white and various other decorations on it. The centre of the lid had a balloon design similar to the Cutie Mark of the pony dragging it. It was Pinkie Pie and her welcome wagon.
“Rats! I missed him again!” she said before turning around and heading back to Sugarcube Corner to plan some more about how she could welcome Star Shine to Ponyville. He never stayed in one place for long enough for her and so she had never gotten the chance to welcome him yet. She always welcomed every new pony to Ponyville. She was beginning to consider just having Twilight magic up her and her welcome wagon with a Cloud Walking Spell and visiting him in Rainbow Dash’s house. She would have done it before but considered it an invasion of privacy.
Star Shine caught up with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and together they made it to Rainbow Dash’s house. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo headed upstairs to find Scootaloo’s scooter and Star Shine hunted around for the anemometer that would allow them to measure Scootaloo’s wingpower. He considering grabbing the magic measuring device but felt it was too soon for that. He didn’t believe Scootaloo could have achieved 0.1 wingpower yet and there was no need to test her for Vacuus Medeis unless there was a chance she could have it. To do so would cause her unnecessary distress and worry and she’d been through more than enough of that lately. With everything in hoof everypony headed back down onto the ground to the fields below. Much like the first time they had done this, Star Shine sat and set up the anemometer while Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo a short distance away.
“By the way Scootaloo, you need to take off the brace!” Star Shine called over to them. “It’ll slow you down!” he explained. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother in confusion but did as they were told. Scootaloo was a little nervous about how Star Shine had used her full name. It was, to her, something grownups generally did when they were trying to hide something or about to say bad news.
“Do your best Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling up to Scootaloo. Scootaloo nuzzled back and then put her helmet on and readied herself. Star Shine raised a hoof to signal he was ready and Scootaloo took off like a proverbial bullet and flew past Star Shine much faster than she had the first time. Rainbow Dash let out a whistle as she watched Scootaloo go. She was suitably impressed by the speed. Despite how quickly Scootaloo had clearly moved the anemometer itself didn’t move much more than before. Rainbow Dash flew over to where Star Shine was as Scootaloo turned around and made her way to him as well.
“It’s gotta be more than 0.1 right? I busted my flank these past few days.” Scootaloo said as she removed her helmet and took a look at the display. Her face dropped when she saw it. “0.07?! It’s still too low?!” she cried. Star Shine winced at the sudden noise and tried to come up with something while Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Scootaloo to comfort her.
“Now now Scoots, that’s an amazing improvement! What were you before? 0.03? To do that in five days is pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash said to reassure Scootaloo. “Don’t you think it’s awesome?” Rainbow Dash asked, tapping Star Shine with her other wing. He jumped in surprise.
“Oh? Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. 0.04 improvement...awesome...” he replied, trailing off as he was still thinking. How quickly Scootaloo had moved past the anemometer and how low it said her wingpower was just didn’t match up to him. She appeared to have more powerful wings, but none of that power was going towards faster flight. It was a sign of Vacuus Medeis. One he recognised and was hoping to not see. There were Pegasi who trained their wings endlessly but never saw much of an increase in speed because they didn’t understand that power wasn’t everything when it comes to flight speed. It helped but there was more to it than that. Training one’s wings came hand in hand with believing you could fly faster and that belief could help as much as the training itself. Scootaloo’s wingpower being low was also a sign of her depression. Her wings were getting stronger but she still believed she couldn’t fly.
“See, he doesn’t think it’s very awesome. I’m still a failure.” Scootaloo said dejectedly. Rainbow Dash used the wing she had tapped Star Shine with to hit him across the face instead. He let out a cry of pain and turned to face them, giving them his full attention. Rainbow Dash was looking at him sternly and Scootaloo was looking down at the ground. He realised what he had said and how it had sounded and let out a sigh.
“Scoots, you really have made quite an improvement. It might not sound like much but you more than doubled your wingpower in five days. To be honest I was actually expecting to be a little lower but really, if you keep this up, you’ll be flying in a few days time.” Star Shine with a smile. Despite not knowing how to talk to adults sometimes he still knew how to talk with kids and reassure them. Scootaloo’s face changed slowly but surely into a shaky smile.
“You really think I’ll be flying soon?” Scootaloo asked quietly. She had been wanting to fly for so long she could barely believe it was something that she could get in just a few days. Sometimes she really did believe it was something she would never get at all. Star Shine smiled down at her and she gave a small buzz of her wings in happiness.
“That’s more like it.” Rainbow Dash said cheerfully as she approved the much better way Star Shine had handled things.
“Yeah...sorry...I was a little lost in thought.” Star Shine replied meekly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, I think it’s still early enough if Scoots wants to get in some more practice on her scooter. I’ll go on up to the house and make us some dinner while you watch over her if you want.” Scootaloo stuck her helmet on to show what she planned to do and was about to take off on her scooter when Star Shine placed a hoof on her chest to stop her. “You’re gonna want to put the brace back on.” he said to her.
“Huh? Why?” Scootaloo asked. She understood and accepted the brace was useful but she hadn’t really considered it a total necessity.
“Trust me on this one.” Star Shine replied. He flew to get the brace from where Rainbow Dash had left it and hoofed it over to Rainbow Dash so she could put it back on Scootaloo. He looked like he was contemplating something for a brief second. “Ah, screw it.” he said quickly and then nuzzled Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo before heading up into the sky and to the cloud manor.
“Wonder what he’s hiding this time.” Rainbow Dash said quietly as she put the brace on Scootaloo.
“Hiding something?” Scootaloo asked. He asked Scootaloo to trust him which meant he was clearly hiding something but she didn’t think it could be anything bad. It was just wearing a brace after all.
“He was affectionate. He’s only affectionate when he’s making up for something, or about to do something he needs to make up for.” Rainbow Dash replied. With the brace safely secured Rainbow Dash pressed the middle button to turn it on. Scootaloo let out a small gasp of pain as she still wasn’t used to the sensation of it tightening on her. Rainbow Dash nuzzled and preened Scootaloo’s wings a little.
“Isn’t he always nice?” Scootaloo asked. She had never known him to be anything but sweet, except for the odd mistake here and there and the fact he was a know-it-all.
“He’s always nice yes but he nuzzled me. He doesn’t like affection.” Rainbow Dash replied as Scootaloo hopped up onto her scooter.
“I noticed” Scootaloo giggled as she remembered the times that Rainbow Dash had been even slightly affectionate with Star Shine and his reactions to it. They were less than enthusiastic and often embarrassing.
“Yeah yeah...” Rainbow Dash replied, taking a guess at what Scootaloo was thinking about. “He’s only affectionate like that when he’s about to do something. He nuzzled me when we made him breakfast cos he was teasing me.”
“Maybe he just likes you?” Scootaloo offered before taking off on her scooter so Rainbow Dash didn’t have a chance to reply.
“He...likes me?” Rainbow Dash said quietly to herself. She sat down on the ground and thought about things while she watched Scootaloo zip around on her scooter. It was a theory she’d never considered. Star Shine made it clear to her before he didn’t like her like that. Scootaloo herself hadn’t meant in that way either but that’s the path Rainbow Dash’s mind took. A small blush formed on her cheeks as she thought about the implications.
Scootaloo continued to ride around on her scooter for the next half hour or so while Rainbow Dash watched and cheered as Scootaloo performed tricks occasionally to break the monotony of just riding around. She loved riding her scooter but doing the same thing over and over again can get boring no matter how much you enjoy it. Rainbow Dash was beginning to wonder how much longer Star Shine would be when she heard and felt something land next to her. She jumped and yelped at the sudden sensation of wind hitting her and looked across to see it was just Star Shine. He was holding a basket too, with the handle secured firmly in his mouth. He put the basket down and laughed at Rainbow Dash.
“Awww did I scare you?” he teased as Rainbow Dash came back to the ground softly. She grumbled something but didn’t respond to his question.
“Hey Scoots, he’s back!” Rainbow Dash called across to Scootaloo. Scootaloo looked in the direction of Rainbow Dash and saw Rainbow Dash pointing a hoof at Star Shine, who was waving at her. She turned her scooter around and headed towards the pair.
“So what’s with the basket?” Scootaloo asked when she reached them and noticed the basket on the ground.
“Yeah I was wonderin’ that too. I thought you were making dinner?” Rainbow Dash added. Star Shine smiled and opened the basket. There was a small blanket inside covering the rest of the contents and blocking them from view. He removed the blanket to reveal the sandwiches and various other food items underneath it as well as a few drinks.
“Well it’s such a lovely day out I thought that instead of sitting inside the house we should have a picnic and watch the sunset.” Star Shine explained as he laid the blanket down on the grass. Scootaloo beamed at the idea and helped set everything up.
“There you go with all these fun ideas again...” Rainbow Dash said a little melancholically. She liked the idea herself. She just also wished that she had come up with it. Especially after the insane game of hide and seek Star Shine had come up with.
“Hey this is one that includes you, and I think having a dinner in Canterlot is a wonderful idea. If anything I just stole your idea and made it a little more...private.” Star Shine replied reassuringly.
“Yeah yeah...” Rainbow Dash said softly before what Star Shine said really processed in her mind. “Hey you’re right, you stole my idea! Stop stealing my ideas!” she added, poking Star Shine in the chest while he smiled nervously. Star Shine winked at Scootaloo and the two shared a small laugh at Rainbow Dash’s expense. “Anyway let’s eat. I’m starving.” Rainbow Dash lowered herself onto the blanket and started eating. Scootaloo smiled and sat down next to Rainbow Dash and Star Shine sat next to Scootaloo. “Do you have to sit so...close?” Rainbow Dash asked Star Shine. Scootaloo was quite small so there wasn’t much space between Rainbow Dash and Star Shine and he was a little too close for her tastes.
“Sorry...” Star Shine replied sheepishly, scooting across the blanket to sit a little further away. Scootaloo pouted and tapped the space on the blanket next to her where Star Shine had been sitting. He gave her a puzzled look, as did Rainbow Dash.
“I wanted him to sit next to me.” Scootaloo explained to the pair of adults. Star Shine smiled and set himself back down next to Scootaloo and whispered a thanks into her ear.
“Alright, you get to sit there, but no getting touchy. You’re sat next to Scoots, not me.” Rainbow Dash warned. She was still mulling over what Scootaloo said about Star Shine liking her and she was more wary of what he did and why he might have done it than ever.
“Geez Dashie, what do you think I’m going to do? Jump on you? I’ll save that for later when Scoots isn’t around.” Star Shine giggled. He was teasing her and always knew the right thing to say to rile her up. He had considered not riling her up before but she just made it way too fun and she’d never given him a serious injury for it. Not yet at least.
“Why won’t you jump on her? I jump on her all the time.” Scootaloo asked in confusion. She hadn’t understood what Star Shine had meant and to her you could only jump on another pony playfully. Star Shine laughed and Rainbow Dash tried to hide her face behind a hoof. Neither one of them was in any hurry to explain what had happened to Scootaloo.
“One of these days you’re going to push me too far...” Rainbow Dash said quietly to herself as Star Shine kept laughing. Scootaloo scrunched her face up in confusion. That neither of them would tell her what they meant made her think it was something she couldn’t do. Which meant it could only be one thing.
“You don’t play when I’m there? Is it cos I can’t fly and you play in the sky?” Scootaloo asked sadly. She had seen Pegasi play in the sky at the orphanage and was always sad she could never join in. Star Shine stopped laughing as what he had accidentally done made him frown instead. Rainbow Dash huddled up to Scootaloo and nuzzled her reassuringly.
“It’s not that Scoots. We don’t play anything together.” Rainbow Dash said.
“We’re boring old grownups so we always talk. If anything we should play more.” Star Shine added, also cuddling up to Scootaloo. She smiled at the reassurance and at the physical contact.
“I hate to say it but you’re right...we should play more...” Rainbow Dash said cryptically. Star Shine looked across at her and saw there was a glint in her eyes as she shook her rump much like a predatory cat might.
“Oh-” was all he managed to say before Rainbow Dash pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. Scootaloo laughed and pinned down one of Star Shine’s forelegs so that Rainbow Dash could move a foreleg of her own. Star Shine looked scared as Rainbow Dash raised her now free foreleg and smiled at him menacingly. She knew that despite all his bluster and sarcasm he had one great and terrible weakness.
“Oh please. Not that. Please not that.” Star Shine pleaded. He could take a good guess as to what was coming up. Once again Scootaloo didn’t really know what was going on. She was just joining in and thought Rainbow Dash might want to use one of her legs for something. She thought Star Shine sounded almost genuinely terrified.
“He’s about to move a LOT Squirt so hold him down tight.” Rainbow Dash instructed. Scootaloo looked at her nervously but did as she was told and held his foreleg down harder. Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down slowly, practically torturing Star Shine with the wait. Just when he thought it would never happen she finally touched his chest and he burst out laughing.
“Huh? What’s wrong with him?” Scootaloo asked. She didn’t know what could cause a pony to react so much to just being touched a little bit.
“I’m really...really...ticklish.” Star Shine managed to say between laughs. Scootaloo knew she was ticklish but Star Shine was on a whole other level. She laughed and started tickling him herself. Star Shine fidgeted harder and because Scootaloo wasn’t holding him down he was able to get out from under Rainbow Dash and try and escape. He managed to run a few feet before Rainbow Dash pounced on him again. This game continued for about five or ten minutes before Star Shine’s pleas for mercy finally worked and the pair of mares stopped. When they finished playing together all three laid on their backs and looked up at the night sky together. After a short amount of time Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were surprised to hear the sound of crying. They looked across to where it was coming from and saw that instead of looking up at the sky, Scootaloo was curled up and crying.
“Scootaloo? What’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked softly as she moved over to Scootaloo and wrapping a wing around her in comfort. Scootaloo turned and cried into Rainbow Dash’s coat. Star Shine elected to stay where he was and let Rainbow Dash handle it. Scootaloo needed Rainbow Dash for emotional things more than she needed him for them. He closed his eyes to focus on what Scootaloo said and think.
“I’m...I’m sorry. It’s the stars. Before I was living in the...in the clubhouse, I used to sleep on the streets. It still hurts.” Scootaloo slowly explained. She was used to looking up at the stars and making wishes. Over time none of those wishes had come true and she had grown angry and bitter at them. Much like her wings, they were an ever present reminder of her past.
“I’m sorry Scoots, I had no idea.” Rainbow Dash replied, wrapping Scootaloo up in a tighter hug. “They a painful reminder for you too?” she asked, remembering what Scootaloo had said about her wings. Scootaloo nodded and cried softly at the memories as Rainbow Dash soothed her by gently stroking her mane.
“Hey Scoots.” Star Shine said after a few minutes of silence had passed.
“Yeah?” Scootaloo replied, looking over at him from between Rainbow Dash’s wings. Rainbow Dash looked over too.
“Remember those stars.” he said as he pointed a hoof up at the night sky and the beautiful night sky overhead. A lot of ponies had gained a new appreciation for the night after Luna had returned. She tried harder than ever to make it amazing and she had certainly done everypony proud.
“Why?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at the stars Star Shine was pointing at. They didn’t look remarkable or special to her.
“Because no matter where I go, or what I do, when the night comes around we’ll always be looking at the same stars.” he said, smiling brightly across at her. Scootaloo smiled back. Rainbow Dash let her go now she looked happier and Scootaloo cuddled up close to Star Shine. It was one of the sweetest things she’d ever heard.
“That is one of the cheesiest things I’ve ever heard.” Rainbow Dash said, faking a retch. She herself had actually found it to be very sweet. Just a little sickeningly so. She was also glad to see Scootaloo smile again.
“Upset I didn’t say it to you?” Star Shine teased, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. Rainbow Dash sighed at the teasing but didn’t respond.
“Wait, are you going somewhere?” Scootaloo asked nervously as the full implications and message of what Star Shine had said hit her. He shook his head and patted her reassuringly.
“I don’t have any plans to. Like I said before I’m not going anywhere until you fly, or Rainbow Dash kicks me out.” Star Shine replied, adding the little joke at the end to lighten the mood.
“I will do if you don’t start paying rent...” Rainbow Dash replied. She was well aware of how long Star Shine had been living at her house and eating all her food without contributing a bit.
“Oh that reminds me, as well as paying Rarity I left a bag of bits on your bed for you. Consider it rent. I’d like to stay with you if that’s okay.” Star Shine said. His conversation with Scootaloo had convinced him he should try and stay with Rainbow Dash for as long as he could. If Scootaloo didn’t want him to leave then he wouldn’t and if paying rent allowed him to stay he was more than happy to pay rent. Part of him was also feeling guilty about how long he’d stayed at Rainbow Dash’s and not contributed anything.
“I guess you can stay then.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo punched the air and Star Shine smiled. “But speaking of staying, stay out of my room.” Rainbow Dash added. Star Shine laughed nervously.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to leave a bag of bits lying around and tempt anypony who came past. I didn’t look through anything.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash understood and the three continued to watch the stars together. Scootaloo smiled up at them, rather than be upset by them. It seemed that perhaps some of the things she had wished for had come true. Perhaps nopony who wished upon a star while Luna was imprisoned on the moon had their wishes granted and it took a while after she got back for Scootaloo’s to be granted. She must have been busy fulfilling all those wishes. Scootaloo giggled to herself as she suddenly thought of something.
“A little.” Scootaloo replied nervously. She was a little embarrassed, as well as amused, by her sudden thought. “It’s just I used to look up at the night sky and make a wish. I used to wish on stars and now one has actually fallen into my life.” Scootaloo said as she looked across at Star Shine. Star Shine laughed as he realised that he was the star Scootaloo had been referring to and Rainbow Dash joined in when she got it. Scootaloo looked back up at the sky in mild embarrassment.
“That’s very sweet of you Scoots. Much like these stars here too, I won’t be going anywhere for a while too.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash smirked and shook her head. Things were getting a little too cutesy for her tastes.
After a while passed Rainbow Dash looked across at Scootaloo and saw that she had fallen asleep. They had all completely lost track of time.
“Hey Shine...” Rainbow Dash whispered so she didn’t wake Scootaloo up. Star Shine looked across at her curiously. He’d never really known Rainbow Dash to whisper about anything. He looked down at Scootaloo and smiled as he understood why.
“She’s so cute when she’s sleeping.” he commented quietly. Scootaloo had curled up and rested her head on her forelegs. When she was sleeping was one of the few times her wings were tucked into her side. She had also curled her tail around her body to use it as a pillow.
“She is...” Rainbow Dash agreed, smiling at the sight below her. She leaned down and gave Scootaloo a kiss on the forehead like she normally would when she put her to bed. A smile spread across Scootaloo’s sleeping face. “She should also be in bed though, and I should get to work. Think you can put her to bed for me?” Rainbow Dash asked. Star Shine nodded.
“Sure I will. I want to stay out here a little longer but I’ll put her to bed.” Star Shine replied.
“Okay just don’t let her get cold.” Rainbow Dash said. Star Shine extended a wing and rested it over Scootaloo to keep her warm. Rainbow Dash smiled as she approved and headed into the night sky for her evening shift at work. Star Shine continued to look up into the night sky, thinking all the time as he usually did when he stared up at the beautiful moon above.
The new day came and with it also came an absent Star Shine. The girls woke up to find him missing with a note on the table saying that he had decided to leave for Canterlot early and that he would see them later. Given how it was about seven in the morning when they discovered he was gone both of them were a little surprised he could be up so early. Neither of them had seen him leave either which meant there was a chance he had actually left before Rainbow Dash had woken up for her morning practice. They started their day as they normally would have done without him around and, after having breakfast, left for the school together.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting for them which didn’t come as a surprise. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon waiting for them came as a surprise to Rainbow Dash though. Scootaloo hadn’t told her about Diamond Tiara’s recent “transformation” into a good girl. After Rainbow Dash landed Scootaloo hopped off her back and made her way across to her fellow Crusaders and hugged them.
“...Can I help you girls?” Rainbow Dash asked Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon cautiously. She didn’t want to start any trouble and so chose to just approach the situation carefully. That Diamond Tiara was smiling at her unnerved Rainbow Dash but she couldn’t say for sure why.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry miss Rainbow Dash.” Diamond Tiara replied in the same sweet voice she had been using when talking to Cheerilee. She also extended a foreleg out for Rainbow Dash to shake. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at Diamond Tiara and looked across at Scootaloo for some sort of guidance. Scootaloo looked between Rainbow Dash and Diamond Tiara and shrugged. It was all she could think to do.
“I’ll have to tell you about it later.” Scootaloo said. Everything had moved so quickly the day before she hadn’t found a chance to talk about it. Rainbow Dash sighed and reluctantly shook Diamond Tiara’s hoof.
“Don’t uhh....don’t worry about it, I guess?” Rainbow Dash said to Diamond Tiara. Much like Scootaloo she didn’t really believe Diamond Tiara on face value and would need more evidence than what was in front of her to believe her. “So, are you going to leave Scootaloo alone?” Rainbow Dash asked. She tried to hide it but there was a trace of a threat in there. Diamond Tiara let out a small and simpering giggle.
“Oh I wouldn’t want to hurt her. I think me and Scootaloo got off on the wrong hoof and I want to be her friend now.” Diamond Tiara said, smiling wider than before.
“Uh huh...well...I gotta get going to work really.” Rainbow Dash replied slowly. She wrapped Scootaloo up into a hug, took off into the air and threw Scootaloo up into the air. Scootaloo was surprised and scared at first but let out a laugh as Rainbow Dash caught her.
“...Lousy show off.” Diamond Tiara muttered under her breath quietly. Nopony heard her.
“Hehe, what was that for?” Scootaloo asked as she cuddled up to Rainbow Dash. The two of them were still in the air and Rainbow Dash was positioned so that nopony below would be able to see what they did. They were also far away enough for nopony to hear what they said to eachother.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of your friends....” Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly. “I love you, and let me know if Diamond Tiara does anything. You don’t believe her do you?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo shook her head.
“I don’t, no, but I gotta wait until she slips up. I’ll let you know if anything happens.” Scootaloo replied. “Oh and I love you too.” she added, nuzzling up to Rainbow Dash’s cheek. Rainbow Dash smiled and kissed Scootaloo on the forehead while the pair were still in the air before landing again and depositing Scootaloo back on the ground.
“I’ll see you later Squirt!” Rainbow Dash called as she took off in the direction of Cloudsdale and waved goodbye to Scootaloo. Scootaloo waved back but stopped when she heard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggling.
“What’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked defensively, stamping a hoof into the ground. Her friends jumped in surprise and moved next to her. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stopped giggling and looked at Scootaloo.
“Nothing really, I just think you and Rainbow are pretty cute together, that’s all.” Diamond Tiara said, smiling at Scootaloo. Scootaloo’s scowl got a little larger. She could tell when she was being insulted.
“Ye have to admit you two are pretty sweet.” Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo sighed in resignation. She thought she had managed to catch Diamond Tiara out already but if her friends were going along with it then it seemed she hadn’t.
“So what’s with those things on your wings? Did you injure yourself? Is that why you were gone on Monday?” Diamond Tiara asked as she noticed the brace Scootaloo’s wings were in. Scootaloo facehoofed and began regretting her decision to wear it but part of her also saw a way out of further questioning. She was about to say that she had hurt herself and say that’s why she was off on Monday when Apple Bloom but a foreleg around her and talked before Scootaloo had a chance to.
“Nah she ain’t hurt herself none, that’s just somethin’ her flight instructor told her to wear. Says it makes her wings stronger.” Apple Bloom explained for Scootaloo. Scootaloo glared at Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom was too busy looking at Diamond Tiara to notice.
“The poor dear can’t fly? I had no idea.” Diamond Tiara replied, sounding shocked and concerned at the revelation. Scootaloo screamed inwardly but managed to control herself and not scream into Apple Bloom’s ear. She glared at Diamond Tiara instead. A smirk tugged at Diamond Tiara’s lips as she saw just how much she was getting to Scootaloo and she wasn’t even really trying to. Apple Bloom seemed to be doing more damage than she, Diamond Tiara, could.
“Just because I have a flight instructor doesn’t mean I can’t fly.” Scootaloo said through gritted teeth. She worked her way out of Apple Bloom’s foreleg and made her way towards the schoolhouse door. She wanted to get inside before any more damage to her pride and personal life could be inflicted. She’d had quite enough of her friends saying stupid things and more than they should. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran after her and caught up with her.
“Hey, you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked as her and Apple Bloom came into place beside Scootaloo.
“Fine, thanks. I always wanted the pony who hates me the most to know I can’t fly.” Scootaloo replied sarcastically.
“Ah didn’t think you’d mind her knowin’. Ye are wearin’ the brace and all. She was gonna ask and so is everypony else.” Apple Bloom replied defensively. Scootaloo sighed and accepted she had a point.
“I know, I know. I just didn’t want them to know I actually couldn’t fly. Couldn’t you have at least said it’ll make me fly faster?” Scootaloo asked. It wouldn’t have been a total lie to say that. She had moved on her scooter faster and Rainbow Dash said Pegasi use braces to increase their speed. So the brace would undoubtedly make her fly faster too. She had been tempted to use that line on her friends before but had seen how it would be more beneficial to tell them the truth. She couldn’t see any benefit to telling Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, or any of the other ponies in school, the truth.
“If we did, wouldn’t they want to see you fly?” Sweetie Belle countered. Scootaloo thought she had a point but then a thought occurred to her.
“Why would they? I’m a Pegasus, there’s nothing special about a Pegasus being able to fly.” she reasoned.
“I dunno.” Apple Bloom said. “If I heard y’all could fly, I’d want ta see it.” They were now stood outside the door to the schoolhouse. Scootaloo wanted to finish the conversation before heading inside. Once they were inside they wouldn’t get to talk properly again until recess or lunch and she didn’t want to lose the argument.
“Well thanks girls but you’re my friends. I know you’d want to see it but I don’t think everypony else would want to. I want my first flight to be something private anyway. If I had it my way I’d want only Rainbow Dash there.” Scootaloo said. Being flightless for so long, and wishing to fly for so long, had meant that she had spent a lot of time dreaming about her first flight and how she wanted it to go. She probably wouldn’t be able to perform any feats of amazing ability to impress Rainbow Dash on that first flight, but she did want Rainbow to be the only one who saw it.
“What about Star Shine? Don’t you think the guy teaching you to fly would be there?” Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo was quiet for a second but then burst out laughing. She had to admit Sweetie Belle had a point and it felt good to laugh again. Her friends smiled with her.
“Hey he’s gotta teach me to fly first.” Scootaloo replied, still laughing. “Anyway, come on, we’d best get inside before we’re late or something.” she added, pushing the door to the schoolhouse open and walking inside.
“Star Shine? Why does that sound familiar?” Silver Spoon asked Diamond Tiara. The pair of them had been close enough to hear what the Crusaders were talking about but still stay out of sight.
“He’s that guy living with Rainbow Dash remember? The one I said was Scootaloo’s dad.” Diamond Tiara replied. Diamond Tiara was hardly known as an honest pony and she had certainly lived up to that reputation lately. To his credit Featherweight didn’t actually know who had written it and didn’t lie to Scootaloo.
“Oh yeah. He’s a flight instructor? I had no idea.” Silver Spoon replied.
“Me neither. Wonder what else we don’t know about him.” Diamond Tiara said, smiling gleefully as the pair made their way into the schoolhouse.
Star Shine returned back to the manor around midday to find a nice surprise waiting for him. A box had been placed on the floor. It was presumably mail and the fact that it had his name on it, and Rainbow Dash’s address, certainly helped him come to that conclusion. The package that had now found it’s way to him was the main reason he had been staying at Rainbow Dash’s and constantly coming up with excuses to stay for another night. As he had grown closer to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash he had decided to just offer Rainbow Dash rent and stay on a semi-permanent basis until another job opened and called him away. He didn’t even have much of a permanent residence in Trottingham. He hid the package in his saddlebags where the girls wouldn’t be able to find it and then headed out to Cloudsdale to see if he could catch Rainbow Dash to tell her of his successful mission to Canterlot.
His mission to Cloudsdale was not quite as successful as the one to Canterlot. When he arrived at the Weather Factory he was told by Rainbow Dash’s team that she wasn’t there and hadn’t eaten her lunch there in a while. They were under the impression she had been practicing a new trick she didn’t want anypony else to see. The same thing happened when she had been practicing for the Best Young Flyers competition. After laughing off questions about the nature of his relationship with Rainbow Dash, Star Shine headed down to Ponyville. If he was fast he could catch Scootaloo before her lunch break was over and see if she knew where Rainbow Dash might be. He did consider what might happen if he went to Scootaloo’s school during the day but, much like most of his considerations, it was over quickly. He shrugged, said ‘Ahh, screw it.’ to nopony in particular, and headed towards the school.
When he arrived at the school he saw Scootaloo playing on the ground with her friends. He prepared to fly down towards them when he heard a voice call out.
“Hey, idiot!” came a voice from above him. He thought he recognised it but didn’t have time to check it out because he heard another voice calling from below him.
“Star Shine? Is that you?” Scootaloo called up in surprise. She was shielding her eyes with a foreleg and squinting her eyes to see as best as she could. He wasn’t the only one who had heard the first voice call out. Star Shine looked back up at a cloud he could see above him, and back down at the ground towards Scootaloo. He’d already been caught so he headed down to the ground. He could take care of anything else afterwards.
“Hey Scoots, how’s school going?” he asked nonchalantly as he landed on the ground next to Scootaloo and her fellow Crusaders.
“It’s fine thanks, what are you doing here?” Scootaloo replied, walking up to Star Shine. “I missed you this morning.” she added quietly when she reached him and was out of earshot of her friends. She considered giving him a hug but she wasn’t as comfortable around him, and public displays of affection with him, as she was with Rainbow Dash. Most of Ponyville saw Rainbow Dash as her sister or potentially now her mother, so it didn’t matter as much. Most of Ponyville may have considered Star Shine her dad but she had been too busy denying the rumours and trying to stop them to exacerbate them now.
“I missed you too. Sorry I ran out so early.” Star Shine as he leaned down to her level and disguised giving her a quick nuzzle as whispering in her ear. “I’m looking for Dashie, you seen her anywhere?” he asked, standing back up to his full height.
“Nah, shouldn’t she be at work?” Scootaloo replied. She was confused both about where Rainbow Dash would be, and why Star Shine thought she might know. Star Shine shook his head.
“I tried there first. Guess I’ll just keep looking around then. Thanks anyway Scoots. Have a good rest of the day.” Star Shine said. He spread his wings and was about to take off when he heard yet another call. This one came from behind him.
“Excuse me sir, but I don’t think you can really drop down and talk to a student here. Who are you?” he heard somepony ask. He turned around and saw Diamond Tiara approaching him. As per usual she had Silver Spoon trailing not far behind her. Behind the pair of them was another Earth pony. It was Cheerilee. Cheerilee was the one who had spoken to him and going by the stern look on her face she was not too happy to see an unexpected visitor. Star Shine lowered his head and tried to make as small a target of himself as possible. It was a fairly unsuccessful venture as he was trying to hide behind Scootaloo.
“It’s okay Miss Cheerilee, he’s just my flight instructor.” Scootaloo said, smiling up at Cheerilee. Star Shine nodded his head and slowly raised himself back up onto his legs properly. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom moved to stand in front of Star Shine and on opposite ends of Scootaloo.
“He ain’t gonna hurt nopony Miss Cheerilee.” Apple Bloom said quickly.
“Yeah he just doesn’t think about things.” Sweetie Belle added.
“And he’s an idiot.” Scootaloo finished. Star Shine sighed at the verbal assault and lowered himself back onto the ground in resignation.
“Gee...thanks. It’s nice to know you care.” Star Shine said sarcastically. The Cutie Mark Crusaders giggled at him and Cheerilee’s expression softened. It was hard not to at the cute display and Star Shine certainly didn’t seem harmful to anypony.
“Flight instructor or not, I don’t want to see any uninvited guests okay? I’ll let it go this time but don’t let it happen again.” Cheerilee said sternly to all four ponies. Star Shine gulped but nodded.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again.” he said quietly. Cheerilee smiled at him and nodded. She then looked down at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“Well thanks anyway for letting me know girls. I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your lunch now.” Cheerilee said to them before turning away and walking off. Star Shine and Scootaloo let out a collective sigh of relief before Scootaloo glared at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“What’d you go and tell Cheerilee?” she hissed at them. Star Shine looked down at Scootaloo and prepared to hold her back at a moments notice.
“I didn’t know he was your flight instructor, honest!” Diamond Tiara said defensively. “I thought he might want to snatch you or something, so I went and got Miss Cheerilee for help.” she explained.
“It’s alright Scoots, everypony makes mistakes.” Star Shine said, patting Scootaloo’s mane. Scootaloo sighed in resignation and waved a foreleg at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, shooing them away.
“Geez you try to be nice to a pony and look where THAT gets you.” Diamond Tiara said sardonically as she and Silver Spoon walked off.
“You don’t believe it was just an accident do you?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Star Shine. Star Shine leaned down one foreleg in a shrug.
“I have to really, I don’t know her at all. I don’t even know her name.” Star Shine explained. He didn’t see the point in not trusting a pony he didn’t know.
“You know her, you just don’t know you know her.” Scootaloo said. Star Shine looked at her in confusion. “That was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The pink one was Diamond Tiara. You remember the name?” Scootaloo explained. Star Shine thought about it for a second and then his face lit up in recognition.
“Ohhhhh, she’s THAT pony. Well it’s nice she’s being good now, don’t you think?” Star Shine said, smiling down at Scootaloo. She responded with a small scowl.
“I don’t think she’s being nice at all. She KNOWS I know you!” Scootaloo said. Star Shine and the rest of the crusaders gave a collective ‘huh?’ and looked at Scootaloo in utter confusion. Scootaloo sighed and prepared to explain. “Think about it, she knows about the Gabby Gums column. She must do if she denied she wrote it, and she definitely printed it, so that must mean she knows who you are. Well, who Gabby Gums thinks you are anyway.”
“Huh...well nopony got hurt anyway, and it was kinda stupid for me to drop in like this.” Star Shine said, laughing sheepishly.
“I guess..but still...” Scootaloo relented. Her thinking was cut off as the sound of a bell rang from the schoolhouse signalling the end of lunch.
“Well it’s been a while since I was in school, but I think you three need to head back to class. I’ll see you later Scoots, have fun.” Star Shine said. The three fillies ran back to the schoolhouse and Scootaloo took a few seconds to turn around and wave goodbye to Star Shine.
“Thanks, good luck finding Rainbow!” Scootaloo called back. Star Shine smiled and watched her run into the schoolhouse.
“Oh I don’t need luck, I have a pretty good idea where she is.” Star Shine said quietly to himself, looking up in the sky at the cloud he was sure had called him an idiot. He took off and flew above it. When he looked down he saw exactly who he expected to see looking back up at him; Rainbow Dash herself was laid on the cloud. He hovered back down to her and smiled despite the glare she was giving him. “Room for two?” he asked when he was next to her. Rainbow Dash sighed and scooched over to allow Star Shine to lie down on the cloud next to her. It would be easier to push him off that way should she have to.
“What are you going to do for your next trick?” Rainbow Dash asked a little harsher than she intended to.
“Trick? I don’t remember doing a trick. I can do one if you’d like.” Star Shine replied, settling himself down onto the cloud.
“So what do you call going down to Scootaloo’s school and almost getting her into trouble then?”
“Says the girl who watches her from above on a cloud. That’s a little worse don’t you think?” Star Shine replied with a smile. Rainbow Dash was very, very tempted to shove him off the cloud and hope he didn’t react in time to fly and avoid the pain of hitting the ground.
“At least I didn’t actually go down there! What were you thinking?” Rainbow Dash chastised.
“I was looking for you...” Star Shine replied quietly. Rainbow Dash still looked angry but she sighed as she was deflated.
“Why were you looking for me?” Rainbow Dash asked. There was the lightest of blushes on her bright blue cheeks.
“I just wanted to tell you that I got our reservation booked. We’re going to be eating at Canterlot Cuisine at seven this Friday evening. That alright with you?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash nodded her approval. “There was something else actually...” Star Shine added, looking away as he trailed off. Rainbow Dash looked at him curiously.
“What is it?” she asked him. Star Shine turned his head back around and looked at her.
“When I was in Canterlot I ran into an old friend...he’s got a foal he wants me to train.” Star Shine explained, looking at the cloud he and Rainbow Dash were laid on when he found himself unable to look into her eyes. “He’s actually gonna make the reservations for us. Turns out most restaurants aren’t open early in the morning.” he added with a sheepish laugh.
“That’s good, you could do with some work. What’d you tell him?” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine thought she was taking the prospect of him leaving remarkably well.
“Well I told him I could stop by during the day while Scootaloo is at school, and his foal is too small for school, but I think when Scootaloo is flying I might have to go stay in Canterlot for a while.” Star Shine replied, explaining why it wasn’t such a great thing he would be getting work soon.
“Oh...you’re going to be leaving soon?” Rainbow Dash said quietly, looking down at the ground below. She didn’t want Star Shine to see how sad she was at the prospect he might be going. She had taken the news so well because she hadn’t realised it meant he would be gone.
“It’s not for a while yet, and I’ll only be gone for like a month or so.” Star Shine said hurriedly. Rainbow Dash could try and hide her face but Star Shine still knew a thing or two about tone and body language.
“You could have said you’re coming back sooner...” Rainbow Dash said, her voice getting a little angier as she looked up at Star Shine and jabbed him in the sides.
“Hey, I paid you a few months of rent, I want to get all the use out of it I can.” Star Shine said, giggling and rubbing his sides. He had also wanted to see Rainbow Dash’s reaction to the thought he might be gone for good. His heart had been sufficiently warmed.
“Yeah yeah. I wasn’t really sad that you’d actually be going.” Rainbow Dash said defensively, flopping back down onto the cloud.
“Yeah, sure.” Star Shine said, giggling and laying back down on the cloud himself. “So, do you always come here during your lunch break? The ponies at your work said you hadn’t eaten lunch there in a few weeks. The math ain’t hard to do.” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Yeah...I know I shouldn’t worry about her and I should let her be on her own, but I do worry about her. I can’t help it.” Rainbow Dash admitted. She had been hovering above Scootaloo’s school every lunch break since Scootaloo’s first day back. It was how she always knew the right time to drop out of the sky.
“Well of course silly, you worry about the ponies you love.” Star Shine said as if he were explaining to a child. Rainbow Dash was tempted to hit him again but didn’t. Instead she just smiled as she looked at the ground and closed her eyes.
“I guess so huh?” she replied, leaning into Star Shine. He blushed and his wings popped out but he disguised it by placing one over Rainbow Dash to blanket her. It had the added downside of causing her to cuddle up closer to him.
“Not that I’m complaining, but shouldn’t you be back at work?” Star Shine asked, thankful that Rainbow Dash couldn’t see the mess of red his face had become.
“I wanna stay here for a little longer...especially if you’re going to be gone...” Rainbow Dash replied quietly. Star Shine smiled and patted Rainbow Dash’s mane. He had never seen her so vulnerable before. “Don’t get any ideas...I’m just tired is all. You’re warm.” Rainbow Dash said, yawning half way through her sentence. Star Shine giggled and watched as Rainbow Dash did indeed fall asleep.
“Me too.” Star Shine said quietly, referring to his own tiredness. He’d not had much sleep the night before, had woken up early, and had been flying for most of the day. He was definitely tired. He leaned into Rainbow Dash and fell asleep himself.
Rainbow Dash woke up about half an hour later. She was warmer than she usually was when she fell asleep and could feel something pressed against her and something else covering most of her body. She opened her eyes fully and looked to her right and saw Star Shine was pressed against her and one of his wings was draped over her. Her tail felt weird too and when she looked back she saw that it was intertwined with his. She really hoped that had happened while they were sleeping. It was marginally better than one of them consciously making the choice to do it. Rainbow Dash separated her tail from Star Shine’s and nudged him awake after burying her heavily flushed face into the cloud they were laid on. Star Shine woke with a start and snapped to attention, standing on the cloud and looking around for signs of danger. He looked down and saw Rainbow Dash with her head still buried in the cloud.
“Oh, it’s just you. How long were we out?” Star Shine asked. He shook his head in an attempt to wake up more. The nap helped a little and he was feeling more refreshed than before.
“I dunno.” Rainbow replied. Her voice was muffled by the cloud but her cheeks were still burning and she wasn’t about to let Star Shine see them. “Why don’t you see if there’s a clock in the school?” she asked. She felt the cloud shift as Star Shine took off from it and flew down to one of the windows in the schoolhouse. He returned a few seconds later.
“It’s only quarter to two, so we weren’t out long.” Star Shine informed Rainbow Dash as he landed on the cloud. Rainbow Dash finally picked her head up off the cloud and looked at him. She wasn’t smiling nearly as much as he hoped she would.
“Why’d you actually go down there? It’s bad enough you interrupted their lunch time but what if you interrupted a class too?!” Rainbow Dash chastised. Star Shine smiled sheepishly.
“Don’t worry about it, nopony saw me. The classroom was empty and I saw a clock on the wall.” Star Shine replied. He was wearing his smuggest of smiles.
“Anyway I really gotta get back to work. I’ll see ya later.” Rainbow Dash said, shaking herself awake and taking off into the air. “Try not to sleep with any mares while I’m gone!” Rainbow Dash called back to Star Shine.
“...Sleep with mares?” Star Shine said to himself in confusion. He had no clue what she meant until a few seconds later when memories of what he had been doing shortly before he fell asleep came flooding back to him. “Way to play it smooth.” he said quietly, his own face flushing. He laid with his back to the cloud, staring up at the sky. Even if it was the day sky, and he could see no stars, he still found himself doing what was perhaps one of his most favourite hobbies; staring up into the sky. He considered going back to the manor but by the time he arrived it would have been close to time to leave again. He watched the birds flying through the air and smiled as they gave him a good idea for something he could do with Scootaloo. He closed his eyes and fell asleep once again.
*** While Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were napping, working, and in Star Shine’s case, napping some more, Scootaloo was hard at work in school. Her hard work paid off and soon enough the bell signalling the end of the day’s classes rang. As they usually did the Crusaders left together and then split up at the entrance to the school. Big Macintosh had arrived to take Apple Bloom back to the farm this time and the pair left quietly together. Rarity took Sweetie Belle home and soon enough Scootaloo was left behind with Diamond Tiara. Rainbow Dash was running a little late and would normally be there as soon as Scootaloo left the school.
“So where’s your sister?” Diamond Tiara asked Scootaloo.
“I dunno. Must be running a little late. Where’s your dad?” Scootaloo replied. She was trying to be civil but the words were spoken with a bit more of a hiss than she wanted them to be. The “sister” remark hadn’t sat well with her but she wasn’t about to be the one to start a fight.
“We don’t have to argue you know, I would like to be your-” Diamond Tiara began but before she could reveal what she wanted to be to Scootaloo, she was cut off by the sudden arrival of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and ran up to Scootaloo.
“Sorry I’m late kiddo. I got stuck in work a little longer than I wanted to. Hope I wasn’t too late.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Nah it’s only been a few minutes.” Scootaloo replied, beaming up at Rainbow Dash. “Is Star Shine with you?” she asked, looking around Rainbow Dash for any sign of him.
“You have a flying lesson?” Diamond Tiara asked, curious as to why Star Shine, a colt she knew as Scootaloo’s flight instructor, would be with Rainbow Dash.
“Hmm? Nah it’s just he’s living with Rainbow while he’s in town. He usually comes to school with her too.” Scootaloo explained. Shortly after she finished speaking she was hit with the realisation she’d spoken to Diamond Tiara like she would a friend. It was a scary thought.
“Oh? Isn’t it a bit odd he’s staying with you guys?” Diamond Tiara asked. There was a glint in her eye that unnerved Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash was too busy surveying the skies for signs of Star Shine to notice it.
“Not really, he’s an old friend of mine.” Rainbow Dash answered. “I think I know where he is too...” she added as she spotted a familiar cloud that was right where she had left it. She smiled and took off into the air before either filly could ask her what she meant. They watched as Rainbow Dash flew to just below the cloud, turned around, and bucked the cloud back to whatever afterlife it is that clouds enjoy. The disappearance of the cloud revealed a very familiar blue figure. The shock of losing the cloud underneath him woke Star Shine up but it still took a few seconds of falling and screaming for him to remember he had wings. He spread them and balanced himself out. He glided down to the school and tried to hide his embarrassment as Rainbow Dash laughed maniacally at him.
“You okay?” Scootaloo asked him when he landed. His mane was a mess from sleeping and falling and he looked like he was still scared. Seeing him fall like that had also brought back some memories she wasn’t too fond of. Some of which she hadn’t thought about in a long time. Star Shine blinked a few times to try and pull himself deeper into reality and smiled down at Scootaloo.
“Yeah I’m doin’ fine. Don’t worry about me.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aren’t you mad she did that?” Diamond Tiara asked him. She was confused as to how he could just brush aside what Rainbow Dash had done. She was furious the last time somepony pranked her. Even getting her tiara back in the end hadn’t calmed her down much.
“He should be, he used to do that to me all the time.” Rainbow Dash replied for Star Shine as she landed next to him and jabbed him in the sides. Star Shine laughed at the memory of all the times Rainbow Dash had a rude awakening. She was exaggerating about how often he had done it, but he had done it enough to earn one or two of them himself.
“You really did that to eachother?” Diamond Tiara asked. She usually teased other ponies with her friends and not her friends themselves.
“Oh that’s nothing, we once woke up in eachother’s wings.” Star Shine replied, still laughing.
“WHAT?!” Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara chorused together, cutting off Rainbow Dash right before she either cursed him out or beat him to a bloody pulp.
“Yeah it was ea-” Star Shine began before Rainbow Dash tackled him to the ground and held a foreleg over his mouth.
“Shut up you idiot. Just shut up for once.” Rainbow Dash hissed into Star Shine’s ear. Star Shine nodded nervously and Rainbow Dash got off of him.
“Well anyway I have a flight lesson for Scootaloo when we’re all done laughing and threatening one another.” Star Shine said. Given everypony’s reaction it was certainly a good distraction and a smart idea to mention it.
“Really?” Scootaloo asked happily, the very image of bright eyed and bushy tailed. Star Shine nodded and was about to explain his plan when he heard a voice call out from behind him.
“Princess, I’m so sorry I’m late.” Filthy Rich called out to Diamond Tiara as he approached the school. “Something came up and I had to stay longer than I should.” he explained as he reached the small gang assembled outside the school.
“It’s okay Daddy, I’ve been talking to my new friend Scootaloo here.” Diamond Tiara replied, motioning to Scootaloo. Filthy Rich looked across to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Star Shine.
“You two are friends now? That’s great. Let’s get you home and you can tell me all about it.” Filthy Rich replied. Diamond Tiara smiled and the pair walked off together while the others watched. “So did you learn anything interesting at school?” Filthy Rich asked Diamond Tiara as they walked off.
“Interesting? Oh yes Daddy I learned a LOT of interesting things today.” Diamond Tiara replied. Scootaloo shivered as a chill went down her spine.
“Are you two really friends now?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. She found the concept of the two of them being friends beyond bewildering. Scootaloo shrugged in response.
“No idea, but never mind that. What’s this flying lesson?” Scootaloo replied, jumping up and down at the idea of a flying lesson.
“Well I still can’t teach you how to fly just yet.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo stopped jumping and looked at Star Shine sadly. “I can teach you something that’s just as good! I can’t teach you how to fly but let’s head back to Rainbow’s place. I’m gonna teach you how to fall with style. Or, as some ponies call it; gliding.”
“Gliding? You’re going to teach me gliding?” Scootaloo asked Star Shine. She was on Rainbow Dash’s back as Star Shine and Rainbow Dash headed towards the cloud manor. Star Shine had taken off pretty quickly after saying he was going to teach Scootaloo how to glide and she didn’t get a chance to ask him anything until after Rainbow Dash had caught up with him.
“Yeah, I got the idea earlier when I was watching the birds glide through the air. Then Rainbow kicked a cloud out from under me and I got more ideas.” Star Shine replied.
“Oh?” Rainbow Dash replied, looking across at Star Shine.
“Well we live in a giant house, made of clouds, in the air. What if Scootaloo falls off?” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo was very very careful to not fall off and neither her or Rainbow Dash had considered the inherent danger much. Scootaloo would always go straight inside the house so that she couldn’t risk falling off. She was also confident that Rainbow Dash would always be there to catch her.
“Well then I’d catch her.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo smiled and huddled up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash giggled at the feeling but Star Shine wasn’t really smiling.
“Even so I’d like to teach her. You kicking that cloud out from under me made me think it was a good idea too. Besides it’s just like flying. If she learns to glide then she can know what it feels like to fly too.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo beamed brightly and would have jumped were it not for the fact she was on Rainbow Dash’s back.
“I’m liking this idea!” Scootaloo exclaimed. She couldn’t resist jumping for joy but stopped shortly after almost falling off Rainbow Dash’s back and hearing Rainbow Dash give a few cries of pain. “Oops, sorry.” Scootaloo said apologetically as she hugged up to Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“Don’t worry about it Squirt, just be more careful.” Rainbow Dash replied, giggling and nuzzling Scootaloo.
“I knew you’d like the idea, so come on! Let’s get back to the manor already!” Star Shine exclaimed. He picked up his speed and flew off. Rainbow Dash made sure Scootaloo was secure and chased after him.
*** Rainbow Dash followed Star Shine and soon enough they found themselves in the air above Rainbow Dash’s cloud manor. The manor was directly below them and would provide a nice and soft landing area for Scootaloo, as well as a safety net in case of emergency. Star Shine wasn’t expecting any but he wanted Scootaloo to feel as safe and comfortable as possible during the exercise.
“Okay Scoots, this is going to be pretty simple.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo was slumped on the top of Rainbow Dash’s head again. “It might sound a little scary, but trust me when I say you’re going to be fine.” Scootaloo shivered and Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at Star Shine.
“Was that really necessary? You’ve gone and scared her now.” Rainbow Dash said, reaching a foreleg behind her back to pat Scootaloo gently.
“Falling when you can’t fly IS scary.” Star Shine reasoned. Scootaloo shivered again. It was a situation she had been in before. She suddenly wasn’t very happy about the lesson in front of her.
“Falling? I’m going to be falling?” Scootaloo asked nervously. As well as memories of her recent trip to the Gorge, there were much darker memories buried in her head.
“Yes but I promise you’re going to be safe.” Star Shine replied and nuzzled up to Scootaloo.
“So...what do I do?” Scootaloo asked, more nervous than before. She didn’t want to come across as weak and she really did want to glide, she was just hoping there was a less potentially dangerous way to do it. When she thought about it she realised there couldn’t be. She could be taught the theory all day but without putting it into practice she’d never know if she could actually do it.
“Like I said it’s simple enough.” Star Shine began, backing away from Rainbow Dash and flying slightly higher into the air. “All Scootaloo needs to do is spread her wings as wide as they can go and hold them in place at the right angle.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo sighed in relief; that didn’t sound bad at all. She could handle that easily. “After I drop her.” Star Shine added. Scootaloo did a double take and felt her heart race in her chest.
“WHAT?!” chorused Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo at the same time. Scootaloo slumped down Rainbow Dash’s neck and buried herself into Rainbow Dash’s back.
“I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to. You can’t make me. Don’t make me.” Scootaloo said quietly to herself, repeating the words almost as if they were a mantra. Rainbow Dash maneuvered a foreleg to bring Scootaloo around to her chest and held the still shivering filly close to her heart.
“Nopony’s going to make you do anything Scootaloo, but I do promise you’ll be safe. Rainbow Dash will catch you and I’ll glide down with you. If you get scared then I can catch you too.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo didn’t stop shaking and started repeating what she was saying louder.
“Scootaloo, tell me what’s wrong.” Rainbow Dash pleaded, bringing Scootaloo up to her neck so she could nuzzle her gently in an effort to calm her down. Scootaloo still didn’t respond. “Is this because of what happened at the Gorge?” Rainbow Dash asked, venturing a guess as to why Scootaloo was behaving the way she was. After another minute or so of soothing by both Rainbow Dash and Star Shine Scootaloo calmed down. Rainbow Dash felt the wetness in her fur where Scootaloo had been crying into her.
“It’s...it’s not just the Gorge...” Scootaloo began quietly. She sighed, took a deep breath, and prepared to admit to something she hadn’t thought about in a long time. “It was...something my dad did.” Scootaloo managed to say at last.
“Something your dad did?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Rainbow Dash had guessed Scootaloo’s family life had been pretty bad but she had no idea about the specifics of it. Just that she had been left in an orphanage at an early age. Scootaloo nodded shakily.
“He...he tried to get me to fly a few times.” Scootaloo said. Her voice was cracking as she was on the verge of more tears.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Star Shine ventured. He had leaned in close to Scootaloo himself.
“Not the way he did it.” Scootaloo replied bitterly. She shuddered at the memory again.
“Scoots...what did he do to you?” Star Shine asked nervously. He was getting scared at the implications.
“What could he have done to do this to her?” Rainbow Dash asked. If something was scaring both Scootaloo and Star Shine then she wanted to know what it could be.
“I’ve trained injured kids and some of them...well let’s just say those broken wings aren’t an accident.” Star Shine replied stoically, trying not to give into his emotions. There were very few things that made him angry but Pegasi parents were definitely one of them at times. He had seen more than his fair share of sorry sights.
“So it wasn’t just me?” Scootaloo replied without thinking. Rainbow Dash gasped in horror and Star Shine sighed and hung his head. He rested a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
“I promise you Scootaloo, no matter what he did to you, I wouldn’t ever do something like that. I won’t even try teaching you to fly until I know you can, and I won’t let you be in any danger here. There’s a very very soft layer of cloud below us. No matter what happens, you won’t be hurt.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo nodded and a smile briefly tugged at her lips.
“I know, it’s just still so...scary.” Scootaloo replied. She shivered in fright again when she looked down.
“Now that’s just silly.” Rainbow Dash replied, turning Scootaloo around so she could look her in the eyes. “I’ve never seen you be afraid of anything, certainly not heights. What about all those crazy high jumps you do on your scooter?” Rainbow Dash asked, smiling at the thought of Scootaloo riding around and performing tricks nopony who had a fear of heights would be able to. Scootaloo had almost been cheered up again and Rainbow Dash was also keen to finish the job.
“I know, I know. It’s something I haven’t thought about in forever. I actually didn’t really think about it until I saw Star Shine fall earlier...” Scootaloo replied, rubbing her front hooves together nervously.
“And I was fine, as you will be.” Star Shine reassured her. “Now this won’t be easy, but can you tell me what he did?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo nervously turned her head back into Rainbow Dash’s chest.
“Is it important?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wanted Scootaloo to be happy again and wasn’t enjoying the display in front of her at all.
“It could be. I really want Scootaloo to know how to glide. That way she’ll even have nothing to fear about falling.” Star Shine replied, smiling reassuringly. Scootaloo looked at him and admitted to herself she had a point. This was a chance to get something off her chest, and make sure that something that had once terrified her could never do so again. Her dad was long gone, it wasn’t like he could hurt her any more. Scootaloo sighed in resignation and braced herself.
“He used to throw me off a cloud.” Scootaloo admitted quietly. Star Shine sighed but Rainbow Dash didn’t seem too fazed by the idea.
“They do that all the time in Flight Camps don’t they? That’s even close to how Fluttershy ended up on the ground. She fell off a cloud. She was kicked off a few before then too” Rainbow Dash replied. She knew that Pegasi did that to their children and didn’t see what could be wrong about it. It was a part of growing up to her.
“Dashie there’s something you’re forgetting here.” Star Shine said. That incident was something that Star Shine was not a witness to. He hadn’t arrived at the Flight Camp until after Fluttershy had left. She had visited occasionally after landing on the ground but never come back permanently. Some Pegasi attributed her less than average flight skills to this lack of education. “I bet your friend could fly couldn’t she?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash nodded; Fluttershy might have been a weak flyer, but she could definitely fly. “But, what do you think would happen if she couldn’t? What if she had fallen off that cloud, and hadn’t been able to stop herself?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up as she realised the implications and held Scootaloo tighter than she had before.
“He caught you though, right? He made sure there was a soft landing at least, right? He wouldn’t actually just...do that, would he?” Rainbow Dash practically begged Scootaloo. She was almost beginning to cry herself at the thought somepony could be so cruel.
“He would catch me yeah, but there was a time he didn’t, and I was always scared he wouldn’t. Sometimes I thought he’d let me fall and pretend it was an accident.” Scootaloo admitted. “I never broke a wing though. Just...my legs.” Scootaloo finished with a sigh. Star Shine scowled in disgust and Rainbow Dash held Scootaloo even tighter.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that Scoots. I wish I could have been there for you sooner.” Rainbow Dash said quietly. She was crying freely at this point at the suffering Scootaloo must have endured.
“It’s okay Rainbow, really. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” Scootaloo replied nervously. She had never really seen Rainbow Dash cry before.
“And he will NEVER hurt her again.” Star Shine said vehemently. Rainbow Dash calmed down and gently released her death grip on Scootaloo.
“I know...but you’ve been through so much, and I could have been there for you so much sooner.” Rainbow Dash said softly to Scootaloo. Star Shine wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow Dash and nuzzled up to her.
“Don’t focus on the past so much Dashie, right now we’re working towards the future.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo smiled and so did Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Rainbow Dash said, wiping her eyes with a foreleg.
“Of course I am, I always am. So Scoots, are you ready for a gliding lesson now?” Star Shine asked, looking down at the little filly. Scootaloo nodded and her smile got bigger.
“I’m still a little scared, but I’ll be fine won’t I?” Scootaloo replied.
“You sure will, so hop up on my back and let’s get started.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo kicked herself off of Rainbow Dash and landed on Star Shine’s back.
“Well nopony I know who’s afraid of heights would do that.” Rainbow Dash teased. Star Shine and Scootaloo giggled and Rainbow Dash watched as they headed up a little further into the sky.
“I’ll never let you be hurt like that again Squirt.” Rainbow Dash swore to herself quietly.
“You sure you want to do this? We can do it some other time.” Star Shine asked Scootaloo. They were hovering about a hundred feet above Rainbow Dash. Star Shine thought they might need more room but if he went too high up it would probably make the experience even harder on Scootaloo. She seemed scared enough as it was. Scootaloo nodded shakily and looked down at Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah I’m sure. This is important right?” Scootaloo replied.
“It could be yeah. Rainbow will catch you and I’ll fly down with you too.” Star Shine said.
“I know, it’s why I’m fine.” Scootaloo replied, smiling up at Star Shine. Star Shine smiled back and positioned his body so he was as vertical as he could be and was facing downwards.
“What you have to do is really simple Scoots. Just spread your wings as you fall and keep them perfectly spread. They have to be as rigid as they can go. It won’t need to be so precise when your wings are a little bigger but for now they have to be to build up enough wind resistance.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo nodded along as he did so. “You catch all that?” he asked. Scootaloo gave another nod and spread her wings ready. When she did this Star Shine adjusted the angle of her wings so they were in the right position. “Try and keep them like this too.” he added to explain what he did.
“Spread my wings and keep them tight, right?” she asked, giggling a little at the unintentional rhyme.
“That’s right. Okay I’m going to count down now. If you want me to stop just say so.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo looked back down at Rainbow Dash with determination in her eyes. She was keen to not fail this and impress Rainbow Dash and show she wasn’t afraid. “Three...two...” Star Shine began, pausing before finishing to give Scootaloo one last chance to say she didn’t want to do it after all. “...One.” he finished and let go of Scootaloo. Her wings were spread ready and she was sure she was ready but as she started to fall memories started to come unbidden into her mind. Some recent, like falling into the Gorge, and some not so recent. The physical pain she felt as her father unceremoniously threw her and she hit the ground hard. The pain she felt as she found herself sprawled across the ground and lying in blood. Her own blood. The emotional pain she felt as her father blamed HER for what happened. How he had shouted at her and left her there in agony. After a second of falling Scootaloo began screaming. Rainbow Dash heard her and flew up to catch her instead of waiting for her to come down. When Scootaloo felt herself in Rainbow Dash’s embrace she huddled up as tight as she could and cried softly into Rainbow Dash’s coat.
“Are you okay?” Star Shine asked worriedly. He was about to catch Scootaloo himself when he saw Rainbow Dash head up to catch her. He was worried something like this might have happened. Scootaloo had been so adamant he had chosen to leave her be.
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash asked, cuddling Scootaloo up tight and nuzzling her.
“It’s just...just...it’s scarier than I thought it’d be.” Scootaloo replied when she calmed down. She was smiling but it was so shaky neither Rainbow Dash nor Star Shine bought it.
“I’m here for you Scoots, I’d never let you fall.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. Scootaloo’s smile became a little less shaky and more pronounced.
“I know, I’m ready to try again.” Scootaloo said after she had calmed down a little more. Rainbow Dash was unsure but Scootaloo held onto her less tightly and allowed herself to be passed back to Star Shine so he could try again. Star Shine was just as unsure and hovered slowly back up to the starting point. He rushed back down to Rainbow Dash when he reached where he was supposed to release Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash looked at him curiously, especially as he was wearing a wide smile. Scootaloo was also wondering what was going on. She felt she really had mentally prepared herself.
“What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked Star Shine.
“Yeah I meant it when I said I was ready.” Scootaloo added.
“I know, but I got a good idea.” Star Shine said, still smiling brightly.
“There you go again with all your good ideas...” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes and huffing.
“Hey, who’s the professionally trained flight instructor here, me or you?” Star Shine replied defensively. “I can’t help it if I get good ideas about how to train fillies.”
“I know, I know.” Rainbow Dash replied, giving Star Shine a hug and gently squeezing Scootaloo in the process. “So just tell me your idea. If it won’t upset Scoots then I’m sure I’ll be all for it.”
“I think you’ll be all for this one.” Star Shine replied, returning the hug before backing away to save Scootaloo from being squashed further. “So, Scootaloo, you know how you ride on Rainbow Dash’s back all the time?” he asked Scootaloo. She nodded and looked up at him.
“Yeah, what about it?” Scootaloo asked, not seeing where he was going with this.
“And that adorable little thing you do where you sit on her head?” Star Shine asked, giggling at the mental image. Scootaloo sighed in exasperation. She hadn’t realised she looked so cute doing that.
“You have to admit that is pretty cute.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing herself. “But where are you going with this?” she asked Star Shine. She couldn’t see what he was getting at with this either.
“Like most of my ideas it’s brilliantly simple.” Star Shine replied.
“So they’re like you?” Rainbow Dash teased him. Scootaloo laughed as Star Shine sighed dejectedly.
“Pretty much.” he replied, smiling. “So anyway, if Scoots rides on your head when you fly, and spreads her wings, then it should be the same really. When she gets her wings just right then she’ll be knocked back while you keep moving forward. So it’s a safe way for her to learn how to glide.” Star Shine explained. When he finished his explanation Scootaloo jumped out of his forelegs and onto Rainbow Dash’s head. She planted herself down on her stomach like she normally would and spread her wings.
“I take it you like the idea Squirt?” Rainbow Dash asked, giggling up at Scootaloo who nodded her head.
“Aren’t you glad I’m so awesome?” Star Shine asked, puffing out his chest with pride and patting it with a foreleg.
“If you were THAT awesome you’d have thought of this before, don’t you think?” Rainbow Dash replied, winking at him. Star Shine let out the breath he was holding in with a sigh.
“Okay, okay. Just get flying already. I’ll fly underneath you so I can catch Scoots when she starts gliding. Remember this isn’t flying, she WILL fall, but she’ll do it so slowly that it’ll be safe.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash nodded and started flying in circles around her home. Star Shine started flying about a hundred feet below her and Rainbow Dash had to try hard to keep herself flying at the same speed and not let it turn into a race.
“You okay up there Squirt?” Rainbow Dash called out when she had completed a few laps without Scootaloo doing anything.
“Yeah, this is just harder than I thought.” Scootaloo replied through gritted teeth. There was a lot more wind resistance on Rainbow Dash’s head than there was on her back. Scootaloo was very glad that Star Shine had thought of this if it would be this difficult to learn how to glide. She didn’t want to think about how many times she would have had to fall to try and get this far. Every time she thought her wings were getting rigid the wind would hit them and knock them out of place. It was tough to even keep them spread at times.
“To be honest I learned to fly first so I don’t know what it’s like.” Rainbow Dash replied. “But I know that you’re awesome and you can do this, just keep at it.” she added reassuringly with a smile. Scootaloo closed her eyes in determination and tried harder to keep her wings forced open but they were starting to get tired and sore. After a few more laps with no success Scootaloo tucked her wings into her side and tapped Rainbow Dash, causing her to stop and look up at her.
“I’m sorry Rainbow, I’m too tired.” Scootaloo said quietly. “Think we can get something to-” she began before yawning, “eat?” Rainbow Dash smiled at how cute she looked when she couldn’t finish a sentence and nodded. She flew down to the roof of her house and was joined shortly after by Star Shine. He had seen Rainbow Dash stop and land and followed suit to find out what happened.
“She alright?” Star Shine asked worriedly, fearing the worst. Scootaloo was sat on the cloud and breathing heavily.
“She will be when she has something to eat, she’s just worn out.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine smiled and patted Scootaloo on the head.
“You rest up, and I’ll go make something to eat for you.” Star Shine said softly to her. Scootaloo smiled at him and gently rubbed her face against his. “Something for you too I guess.” he added to Rainbow Dash and ran off laughing as Rainbow Dash chased after him. Rainbow Dash gave up chasing him when he reached the edge of the roof and ducked into the house.
“Hey...Rainbow!” Scootaloo called out. Rainbow Dash ran back across to Scootaloo.
“Yeah Squirt?” Rainbow Dash replied, settling herself down next to Scootaloo.
“Do me a favour?”
“I’d do anything for you Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning up against Scootaloo. “What is it?”
“Don’t chase him off. He cooks.” Scootaloo said, giggling.
“Hey I cook too!” Rainbow Dash replied indignantly.
“Yeah, but he can cook well.” Scootaloo teased, laughing louder as Rainbow Dash poked her in the sides, tickling her.
“I’ll keep him around.” Rainbow Dash replied. “For your sake of course.” she added.
“Sure, for my sake.” Scootaloo replied, smiling as she rested her head on her hooves and closed her eyes.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked, but it was too late; Scootaloo had fallen asleep almost instantly.
Scootaloo was woken up a while later when Star Shine had finished cooking and the three Pegasi ponies had their dinner together. Scootaloo was still worn out that when she had finished eating Rainbow Dash gave her a quick bath and then put her to bed early. Neither Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, or even Star Shine had expected her training to take so much out of her. With Scootaloo safely in bed, kissed goodnight, and reassured of how loved she was, Rainbow Dash headed back downstairs to find Star Shine sat on the couch and sipping a cup of coffee that was resting on the table. She sat down next to him and started fidgeting as she tried to bring herself to ask something but failed.
“What’s up?” Star Shine asked after a few minutes when it became apparent Rainbow Dash wouldn’t tell him unless he asked. It also stopped being amusing to watch for him.
“Gliding isn’t really hard is it?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously. Star Shine shook his head.
“Shouldn’t be. Most foals get it in a day.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh.
“Is it...is it because of that magic thing?” Rainbow Dash managed to ask after another half minute of silence. Star Shine shook his head again and put a foreleg around Rainbow Dash to comfort her. Rainbow Dash leaned into Star Shine and smiled as he began gently stroking her mane.
“It’s alright, it can’t be that. Gliding is purely physical. I was gliding before I was flying.” Star Shine explained.
“So what is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking up at Star Shine and ignoring a more obvious question of how Star Shine was gliding before he was flying was relevant. A lot of Pegasi learned to glide before they could fly properly but those same Pegasi were always capable of flying.
“I wish I knew Dashie.” Star Shine said with a sigh. “It could be any number of things, and I’ll have to work it out. I’m trying to train her in a totally different way too. I’ve never had a pony ride on a head before.” he added, smiling at the memory of how cute Scootaloo looked on Rainbow Dash’s head.
“You really just drop them then?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was beginning to have her eyes opened to the way Pegasi really operated and trained their young. As well as how flawed some of those systems really were. She would never just drop Scootaloo knowing she can’t fly. Rainbow had tried to train her in a different way and, while it hadn’t worked, it had been safe. The fact it was safe wasn’t why it didn’t work either.
“Most of them haven’t been through what she has, and don’t think twice about it.” Star Shine replied.
“Yeah I still can’t believe what she said.” Rainbow Dash replied, shuddering at the thought that a pony could do something like that to their own kid. “If I had kids I wouldn’t do anything like that.” she added, looking down sadly.
“If? You’re still under the delusion you don’t have kids?” Star Shine asked, giggling. Rainbow Dash looked up at him confused. “What are me and Scootaloo to you?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide with surprise and then she started smiling again. She had thought about how close she and Scootaloo had gotten and was realising at this point she almost was a surrogate mother, but she still also wanted to think she was just a fun big sister. She wasn’t really sure she was ready to be a mother.
“Well I don’t know about Scootaloo but I know what you are.” Rainbow Dash replied, grinning maniacally as she reached up and pushed Star Shine down, pinning him to the couch. She licked her lips as Star Shine grinned nervously and tried to avoid looking directly at her.
“Fabulous? Awesome? Not worth hurting? Totally not scared right now?” Star Shine offered in mild fear. He tried fidgeting his way out from underneath Rainbow Dash but the couch was too small and she was pressed too close to him. “Uncomfortably close?” he added, looking down and seeing the lack of space between himself and Rainbow Dash.
“Nope I think you’re soft.” Rainbow Dash said quickly, dropping down onto Star Shine and resting her head on his chest. He gave a small grunt of pain as she fell on him. “Sheesh what did you think I was going to do?” she asked as Star Shine sighed in relief.
“You’re real confusing sometimes, you know that?” Star Shine asked, frowning. Rainbow Dash laughed at him.
“You’re the one that makes it so fun to tease you.” Rainbow Dash replied, resting her head on the hoof of a foreleg and running the other across Star Shine’s chest.
“You should be...nicer to me.” Star Shine said slowly, suppressing the urge to laugh.
“Why?” Rainbow Dash replied, lifting the wandering hoof off of Star Shine. “You tease me too, so this is fair.”
“Because I’m awesome and if you make me laugh or cry I’ll wake Scootaloo up.” Star Shine replied.
“Guess you got a point there.” Rainbow Dash said, giving a flap of her wings and hovering slightly above Star Shine. “Except the awesome part. I’ll leave you to think about that. I’m gonna go up to my room and read something.” she added. Star Shine watched as she floated up the stairs and smiled to himself. Being stupid was good for making some adults forget their troubles, as well as some kids. He stared up at the cloud ceiling and thought up ways to improve on the gliding lesson for the next day.
His mind was troubled with thoughts of Rainbow Dash and how confusing she was and after a while he sighed in resignation and accepted he would think nothing productive.
*** Thursday rolled around and Star Shine was missing once again when Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo came in from Rainbow Dash’s morning practice. There was another note waiting for them on the table too;
To Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo I left early again to go to Canterlot to do my new job there. I’ll be back in time to pick Scootaloo up from school with you Dashie and I’ll give Scootaloo another gliding lesson too. It should go better this time. I don’t think I’ll be back to hang out with you at dinner today though Dashie. I flew to Canterlot and back yesterday and it took a lot out of me which is why I was napping on that cloud. I’m taking the train today and it’s a little slower. With love and other confusing feelings; Star Shine.
“Wait he has a new job in Canterlot?” Scootaloo asked with surprise when she finished reading the note. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash had neglected to tell her about it. Star Shine assumed Rainbow Dash would tell her because she would be best to tell Scootaloo potentially bad news and the idea of telling Scootaloo had never entered Rainbow Dash’s mind. She didn’t think it was very important. A look at Scootaloo’s upset face told her that she was wrong in this assumption.
“He went to Canterlot to book our dinner remember?” Rainbow Dash asked, wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo and holding her close. Scootaloo nodded.
“So, is he a waiter now?” Scootaloo replied, confused. Rainbow Dash smiled but held back a giggle in case she upset Scootaloo further by giving her the impression that she, Rainbow Dash, thought she was a little stupid to make such an assumption.
“Nah, he told me he ran into an old friend there and he’s going to be training another kid up in Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“How many old friends does this guy have?” Scootaloo replied, laughing. Rainbow Dash thought she was taking it better than expected. Especially given how upset she had been at the thought that Star Shine had a new job.
“I wish I knew kid. Remember his job has him going all over Equestria. He’s never settled down.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Yeah but he’s settled down now hasn’t he?” Scootaloo asked, smiling. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. “Here. He’s still coming back, right? He said so in his note. He said he’s coming back to pick me up from school.” Scootaloo explained. Her tone was one of nerves and almost fear. She was afraid she would be wrong with her assumptions and was so accepting of Star Shine leaving because she firmly believed he would come back. She was also upset that she hadn’t been told and not overly upset at the thought he was gone because of this.
“Yep, he’s definitely going to come back and pick you up from school with me today.” Rainbow Dash replied happily, patting Scootaloo on the head. Scootaloo beamed up at her and ran off to find the things she’d need for school.
“And the next day, but not after then cos it’ll be the weekend. But he’ll pick me up on Monday right?” Scootaloo called back to Rainbow Dash as she headed up the stairs.
“He sure will Squirt!” Rainbow Dash called up to Scootaloo before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for herself and Scootaloo. “I’m just not sure about after then.” she added quietly to herself. She was not looking forward to telling Scootaloo that Star Shine would be gone for a whole month. Scootaloo returned shortly afterwards and her and Rainbow Dash had breakfast together. When they were done Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a lunch to put in her saddlebags and the headed out to the school together as they usually did.
When Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo arrived at the school they found the same foursome waiting for them from the day before. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were all there waiting for them. Rainbow Dash decided to stay in the air for a few minutes and take the chance to talk to Scootaloo when she saw who was waiting on the ground.
“Is something wrong?” Scootaloo asked in confusion when Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped flying and began hovering in place. Rainbow Dash turned her head around to face her.
“It’s nothin’ really, just is Diamond Tiara actually behaving herself?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You two were together at the end of the day and she said you were friends, but I’m not gonna believe something just because she said it.” she added with a sheepish smile.
“She didn’t do anything wrong at least.” Scootaloo replied, raising her forelegs in a mild attempt at a shrug. Rainbow Dash knocked Scootaloo up into the air and turned around quickly to grab the giggling filly. Despite not liking the idea of falling at all Scootaloo did enjoy when Rainbow Dash did that.
“Tell me if she puts even one hoof out of line.” Rainbow Dash said into Scootaloo’s ear. Scootaloo nodded and rubbed her face into Rainbow Dash’s chest. “And remember that I love you.” Rainbow Dash added, kissing Scootaloo on the forehead.
“I love you too.” Scootaloo replied, giving a small giggle at the feeling of Rainbow Dash kissing her. Rainbow Dash flew down to the ground with Scootaloo safely held against her chest. Rainbow Dash put Scootaloo down on the ground gently and, after giving her one last loving look and whispering a quick goodbye in her ear that also doubled as a hidden nuzzle, flew off in the direction of Cloudsdale to start her working day. Scootaloo turned around to face her friends and realised from the smiles on their faces Rainbow Dash may have inadvertently embarrassed her more by trying to not embarrass her. “Mornin’ girls!” she called out to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle before wrapping them in a group hug. If she was going to be embarrassed she was going to take her friends down with her.
“Mornin’ Scoots.” Apple Bloom replied, returning the hug.
“No Star Shine again?” Sweetie Belle added.
“He brings you to school too?” Diamond Tiara asked, breaking up the love fest. Scootaloo turned and saw Diamond Tiara was smirking about something. Most likely the display in front of her of the Cutie Mark Crusaders hugging.
“Well he’s only done it the once.” Scootaloo replied, rubbing a foreleg sheepishly. “He probably would have yesterday but he went out early and did it again today.” she explained.
“He go anywhere nice?” Silver Spoon asked. She seemed genuinely curious as to where he might have gone.
“He’s gone to Canterlot to give some other kid flying lessons. He’ll be back to pick me up though.” Scootaloo replied.
“He’s teaching another foal? In Canterlot no less? He must be a busy pony.” Diamond Tiara said almost sarcastically.
“I guess he is, why?” Scootaloo replied defensively. She hadn’t liked the tone of Diamond Tiara’s voice.
“I just don’t want him burning himself out is all. He’s got to teach you to fly, right?” Diamond Tiara replied simperingly with a smile. Scootaloo felt Diamond Tiara was putting her down and laughing at her but still didn’t think she could call her out on anything just yet. She’d need something more obvious than that. It still riled her up a little bit to be treated like that. Scootaloo held her anger in check however.
“Come on girls, let’s just get out of here.” Scootaloo replied calmly, gently pushing the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to the door of the schoolhouse. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed her in confusion.
“That almost sounded sincere.” Silver Spoon commented when the Cutie Mark Crusaders were out of earshot. Diamond Tiara gave a small laugh.
“Yeah, even I’m starting to think you actually like the blank flank.” Silver Spoon replied, smirking.
“Let’s not go crazy here.” Diamond Tiara replied. “Let’s just keep driving her crazy.” she added, laughing harder as she headed to the schoolhouse herself with Silver Spoon in tow.
“What was that all about?” Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo as they made their way inside.
“She was mocking me. I had to get away.” Scootaloo replied, huffing.
“You really think she was mocking you?” Sweetie Belle asked as she took her seat.
“Yes I do. She’ll slip up eventually. I know she will.” Scootaloo replied, her voice picking up as she moved towards her own seat so Sweetie Belle could still hear her.
“I guess ye’ll have to see.” Apple Bloom said, sitting down at her own seat. Scootaloo was about to reply when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked in and took their places shortly before Cheerilee began the lesson.
***
Lessons passed as they had been doing lately, with Diamond Tiara still being the teacher’s pet and getting the majority of the answers right. Even though Cheerilee wanted to give the other ponies a chance Diamond Tiara was still giving the answers more often than not. Soon enough lunchtime came around and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran out onto the playground together to play. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had been hanging around with the Crusaders before and after school but still left them alone during recess and lunch. They could only take so much of pretending to be nice before it became impossible. The Crusaders were passing a ball around to eachother when Scootaloo suddenly stopped and looked at her wings. She looked back at her friends when the ball hit her and brought her attention back where it belonged. She rubbed her head as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came up to her.
“Ye alright?” Apple Bloom asked, a little worried about Scootaloo after seeing her not only get distracted, but hit with a ball.
“I will be yeah, my wings feel a little weird is all.” Scootaloo replied, looking back at her wings again. She was wearing the brace to school again. Despite what Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had told her the day before she hadn’t really been asked about the brace much other than by Diamond Tiara. Ponies were either content to leave her be or make their own assumptions. Either way it had encouraged her to risk wearing it again.
“Is it cos of that brace thing?” Sweetie Belle asked. Neither her nor Apple Bloom really knew much about it beyond it’s intended purpose.
“Maybe...” Scootaloo trailed off, sitting on her haunches. She tapped a few of the buttons on the brace experimentally and sighed when nothing happened. “Great, it’s out of juice. Twilight said it’d last for a week.” she explained, pondering what could have happened.
“Err...juice?” Apple Bloom asked nervously.
“Magic. This thing runs on magic for some reason. It’s pretty useless without it.” Scootaloo explained.
“Oh, that makes much more sense.” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “Well, except for it bein’ useless without magic.” she added, her smile fading.
“Hey think of it this way.” Sweetie Belle piped up. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at her questioningly. “Well if that won’t work then you can test yourself now and see if you can fly.” she said with a smile.
“Hey you’re right.” Scootaloo replied, her own face lighting up. She worked her way out of the brace and let it rest on the ground. She sighed in relief as she felt the burden lift from her wings. She moved them experimentally and after a few seconds flapped them as hard as she could like Rainbow Dash had taught her. There was a much bigger gust of wind than she had ever felt before and while she thought she might have taken off she saw when she opened her eyes it was just the wind moving around her forelegs. She was still stuck on the ground like before. “Well it was a nice idea...” she said quietly, putting the brace back on so she wouldn’t need to worry about storing it anywhere.
“That was a pretty big gust though wasn’t it?” Sweetie Belle said, wrapping a reassuring foreleg around the dejected Scootaloo. “So you gotta be close now.” she added. Apple Bloom nodded and nuzzled Scootaloo.
“Ah think so too.” Apple Bloom said.
“I know girls, I’m just getting impatient is all. Feels like I’ve been waiting forever for this.” Scootaloo said, nuzzling up to both of her friends in succession. “At least I didn’t fly without Rainbow Dash around.” Scootaloo added, smiling as she remembered she said she wanted her first flight to be in front of Rainbow Dash. Her friends smiled with her and enjoyed one more brief group hug before going back to their game.
“Awwww, I really thought she had it that time.” Rainbow Dash said from her cloud vantage point in the sky. She couldn’t hear why Scootaloo had taken the brace off but she could tell that she had tried to fly. “Keep trying Scoots, you’ll get there.” she said quietly to herself as she settled down onto the cloud and watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders play.
When Rainbow Dash turned up at the school again later in the day to pick up Scootaloo she found that Star Shine was already waiting there for both her and Scootaloo. He looked a little ragged and worse for wear. There were bags under his eyes from the sleep deprivation he was inevitably suffering and his mane was scraggy and in need of washing. He waved at Rainbow Dash when he saw her approach and yawned as she landed next to him.
“Afternoon Dashie, how was work?” Star Shine said, smiling and trying to look inconspicuous.
“It was fine, but what about you? You look like a mess.” Rainbow Dash replied, taking in Star Shine’s face. “When we get home you’re going in the shower.” she added. Star Shine laughed sheepishly and was about to reply when he heard the school bell ring and signal the end of the day. He chose to watch the door of the school instead and keep an eye out for Scootaloo. She appeared after a few minutes and was trailed by Diamond Tiara.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo exclaimed happily as she ran towards Rainbow Dash and cuddled up against her. Rainbow Dash gently stroked Scootaloo and smiled down at her.
“Good afternoon Mr. Star Shine.” Diamond Tiara trilled merrily as she walked up to the pair of Pegasi herself. “What happened to you?” she added with concern when she saw him up close. Scootaloo looked up at him and was a little worried herself.
“It’s nothing really, I just tired myself out giving a foal a flying lesson.” Star Shine explained, running a hoof through his mane and trying to make it a little more controlled. “Kids just have no control.” he added, winking at Scootaloo.
“You poor thing. Are you going to go to bed when you get home?” Diamond Tiara asked. Star Shine shook his head.
“I’ll be fine. Dashie ordered me to take a shower-” Star Shine began.
“I didn’t order you to do anything.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, huffing.
“Fiiiiiineee. Rainbow Dash suggested”- “better” Rainbow Dash interrupted again, “I take a shower when I get home. Then I’m giving Scoots another lesson and the wind in my face should help keep me alert.” Star Shine explained.
“Actually I don’t think you can give me a lesson...” Scootaloo replied quietly. She slipped out of the brace as Star Shine looked at her curiously. “The brace is out of magic again, I thought it’d last a week but it ran out in school.” she explained. Star Shine rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few moments.
“That’s alright. Put it in your saddlebag for now and we’ll do your lesson without it. It might even go easier.” Star Shine said, smiling at Scootaloo.
“Easier? Is flying that difficult?” Diamond Tiara piped up. Star Shine lowered himself down to her level.
“Some Pegasi have trouble with it and some don’t. It’s kinda like Unicorns with their magic. Your little friend Sweetie Belle can’t do much magic but her sister can, and Twilight Sparkle can do more than both of them.” Star Shine explained.
“I...see.” Diamond Tiara replied. She was hoping that Star Shine would have said something more about how Scootaloo flies and not tried explaining it to her in such a simple fashion. She wanted to hear that Scootaloo couldn’t fly from her instructors own mouth. “She told me about that brace though and said it helps her fly, so won’t she need it for a flying lesson?” Diamond Tiara asked, taking another approach. Star Shine shook his head again.
“Not really no.” he replied before thinking about it for a few seconds. “Well, she might need it for a flying lesson, but she won’t need it for gliding. The brace might even be weighing her down, or making it hard for her to move her wings properly now I think about it.” Star Shine explained.
“You really think that?” Rainbow Dash asked. She didn’t think the brace would have made much of a difference.
“It’s never been very heavy...” Scootaloo added softly. She wanted there to be an excuse she hadn’t learned how to glide easily but she was also a realist. Life had been too harsh for her to believe simple lies that were designed to cheer her up or make her feel hope. There was no way, in her mind, the weight of the brace could have affected her that much.
“Alright alright, it’s a very light piece of equipment...” Star Shine relented, facehoofing. “Give me a break, I’m tired here.” he added, a little snappier than he had intended to. Scootaloo gulped and backed up into Rainbow Dash. Star Shine sighed when he realised what he’d done. He turned around to face Scootaloo. “I’m sorry Scoots, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It’s true the weight of the brace might not make much of a difference, but it could still make it hard for you to control your wings properly. We’ll give it a go without the brace, and tomorrow I’ll take it to Twilight and get her to charge it up, okay?” Star Shine said, smiling at Scootaloo.
“...alright.” Scootaloo said after a moments hesitation. She walked up to Star Shine and gave him a brief nuzzle to let him know he was forgiven and Rainbow Dash pulled him back up to his hooves.
“I don’t know how, but you’re going to pay for scaring her.” Rainbow Dash whispered into Star Shine’s ear. He smiled nervously and turned back to face Diamond Tiara.
“I guess we should be going. You gonna be okay on your own?” Star Shine asked Diamond Tiara. She looked around nervously to make sure that nopony else was around her.
“Me?” she asked, pointing a hoof at her chest. Star Shine nodded and simled.
“Her?” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo choroused.
“We’re all friends aren’t we? I’m not allowed to be worried about her?” Star Shine replied, looking back at Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. While he hadn’t been looking Scootaloo had climbed up onto Rainbow Dash’s back. They looked at eachother and then shook their heads.
“It’s not that.” Rainbow Dash started.
“It’s just a bit...” Scootaloo added.
“Unexpected?” Diamond Tiara finished for them. Star Shine, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked down at Diamond Tiara and she looked nervous more than anything else. “After everything I put Scootaloo through you’d be...worried about ME?” Diamond Tiara asked. She was shifting uncomfortably. She wasn’t used to ponies actually being worried or concerned about her for any reason other than they were afraid of her, or wanted to be on her good side for some reason. A reason usually involving her father and his money.
“That’s all in the past though. From what I hear you’ve been nothing but nice to her lately.” Star Shine explained. “Isn’t that right?” he asked, turning to look at Scootaloo.
“I guess so yeah.” Scootaloo admitted. She was shifting uncomfortably herself at the realisation she was probably a little worried about Diamond Tiara being on her own too.
“Well I’ll be okay, thanks. That’s my dad now.” Diamond Tiara said, looking across to the side and noticing Filthy Rich making his way towards her. Diamond Tiara ran across to him and left the Pegasi behind. She was beginning to get second thoughts and didn’t want to question anything. She almost felt she was in too deep to get out now.
“So what was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked when Diamond Tiara was safely back with Filthy Rich.
“What was what about?” Star Shine replied, taking off and floating towards Rainbow Dash’s house.
“Being so nice with DT back there.” Rainbow Dash said as she caught up with him. Scootaloo was huddled against her back. Scootaloo had slipped the brace back on so she didn't have to keep a hold of it.
“What’s wrong with being so nice?” Star Shine asked, confused. “Equestria would be better if we were nicer.”
“I just don’t trust her and neither does Scoots.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine hung back a little to get next to Scootaloo.
“That true?” he asked her. Scootaloo nodded her head. “Well I’m not asking you to trust her anyway. But if she’s going to be nice to you, can’t you be nice to her?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo sighed and nodded. “There’s a good girl.” Star Shine gently patted Scootaloo on the head, causing her to smile. “Now let’s get back already so we can do another flying lesson!” he exclaimed, picking up his speed.
“Hey you need to shower first!” Rainbow Dash called out as she took off to catch up to him.
Star Shine was flying ahead but Rainbow Dash caught up to him pretty quickly.
“So you’re going to jump into the shower before the lesson right?” she asked him when she had caught up. Star Shine turned to face her and smiled.
“Relax, I’ll have a shower when we get back yeah. Just don’t try and get gliding without me because you know how to do it.” Star Shine replied.
“Huh, I didn’t think of that.” Rainbow Dash mused. She hadn’t considered just trying to give Scootaloo the lesson herself.
“So why shouldn’t she do that?” Scootaloo asked. Her head was leant against the back of Rainbow Dash’s neck to prevent her from being buffeted by the wind. She considered getting used to the wind hitting her but didn’t want to be tired out before she even began. “Would that be dangerous?” she added nervously.
“It wouldn’t be dangerous at all.” Star Shine reassured her with a smile. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. “I just don’t want to miss you glide is all.” he added, gliding over to nuzzle Scootaloo carefully so as to not be hit by Rainbow Dash’s wings.
“I don’t think I’ll get it that quickly...” Scootaloo replied softly with a nervous laugh.
“Sure you can Squirt.” Rainbow Dash reassured Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash turned to face Scootaloo but jumped when she saw how close Star Shine was to her. Star Shine jumped too and moved back to the distance he was before he moved closer. Scootaloo let out a giggle.
“She’s right you know.” Star Shine said, attracting Scootaloo’s attention. “You can do anything you set your mind to.” he added. Scootaloo nodded and the rest of the journey back passed with relative silence. Scootaloo was focusing on gliding and telling herself she could do it.
*** When the three Pegasi reached the manor Rainbow Dash flew up with Scootaloo towards the roof while Star Shine flew inside to have a quick shower and clean himself up a bit.
“Don’t forget to take the brace off, it’s pointless without magic!” Star Shine called as he separated from Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother curiously but did as they were told when they reached the roof and landed. Scootaloo took the brace off and placed it down on the clouds below.
“You know, I still wonder what this thing is.” Scootaloo said as she rolled the brace around on the cloud to get a good look at it. “He tells me to wear it all the time but he never says why. He ever even say why one of yours wasn’t good enough?” she asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash who shook her head.
“I don’t think so, but Twilight is going to ask him about it so I’ll let you know.” Rainbow Dash replied. Rainbow Dash laid down on the cloud and Scootaloo jumped on her back before making her way to to the top of her head. Rainbow Dash gave a small grunt at each impact.
“Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked nervously, looking away. There was clearly another question coming that she didn’t want to ask. Rainbow Dash raised her eyes to look at her as best as she could. “Do you...do you think I’ll get gliding?” Scootaloo managed to ask. Rainbow Dash moved a wing to gently brush against the side of Scootaloo, who giggled at the feeling.
“I know you will Scoots.” Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. “Then you’ll be flying in no time too.” she added with determination. Scootaloo nodded back but began fidgeting with her hooves. She clearly wasn’t as convinced as Rainbow Dash was. Rainbow Dash kicked her head back which caused Scootaloo to be knocked into the air. Rainbow Dash quickly flipped onto her back and catching Scootaloo and bringing her down to rest on her chest between her forelegs. Scootaloo giggled and buried her face into Rainbow Dash’s chest. “You can trust me to always catch you Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said, holding Scootaloo tightly against her body.
“I know.” Scootaloo replied with a smile.
“And you can trust me when I say you can fly.” Rainbow Dash added, hoisting the filly up into the air and holding her in front of her face. Scootaloo smiled but it faltered quickly.
“But what if I can’t?” Scootaloo asked softly.
“But you can.” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“But what if I-” Scootaloo began before Rainbow Dash cut her off.
“You. CAN.” Rainbow Dash emphasised, holding Scootaloo close again. “There aren’t any what if’s.” Rainbow Dash said as she nuzzled Scootaloo. “Except maybe one.” Rainbow admitted after a few seconds thought.
“So what’s that?” Scootaloo asked nervously. She was filled with a sense of fear. Maybe Rainbow Dash really was about to admit there was a chance Scootaloo could never fly. Maybe all of her fears were about to be confirmed by the one pony she held above all others, loved above all others. If Rainbow Dash actually said it then it would break her tiny heart and she knew it.
“Well you spend so much time thinking what if you can’t fly, but there’s something you aren’t thinking.” Rainbow Dash began, hefting Scootaloo up into the air again. “What if, just maybe, you CAN fly?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo’s eye widened and her heart raced as warmth from Rainbow Dash’s faith in her spread through her. Scootaloo started smiling. Not a fake one to hide feelings of doubt or sadness, but a genuine one caused by the love of another. She was beginning to feel that maybe she really could fly after all. If Rainbow Dash really believed she could do something, then maybe she really could do it. Then her smile disappeared as quickly as those thoughts and feelings. Hope was quickly replaced by despair and worry as it always was and always had been. “What’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash asked worriedly when she saw Scootaloo’s face fall.
“It’s all good saying I can fly, but if I can then why haven’t I? It’s not like I never tried...” Scootaloo said bitterly, voicing her thoughts. “I used to think I could fly all the time and it never helped.”
“...I don’t know why Scoots.” Rainbow Dash admitted after a short hesitation. She was tempted to tell Scootaloo that in the back of her own mind she did have a reason as to why Scootaloo hadn’t flown yet. She was tempted to tell her about Vacuus Medeis and how if she had it then she wouldn’t be able to fly. She thought if Scootaloo knew the reason why she wasn’t flying but knew it was something she could overcome then maybe it would help motivate her. She remembered Star Shine telling her to not tell Scootaloo about and, in the end, realised that was something he had done by giving her a limit to overcome with wingpower. By telling her she couldn’t fly without first reaching 0.1 wingpower he had given her that limit to overcome without crushing her spirit. She had been upset at first but had shown newfound determination to beat that barrier down, as was shown by how upset she had gotten that she still hadn’t done it. “Actually there is something, remember?” Rainbow Dash said as she suddenly realised something. Scootaloo looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Remember what Star Shine said? You couldn’t fly because you hadn’t broken 0.1 wingpower, so maybe you still haven’t done it yet.”
“What if...what if he was lying?” Scootaloo asked as she found it hard to break out of her depression. She was under the firm belief she had definitely surpassed 0.1 wingpower and should be flying by now. “What if he was just trying to make me feel better?” Scootaloo added. She was getting angry now at just the implication she might have been lied to. It was getting even harder to stop her train of thought. Rainbow Dash was having trouble looking at Scootaloo and her eyes darted all over the place as she tried to think of an answer. She didn’t think that Star Shine had lied to her about anything but knew from her past experiences with Scootaloo in a mood like this that she might not be believed. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash Scootaloo took her nervousness and unwillingness to look her in the face as a sign she was right. “I knew it! You can’t even look at me! He’s lying and you know he is! Don’t you?!” Scootaloo cried out angrily. Rainbow Dash was on the verge of tears herself. She felt there was nothing she could do to calm Scootaloo down. Scootaloo let out a gasp as she felt something wet brush against her. Rainbow Dash looked to the side of Scootaloo and saw Star Shine stood nuzzling Scootaloo. His mane and most of his coat were still wet from the shower.
“I have never once lied to you. It’s true you need 0.1 wingpower to fly and if you still can’t then it means you probably haven’t hit it yet. But I’ll get you there, I promise.” Star Shine said shakily. It sounded like he had been crying himself but Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell with all the water stuck to him. The sudden sensation of the wetness on her had snapped Scootaloo out of her angry delusions and brought her back to reality, allowing Star Shine’s words to sink in. “Until then I want you to know how to glide. Even ponies who can’t fly know how to glide. If there is something stopping you from flying it can NOT stop you from gliding.” he added, still nuzzling Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave a resigned sigh and returned the nuzzle, showing that the message had gotten through.
“You think there could be something stopping me from flying?” Scootaloo asked nervously. Star Shine stepped back from Scootaloo to stop her from getting even wetter and shook himself dry before answering.
“This wingpower thing probably still is.” Star Shine admitted, “But you’re doing a really good job and you’ll have it beaten soon. I’d say maybe as early as by the end of the week.” he added to reassure her. Scootaloo smiled at him and he grew nervous as she kept smiling but didn’t respond. After a few seconds she burst out laughing and was joined by Rainbow Dash. “What is it?” Star Shine asked nervously, suddenly feeling very self conscious.
“I’m sorry Shine,” Rainbow Dash began before laughing some more. “It’s just, your mane...” she managed to say between laughs. Star Shine lifted a foreleg up and felt his mane and let out a gasp when he felt it far sooner than he thought he would. After he had shook it dry it had poofed out like Pinkie Pie’s and was all over the place. He ran a foreleg through his hair to push it back down and how it usually looked and eventually the girls stopped laughing at him. Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and Scootaloo jumped onto her back.
“Okay so how about we finally have this next gliding lesson?” Star Shine asked sarcastically, blowing away a strand of hair that had found it’s way in front of his face. Rainbow Dash walked over to Star Shine and wrapped her forelegs around him in a hug. Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around his neck in a hug of her own.
“Sorry about that, but you did look pretty funny.” Rainbow Dash apologised.
“It’s alright, but I really do want to start this lesson already.” Star Shine replied, returning both Rainbow Dash’s hug and Scootaloo’s nuzzle. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo released their respective grips and together Rainbow Dash and Star Shine took off into the air.
After the rather shaky start to the lesson Scootaloo took her position on Rainbow Dash's head, spread her wings as instructed, and kept them as taut as possible while Rainbow Dash herself flew in circles over her house. Star Shine was flying around with them and would switch from flying above them to flying below them.
“I thought you were going to just fly below us?” Rainbow Dash called out after he swapped positions a few times and she grew curious about what he was doing. He was currently above them and flew down to fly next to Rainbow Dash so he didn't have to shout at her.
“I thought it'd be good to do both. When I'm under I can catch Scoots if I have to, and when I'm above I can keep a close eye on her and see what she's doing. That way I can work out what she needs to do if she doesn't get it.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash had to admit it made sense. She nodded her understanding of what he was doing and Star Shine moved down vertically to fly below Rainbow Dash.
After half an hour or so it looked like things would be no different than they had been in the last lesson. Scootaloo still hadn't come off of Rainbow's head which meant she still wasn't able to glide. It wasn't taking as much out of her as it was before but Star Shine was still getting a little worried about how she still hadn't gotten it. He flew down closer to Rainbow Dash to get a good look at Scootaloo and see what she was doing. He could see better from above but he still needed to get close to really see what was happening. Her teeth were bared and she was squinting, both in determination and against the wind buffeting into her. The wind was also affecting her wings. Star Shine wanted her to keep them rigid but he noticed her feathers were still getting ruffled and moving about too much in the wind.
“I'll be back in a second!” Star Shine called to Rainbow Dash as he flew past her. He headed downwards and disappeared into the cloud manor, leaving Rainbow Dash confused. She continued to fly around until a few minutes later when Star Shine reappeared. He was sat on the ceiling of her house and there was a tray at his hooves with three drinks on it. He was sat on his haunches and waving his forearms in the air, signalling for Rainbow Dash to come down and land. She turned towards him and flew down, landing next to him.
“What's up?” Scootaloo asked when they landed. She hadn't noticed Star Shine signalling them and the ordeal had left her very confused. Rainbow Dash shook her head, which almost knocked Scootaloo off. Scootaloo jumped down for her own safety and Star Shine let out a small laugh at the display.
“I just thought you might want a break is all.” Star Shine explained, motioning at the drinks. “Have a drink while Rainbow preens your wings a little.” he added. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow but happily took a drink.
“You want me to preen her wings?” Rainbow Dash asked. It was true that she hadn't been able to preen them in a few days. She had put Scootaloo to bed far too quickly the night before to do it. Star Shine nodded and smiled.
“All this wind has really messed them up, and they're not in the brace anymore. I think they need a good preening.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash sighed and did as she was told. Scootaloo let out an occasional contented sigh as Rainbow Dash worked and Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel a little bad about how long it had been since she had preened Scootaloo's wings. Star Shine was right about them; Scootaloo's feathers were all over the place and the filly really was in need of some tender loving care. “There's something else too...” Star Shine began, interrupting Rainbow Dash who looked up at him. “I know you hate to do this...” he started, playing with a foreleg nervously, “but could you fly a little slower Dashie?”
“Fly a little slower?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. “I can do that, why?” she asked. She really wasn't averse to flying slower. She just never saw much of a reason to.
“I think you might be going a bit too fast for Scoots.” Star Shine replied, causing Scootaloo to splutter on her drink.
“Too fast for me?” Scootaloo asked. She sounded sad. She didn't like the idea she was holding Rainbow Dash back, or that Rainbow Dash couldn't live up to her potential just because Scootaloo was with her.
“Well think about it for a second.” Star Shine replied. “You learned to walk before you could run right?” he asked. Scootaloo nodded, not sure where he was going with this. “And it's the same with flying, or gliding, or anything really. You have to start slow. The reason your wings were so messed up is because you're not used to going that fast and neither is your body. Even when you fly you'll have to start slow, okay?” he explained. Scootaloo nodded again.
“I guess so.” Scootaloo said with a sigh.
“Relax kid, even I started out a little slow.” Rainbow Dash said, patting Scootaloo on the head.
“And I started out really slow.” Star Shine added, laughing sheepishly. “You'll reach Rainbow levels eventually but for now let's get you walking, so to say.” he added. Scootaloo nodded and smiled. It all made sense to her and if starting slow was what it would take, then she would start slow and work her way up. After a few more minutes Rainbow Dash announced she was done preening Scootaloo's wings and the Pegasi took off into the air once more after the two elder Pegasi had finished with their own drinks. True to her word Rainbow Dash flew slower and when Star Shine checked on Scootaloo she looked like she was struggling a lot less than she was before. Unfortunately Rainbow Dash was flying a little too slow. She had two main speeds; really fast, and really slow. Star Shine chuckled to himself and flew a little closer to Scootaloo. “Close your eyes.” he told her as he approached. She looked at him curiously and even Rainbow Dash turned her head around to see what was happening. With less wind billowing around them it was easier to talk.
“Close my eyes?” Scootaloo asked. Star Shine nodded.
“You need to feel the wind properly. Close your eyes and get a good feel for it, and then you'll be able to move your wings to where they need to be.” he explained. Scootaloo did as she was told. She looked forward and closed her eyes. She smiled as she felt the light wind dance through the feathers of her wings. “And you need to fly a little faster!” Star Shine called as he flew past Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash twisted her body and caught up to him easily. Whenever Rainbow Dash caught up with him Star Shine smirked at her and flew a little faster, getting in front of her again.
“Why are you flying so fast? Didn't you tell me to go slow?!” Rainbow called to him after this happened a few more times. Star Shine twisted his body so he was flying backwards and looked at Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, but you were flying a little too slow. I just made you think we were racing is all.” Star Shine explained. “If you're either going to move too fast or too slow, then just keep up with me and you'll be fine.” he added. Rainbow Dash swiped at him but it wasn't hard to avoid her. “What was that for?” he asked, looking hurt that she would even try and hit him.
“Try explainin' things instead of just doing things like that!” Rainbow Dash chastised. She was getting more than a little annoyed by how much Star Shine would just take matters into his own hooves. She was about to shout at him some more when Star Shine tapped her and pointed a hoof upwards. “Is she about to glide?!” Rainbow Dash asked quickly, thinking he could only mean one thing. Star Shine nodded and smiled. “Wait she's on my head so I won't be able to see it! Ponyfeathers!” Rainbow Dash cursed as the realisation came to her. Star Shine stroked his chin thoughtfully then raised a hoof in excitement as he got an idea.
“Tuck your wings in until I get back. I know you want to do this but Rainbow wants to see it. I'll not be a minute.” Star Shine hurriedly said to Scootaloo. She was confused but did as she was told and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo watched as Star Shine disappeared back into the house. Rainbow Dash maintained her speed as it seemed to be just the right amount and Scootaloo tried to remember how her wings had been so she could do it again as soon as Star Shine finished doing whatever it was he was doing this time. When he did reappear they gasped in shock and amazement as he was carrying something. From a distance it looked like the mirror from the bathroom. When he got closer they saw that's exactly what he was carrying. He flew in front of Rainbow Dash and turned around to face her. He was flying backwards and was holding the mirror in front of him using his forelegs and that's when Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo realised what was going on. When Rainbow Dash looked into the mirror she could see Scootaloo on top of her head.
“Okay that was smart.” Rainbow Dash admitted, smiling brightly.
“So I'm forgiven?” Star Shine called back.
“This time yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Right, now close your eyes again Scoots and just do what you were doing before.” Star Shine called to Scootaloo. She nodded and closed her eyes, smiling herself that Rainbow Dash would get to see after all. It wasn't a first flight but it was something special she wanted Rainbow Dash to see anyway. She felt the wind moving around her wings and slowly moved them, adjusting them as she felt they needed to be. Her heart had been racing before Star Shine had interrupted her and she felt she had been really close. She moved her wings and then she felt it. She just knew that her wings were incredibly close to where they needed to be. Just a few more centimetres and she would have it. She moved them just right and let out a squeal of delight when she felt it. She was hit suddenly by a large gust of air and then there was nothing beneath her. She cautiously opened her eyes and saw that there really was nothing beneath her. She looked up and saw that Star Shine was no longer holding the mirror. It was several feet above him as he had thrown it up into the air as soon as Scootaloo had come off of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash herself had Star Shine in a very tight hug. The two were even spinning around in the air celebrating that Scootaloo had done it at last.
“Hey!” Scootaloo called out loudly as she flew downwards slowly. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash came to their senses and realised exactly what they were doing. Rainbow Dash released the hug and laughed sheepishly as Star Shine realised he wasn't holding a mirror. He looked upwards and flew up to it quickly to catch it before it landed on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash flew next to Scootaloo and Star Shine joined them when he safely had the mirror. Even though she was falling Scootaloo didn't feel any fear at all this time. She was totally in control of her speed and she felt safe and, above all, joy beyond measure.
Scootaloo's happiness was not to last for too long. When she felt herself gliding properly and the wind was weaving perfetly through her wings she felt an insatiable urge to flap them. She did it seemingly on instinct before she could stop herself. When she did she felt herself fall to the ground suddenly. She was about to try gliding again when Rainbow Dash grabbed her and held her close.
“Whoa, careful there.” Rainbow Dash said. “What happened there?” she asked Star Shine, hoping he would know why Scootaloo had suddenly fell even though she had started gliding properly.
“She flapped her wings.” Star Shine replied. “Why'd you do that?” he asked Scootaloo. She shrugged and shook her head.
“I don't really know.” Scootaloo replied. “It just felt...right.” she did her best to explain. Star Shine smiled and grabbed Scootaloo from Rainbow Dash and threw her up into the air and started cheering. Rainbow Dash snatched her out of the air quickly by reflex.
“What did you do that for?!” Rainbow Dash shouted at him. Star Shine grinned and rubbed his mane.
“Sorry, it's just so great that she flapped her wings like that.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at him. “That was an instinct to fly. If she had the wingpower she would have taken off and if she did that when she was a foal, she'd have flown.” Star Shine explained.
“So that means...” Rainbow Dash mused as her brain tried to join the dots. Scootaloo looked between them, a little confused.
“That means as soon as she hits 0.1 wingpower, if she moves her wings like that she’ll fly.” Star Shine explained for her. Scootaloo’s face lit up at that, as did Rainbow Dash’s.
“So she doesn’t-” Rainbow Dash began before Star Shine cut her off.
“Doesn’t have anything stopping her from flying, no.” Star Shine concluded for Rainbow Dash. He was smiling too. Scootaloo would have been a little more concerned about the conversation Rainbow Dash and Star Shine seemed to be having that she wasn’t privy to, but she was too happy at the prospect of being so close to flight, one of her biggest dreams, to really care or consider it. Besides, they had just confirmed that nothing was wrong so it wasn’t like she even had anything to worry about.
“So when will I be flying ya think?” Scootaloo asked merrily from Rainbow Dash’s forelegs. Star Shine moved closer to her.
“I’m afraid I can’t say for sure.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo’s face fell a little and Star Shine lifted her chin up with a foreleg. “But with how quickly you’ve been improving, I think you’ll be flying in a few days if you really try.” he added. Scootaloo threw her forelegs into the air and cheered which almost caused Rainbow Dash to drop her.
“A few days, you really think it’ll be that soon?” Rainbow Dash asked. She didn’t believe it could happen so quickly. Scootaloo looked up at her with a frown and so did Star Shine.
“Don’t you believe in me?” Scootaloo asked sadly, playing with her front hooves nervously. Rainbow Dash realised what she had said and nuzzled the top of Scootaloo’s head.
“It’s not that Squirt, it’s just...I don’t even know what it is.” Rainbow Dash replied, her voice little more than a whisper. “It’s just hard to believe it’s all happened so quickly. It’s not even been two weeks yet has it?” she added when her mind cleared up a little.
“I’m just that good at my job.” Star Shine piped up. He mentally resolved to talk to Rainbow Dash about what was on her mind later but for now he felt distractions were necessary and that it was best to not let Rainbow Dash dwell on her thoughts. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo giggled at him. “Well anyway I think it’s about time for some dinner. Why don’t you and Scootaloo stay up here and practice while I go make something?” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash nodded and Star Shine gave a quick salute before heading back down into the manor. Before heading into the kitchen to prepare food he made sure to go put the bathroom mirror back where it belonged. Scootaloo squirmed around in Rainbow Dash’s grip and made her way up Rainbow Dash and onto her head once more.
“Let’s go!” Scootaloo yelled, pointing a hoof into the sky. Rainbow Dash laughed and headed in the direction Scootaloo pointed towards. It turned out that practice was good for the both of them. Scootaloo needed the practice because she couldn’t glide instantly and Rainbow Dash needed the practice because she needed to perfect how fast she had to fly for Scootaloo to take off. It took about ten minutes to get it right again and pretty much as soon as Scootaloo took off Rainbow Dash grabbed her out of the air and put her back on her back.
“Huh? What’d you do that for?” Scootaloo asked in confusion. Rainbow Dash shrugged as she wasn’t entirely sure herself.
“I...think it was to keep you safe.” Rainbow Dash answered slowly, trying to make sense of her thoughts. “Last time you tried to fly on your own and I didn’t want you to try that again. I didn’t even realise what I was doing.” Rainbow Dash explained when things made sense to her. “I guess you aren’t the only one who acts on instinct huh?” she added, rubbing her mane sheepishly. Scootaloo smiled and squeezed up to Rainbow Dash.
“I think maternal instincts are a little different though.” Star Shine called from seemingly nowhere. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were so caught up in what the other was doing that they didn’t notice him approaching from below.
“Hold on tight Squirt.” Rainbow Dash said quickly before flying down. She moved so fast that Scootaloo barely had time to react but she was able to secure a grip around Rainbow Dash’s neck. Rainbow Dash moved quickly but Star Shine saw what she was trying to do in time to get out of the way and not be hit by her. Rainbow Dash caught herself in the air and turned around to prepare to charge him again but he was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow Dash looked down and saw that he was on his way towards the cloud manor.
“Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Scootaloo said shortly before her stomach rumbled. She gave a nervous laugh as it did. Rainbow Dash sighed and followed Star Shine down towards the manor. She was getting hungry herself and the lesson had taken a little longer than she expected it to. Scootaloo hadn’t been really worn out this time and she hadn’t gotten the lesson too quickly either. Star Shine moved around to the front of manor and entered through the front door whereas Rainbow Dash simply flew in through her bedroom window. It was just how she had gotten used to entering the manor from the skies surrounding it. When Rainbow Dash entered the kitchen she saw that Star Shine had beaten her there and had also laid out the food he had prepared. It was a much simpler meal this time which was why it had only taken him about ten minutes to finish putting together. It was just sandwiches and hay fries but neither Scootaloo nor Rainbow Dash were about to complain about having food made for them by somepony else.
“Hey Shine, I got a question for ya.” Rainbow Dash said after she had eaten enough to settle her stomach. Star Shine looked up from his own food and even Scootaloo was distracted. “Yesterday Squirt there was really worn out after the lesson, and now she’s barely tired at all after this one. What gives?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a foreleg at Scootaloo. Star Shine thought about it for a few moments and, much to Rainbow Dash’s disappointment, shrugged. Even Scootaloo was slightly disappointed. She hadn’t thought about it until Rainbow Dash asked and now she was curious. It was true she didn’t feel too tired. Definitely not as tired as she had the day before.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll think about it. I’ll probably have an answer for you when Scoots has been in the bath.” Star Shine replied. He returned to his food as his mind tried to work through the problems and come up with an answer. After a few minutes he smirked to himself as he got what he felt was the answer. It took a lot less time than he thought it might.
“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked, noticing the smirk and the samll laugh.
“You get the answer already?” Rainbow Dash added. She would have been mildly surprised if that was the case given how long he thought it might take. Star Shine smirked again and shook his head. He did have the answer but it was something he didn’t want to discuss in front of Scootaloo.
“It’s not that.” he replied. “It’s just that sometimes I amaze even myself.” he added. It wasn’t a total lie at least. He had managed to impress himself by how quickly he had worked out the answer.
“Yeah well you don’t impress me much.” Rainbow Dash replied sardonically. Star Shine’s face fell as he feigned his spirit being crushed and Scootaloo laughed at his reaction.
“Awwwwww. You impress me sometimes.” Scootaloo admitted. She rested her head on her hooves to try and hide the small blush forming on her cheeks.
“Well thank you, but I could never compete with Rainbow Dash for your affection.” Star Shine replied, smiling. Scootaloo giggled and shook her head. Rainbow Dash smiled and the three Pegasi continued their meal together. This continued for a few more minutes until Rainbow Dash noticed Star Shine seemed to be troubled by something. He was looking at the table and playing with his food absentmindedly.
“Hey, Shine, you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, poking him in the sides. He jumped and snapped to his senses. He shook his head to clear it and smiled at Rainbow Dash.
“Just got something on my mind is all.” he replied. “I always do.” he added when Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him.
“Care to share?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked at Star Shine nervously, wondering what was on his mind. Star Shine looked at Scootaloo sadly after Rainbow Dash asked the question. This did not help her nerves.
“It’s a bit of an uncomfortable subject.” Star Shine replied, turning away from Scootaloo and looking at nothing in particular.
“Is it something to do with me?” Scootaloo asked quietly. Star Shine nodded slowly. “Then I wanna know.” she added. She had taken his actions to mean that it was something about her that he didn’t want to discuss in front of her. If he was going to talk about her then she wanted to be there for it. Star Shine let out a sigh and looked at Scootaloo.
“When your dad”-Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash both winced at the mention of Scootaloo’s dad-”would drop you, did you try and stop yourself falling?” Star Shine asked. Like he had said, it was an uncomfortable subject and if Scootaloo insisted on discussing it then he wanted it to be over with quickly.
“Well yeah, of course.” Scootaloo replied with a nod. “It’s not like I wanted to hit the ground.” she added quietly, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Rainbow Dash gently patted her on the head which helped calm her back down and relax her.
“I thought as much.” Star Shine replied, getting up out of his seat. He walked past Scootaloo and as he did, he gave her a brief nuzzle and whispered an apology in her ear for even bringing the subject up. He continued walking and left the kitchen. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were just too surprised to stop him. Rainbow Dash ran to the door and stuck her head out to see Star Shine walking up the stairs.
“Hey, what’s up?” she called out to him. Star Shine turned his head around and saw that Scootaloo had poked her head out of the kitchen too.
“Nothin’ much. I just got full is all. I’m gonna go run Scootaloo’s bath while you two finish up.” Star Shine explained. He smiled at them before making his way back up the stairs. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at eachother in confusion before going back to their dinner. They didn’t have much choice but to accept his answer. Much like Star Shine had resolved to get answers from Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash herself resolved to get some answers out of Star Shine. It wouldn’t have been the first time he just didn’t want to say something in front of Scootaloo.
“I wonder what that was about.” Scootaloo said as she and Rainbow Dash continued to eat their dinner. She had been confused by Star Shine’s sudden actions. His question seemed random and out of the blue and the way he just walked off unnerved her. She bought that he wanted to run her bath but she didn’t believe it was just that. He clearly wanted some time to think and had something on his mind. Something he was in no hurry to tell her. If he wouldn’t tell her then she would try and get it out of Rainbow Dash.
“I really wish I knew.” Rainbow Dash replied with a sigh. He would tell her some things that he wouldn’t tell Scootaloo but there were things he wouldn’t even tell her. She wouldn’t even know the things he wouldn’t tell Scootaloo as long as she was around. “I’ll try and find out later. I doubt it’s anything bad though.” she added to try and reassure Scootaloo.
“If it wasn’t bad why didn’t he say anything?” Scootaloo replied, playing with her food absentmindedly. Rainbow Dash had to admit she had a point. She also did have an answer to that question though.
“You know what he’s like.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo looked up at her. It was clear she didn’t know what he was like, or just didn’t know what about him Rainbow Dash was referring to. “Even if it was something tiny he’d probably worry about it and think it was something bad.” Rainbow Dash elaborated. “I think a lot of things aren’t as bad as he makes them out to be sometimes. In fact-” Rainbow Dash began before being interrupted by the return of Star Shine. Rainbow Dash was considering telling Scootaloo about Vaccuus Medeis and was under the impression it probably wasn’t as bad as Star Shine thought it was. Or at the very least it wouldn’t have been so bad to tell Scootaloo about it. They were so busy talking they didn’t notice that the sound of running water had stopped.
“Jeez you guys sure do eat slow don’t you?” Star Shine commented sarcastically as he entered the room. He seemed to be in better spirits and had no idea what he had just interrupted. He looked around the room and when he saw the serious expressions on Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s faces he could tell he had indeed interrupted something. “Umm, you guys okay?” he asked nervously.
“Yeah, just wondering about you...” Rainbow Dash replied, scrutinizing Star Shine. He smiled shakily under her stare and fidgeted nervously.
“Me? I’m fine. I told you it was nothing serious. I just get like that sometimes.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash shrugged and hopped down from her seat. Scootaloo followed suit.
“Go on up to your bath.” Rainbow Dash told Sootaloo, patting her gently on the flanks. Scootaloo did as she was told and gently nuzzled Star Shine’s legs as she passed them. He smiled down at her and watched as she left the room and ran upstairs. Moments later there was a splash as she jumped into the bath. Rainbow Dash moved towards Star Shine, who backed away slowly and nervously.
“Aren’t you going to up to her?” he asked shakily. Rainbow Dash shook her head and soon she was stood in front of Star Shine.
“I will in a sec, I just want to talk to you first.” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine was out of room to back into and so sat down, consigned to his fate. Things were, once again, never as bad as he feared. “I don’t like it when you just run off like that. If somethin’s on your mind then tell me, okay?” Rainbow Dash said. She sounded genuinely concerned and Star Shine felt a little bad about just walking off and hiding things from her. He gave a sigh.
“I promise I’ll tell you later, but for now you need to go to Scootaloo.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash felt he was trying to weasel his way out of talking to her again but conceded he had a good point. Scootaloo was probably wondering where she was and why she hadn’t gone up yet. She also had a tendency to come to her own, often incorrect and mentally damaging, conclusions. Rainbow Dash felt if she didn’t get up to her quickly then Scootaloo might feel that she herself was being discussed and, if it was something she wasn’t allowed to know, it would probably be something bad.
“Alright but I’m here for you to talk to. So please talk to me. You don’t have to keep everything to yourself anymore.” Rainbow Dash said softly, giving Star Shine a quick hug. He returned the hug and then let Rainbow Dash go.
“I could say the same to you, but for now you have a little filly to bathe.” Star Shine replied, giggling. Rainbow Dash left the room and then leaned her head back into it.
“Don’t you want to come up too?” she asked. Star Shine shook his head and smirked.
“I think she’s a bit too old to be bathed, she just wants to spend some time with you.” Star Shine replied, feeling like he was stating the obvious. Scootaloo was far too old to be bathed by ponies who were her real parents, nevermind somepony who had become more of a surrogate brother or uncle. At the very least she could take a bath with one of her friends, but not himself or Rainbow Dash.
“Well, duh.” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes. “But you ever consider she wants to spend time with you too?” she asked. Star Shine did a small double take before regaining his composure as if nothing had happened. His face had lost it’s smile and was back to being stoic.
“I have. I’ve also considered that maybe I’m a little too close to her as it is.” he replied. Rainbow Dash made her way back across to him and gently brushed him on the nose with her tail. He laughed and then sneezed. The absurdity of what just happened made him laugh some more.
“Don’t be so serious.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling herself. “How could you be too close to her?” she asked. Star Shine tried not to smile but it was proving very difficult.
“I’m going to be going away in about a week. I don’t get close to ponies. You’re pretty much the only real friend I have.” Star Shine replied sadly.
“Yeah but there’s two things you aren’t considering.” Rainbow Dash replied as she made her way to the stairs and started climbing up them.
“Oh? And what’s that?” Star Shine replied. He was used to considering every factor in an equation, even ones that had no actual bearing on the problem or outcome. If there was actually something he hadn’t considered he wanted to know about it. Rainbow Dash turned her head around to look at him.
“Well you’re coming back for a start.” she replied. “You had BETTER come back. When you left your letter saying you were going to Canterlot for your new job she was so upset I didn’t even have the heart to tell her you were going. She couldn’t believe for a second you might be leaving properly. She doesn’t even know you’re going and she still wants to spend time with you.” she added. “THAT’S what else you aren’t considering.” she added emphatically before turning back around and heading up the stairs. She had wasted so much time Scootaloo was probably getting really worried. Star Shine lowered himself onto the floor, left alone with his thoughts. Rainbow Dash entered the bathroom to see Scootaloo running a hoof through the water and staring off at nothing in particular. She looked up and smiled when she saw Rainbow Dash enter the room. She even moved to the edge of the bath and leaned on it.
“Hey Rainbow! What kept you?” she asked happily. She had been worried but the sight of Rainbow Dash took all her worry away, like it usually did. Rainbow Dash smiled and patted her on the head.
“Sorry ‘bout that Squirt. Had to talk to Star about something.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Oh, I was worried you might think I was too old or something.” Scootaloo said nervously. “Or that you might not want to spend time with me.” she added quietly before she could stop herself. Rainbow Dash nuzzled up to her.
“Me and Star considered you might be too old, but I always want to spend time with you. I got worried myself you might think that and wanted to be up here sooner, but he insisted on being an idiot.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. Scootaloo giggled a little.
“Is...Is he going to come up to?” Scootaloo asked nervously, fidgeting with her forehooves. Rainbow Dash sighed.
“That was one of the ways he was being an idiot. He thinks you’re too old to have him around and that you don’t want to spend time with him.” Rainbow Dash explained. She felt she could hardly say Star Shine didn’t want to spend time with Scootaloo. Even if she had stayed calm long enough to listen to his reasons she wasn’t sure how well Scootaloo would take it. She was under the impression Scootaloo would react the same way she herself had and feel that it didn’t matter that Star Shine was going away. It would also have meant explaining that Star Shine was going away and bath time hardly felt like the time or place to do that.
“Oh...” Scootaloo replied softly and sadly.
“Who’s the idiot?” Star Shine said as he entered the room. Rainbow Dash jumped and Scootaloo quickly gathered all the bubbles in the bath and lowered herself into the water to cover herself up.
“You are, you idiot!” Rainbow Dash shouted, chastising him for making her jump. Star Shine laughed but stopped when he saw how Scootaloo had reacted.
“See, she’s not comfortable with me being here. I should just go.” he said sadly, pointing a hoof at Scootaloo who was still hiding herself under a mixture of water and bubbles. She leaned out of the bath again and the water displacement moved the bubbles away.
“No, I want you to stay. I want to spend time with you.” Scootaloo insisted. She motioned with her foreleg for him to move closer. Star Shine started moving towards the bath before Rainbow Dash put a foreleg in front of his chest to stop him.
“Close your eyes so she can get comfortable.” Rainbow Dash said to explain her actions. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you hit anything.” she added sweetly. Star Shine closd his eyes and Rainbow Dash winked at Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash motioned for Scootaloo to move to the other side of the bath and she did so before Star Shine started walking again. After he took a few steps Rainbow Dash stuck out a foreleg to trip him up. He hit it and tripped and fell into the bath, executing a spectacular forward flip as he did so. Miraculously he managed to land in the bath upright. He still caused a fairly large splash which hit Rainbow Dash but she felt it was worth it and burst out laughing, as did Scootaloo.
“Oh not again...” Star Shine said as he opened his eyes slowly and realised what had happened and where he had landed. He opened his eyes to see he was facing the wall. “You’re just evil.” he said, leaning his head back to talk to Rainbow Dash.
“Funny too.” Rainbow Dash replied, stifling her laughter. Star Shine turned around in the bath and tried to get out but Rainbow Dash held him back and wouldn’t let him. She did let him out though when he pushed against her again.
“What was that for?” Star Shine asked. He sounded hurt, mostly emotional. Rainbow Dash hugged him to calm him down. She’d never really seen him angry and was in no hurry to see it, especially in front of Scootaloo and not after she tried to get the two of them to be more comfortable with eachother.
“I just thought if you ended up in the bath with her, you’d have no problem with being with her when she’s in the bath.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine sighed and Scootaloo tried to hide a blush that was forming on her cheeks.
“It’s not about what I think, it’s about what she thinks.” Star Shine replied with a sigh. “I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”
“I’m not uncomfortable.” Scootaloo said suddenly. Star Shine turned to face her.
“You’re not?” he asked her. Scootaloo shook her head. “Then I’ll stay.” Star Shine said, nuzzling up against Scootaloo. Scootaloo ran a foreleg through the water to splash him in the face. Star Shine laughed and splashed her back. Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist joining in and soon enough the air was filled with the sound of laughter from three very silly, and very wet, ponies.
After Scootaloo’s disastrous (or possibly overly successful) bath had cleaned not one but three ponies, Rainbow Dash, Star Shine and Scootaloo dried themselves off and Star Shine watched as the other two Pegasi played some games together. They tried to get him to join in but he was insistent on just watching them play. Rainbow Dash chalked it up to something else she would have to ask him about and Scootaloo voiced her opinion that he was just being boring. Soon enough it was time to put Scootaloo to bed and this time Star Shine elected to go up with her and Rainbow Dash.
“What? Why?” Rainbow Dash asked when he stated his intentions to put Scootaloo to bed with her.
“Does there need to be a reason?” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo looked between the two of them, worried they might be having an argument. Scootaloo ran over to Rainbow Dash and reared up, leaning against her chest. It was almost as if she was holding her back. The way it looked was not lost on Rainbow Dash.
“Does it matter why? Can’t he just do it?” Scootaloo pleaded. Rainbow Dash smiled and patted Scootaloo.
“Don’t worry Scoots. I’m just curious is all. Doesn’t he always have a reason for things?” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo lowered herself back down on the ground and looked back at Star Shine.
“Well yeah, usually I do sure. But they’re not all big reasons. Sometimes I just want to do something.” Star Shine said.
“This one of those times?” Rainbow Dash asked. Star Shine nodded. It was good enough for Scootaloo who headed up the stairs. Rainbow Dash followed and Star Shine went up behind Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo entered her room and jumped up onto the bed. When Star Shine entered the room Rainbow Dash was sat next to the bed with a book ready to read to Scootaloo. Star Shine sat down next to Rainbow Dash and listened to the story and when it was over he gave Scootaloo a quick kiss on the forehead himself after Rainbow Dash gave her one. Rainbow Dash looked at him curiously but she was hardly about to question him while they were with a sleeping Scootaloo. Star Shine headed back downstairs and Rainbow Dash followed him and found him sat on the couch already when she entered the living room. She sat down next to him and it didn’t take too long for the silence to become stifling and annoying.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Rainbow Dash asked, poking Star Shine in the sides. He gave a small grunt of pain and looked at her.
“On my mind?” he replied, raising an eyebrow. Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation.
“Yeah, why’d you come up to Scoots’ bath, but then not play any games with her? You even went with me to put her to bed.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Oh. That.” Star Shine replied, looking down at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world all of a sudden. “Umm...I just thought you were right is all.” he added. Rainbow Dash had trouble hearing him because he was mumbling a little and making it difficult for himself to be understood.
“Did you say I’m right? What about?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning down to his level to make it much easier to understand and hear him.
“Yeah I said you’re right. About Scootaloo and how she wants to spend time with me. When I thought about it I decided I wanted to spend time with her too. With both of you. Like you said it doesn’t matter if I go away because I’ll be coming back. I didn’t want to get close to her because I was going away so soon too. Then I thought about it some more. It might not have been very nice to get close to her then leave her, but I think it would be worse if her last memory of me was me ignoring her and her not even knowing why. I realised that I wanted to leave her with more than that. I wanted to take more than that with me myself. That’s the reason I went up to the bathroom to play with her, and put her to bed with you. I didn’t play games with her because I wanted something...” Star Shine began to confess before stopping. He was fidgeting very nervously at this point and his eyes were darting around as he wasn’t looking at anything in particular and couldn’t stop moving them. Rainbow Dash would have prompted him to keep talking but knew he’d get it out eventually and she didn’t want to push him to say something he didn’t want to say. All in all she was being very considerate of his feelings. “...I wanted something to remember you both by. Not just her, but you too.” Star Shine finished, looking up at Rainbow Dash. A part of him expected her to laugh at him, or smirk, or do anything other than what she actually did. She pulled him close and rested his head on her chest before stroking his mane, comforting him. It also kept him from seeing the blush that had formed on her cheeks.
“Jeez, you’re only going to be gone for a month or two right? We used to go longer than that without seeing eachother.” Rainbow Dash said, still stroking his mane. She couldn’t resist teasing him just a little.
“I know, but I kinda got used to the distance. I wanted to see you more yeah, but I could live without it because of how rarely I saw you. I’ve gotten used to you being around all the time. I didn’t realise how much I...missed it.” Star Shine explained. He almost said “enjoyed” and wasn’t entirely sure why he didn’t. It wouldn’t have given that different a message. It might not have given a different one at all. He was, as per usual, worrying about how he might sound when he had no reason to.
“I guess I’ve been the same.” Rainbow Dash admitted. Her cheeks reddened even more and she settled for looking up at the ceiling instead when Star Shine looked up at her.
“That why you were so surprised by how quickly Scootaloo could be flying?” Star Shine asked. He had noticed Rainbow Dash’s behaviour and wanted to ask her about it. He was going to take advantage of this perfect opportunity. He didn’t believe she actually didn’t believe in Scootaloo and her ability to overcome something so quickly.
“I guess...” Rainbow Dash began slowly. Much like Star Shine, she was having difficulty voicing her thoughts. “I guess I just didn’t think about it myself. How quickly you would be going that is. It came as a pretty big shock to realise it could be so sudden and...and...” Rainbow Dash started struggling to speak and Star Shine afforded her the same courtesy she had given him. He would wait until she finished before saying anything. If it was something she wanted to say then she would say it on her own. “And I realised how much I wanted you to stay.” she finished. “You had better come back. Not just for Scootaloo, but for me.” she added, looking back down at him again. Star Shine wanted to smile or laugh at how bright red her blue cheeks were but knew that would be horribly insensitive. Instead he elected to reach up a foreleg and gently stroke her cheeks and smile up at her. Rainbow Dash smiled back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling. The moment didn’t last too long however as something occurred to Rainbow Dash. There was something more important to her and that was the most important thing to her in the whole of Equestria; Scootaloo. “Sorry to ask you this right now,” she began nervously, fully aware that she was ruining the moment, “but why did you ask Scoots about if she tried to stop herself when she...fell?” Rainbow Dash asked. She couldn’t quite bring herself to repeat what Scootaloo’s dad did. Star Shine let out a sigh and his foreleg dropped back to his side. Rainbow Dash hoped he wasn’t too disappointed but Scootaloo really was the most important thing to her and he had to understand that.
“It’s the instinct to fly, and above that even, the survival instinct.” Star Shine replied. He wasn’t really disappointed in Rainbow Dash. He had no idea of her reasons for asking him that at that time, but he typically answered a question when asked. It was just a subject he didn’t want to talk about much in front of even Rainbow Dash.
“Wha?” Rainbow Dash replied. Clearly the matter needed more explanation.
“Well normally the way Pegasi train kids by kicking them off clouds is actually very effective.” Star Shine began. Rainbow Dash wanted to disagree but she had never thought the training could be bad until she learned about Scootaloo and felt she had no right to. “Falling like that kicks in either the instinct to fly, or the instinct to survive. If the survival instinct kicks in then it starts the flying instinct. In Scootaloo’s case though all it did was cause her to flap her wings meaninglessly as she had NO instinct to fly. Teaching her to fly like that would only result in injury. In fact it’s...it’s impossible to train her using conventional methods. I don’t mean to brag but I’m probably the only pony in Equestria who can get her to fly.” Star Shine explained.
“It’s about time you showed some ego.” Rainbow Dash joked with a snort. It was not an answer she was happy with. “But you said she got the instinct to fly. That’s why she flapped her wings when she was gliding.” she added.
“The instinct to fly can be taught. It’s why I had her close her eyes and move her wings herself.I could have moved them for her but it would never be just right. You ever flown with your eyes closed and just felt the wind in your wings?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Can’t say I have. Why would I?” she replied.
“You should try it some time. It feels amazing.” Star Shine replied wistfully.
“So anyway, why would you be the only guy in Equestria that can get her to fly? What makes you so special?” Rainbow Dash asked, changing the subject and asking another question that had occurred to her. She knew he was good at his job, but not THAT good. She’d never really heard him brag like that.
“Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m going to have to explain it to Twilight too and I’d rather not have to tell the same story twice.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was disappointed but when she looked at a clock she saw she had no real reason to be. It was about time she left for work. She flapped her wings and shot up a short distance into the air. Star Shine tumbled onto the floor and groaned when he hit it. It was soft but that sensation was still rough to go through. “What was that for?” Star Shine asked from the floor.
“Sorry ‘bout that...” Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly. “But I gotta head out to work anyway, so what you had to say can wait I guess.” she added before taking off out the window and into the night sky. Star Shine went to the window and stared up at the night sky.
“Thank Luna for night time shifts...” he said quietly to nopony in particular. He blinked and shuddered in surprise when he saw a star blink in the sky and got the distinct feeling he was being winked at.
Scootaloo woke up on Friday and saw that it was later than she usually woke up. The sun was shining brightly through the window and she could hear birds chirping. Rainbow Dash would often wake up before even the morning birds. Scootaloo jumped out of bed and ran to her window. She looked up and saw that Rainbow Dash was indeed in the sky along with, for reasons unknown to her, Star Shine. They were flying around not just the sky but also eachother. It was almost like they were mirror images of eachother as they stayed parallel to eachother whilst flying in no pattern Scootaloo could see. They would also fly towards eachother at seemingly random intervals and fly so close to eachother they would almost collide head on before flying off in opposite directions again. Scootaloo watched in awe as they did this a few times before she felt the need to call out. Part of the reason she was in awe of it was because they would almost collide every time they flew towards eachother. It looked like they were about to hit eachother until the very last second when they would suddenly spin off, all the while moving in sync. Either they knew what the other was going to do or their reaction time was just that impeccable. It was a little of both in reality.
“Hey! What’cha doin’?” Scootaloo called up. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were flying so quickly that by the time she had finished calling out to them they were flying towards eachother which was a bad time to be distracted. They both looked across at Scootaloo which meant that they weren’t paying attention to eachother and collided in midair instead of avoiding eachother. They let out cries of pain and Scootaloo buried her head in her hooves. She was feeling more than a little bad that she had caused them to hit eachother. Thankfully the collision wasn’t too bad and neither of them were really hurt. They both flew down to the window and leaned against it, still hovering in the air.
“That? It was something they taught us in Flight Camp.” Star Shine replied.
“It’s supposed to build trust and practice flying together in sync.” Rainbow Dash added.
“Sorry I made you crash...” Scootaloo said, looking downcast. Rainbow Dash was quick to pat her on the head and reassure her.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve not done that in years so you didn’t see how much we hit eachother earlier.” she said with a sheepish laugh. Star Shine looked away nervously and stiled a giggle. “Why are you up so late anyway? You’re normally up way before now.” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I dunno. Guess I just slept really well.” Scootaloo replied. Star Shine dropped out of the sky backwards, distracting both of them, and flew into the house through the kitchen window, mimicking the 180 degree turn he had made while flying with Rainbow Dash.
“And he complains I never use a door...” Rainbow Dash whispered angrily to herself. She wasn’t too annoyed that he flew in through a window but she couldn’t help but be mildly agitated by the double standards.
“Guess he’s going to make some breakfast.” Scootaloo mused, leaning on the window and looking down where Star Shine had disappeared.
“Guess so...” Rainbow Dash replied, looking down at the empty space herself. “Hey, you wanna do something cool?” Rainbow Dash added, shifting her head up suddenly and smiling brightly at a suddenly very unnerved Scootaloo.
“Sure, I guess.” Scootaloo replied shakily. “What is it?” she added with a bit more enthusiasm. She was keen to try anything Rainbow Dash wanted her to, especially if it was some cool thing she was going to teach her.
“Well you see, you can actually do what Star Shine just did.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“I can?!” Scootaloo replied excitedly, her wings buzzing. She thought it must be something cool but not that cool. Rainbow Dash nodded and giggled at Scootaloo’s enthusiasm.
“Yeah but you only get one shot. It’s not something you need to fly for and I don’t think he actually flew anyway. He would have glided into the window and you can do it too.” Rainbow Dash explained. Scootaloo hopped up on to the windowsill and almost jumped out the window in her excitement. Rainbow Dash stuck out a foreleg to keep her in place.
“So what do I do?” Scootaloo asked. She was still practically bouncing about.
“Well first of all you need to stop moving so much.” Rainbow Dash teased. Scootaloo brought herself under control and stopped moving. “You’re also going to need to turn around, but before you do watch me so you can learn what you have to do.” she added. Scootaloo nodded and focused intently on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from Scootaloo’s chest and flew a little higher up into the air. “Watch carefully!” she called out to Scootaloo. Scootaloo watched as Rainbow Dash flew a little further up and a little further away from the house too. Rainbow Dash turned so her back was facing Scootaloo and then tucked her wings into her side. She fell backwards, much like Star Shine had and, as she guessed he had, spread her wings wide again after a few seconds and turned her body so that she made a 90 degree turn and was flying straight forwards instead of downwards. Scootaloo ooohed as Rainbow Dash made her way back to the window and gave an appreciative clop of her hooves. Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist giving a small bow and Scootaloo giggled when she did it. “So you know what you’re doing?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. Scootaloo nodded, hopped down from the window back into the room and turned her back to Rainbow Dash.
“I fall backwards, then spread my wings and turn my body so I glide right through the window right?” she asked, spreading her wings as she went through the motions. She turned back around to see Rainbow Dash nodding at her.
“Now, remember what I said. You get one shot at this. We can try again later if you mess up but it’s getting late so we’ll have to go to school not long after you eat breakfast.” Rainbow Dash explained. “ I’ll be flying down next to you if something goes wrong too.” she added as the idea to do so occured to her. Scootaloo nodded, hopped up onto the windowsill again and turned her back to the sky. She tucked her wings into her side, closed her eyes, gulped, and then went for it. She fell backwards out of the window. The wind felt the same as it had the day before. It calmed and soothed her and even though she was falling freely she still wasn’t afraid. “Now!” Rainbow Dash called after about a second. Scootaloo wanted to open her wings immediately but waited a split second longer until the wind felt just right around her body. She unfurled her wings, twisted her body, and screamed with delight as the sensation of the wind buffeting her wings hit had and she shot forward through the kitchen window. Screams of delight were soon replaced by grunts of pain both from her and the object she immediately collided with. She opened her eyes cautiously to see that she had hit the back of Star Shine’s neck. “Great work Scoots! You really did...it...” Rainbow Dash started enthusiastically before trailing off as she saw what had happened.
“Umm...what just happened?” Star Shine asked slowly. He was blinking his eyes and trying to bring himself back to reality and get rid of the stars and blurred vision. He shook his head and looked down at the ground to see Scootaloo stood in front of him and smiling nervously.
“Sorry about that. Rainbow Dash taught me how to do what you did.” Scootaloo explained.
“She taught you a trick?” Star Shine asked Scootaloo. He thought he was still a little out of it and hadn’t heard correctly. Scootaloo nodded and smiled at him. “She got it in one go?” he asked Rainbow Dash, who also smiled and nodded at him. Star Shine smiled gleefully and fell into a fit of giddy giggles. He threw Scootaloo up into the air and Rainbow Dash caught her before she could hit the ceiling.
“Hey, careful with her!” Rainbow Dash chastised him. “You’re so going to pay for this.” she added, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Sorry, it’s just that’s pretty great. She learned a trick from her idol and got it in one go.” Star Shine said, still smiling. Scootaloo squirmed with excitement as she realised that was indeed what had just happened to her.
“It is pretty awesome but still, no throwing things in the house. Especially not a little filly.” Rainbow Dash replied. She could admit that was pretty great but she was still a little annoyed he’d done the same thing twice in two days.
“Yeah yeah...” Star Shine replied, turning around to get back to making breakfast. As a result he didn’t notice Rainbow Dash stick her tongue out at him before placing Scootaloo back on the floor. “Well anyway, I made you breakfast, so sit down and I’ll feed you already.” Star Shine added suddenly to steer the conversation away from where it was. That it was him being in trouble was a good motivator to do that. Rainbow Dash sat down at the table and Scootaloo joined her.
“Hey Star, why are you here anyway?” Scootaloo asked out of the blue. Star Shine raised an eyebrow at her as he served breakfast. It was pancakes today. “I mean, you’re going to Canterlot again aren’t you?” she elaborated. “You’re normally gone when I wake up...” she added a little sadly. She had missed having Star Shine around in the mornings.
“Well you’re right. I’m going to Canterlot today, and I am usually gone before you wake up, but I’m not going to Canterlot until the afternoon today. Me and Rainbow are going to go see Twilight at lunch time”-Rainbow Dash snorted on her drink at this but Star Shine continued-” to get the brace sorted, and the lesson in Canterlot is in the afternoon. I’m going to take you to school today and then Rainbow Dash will take you to Canterlot this evening so we can go have dinner together.” Star Shine explained, laying out his entire plans for the day.
“Well that makes sense I guess.” Scootaloo replied, nodding her approval of his plans. Everything seemed to fit together just fine. Except for one tiny detail bothering Rainbow Dash.
“We’re seeing Twilight at lunch time? But what about-” Rainbow Dash began before Star shine held up a hoof to silence her. He figured she was about to ask about keeping an eye on Scootaloo during her lunch break but Scootaloo still had no idea Rainbow Dash did that.
“I’ve taken care of everything. There’s no need to worry.” Star Shine replied. He was deliberately being ambiguous so Scootaloo didn’t think too much about what they could be talking about. If it was some tiny thing Star Shine had already taken care of then it was nothing to worry about. Scootaloo saw it that way and continued eating her pancakes. Soon enough her saddlebags were packed and it was time to take her to school. If she was asked about it, she would have said it felt pretty good to be taken to school by both Rainbow Dash and Star shine.
“I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.” Diamond Tiara said dejectedly to Silver Spoon. The pair of them were on their way to school to greet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle who would, undoubtedly, be waiting to greet Scootaloo and her little entourage.
“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Silver Spoon asked. She was amazed that her friend had held out this long without exploding in a fit of rage and ruining everything. Not that there really was some kind of grand master plan. Diamond Tiara simply hoped to ruin Scootaloo’s life a little.
“I don’t know. I thought that the last Gabby Gums thing would do it but the blank flank seems happier than ever!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed.
“Maybe because it wasn’t something to do with her? That was really an attack on Rainbow Dash more than anything.” Silver Spoon offered.
“I guess. I was subtle in my attack on the blank flank though. I was hoping ponies would start questioning why she was gone for a whole week. Or why she’s living with Rainbow Dash. They aren’t family. I checked up on that. Her dad is some deadbeat and I couldn’t find out anything about her mom but I know it’s not Rainbow Dash. She’s too young.” Diamond Tiara mused. “I bet Miss Cheerilee knows what happened. You remember how much she freaked out that first day back?” she added as the memory came back to her. Cheerilee really did seem to know exactly what had happened and judging from her reaction it had been something pretty bad.
“Yeah...wait you know about her family? You know they’re not super rich businessponies who are always away on business?” Silver Spoon asked, surprised both that Scootaloo wasn’t from the background she said and how far her friend had gone in her endeavor.
“Super rich? Businessponies?” Diamond Tiara said, suppressing her laughter for only a second to speak before laughing uncontrollably at the very thought that could be the case. “Oh hay no. Her dad is some drunk deadbeat. He used to have a top job in Cloudsdale somewhere...oh, he ran a Flight Camp. He mighta been rich at some point but not anymore.” she explained, still suppressing her laughter.
“If you know all that, why don’t you write that? Expose her as a liar and let the world know who her dad really is.” Silver Spoon asked. Diamond Tiara shook her head.
“Its a good plan, and I thought about doing that when I found out who he was, but I thought it’s too blatant. I need to stay subtle so she doesn’t know it’s me.” Diamond Tiara replied. Silver Spoon admired her cunning. The pair continued their walk in silence while Diamond Tiara thought.
“By the way, I heard something you might be interested in.” Silver Spoon said suddenly as she got hit by a thought she had been meaning to tell Diamond Tiara. It was kind of difficult to tell Diamond Tiara things at times.
“Hmmm?” Diamond Tiara replied, looking across at Silver Spoon. “I heard she’s going out tonight. All three of them actually.” Silver Spoon said.
“What? How do you know that? Do you know why?!” Diamond Tiara asked hurriedly, shaking Silver Spoon with a maniacal glint in her eye. Silver Spoon waited until Diamond Tiara had stopped shaking her to reply.
“My mom told me. She went to Carousel Boutique to get a dress and was looking around the back room when she found two really pretty dresses and a suit. She asked what they were, hoping to buy them for her, my dad, and me. Rarity told her that they were for somepony else and after some coaxing she said they were for Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and that Star Shine guy.” Silver Spoon explained. Diamond Tiara’s grin grew wilder than ever as she let go of Silver Spoon and started cantering towards the school. There was an almost literal skip to her step. “What’s the hurry?” Silver Spoon asked as she managed to catch up to Diamond Tiara.
“I got the best idea ever. Oh she won’t know what happened. I just hope I can pull it off.” Diamond Tiara replied. “There has to be something in that house of Rainbow Dash’s that I can use...there must be some evidence of where she was that week…” she added, trailing off.
--- By the time Scootaloo arrived at school Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had met up with the rest of the Crusaders and were waiting for them.
“Still no trouble with them girls?” Rainbow Dash called back to Scootaloo before they touched down. Scootaloo shook her head.
“Maybe they really have changed.” Star Shine offered. Scootaloo wanted to argue but she couldn’t at this point. It had been nearly a week and there hadn’t been any problems. She was starting to believe that Diamond Tiara might actually have changed herself. After everything Diamond Tiara had done to her she wasn’t sure it could all be forgotten so easily but maybe, just maybe, the pair could get along eventually and then school wouldn’t be as bad for her. Her home life was so much better now and if her school life was to get better too then things would be pretty much perfect for her. She closed her eyes and smiled as she imagined things going well for her. She could see herself flying with Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. Maybe the three of them could even do tricks together like Rainbow Dash and Star Shine had that morning. She could even have more fun at school. Maybe if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon got along with them they could be made honorary Crusaders. Crusaders didn’t necessarily have to be blank flanks. If that was the case it would mean herself and her friends would be out of the club as soon as they got their Cutie Marks and that didn’t seem very fair to her. They were more than blank flanks and crusaders, they were friends. With Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the club they could probably use their resources to do even more things in an attempt to get their Cutie Marks. Perhaps their Cutie Marks involved something that they couldn’t get their hooves on yet.
“Scoots…Scoots...We’re here.” Rainbow Dash said, tapping Scootaloo to snap her out of her reverie. Scootaloo opened her eyes to see that they were a good few feet above the school still but she was also in Rainbow Dash’s forelegs and not on her back anymore. She had been so distracted she hadn’t even felt the shift. She laughed sheepishly and buried her face into Rainbow Dash’s chest in a hug. Rainbow Dash nuzzled her and kissed the top of her head before Star Shine leaned in and gave her a quick kiss too. He would have nuzzled her but then it would have been very obvious to the ponies on the ground watching what was happening. He felt it was already very obvious but was willing to let the girls have their delusions. “Do you want to glide down to your friends? I bet they’d love to see you glide.” Rainbow Dash asked but Scootaloo shook her head.
“I’m kinda nervous about trying it in front of them, and I don’t want to screw up in front of those two.” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash nodded and floated down to the ground to let Scootaloo jump off of her back safely. Scootaloo did so and waved goodbye to Rainbow Dash and Star Shine before giving her Crusader friends a hug.
“Mornin’ Scoots.” Apple Bloom said happily. Sweetie Belle repeated the greeting.
“Good morning Scootaloo.” Diamond Tiara said nervously. Scootaloo looked across at her and smiled.
“Good morning Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo replied. Diamond Tiara looked a little taken aback but smiled. “You too Silver Spoon.” Scootaloo added for good measure. Silver Spoon smiled back too.
“You don’t think we’re going to hurt you anymore?” Diamond Tiara asked, going back to being nervous. It helped she was genuinely nervous.
“Yeah, it’s been like a whole week now. Sorry for being so rough on you.” Scootaloo replied, rubbing her foreleg apprehensively. Diamond Tiara smiled so widely all her pristine white teeth were visible. It almost unnerved Scootaloo and made her think she made the wrong decision.
“Oh no, don’t worry about it. This makes everything so much better for me.” Diamond Tiara was quick to reassure her.
“Wait, makes what better?” Scootaloo asked. She thought the slip up she had been expecting might finally happen right when she thought it wasn’t ever going to.
“Well everything really. I was so scared you’d never like me and it was starting to hurt.” Diamond Tiara quickly said. She had slipped up. Everything was going so perfect for her. Not only had she managed to finally win Scootaloo’s trust but Scootaloo was also feeling guilty about spending so long not trusting her. It was almost too much for Diamond Tiara.
“Oh...sorry...again.” Scootaloo said quietly. Even slipping up was going just right and making things better for Diamond Tiara.
“Like I said, don’t worry about it. Now come on, or we’ll be late for class!” Diamond Tiara replied sweetly, heading for the schoolhouse door. Silver Spoon followed behind and the Crusaders followed behind her.
“So why’d you change yer mind?” Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo while they were still out of earshot of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“Well it has been nearly a week. If she was going to do something I think she’d have done it by now.” Scootaloo replied. It was good enough for the Crusaders, who entered the classroom just after Silver Spoon walked in. It was going to be a long day for Scootaloo, but it had started way better than she could ever dream a day could start.
“So what did you do?” Rainbow Dash asked Star Shine. The two were, in a rare moment for Rainbow Dash, walking and not flying away from the school. Neither of them admitted it to the other but they knew if they had been flying then they would have had to split up sooner. By walking they could spend just a little bit longer with eachother.
“Hmm?” Star Shine responded, looking over at her. “What do you mean?” The question took him off guard and he didn’t have any clue what she meant.
“You said you’d taken care of everything. I won’t be able to keep an eye on her, so what did you do? You get Cheerilee to keep an eye on her or something?” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Honestly? I didn’t do anything.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash looked at him with narrowed eyes. she expected more than that. “I think she’ll be fine. Her friends will take care of her and it seems like those other girls are going to be nice too. I don’t think she needs to be watched like that anymore.” Star Shine explained hurriedly. Rainbow Dash looked at the ground and sighed.
“I know she might not need it.” Rainbow Dash said flatly. “But I still get worried about her.” she added, looking back up at Star Shine. Star Shine smiled at her and nuzzled her.
“I know you do, and there’s no harm in that. She’ll be alright for one day though. She’s been fine this past week hasn’t she?” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash returned the nuzzle and stepped away from Star Shine to separate from him.
“Yeah she has really. I’ve been feeling kind of silly about keeping an eye on her anyway.” Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly. “So what are your plans for this morning?” she asked Star Shine. Partly out of curiosity and partly to change the topic.
“I think I’ll go back to the house and plan my lesson for this afternoon. If I have some spare time then I’ll find something to do. I’ll meet you near the library around noon and we’ll go in together. Sound good to you?” Star Shine replied.
“Yeah that sounds alright. I’ll see you later then.” Rainbow Dash replied, taking off into the air. She had wasted enough time talking and needed to hurry up and get to Cloudsdale before she was late for work. Star Shine, true to his word, took off himself and headed back in the direction of the cloud manor.
--- Back at school things were going fine for Scootaloo during the early morning lessons. She was able to focus more on her work and even got into a friendly competition with Diamond Tiara over answering questions out loud when Cheerilee asked them.
“It’s nice to see you too getting along so well.” Cheerilee commented after they both elected to shout out the answer and laughed at eachother. Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo smirked at eachother and giggled before the sound of the school bell going off made them jump. They had been so caught up in having fun that they didn’t realise a few hours had passed and it was time for their mid morning recess. Cheerilee looked at the clock, surprised herself. “Looks like it’s recess time.” she said. It was slightly pointless as most of the children had already begun making their way towards the door without waiting to be excused. “Oh, Scootaloo, could you stay behind for a minute? There’s something I want to discuss with you.” Cheerilee added quickly before Scootaloo could run outside. Scootaloo looked across at her friends nervously and motioned for them to go out and wait for her before heading back to Cheerilee’s desk.
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo asked nervously, worried about what Cheerilee could possibly want. She couldn’t see how she could possibly be in trouble unless Cheerilee was more annoyed than she was letting on by Scootaloo’s antics with Diamond Tiara during class. If that were the case though Scootaloo thought that Diamond Tiara would get kept behind too. “Is this something to do with Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo ventured. Cheerilee shook her head, paused for a second, and then started nodding instead.
“Yes but you’re not in trouble or anything, so don’t worry about it.” Cheerilee replied. She smiled down at Scootaloo who breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good. So, what is it?” Scootaloo asked. “Uh, Miss Cheerilee.” she added quickly. She might not have been in trouble for her antics with Diamond Tiara and she didn’t want to get in trouble for a lack of respect instead.
“It’s a good thing obviously but I’m wondering why this sudden change with Diamond Tiara. She’s been much better behaved lately but you’ve still been apprehensive with her. I can understand why you were, so I’m just wondering what happened to make you change your mind.” Cheerilee explained.
“Oh. Well at first I wasn’t sure if she was actually any different but, well, it’s been so long and she hasn’t done anything wrong. I just...accepted she had changed is all. If she wants to be my friend then I don’t want to be the kind of pony who would push her away.” Scootaloo explained.
“That’s a very healthy attitude and I’m glad you have it.” Cheerilee replied. Scootaloo giggled a little at the praise. “Well that’s all, so you can go and have fun now. Enjoy the rest of your recess.” she added. Scootaloo nodded and ran out of the schoolhouse door. Cheerilee watched her go and thought she looked a lot different than she did just a few weeks ago when she came back to school. She had been so depressed and barely talked and now she was making friends with the pony who had made her life less than enjoyable. Whatever was going on at home for Scootaloo had made a huge impression on her.
Scootaloo left the schoolhouse and saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting right by the door. She looked around for sings of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and saw that they were sat across the playground and were seemingly discussing something. She didn’t really expect them to wait but it would have been nice. If they had something important to talk about then she could live with that and wouldn’t want to intrude on them anyway.
“What was that all about?” Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo when she made her way over to them.
“Nothing much, Miss Cheerilee was just wondering why I was getting on with DT is all.” Scootaloo explained. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle breathed sighs of relief of their own that Scootaloo wasn’t in trouble over anything. “Say, speaking of DT, I got an idea this morning. Do you think we could make her and Silver Spoon Crusaders?” Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom broke out into a coughing fit in surprise and Sweetie Belle just wasn’t sure how to react. She settled for staring wide eyed at Scootaloo. “Forget it. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.” Scootaloo said, looking at the ground. She knew her friends might not have reacted well but she didn’t think they would react this badly to the suggestion.
“No, no it’s not that.” Apple Bloom was quick to reassure Scootaloo once she had calmed down. “It’s not a bad idea, it was just unexpected. ‘Sides, don’t they have their Cutie Marks already?”
“Well yeah but we do a lot of fun stuff too and when I thought about it I don’t think having a Cutie Mark means you can’t be a Crusader.” Scootaloo replied.
“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked, confused. To her and Apple Bloom being a Cutie Mark Crusader meant just what the name implied; you were crusading for your Cutie Mark and trying to find your special talent. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had theirs already.
“Well are we gonna stop being Crusaders when we get our Cutie Marks? Actually if it wasn’t for those two we might not even be Crusaders…” Scootaloo trailed off as something occurred to her. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were more confused than ever. They could almost accept the argument that earning their Cutie Marks wouldn’t mean they were no longer Crusaders but the idea that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon helped form the Crusaders was something that was totally lost on both of them.
“Wha?” Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Huh?” Sweetie Belle added. It was all either of them could think to say.
“If they hadn’t been teasing Apple Bloom at that party then me and Sweetie Belle might not have jumped out and we might not have met. It was even her party.” Scootaloo explained. All three of them shivered at the idea that Diamond Tiara was directly responsible for them all meeting. They might have been friendlier with her but old wounds heal slowly.
“I guess. Invite her at lunchtime and see what she says.” Apple Bloom said after she thought about. She couldn’t think of a single argument other than that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon already had Cutie Marks and she didn’t like the idea that getting a Cutie Mark would mean you were out of the Crusaders. She felt if she earned her Cutie Mark first she would still help Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo earn theirs. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo felt the same so it was a fairly easy decision in the end.
“Yeah that should be okay.” Sweetie Belle said, adding her own approval. “She’s still busy with Silver Spoon anyway and I don’t wanna interrupt them.” she added as she looked across the playground and saw that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were still talking.
“Then it’s decided.” Scootaloo said simply. She reared up onto her hind legs and put a foreleg in the air. Her fellow Crusaders mimicked her and they all put their hooves together.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS NEW FRIENDS YAY!” they shouted in unison before lowering themselves back down to the ground sheepishly as they attracted the attention of everypony on the playground.
“I wonder what the hay that was all about?” Silver Spoon asked, looking across at where the Crusaders were.
“I don’t know and if it’s those three, it’s probably nothing good. Anyway, that’s my plan. What do you think?” Diamond Tiara asked. She had spent the past ten minutes or so explaining a plan that she had and answering questions that Silver Spoon had about it.
“I think you need to be careful. This could get you in a lot of trouble if it goes wrong or if you get caught.” Silver Spoon replied. She was a little nervous about not automatically agreeing with Diamond Tiara it was a good plan but she was concerned about her friend and wanted her to know the risks.
“I know that. They’re going out though so it’s not like I’ll be caught. I’ll be gone way before they get back.” Diamond Tiara replied. Silver Spoon was slightly reassured.
“Even before then though…this thing with Scootaloo. Is it smart to do that?” Silver Spoon asked. Diamond Tiara glared at her and Silver Spoon shied away. “...never mind.” Silver Spoon added quietly.
“If anything goes wrong I can just deny it all. Cheerilee thinks I’m a goody two shoes who wouldn’t do something like that anyway.” Diamond Tiara said, doing a bad job of trying to hide her annoyance at Silver Spoon’s lack of faith.
“She also thinks that you and Scootaloo are friends now.” Silver Spoon countered. She hated to still be disagreeing with Diamond Tiara but she wanted to make sure she had all the facts before she tried something this risky.
“Don’t worry, that really does make everything better for me. It makes things easier for me actually. Scootaloo thought I would slip up even on the first day I was pretending to be nice, how do you think Cheerilee is going to react to Scootaloo slipping up on her first day of being nice? That says she was pretending to me.” Diamond Tiara explained. Silver Spoon wanted to say something but as she opened her mouth the school bell rang and signalled the end of recess. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara made their way into the schoolhouse. Silver Spoon was still worried about Diamond Tiara. She accepted there was nothing she could say or do that would stop her and so settled for just hoping things went how Diamond Tiara hoped they would.
The day continued to pass and soon it was noon. When Star Shine saw the time he hopped off the couch and grabbed the brace, putting it into his saddlebags. He sighed as he headed out of Rainbow Dash’s house and towards the library. He was not particularly looking forward to the conversation he was about to have. Part of him knew Rainbow Dash would have to learn eventually but with how long they had been friends and her still not knowing, the rest of him had been hopeful she would never know. She had gone all that time without even knowing about the brace, let alone the workings and origins of it.
He took his time and landed outside the library around half past twelve. When he had gone to Cloudsdale to look for Rainbow Dash before the ponies at the weather factory had told him that she had her lunch at half twelve and he expected if she had kept track of time she would make an appearance at any second, having spent the time before her shift ended around where she needed to be. He looked up into the sky and saw a familiar blue blur was headed towards him and confirming his suspicions. Rainbow dash landed next to him a few seconds later.
“Hey Shine, you been waiting long?” Rainbow Dash asked casually. Her eyes were darting around and gave away how nervous she was feeling.
“Not really, I just got here. Your team told me when you go on lunch.” Star Shine replied with a smile. “You okay?” he asked with concern when he saw her behaviour.
“Yeah I’m fine. Good day at work so far. Cleared some clouds, made some clouds, made it rain, even made a rainbow today. How about that? Rainbow Dash made a rainbow. I make lots of rainbows actually. You ever look at a rainbow?” Rainbow Dash rambled, talking so fast that Star Shine could barely make out anything she said.
“I’m looking at a rainbow right now.” Star Shine teased. “And she sure looks nervous. Don’t worry, Scootaloo is going to be just fine.” he reassured Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed out her pent up anxiety.
“I know, I know. I’ve just got a bad feeling I can’t shake is all.” Rainbow Dash replied. “Anyway, let’s get this over with.” she added quickly, moving towards the library door. Star Shine followed behind her.
“I just don’t know what to do Twiley. Every time I try to find him he’s gone already. I’ve tried to welcome him loads of times and he’s never there for long enough.” the pair of Pegasi heard a slightly high pitched voice say as Rainbow Dash opened the door. As soon as she heard the voice Rainbow Dash stopped opening the door. She recognised that voice. Thankfully neither Twilight or her guest heard the door open. Star Shine went to ask Rainbow Dash what was wrong but she planted a hoof over his mouth before he could speak.
“I know, but I don’t think you should go to her house like that.” Twilight replied. “However he’s actually coming here today. He’s due any time now if you want to wait.” she added.
“Oh this is going to be good…” Rainbow Dash said quietly to herself as she heard a squeal of laughter from inside the library. “This is going to be so good..” she added, rubbing her hooves together maniacally.
“What’s going to be good? What’s going on?” Star Shine asked. There was worry in his voice and he was right to be worried. Worry was soon replaced by fear when he saw the wide eyed grin Rainbow Dash gave him when she turned to look at him.
“Hey Star, remember those times you threw Scootaloo? And how I said you’d pay?” Rainbow Dash asked gleefully. Star Shine gulped and nodded slowly. “Consider this payback!” Rainbow Dash declared. She didn’t care if the occupants of the library heard her anymore. She jumped behind Star Shine and pushed him into the library. He fell through the door, tumbled over and came to a rest on his back. When he opened his eyes he saw a pair of bright blue eyes staring right back down at him. His assailant was so close that he couldn’t see anything other than their eyes. The pony on top of him moved her head back and Star Shine saw the rest of her face. She had a bright pink coat, bright blue eyes, a bright pink and frizzy mane and, most unsettling of all, a very very bright and wide grin. It was the one pony an introvert like himself would prefer to avoid at all costs; Pinkie Pie.
“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII” Pinkie Pie trilled, still smiling widely. “I’ve been dying, not literally of course, to welcome you since you got here. How come I’ve not done it yet? I’ll tell you why; it’s because you keep moving. Every time I hear you’re someplace you’ve gone by the time I get there. You’re avoiding me aren’t you? Well that doesn’t matter now because YOU’RE HERE and I can welcome you.” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically and so quickly she didn’t take a breath or even blink. Star Shine was practically terrified and begging the Princess’s to forgive his sins. “So tell me why do we keep missing eachother?” Pinkie Pie asked him, leaning in disturbingly close again. The pair were practically eye to eye.
“...because I’m lucky?” Star Shine replied nervously. “Or was.” he added bitterly, looking across at Rainbow Dash who was on the floor laughing.
“Hey...hey Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash stammered out between laughter. Pinkie looked across at her, bemused.
“Oh hey Dashie. You come here with him?” Pinkie Pie said
“Yeah but that’s not what I want.” Rainbow Dash replied, nodding. She managed to bring her laughter under control. “He’s been here for over a week and you haven’t welcomed him yet, so make sure you give him a special welcome, alright?” Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie nodded, smiled, and dashed out of the library so quickly it took Star Shine a few seconds to realise her weight wasn’t on him anymore. Unfortunately for him by the time he realised this Pinkie Pie’s weight was back on him and she was dressed in her full one pony band outfit with a myriad of instruments strapped to her body.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” Pinkie chorused, stepping off of Star Shine to dance around him and fill the library with a cacophony of sound. She continued to dance around him in a circle he couldn’t possibly escape from while singing the rest of her welcome song. Twilight tried to stop it but Rainbow Dash stopped her.
“I assure you he deserves this.” Rainbow Dash explained after tapping Twilight on the horn when she saw it glow as Twilight prepared to use some magic.
“Maybe he does but I don’t.” Twilight replied, raising her voice to be heard over Pinkie Pie who had now transitioned into a second rendition of her Welcome Song. Star Shine was cowering on the ground and whispering prayers that his torment would soon be at an end. Pinkie Pie disappeared again and Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief but his relief was not to last as she appeared once again in a matter of seconds and this time she had her Welcome Wagon with her. She pointed the front of it in Star Shine’s general direction and hit a button. Star Shine barely had time to react but even if he did he would never have been able to dodge the cake that flew out at him as confetti streamed out of the top of the wagon. Pinkie Pie was considerate enough to take the fireworks out if she was going to set it off in a library. Fireworks and books wouldn’t mix very well. The cake that hit Star Shine in the face was mixed together very well and even though it hurt a little when it hit him in the face it did taste quite nice when he licked it off. He was willing to endure hardship if it ended with cake and judged the overall experience to not be too bad given the finish.
“Oops. Sorry about that. The cake wasn’t supposed to fly out. I guess some of the fireworks were still in there and blew up. At least they didn’t come out the top.” Pinkie Pie said as she looked over the Welcome Wagon to see what could have gone wrong. “That would have been...messy.” she added quietly, surveying the damage that her welcome had done to the library. The floor, the tables, and almost every shelf was covered in confetti. There were pieces of cake strewn about and when she looked across at them Pinkie saw that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were also covered in confetti. Rainbow Dash was still laughing but Twilight was looking pretty stern. Pinkie’s antics had grown on her and she was happy to get into a good party but a library was still a library and her library was now a very messy library.
“Hey this is really good!” Star Shine exclaimed as he continued to eat the cake from around his muzzle. He also found some pieces that were safe to eat on the tables. He unwittingly broke any kind of tension between Twilight and Pinkie as both of them looked across and laughed at him all covered in cake.
“Pinkie Pie is quite the baker.” Twilight explained as her horn glowed. She began to clean up some of the mess and Pinkie helped by putting books back where they belonged. The clean ones anyway.
“Do you think you could show me how you made it?” Star Shine asked as Twilight pulled all the cake off of him and deposited it back into the oven in the Welcome Wagon. She couldn’t think of anywhere else to put other than where it had come from. Pinkie Pie smiled brightly and jumped on Star Shine again. He braced himself this time and managed to stay upright but Pinkie Pie was still definitely too close for his tastes. She never was one for personal space.
“Oh sure! Just come to Sugarcube Corner sometime and I’ll show you how to make it! We’ll have a party! Ooooh, a cake making party! I don’t think I’ve ever done that before...We can make cakes, and cupcakes, and sponge cakes, and birthday cakes! Oooh, when’s your birthday?! I’ll throw you a super spectacular birthday party!” Pinkie Pie replied hurriedly as her brain was awash with ideas for parties and cakes, and parties about cakes.
“My birthday? It’s not for a while yet. I’ll tell you when we’re a little closer but this cake making party sounds like fun. How about we do it in a few weeks? I’d like to do it sooner but I’m a very busy colt as you’ve no doubt found out by trying to find me.” Star Shine replied. “I don’t really get to go to many parties.” he added for good measure.
“No parties? Well we’ll have to change that! I have parties all the time. You’ll come won’t you? Won’t you? Won’t you?” Pinkie Pie replied, getting even closer every time she did.
“He’ll come to one of your parties Pinkie Pie, I promise. But for now we have to talk to Twilight about something okay?” Rainbow Dash said. Pinkie Pie looked across at her and Star Shine mouthed a silent thanks when Pinkie wasn’t looking at him. Pinkie climbed down from Star Shine and walked towards the door, dragging her Welcome Wagon with her.
“Well thank you for the welcome Miss Pinkie Pie, and I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” Star Shine said, waving goodbye to her.
“Remember, Sugarcube Corner. Come by any time you want and we’ll make cakes, play games, talk, whatever you want.” Pinkie Pie said.
“I will, I promise.” Star Shine replied.
“Pinkie Pie Promise?” Pinkie replied. Rainbow Dash hopped over to Star Shine and whispered something in his ear. He looked at her nervously and she nodded at him.
“It’s the only way to get her to go, but you have to mean this. If you say this to her then you HAVE to go visit her sometime.” Rainbow Dash whispered in Star Shine’s ear. Pinkie Pie was still staring at him expectantly. Star Shine sighed and sat on his haunches so he could freely move his foreleg.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Star Shine said, doing the motions that Rainbow Dash had just taught him. It was good enough for Pinkie who smiled at him before taking her leave at last while singing a random song about finding a new friend and making cakes.
“...Is she always that...close?” Star Shine asked nervously when Pinkie Pie had left and Rainbow Dash had stopped laughing. Both of those had taken a little longer than Star Shine wanted.
“Yeah she doesn’t really care much for personal space.” Twilight replied on behalf of Rainbow Dash who would continue to laugh shortly after stopping. Every time she stopped laughing she remembered Star Shine cowering on the floor and it set her off again.
“Oh...good.” Star Shine said simply. He didn’t find Pinkie Pie to be too bad overall, especially given her ability to bake cakes. He just had one mare on his mind right now and didn’t need another to add to the confusion he was already feeling.
“You thought she was interested in you? Oh please. Not every mare you meet is going want you.” Rainbow Dash teased, rolling her eyes.
“I can think of one.” Star Shine replied, smiling and causing Rainbow Dash’s cheeks to burn a little. “And I happen to be very interested in her myself.” he added. He smiled wider as Rainbow Dash’s cheeks burned a darker shade of red. Twilight looked between the two in confusion as there was clearly information she didn’t have. She was about to open her mouth to ask for clarification when Rainbow Dash spoke up suddenly.
“Well anyway, we’re here to get the brace charged and tell Twilight about it right?” Rainbow Dash said as she headed over to a table. Star Shine nodded and moved next to her and Twilight moved to the opposite side of Rainbow Dash. All three sat on their haunches and Star Shine pulled the brace out of his saddlebags, surprisingly still attached to his back after all of Pinkie’s antics, and placed it on the table. Rainbow Dash and Twilight scrutinized it while Star Shine averted his gaze from it.
“So what can you tell me about it?” Twilight asked Star Shine.
“Yeah you told me only you could get Scoots to fly but wouldn’t tell me what you meant.” Rainbow Dash added. Star Shine sighed and looked at the table as if it was the most interesting thing in Equestria to him at that moment.
“There are things I’ve never told you Rainbow. I have a lot more in common with Scootaloo than you think. Than she thinks even.” Star Shine said quietly. Rainbow Dash wrapped a foreleg around him. It was clear he was already troubled. Star Shine leaned into Rainbow Dash and smiled up at her. “You remember that time you asked me out and I said no and you-” he began before Rainbow Dash crammed a hoof into his mouth so he didn’t recount how she had ran off crying to Twilight. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the pair.
“She asked you out? On a date?” Twilight asked. The pair had seemed close but as far as she was aware they weren’t actually a couple.
“Yes it was a long time ago and as you heard he said no. I got over it and we became friends. I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” Rainbow Dash replied for Star Shine, who still had a hoof in his mouth. He was used to putting his own hoof in his mouth. This was a whole other experience entirely. Rainbow Dash took her hoof out of his mouth and let him speak again.
“I assure you it’s relevant.” Star Shine said. “I feel it’s time I gave you an explanation and it will get something out.” he clarified. “You see, the reason I said no wasn’t because I wasn’t interested. Who wouldn’t be interested in you? Especially somepony who had become as close to you as I had.” Star Shine said and Rainbow Dash started blushing again.
“Get on with it, this is embarrassing.” Rainbow Dash said, tapping Star Shine on the back.
“Oh. Sorry.” Star Shine replied sheepishly. “Well the reason I said no is because there were some things I didn’t want to tell you. Things like how come you never met my parents, or why you never even saw my house. I never had a house when we knew eachother. I lived in an orphanage back then and I just never wanted you to know. The longer you went without knowing the less you had to know, and so it just never came up even when we got older.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash gently stroked his back and nuzzled up to him.
“I had an idea given what Scootaloo said that time in the bath. She never said anything specific though.” Rainbow Dash said softly, sadly even. Twilight chose to watch the display and allow everything to unfold. She had learned enough about friendship to know that there were times when she should just allow two ponies to do everything on their own and not be interrupted.
“Well she doesn’t know everything herself. Remember when you asked me what I did to her? I told her I was an orphan. I didn’t mind telling her because she’s one herself and knows what it’s like.” Star Shine replied. That caught Twilight’s attention. She wasn’t aware that Scootaloo was an orphan. She resolved to continue to keep her silence.
“So why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you...don’t you trust me?” Rainbow Dash asked softly, afraid of the answer. She couldn’t see any other reason for Star Shine to not tell her.
“It’s not that at all!” Star Shine was quick to reassure her, pressing himself tighter against her. “I trust you most of all. I really wanted to tell you back then but I was afraid.” he explained.
“Afraid? Afraid of what?”
“I thought you might treat me differently or pity me. I wanted you to like me for who I was and not what I was. Scootaloo wants the same and that’s why she never told anypony either until it became too much for her. I never reached that point thanks to you.” Star Shine said, smiling up at Rainbow Dash.
“Of course I like you silly or I never would have asked you out back then.” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling herself.
“I know I’m a very silly pony and I’m sorry I never told you before.” Star Shine said, nuzzling Rainbow Dash’s cheek. Rainbow Dash returned the nuzzle and patted him on a foreleg.
“Don’t worry about it, but now you have to tell me what all that has to do with your brace.” Rainbow Dash said. “Poor Twilight has been sat there far too long.” she added, giggling as she looked across at Twilight who was sat very very still. She had been distracting herself with a lot of thinking and snapped back to reality as Rainbow Dash looked at her.
“What it has to do with the brace,” Star Shine started, standing up dramatically, “is that unlike Scootaloo I wasn’t abandoned. My parents loved me deeply and actually they’re the ones who made it.” he explained.
“Your parents?” Twilight asked.
“Mmhmm. Another thing I have in common with Scoots is my parentage. Like her, I had a Unicorn for a mother a and a Pegasus for a father. This brace is as much a combination of Pegasus and Unicorn as I am.” Star Shine explained.
“Sorry to take the conversation back a few steps Star but what happened to your parents? How come you came to Flight Camp so late?” Rainbow Dash asked suddenly as not one, but two thoughts occurred to her. Part of her was surprised she had never bothered to ask Star Shine why he was a few years older than her when he came into Flight Camp the same year she did.
“Well I’ll answer the second one first. They’re kinda tied together.” Star Shine replied. “I was late joining Flight Camp because my parents didn’t want me to go. What happened to them was a tragic accident and I...I can’t talk about it.” Star Shine said dejectedly, looking at the floor again. Rainbow Dash hopped over to him and rested her head against his.
“Don’t worry, nopony is going to make you talk about anything you don’t want to.” Rainbow Dash reassured him.
“I couldn’t fly.” Star Shine admitted suddenly. Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at him in shock and the gears started turning in Twilight’s head as suddenly a lot of pieces began to fall into place for her. “My parents...fell...and I chased after them, not caring I couldn’t fly. I didn’t make it in time but I gained the ability to fly. My parents kept me out of Flight Camp because I couldn’t fly but with them...gone, and with me able to fly, the orphanage didn’t see a reason for me to not go and sent me in. Nopony really questioned anything.” Star Shine explained. He knew it sounded odd for him to say he suddenly gained the ability to fly and there was more to it than that but it was too painful a memory for him to relive at the minute.
“So does that mean you had…” Twilight mused aloud as the last piece fell into place for her.
“Yep. I had Vacuus Medeis and I overcame it, just like I know Scootaloo can. I just hope it’s not such a Trial By Fire for her.” Star Shine replied, sighing as all the truth was out there at last.
“I’m sorry Star, I had no idea.” Rainbow Dash said, hugging him tight. Star Shine returned the hug and stroked Rainbow Dash’s mane.
“Don’t worry Rainbow. The only reason you didn’t know is because I didn’t tell you. Even if you can imagine how pitiful a young foal felt at being an orphan who couldn’t fly was, you can’t begin to imagine how Scootaloo must feel. She’s a fully grown filly who was an orphan BECAUSE she couldn’t fly, and still can’t. To her, nopony must ever know that about her.” Star Shine said, offering a reason for some of Scootaloo’s behaviour. “Umm...if Scootaloo asks, you didn’t hear that from us.” Star Shine said to Twilight as he remembered that he and Rainbow Dash weren’t alone. Twilight smiled and zipped her mouth shut.
“So what’s so special about the brace? What exactly does it do? You said you couldn’t fly until after what happened to your parents so...did their experiments fails?” Twilight asked very carefully, not wanting to upset Star Shine by mentioning his parents again and suggesting they might have failed at something.
“That? That’s a whole other story. I just had to preface it. As for the brace, well it’s not strictly true I couldn’t fly. When my parents realised I couldn’t fly they poured themselves into research. They learned everything they could about Vacuus Medeis and also about the ways Pegasi fly. Even about the ways that non-Pegasi could walk on clouds and fly themselves. To put it simply the brace is an amalgamation of the Cloud Walking spell and the Gossamer Wings spell. It runs on magic and it’s also not strictly true it needs magic to work. It’s just that it needs magic to do everything it’s capable of. It coats Pegasus wings and hooves in magic, simulating how they work in nature. It also uses magic to forcibly increase wingpower. It’s why Scootaloo’s wingpower has increased so dramatically in such a short amount of time.” Star Shine explained. Twilight and Rainbow Dash soaked up all the information.
“So why was Scootaloo tired when she finished practice? Then she was fine the next day after the same amount of practice.” Rainbow Dash asked.
“That’s because this thing basically simulates Pegasus magic. I already explained to you that Pegasi use magic, and one way they use it is to endure wind resistance and the extreme g-forces they would get hit by when flying.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash looked lost. “Are you keeping up with all this, Miss Sparkle?” Star Shine asked Twilight. She nodded at him.
“I think so.” She replied.
“Wind resistance? You mean what stopped me doing a Rainboom? When I flew that fast it was like the air itself was stopping me, and I even got catapulted back a few times.” Rainbow Dash said, thinking about the problem. She didn’t know all the ins and outs of flight because the idea to learn it hadn’t occurred to her. Everything had just felt so natural.
“Yes that’s a very good example.” Star Shine replied, sighing with relief that he wouldn’t have to try and explain it. “Pegasi use magic to overcome that. Not everypony can fly at those intense speeds and certainly not one who can’t fly properly like Scootaloo. Her body couldn’t hold itself in place long enough for her to take off with you moving so quickly. She used up a lot of energy just keeping herself on your back and the brace responded by just pumping more magic into her to help her cope. It tired her out more and probably helped cause the brace to run out of magic so quickly. When it’s fully charged and when she’s careful it can last up to a month.” Star Shine explained.
“From what I understand,” Twilight piped up, “Vacuus Medeis prevents Pegasus magic from spreading across their body, most notably their wings. They need magic on their wings to fly, so it means they also can’t fly. But you’re saying this coats them in magic and, as it is attached to the wing, I’m guessing a majority of it goes there.” Twilight said as Star Shine nodded along. “So that would mean that no matter what, any Pegasus who wore this would be able to fly, right?” she asked, voicing a conclusion she had come to.
“That’s right yes. It’s how I flew before and what I meant when I said I’m probably the only one who can make Scootaloo fly.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up and she grabbed him in another tight hug.
“No matter what?” she asked, nervous and excited at the prospect of Scootaloo being able to fly.
“No matter what.” Star Shine replied, nodding down at her. “It’s not the same as actual flight, and it’ll feel off to her, but she’ll be able to fly until she overcomes it.”
“How would she overcome it though? How exactly did you beat it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“To be honest I’m not exactly sure how. My parents left me everything they had which included all their research. I looked over it myself and from what I can gather, it takes a moment of pure unadulterated determination. A will to fly so bad that it pushes through anything. You must have felt it when you performed a Rainboom.” Star Shine replied.
“What could cause something like that?” Twilight asked.
“I’m not sure. Right now I’m still not even sure she’s got Vacuus Medeis in the first place. Actually I do have a little test for it.” Star Shine said. “When you charge it up, could you do what you did last time? Just charge it up for about a week or so?” Star Shine asked Twilight.
“Yeah I can do that.” Twilight replied.
“Why though?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She’ll have 0.1 wingpower soon enough, probably in the next few days, and then she’ll be flying. If the brace runs out of magic when she can fly then we’ll know for sure if she can fly without it.” Star Shine explained.
“Will that be safe? I don’t want her to fall out the sky.” Rainbow Dash replied, worried about Scootaloo.
“I know you won’t let that happen, and if you get worried then fly around the manor so that should something happen, she’ll land on the clouds if something goes wrong.” Star Shine explained.
“Is there no other way to test her? What about that magic measuring thing you borrowed?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wasn’t entirely convinced that Scootaloo would still be safe.
“I’m afraid that won’t work anymore. She’s been using the brace so much that she has enough magic even without the brace on. It just won’t renew itself. We can have her not wear the brace for a few days but that’s quite a wait.” Star Shine replied. “Can we please just do this my way?” he pleaded. Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation.
“Okay, let’s get this over with. It’s getting late and I still haven’t had anything to eat yet.” Rainbow Dash replied, smiling weakly. Star Shine nodded at Twilight who took the brace in her magical grip and began infusing it with magic.
While Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were spending their lunchtime with Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, Scootaloo was spending hers with her fellow Crusaders and working up the courage to ask Diamond Tiara to go on a Crusade with them some time. She slapped herself on the cheeks to psych herself up and walked over to Diamond Tiara who was, as usual, with Silver Spoon.
“Hey Diamond Tiara, could I talk to you for a second?” Scootaloo asked nervously. She decided to just get it over with and out of the way. Diamond Tiara looked across at her and smiled. Scootaloo might have been willing to let bygones be bygones but that smile still made her uneasy.
“Actually I was just about to ask you that myself.” Diamond Tiara replied. Scootaloo was more than a little surprised.
“You wanted to talk to me?” she asked. Diamond Tiara nodded and stood up. She started walking towards the school and after a few steps turned around and motioned for Scootaloo to follow her.
“It’s something a bit personal, so can you come with me so we can talk in private?” Diamond Tiara asked nervously. Scootaloo was worried about being alone with Diamond Tiara but followed along out of curiosity and to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she wanted to show Diamond Tiara she was welcome then she could hardly show a lack of trust now. Diamond Tiara walked a little further. When she stopped Scootaloo looked back to where they were and saw that Silver Spoon had gone across to the rest of the Crusaders. They were watching Scootaloo and Diamond tiara carefully. They were out of earshot but not out of sight.
“So what’s the matter?” Scootaloo asked as herself and Diamond Tiara sat down next to the school building.
“Well first off I was just wondering why Star Shine came with you to school. I thought he only picked you up didn’t he?” Diamond Tiara asked. She was playing with her forelegs sheepishly and when it came to Star Shine she didn’t have to entirely fake that. She hadn’t really talked to him but their small meeting had more of an effect on her than she liked to think about.
“Oh, yeah he usually only picks me up now. He’s been teaching a foal up in Canterlot and he leaves early in the morning. He had to go see Twilight today though so he left later.” Scootaloo explained. She peered into the classroom they were sat by to look at the clock. “He’s probably with Twilight right now.” she added when she saw the time.
“So when will he be back?” Diamond Tiara asked as Scootaloo lowered herself back ont the ground. Scootaloo raised her shoulders in a very small shrug.
“I don’t know actually. He’ll be staying up there all day until we meet him later.” Scootaloo replied. Diamond Tiara’s eyes lit up a little.
“You’re going to Canterlot? What for?” Diamond Tiara asked. She had to hear the information from Scootaloo even though she knew the answer. It would raise suspicion if she knew something she shouldn’t.
“Oh right I never told you.” Scootaloo replied nervously. “I’m going to Canterlot to have dinner with Rainbow Dash and Star Shine.” she added.
“Ooh, like a family meal?” Diamond Tiara asked merrily. Scootaloo giggled and buried her face in her hooves.
“It’s not like that really…” Scootaloo said, slightly embarrassed. She had began to feel about it like that. She was still slightly embarrassed to think about it like that and wasn’t sure how Star Shine or Rainbow Dash would react if they knew that’s how she felt.
“Oh don’t worry, I know it’s NOTHING like that.” Diamond Tiara replied, grinning. Her voice sounded off to Scootaloo and that got her attention. For the past week Diamond Tiara had been speaking in such a simpering and sweet manner and this time she was back to how she used to sound. She said “nothing” so sardonically and stressed it so much it unnerved Scootaloo.
“What...what do you mean?” Scootaloo asked. She wanted to back away slowly. She almost did before she caught herself. She was getting scared and didn’t realise how just a tone of voice could do that.
“Tell me something, you’re going to Canterlot no matter what, right?” Diamond Tiara asked, still grinning. Scootaloo realised what it was about that grin that unnerved her. It was the smile Diamond Tiara wore when she was teasing her and the other Crusaders.
“I guess so...we can’t leave Star Shine there alone…” Scootaloo replied. She gulped as Diamond Tiara advanced on her.
“Good...good. If that’s the case then there’s something I have to tell you.” Diamond Tiara said. Scootaloo was practically cowering on the ground at this point. “I KNOW this is going to be nothing like a family meal. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine are nothing like your family and they never will be. I know about your real family. I’ve met your dad actually. Away on business? I didn’t realise he owned a bar. He spends enough time in one and gives them enough money he might as well be. The pathetic drunk couldn’t handle losing your mother, just like you couldn’t handle losing them. You might think that you have something nice with Rainbow and Star Shine but you don’t. Your parents didn’t want you and neither do they. You don’t think Star Shine actually likes you do you? He’s going to leave as soon as you fly. Oh that’s right, I know you can’t fly. If you’re going to shout it out for the whole school to hear then I’m going to hear. You’re nothing but a broken down, useless, worthless little chic-” Diamond Tiara didn’t get a chance to finish what she was saying. At first Scootaloo was scared about what Diamond Tiara might have said. The more Diamond Tiara talked the less afraid Scootaloo got and the angrier she became. As soon as Diamond Tiara began to say the word “chicken” Scootaloo lost it and pounced on her. Diamond Tiara found herself flat on her back with Scootaloo over her, glaring at her and panting through gritted teeth. Far from being afraid, Diamond Tiara was still smirking. “Hit me. I dare you to hit me you chicken. Come on, do it. I know you want to.” Diamond Tiara said before making chicken noises at Scootaloo. Scootaloo wanted to let it slide and rise above it but that was the last straw. She totally lost control. She didn’t even see Diamond Tiara in front of her anymore and saw instead the laughing face of her father and she gave in to the taunts. She brought her hoof down and struck Diamond Tiara in the face.
“SCOOTALOO! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT!” shrieked a voice from across the playground that brought Scootaloo back to her senses. Scootaloo looked down and saw that Diamond Tiara was no longer laughing or taunting her but instead was crying as blood trickled down her face from her nose. Scootaloo looked around and saw that the eyes of everypony on the playground were on her and Cheerilee was marching towards her and she did not look happy. Silver Spoon and the Crusaders hadn’t been able to hear what was said between Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara and all they really saw was Scootaloo jump on top of her. As soon as that happened they ran off to get Cheerilee. They thought something might happen but nopony actually thought Scootaloo would strike Diamond Tiara like that. Silver Spoon ran past Cheerilee to Diamond Tiara as Scootaloo approached Cheerliee slowly with her head to the ground. She was in more trouble than she had ever been in before and knew it. Rainbow Dash would cancel the dinner, Star Shine would be so mad at her he’d probably leave before she could fly, and he’d just leave and never come back with nothing keeping him in Ponyville. Even if Rainbow Dash chose to stay with Scootaloo Star Shine would probably not want to stay with Rainbow Dash anymore with such a violent filly there too. Scootaloo would be in the way. She’d be a burden. Just like she was before. Just like she knew she always had been.
“Are you okay?” Silver Spoon asked worriedly, checking Diamond Tiara for any more injuries other than her fairly obvious bloody nose.
“I’m better than okay. That was perfect.” Diamond Tiara replied quietly. She didn’t want Cheerilee to hear after everything that had just happened. Diamond Tiara managed to smile despite the pain she was in.
“You wanted her to-” Silver Spoon began before Diamond Tiara put a hoof on her muzzle and shook her head, silencing her. She didn’t want Silver Spoon to ruin everything either. She also wanted to hear Cheerilee telling Scootaloo off.
“My office. Now.” was all Cheerilee said when Scootaloo reached her. As Scootaloo made her way inside the school Cheerilee made her way over to Diamond Tiara. “Are you okay?” she asked, checking Diamond Tiara over much the same way that Silver Spoon had.
“I will be Miss Cheerilee. I don’t know what happened. I thought..I thought...I thought she liked me now.” Diamond Tiara replied, tearing up and crying fully as she finished.
“It’ll be alright.” Cheerilee replied soothingly, nuzzling Diamond Tiara and helping her back to her hooves. “Can you take care of her while I talk to Scootaloo?” Cheerilee asked Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon nodded and Diamond Tiara leaned against her for extra support and sympathy. “Try and enjoy the rest of your lunch break girls.” Cheerilee said before turning around and heading into the school.
“We will Miss Cheerilee.” Diamond Tiara called out sweetly. “And thank you for stopping her before she really hurt me.” she added for good measure. As soon as Cheerilee entered the school and closed the door behind her everypony on the playground gathered around Diamond Tiara and started talking. “Thank you for your concern everypony but I want to just spend some time on my own right now. I’ll tell you everything soon, but right now I want to be on my own.” Diamond Tiara said, raising her voice to be heard. Diamond Tiara limped off with Silver Spoon next to her. The crowd parted to let her through and they watched her in silence. When she was a short distance away they all started talking amongst themselves. Diamond Tiara smiled as snippets of conversation reached her ears. Everything was falling into place perfectly. Even if she couldn’t get into Rainbow Dash’s house, and even if Rainbow Dash did cancel the trip to Canterlot, Diamond Tiara had more than enough on Scootaloo to do something with. The entire school had seen Scootaloo attack her. There was no way out of this for Scootaloo.
Cheerilee walked into her office and Scootaloo was sat in the chair in front of her desk, fidgeting nervously. Her train of thoughts about not staying with Rainbow Dash or seeing Star Shine anymore hadn’t stopped. She told Diamond Tiara that they would be going to Canterlot no matter what because they couldn’t leave Star Shine there but over time darker thoughts had occurred to her. Some of the things Rainbow dash and Star Shine had said to her came back to her and so did something Diamond Tiara said. She said that he would be leaving as soon as Scootaloo could fly. Diamond Tiara didn’t know that, and couldn’t know that, but it served it’s purpose. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash had said themselves that Star Shine never settled down because he was moving all the time. He said to her that he doesn’t live with clients and will generally live in a nearby hotel. Given how early Star Shine would leave in the morning and how tired he was when he got home, Scootaloo was aware that Rainbow Dash’s house was far from nearby. Maybe he was just staying with Rainbow Dash until Scootaloo could fly and then he would be leaving. She wanted to fly and she used to think that she would give anything for it. Now she wasn’t so sure about that. Cheerilee sat at her desk and cleared her throat and Scootaloo jumped as she was snapped out of her thoughts.
“I’m really shocked and surprised Scootaloo. I thought things were getting better between you two. We even had that conversation earlier and now this.” Cheerilee said. She was clearly extremely disappointed. Scootaloo was still staring down at the ground.
“I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee. I don’t even know what happened.” Scootaloo replied. It wasn’t too far from the truth. She had lost control and when she came to properly Diamond Tiara was bleeding.
“It doesn’t matter how sorry you are, or what happened. No matter what she said or did to you, you shouldn’t have hit her. There are no excuses for that.” Cheerilee replied flatly.
“I...I...I don’t have anything to say.” Scootaloo replied sadly. She knew there was no way to talk her way out of this. Diamond Tiara had taunted her and brought up her family. Scootaloo might have been able to talk her way out of it a little if she had told Cheerilee everything but she didn’t want to. She would rather take her punishment than do that, especially if Cheerilee really thought there would be no excuses. Maybe she could still tell Rainbow Dash the full story and not get in as much trouble with her.
“It pains me to say this Scootaloo, especially given how happy you’ve been lately, but I’ve got no choice. The rules are very clear on this.” Cheerilee began. Scootaloo gulped. She knew the school rules well and knew what her punishment would be. She prayed Rainbow Dash would be understanding. “Any violence, no matter the motivation, results in a suspension.” Cheerilee said flatly. Scootaloo started crying softly. There was no way Rainbow Dash would still be understanding after she got suspended. “I’m also going to have to talk to your parents. Where can I reach them?” Cheerilee asked.
“I’m...I...I’m still living with Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo said between sniffles.
“How much longer will that be for?” Cheerilee asked.
“I don’t know.” Scootaloo replied.
“Well I’d rather talk to your parents, but Rainbow Dash will do. She’s at work right now isn’t she?” Cheerilee asked. Scootaloo nodded. Rainbow Dash might have still been on her lunch break but Scootaloo wanted to delay the inevitable and didn’t want to interrupt the meeting with Twilight. “That means you have to stay here until the end of the day when she’s free. I don’t want to pull her out of work and I’d be unable to teach class anyway if I’m dealing with this. You can’t go back in the class though and you’ll have to stay here. Are you going to be okay in here?” Cheerilee asked. Scootaloo nodded slowly. She was used to spending time on her own and part of her was worried she’d have to get used to it again anyway. Cheerilee got up from her seat and moved towards the classroom. She stopped by Scootaloo as she passed her. “I’m sorry this happened Scootaloo. I was really happy for you this morning and now everything’s ended up like this.” Cheerilee said sadly before she left the room, leaving Scootaloo alone with her thoughts. After even just a few minutes of it Scootaloo was beginning to wish she had interrupted Rainbow Dash’s work day and got it all over with.
--- “Thank you for everything Miss Sparkle.” Star Shine said as he and Rainbow Dash left the library. Twilight had charged the brace to Star Shine’s specifications and, after getting the answers she was after, was quite happy to let the pair of Pegasi leave.
“That’s quite alright Star Shine. Please call me Twilight too.” Twilight replied.
“I guess I’ll see you later then, Twilight.” Star Shine said, smiling. Twilight smiled back and used her magic to open his saddlebags and put the brace in them.
“Thanks for this Twiley.” Rainbow Dash said herself, giving Twilight a hug.
“No worries, now get going if you still want to get something to eat. I’d offer you something but Spike is with Rarity and I don’t have any food in anyway. I’m...distractible.” Twilight replied, a small blush forming at her cheeks at how dependent she could be sometimes.
“I couldn’t really stay for lunch anyway. I need to go to Rarity’s actually to get my suit for tonight.” Star Shine said.
“Oh right, the dinner in Canterlot is tonight isn’t it?” Twilight asked, smiling. She could tell she had said something she shouldn’t as soon as she saw the looks of surprise on Rainbow Dash and Star Shine’s faces.
“Yeah, but how’d you know about that? The only one who knows really is...Rarity.” Rainbow Dash said, pausing as the realisation came to her. Rarity must have said something.
“Rarity may have told me yes, but she only told us.” Twilight said, quick to defend Rarity and stop Rainbow getting the wrong idea.
“Us? Who’s ‘us’?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was slightly annoyed. Twilight’s plan wasn’t really working as well as she hoped it would.
“I mean myself, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. She’s probably told Spike too by now. She learned from what happened with that Gabby Gums column won’t tell anypony she doesn’t trust anything to do with you.” Twilight explained. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s okay really.” Rainbow Dash said. “I probably should have told you myself really.” she added nervously.
“Don’t worry about it Rainbow, but do get on your way. All three of us have things we’ve got to get done really.” Twilight reassured her. “I’ll see you guys later.” she added and walked back into the library. She would have closed the door but thought closing the door in their faces might have given them the wrong idea. She wasn’t trying to get rid of them and was just trying to give them enough time to get on with their business.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you later too then.” Star Shine said to Rainbow Dash.
“Do you want to get something to eat?” Rainbow Dash asked so quickly Star Shine almost didn’t catch the question.
“I would but I have to get going as soon as I have my suit. I’ve got to drop the brace off at the house and get straight on the train. I’ll have to eat something on the train.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash looked disappointed by his answer. Star Shine hopped over to her and picked her head up with a nuzzle. “Don’t be so down, we’re going to eat together at Canterlot later, remember?” he said to reassure her. Rainbow Dash gave out a small giggle and returned the nuzzle.
“I guess. I’ll see you later then.” Rainbow Dash said. Star Shine smiled and gave Rainbow Dash a quick kiss on the cheek and flew off before Rainbow Dash could react. Rainbow Dash giggled a little more before finding somewhere to eat. Twilight smiled at the display. She didn’t mean to watch but if they were going to act like that in front of her door she was going to see it.
Star Shine made his way to the Boutique and managed to bring his cheeks under control before he entered it. He was blushing pretty hard himself at suddenly kissing Rainbow Dash. He still wasn’t sure why he did it. Rainbow Dash looked really disappointed and he thought it might make her smile. It had definitely done that at least. Besides, it was just a friendly little kiss on the cheek. There was no need to overthink it.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is chic, unique and magnifique.” Rarity trilled as the bell above the entrance rang when Star Shine walked through the door. “Oh it’s you. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Rarity beamed when she saw who it was. Spike poked his head out from a backroom to see who it was who had made Rarity so excited and went back to his work when he saw who it was. Like Twilight suspected Spike was informed about who Star Shine was. He wasn’t so jealous of him making Rarity excited because as far as he was aware or concerned Star Shine liked Rainbow Dash and Rarity wasn’t interested in him in that way.
“Heya Rarity, I’m here to pick up my suit for tonight.” Star Shine said, smiling at Rarity.
“Now? You want to pick it up now?” Rarity said, stammering a little with nerves.
“Yeah I have to go to Canterlot now, but don’t worry I’ll make sure it stays pressed and I won’t ruin it or anything.” Star Shine reassured her.
“It’s not that I’m worried about dear.” Rarity replied, pulling the suit out of the backroom with her magic. It was perfectly preserved in a clear bag attached to a clothes hanger. Star Shine unfurled his wings and Rarity placed the suit on his back.
“So what’s the problem?” Star Shine asked. He wasn’t entirely sure there was one. It certainly seemed that way to him though.
“It’s...well...I don’t know if I should tell you this but Rainbow Dash asked me to style your mane. She liked it when it was slicked back when you tried the suit on.” Rarity explained nervously.
“She...liked that?” Star Shine asked. The blush he had tried hard to repress was coming back again. Rarity nodded at him. “There’s no need to worry about anything. I can do that myself. Actually I might be able to do even better.” Star Shine said, thinking. He was well versed in smartening himself up to meet parents. The same could be applied to dates. Or meals with friends, he was quick to remind himself. In his own words a date would have just been the two of them. “I do want this to be as special and memorable as it can be after all.” he added wistfully.
“Why’s that?” Rarity asked.
“It’s the last chance for all three of us to spend some time together properly before I leave.” Star Shine said, sounding forlorn.
“You’re...leaving?” Rarity asked, sounding just as sad herself.
“It’s not permanent, but I’ll be moving to Canterlot soon for about a month. Like I said this is my last chance to really spend time with the two of them.” Star Shine replied. “I’d like to stay and chat but I’ve got a train to catch. Thanks for the suit, I’ll see you around.” Star Shine said, heading for the exit. He’d managed to depress himself a little with the reminder he’d be leaving all this behind soon. Rarity ran up behind him and gave him a quick nuzzle.
“I’m going to miss you.” she said quietly.
“I’m gonna miss you too.” Star Shine replied. He took off into the air, leaving behind a suddenly quite sad Rarity.
“Spike darling come and take a letter for me.” Rarity called to Spike in the back. He appeared almost instantly with a quill and a piece of parchment. “Four letters actually…” Rarity added. Spike disappeared and reappeared again with three more pieces of parchment. “Be a good little dragon and send a letter to all of our friends, except Rainbow Dash of course, telling them that the plan is off. We simply can’t go to Canterlot and we need to let them have their time alone. We can’t risk anything spoiling this for them, including us.” Rarity said, explaining the letters she needed written. Spike wrote down what Rarity told him to and then copied it to each piece of parchment and sent all four pieces off to Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Rarity had wanted to watch the evening unfold and had managed to convince her friends to join her but was now convinced it would be a bad idea.
“I hope things do go well for them.” Spike said after he sent the last letter.
“Me too darling. For now let’s get back to work. When Rainbow Dash comes by later we can make her look the most spectacular she’s ever looked.” Rarity said, heading into the backroom. Her mind was racing with all the different ways she could think to style Rainbow Dash’s mane and tail.
After what felt like forever, but was only a few hours in reality, Scootaloo finally heard the bell signalling the end of the school day. Cheerilee had come into the office at the beginning of each lesson to give her some work but for the most part she had been left alone with her thoughts. Cheerilee probably wanted Scootaloo to think about what she had done. She was too busy thinking about the consequences. She had contemplated diving out the window and running away but there was nowhere for her to run to. She felt there was nothing for her to do but wait it out and face the music. Scootaloo heard the shuffling of chairs and muffled chatter as her classmates left the school. She wondered how many of them were talking about her. Probably all of them. If she couldn’t get out of being suspended for a week then there was no telling what their opinion of her would be like when she got back. If, indeed, it could be any worse than it already was. Amidst all the scuffling and chatter Scootaloo heard the door open and Cheerilee poked her head into the room.
“I’m going to go get Rainbow Dash, you stay in here.” Cheerilee said. “You two go home already.” she added, turning to face Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The pair had tried to stay behind to talk to Scootaloo again. They sighed and left the school with Cheerilee behind them to make sure they did actually leave. Scootaloo thought about the impending meeting and couldn’t help but start crying again.
Outside the school Cheerilee watched as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran to their respective guardians and made her way across to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash was fidgeting almost as much as Scootaloo had. Seeing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom without Scootaloo had unnerved her enough without adding Cheerliee coming out to talk to her.
“Hi Cheerilee, where’s Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked merrily to hide her nerves.
“I’m afraid there’s been an...incident. Scootaloo is in my office and I need to talk to you there.” Cheerilee replied. “Follow me please.” she added, heading back into the school. Rainbow Dash followed her into her office. Scootaloo looked up and smiled when she saw who came into the office. It fell again soon after when she thought about what was coming. Rainbow Dash was even more unnerved after seeing Scootaloo’s behaviour. It seemed that no matter how depressed Scootaloo had been in the past, just seeing Rainbow Dash had put a smile on her face. It had here too, but only for a second. Rainbow Dash sat down next to Scootaloo placed a wing around her. Scootaloo leaned into the wing and started crying again.
“Please tell me what’s happened, I hate seeing her this upset.” Rainbow Dash practically pleaded with Cheerilee.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, it’s just you never know who might be listening and this is a matter I wanted dealt with privately.” Cheerilee replied. “Scootaloo got into a fight today and as a result she’s suspended for a week.” she said. Scootaloo braved looking up at Rainbow Dash to see how she reacted. She seemed to be surprised more than anything.
“A fight? When? Who?” Rainbow Dash replied hurriedly. She thought she might already know the answers and one of them was something she would hate to hear.
“It happened at lunch time. She jumped on Diamond Tiara and hit her in the face.” Cheerilee replied. Rainbow Dash’s face fell.
“Lunch time...I should have been there...I thought she’d be okay...I felt silly for worrying so much…” Rainbow Dash said quietly to herself. She was going to punish herself for this one. Probably more than she would actually punish Scootaloo. Scootaloo was looking at her wide eyed. Cheerilee couldn’t really hear what Rainbow Dash was saying but Scootaloo could.
“In any case,” Cheerilee said, bringing Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts. “I hope you can understand why she’s suspended. No matter the reason, violence isn’t tolerated.”
“Yeah I can see that. In Flight Camp we settled things with races instead of fighting. The fastest was seen as the strongest.” Rainbow Dash replied. “‘Course I still got into some scraps here and there.” she added sheepishly. Scootaloo smiled up at her. “One thing I still don’t know is why though. Why’d you do it?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. Scootaloo went back to not smiling and fidgeting nervously.
“I...She...She said some things...Can…Can I tell you later?” Scootaloo replied nervously.
“Sure you can Squirt. As long as Miss Cheerilee doesn’t need to know everything.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“I don’t need to know specifics. It’s enough for me to know it was provoked and not just a random attack.” Cheerilee said. “That’s all I really had to say too. You’re free to go now. I’m sorry it had to come to this Scootaloo. You’re a bright young girl and I hope you come back in the same mood you’ve been these past few days, before all this...unpleasantness.” Cheerilee added. Scootaloo nodded slowly.
“I will Miss Cheerilee.” she said simply.
“Come on then Scoots. Let’s get you put in your dress and then we’ll head out to Canterlot and you can tell me all about what happened.” Rainbow Dash said as she got off her chair and made her way towards the door.
“We’re still going to Canterlot?” Scootaloo replied, containing her excitement in case she had heard wrong or misunderstood. Rainbow Dash nodded and Scootaloo jumped on her and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck in a tight hug and nuzzled against her cheeks. Rainbow Dash lifted a foreleg to support Scootaloo so she didn’t have to squeeze so hard to stay there. “I was so worried you wouldn’t let me go, or wouldn’t let me live with you or..or..” Scootaloo whispered hurriedly into Rainbow Dash’s ear, trying to get out all of her worries and fears now it seemed that none of them would actually come to fruition.
“Whoa Squirt, calm down. You don’t want to get suspended for hitting me now do you?” Rainbow Dash teased, bringing up her other foreleg to gently stroke Scootaloo’s back.
“Is this really something to be joking about?” Cheerilee asked. It seemed to her Rainbow Dash didn’t quite understand the severity of the situation. “She attacked another student!” she added, exasperated.
“Trust me Cheerilee, if it was something she didn’t want to say in front of you I think that spoiled brat deserved it.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling as Scootaloo worked her way around on to Rainbow Dash’s back. Cheerilee looked shocked that somepony could say such a thing. “You saw how Scootaloo was when she was in trouble and look at her now. I’ll accept she needs punishment, I just think a week suspension is enough. Right now, after everything she’s been through, she needs a good time and so do I.” Rainbow Dash added. She felt terrible that she wasn’t there to stop it happening in the first place and was blaming herself for it happening.
“Well it is true she looks a lot different.” Cheerilee said. She couldn’t help but smile at Scootaloo’s antics. Scootaloo had now settled for laying down on Rainbow Dash’s back. “Still, I hope both of you understand she is in trouble.” Cheerilee added, being serious again.
“I know, and she will be punished. Star Shine is way more serious about this stuff than me.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Her flight instructor?” Cheerilee asked, remembering the dark blue colt she had told off for making sudden appearances on the playground. He hardly seemed serious to her. She liked seeing Scootaloo happy but was beginning to feel she was a little spoiled, just in a different way to Diamond Tiara.
“Yeah he’s pretty nice but he deals with kids a lot. To be honest I’m still learning how to handle her and what I should do, but he’s got plenty of experience with it. If I’m not punishing her, it’s because I don’t know how.” Rainbow Dash explained. “You can understand that can’t you?” she asked. She could hardly punish Scootaloo when she felt at fault herself either.
“Yeah I sure can.” Cheerilee replied, smiling at the memories of when she first started teaching. “It took me a while to learn how to properly handle kids, especially the ones who misbehaved. From what I understand Scootaloo was pretty much dropped on you.” Cheerilee said. Scootaloo winced at the poor choice of words. She had literally fallen on Rainbow Dash. “We’re all learning.” Cheerilee added. She was content knowing that Scootaloo hadn’t gotten away with what she had done. She really could understand Rainbow Dash was still learning and she couldn’t hold it against her. It went against her principles as a teacher to blame somepony for not knowing something. “Well anyway, I’ve taken up enough of your time. You need to get going right?” Cheerilee asked. Rainbow Dash nodded and prepared to leave when Scootaloo suddenly jumped off her back and ran in front of Cheerilee.
“I am sorry miss Cheerilee, and I know what I did was wrong. It won’t happen again. I didn’t want it to happen this time but she kept pushing me and pushing me and I just...lost it I guess.” Scootaloo said.
“I know you’re a good girl Scootaloo, and I look forward to seeing you come back happy. Maybe some more time off would do you some good anyway.” Cheerilee replied.
“Maybe.” Rainbow Dash replied as Scootaloo made her way back on to Rainbow Dash’s back. The last time Cheerilee had suggested that she had argued vehemently and actually gotten Diamond Tiara suspended. She didn’t think that was likely to happen this time and part of her thought that maybe a little time off might actually help Scootaloo. “In any case, we really need to get going. I’m sorry all this happened too Cheerilee, and it won’t happen again. It really shouldn’t have happened this time.” she added. Scootaloo waved goodbye to Cheerilee and together she and Rainbow Dash left the office, and left the school.
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were walking to Rarity’s boutique. It was a pretty quiet journey. The only thing either of them wanted to discuss, or actually could discuss, is what happened at the school but Rainbow Dash was still adamant that they wait until they were on the train to Canterlot. It wouldn’t take very long to get to the boutique or the train after that and there wouldn’t be time for a real conversation until then. Trailing behind them and staying out of sight was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“I guess they’re still going out. She looks happy, too happy really.” Diamond Tiara said. Scootaloo was hardly smiling brightly but she also looked far from depressed.
“Is this really worth it? All she did was take your tiara…” Silver Spoon said. She regretted her actions as soon as Diamond Tiara turned around and glared at her. Silver Spoon shied away as Diamond Tiara advanced on her.
“All she did was take my tiara? THAT was all she did?! SHE RUINED MY LIFE! Her and that damn Rainbow Dash humiliated me in the playground and they both humiliated me in the market before they STOLE my tiara, then if that wasn’t enough, they got me suspended from school! You know why my dad is picking me up from school? He never did before. No, now he does it because he wants to keep an eye on me. Even when I’m out I’m tailed by his damn goons. I have no privacy, they ruined my reputation, they ruined my life, and now I’m going to ruin THEM.” Diamond Tiara ranted, breathing heavily with anger. She was also out of breath from barely pausing during her rant. Silver Spoon sighed as two of the “goons” in question came up to them. They were two large stallions who wore full size suit jackets, hats, and glasses. Diamond Tiara had managed to slip away from them to keep an eye on Scootaloo. She didn’t want them to report to her dad that she had been following Scootaloo.
“There you are Miss, we’ve been looking for you.” one of the stallions said.
“Please stop trying to get away.” the other added. The two of them were sweating heavily as their outfits were hardly suited for the sunny weather. Filthy Rich paid well enough for them to deal with some mild discomfort.
“I’m sorry boys, it’s just I had to talk to Silver Spoon about something in private.” Diamond Tiara replied sweetly, tapping Silver Spoon on the back. Silver Spoon was still cowering on the floor. She felt for her friend, she really did, but Diamond Tiara had well and truly lost it. If she wasn’t so afraid of what Diamond Tiara might do to her based on what she had done to Scootaloo, she might have told her dad something herself. She also had faith in Diamond Tiara and believed that she wasn’t really as bad as everypony made her out to be or thought she was. That faith was definitely shaking given her recent antics and especially her latest outburst.
“That’s quite alright miss, but please let us know next time. We’re here for your protection, not to spy on you.” the first stallion said. Diamond Tiara smiled sweetly at them and allowed them to lead her back home. She didn’t believe them for a second when they said they weren’t there to spy on her. That they had even mentioned it as a possibility proved that was what they were there for.
“I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t mean to shout at you. I just...don’t know what to do.” Diamond Tiara said quietly to Silver Spoon, nuzzling up to her briefly. Silver Spoon had been around Diamond Tiara to know that she wasn’t lying and was becoming desperate. It was another reason she had stuck with Diamond Tiara despite how she was behaving.
“You could stop. Just let it go DT.” Silver Spoon replied. To her the answer was obvious.
“That’s the one thing I can’t do.” Diamond Tiara replied. It was much easier said than done.
“Why not? What’s so hard?” Silver Spoon asked. She herself had already stopped feeling enough ill will towards Scootaloo for what had happened. Diamond Tiara had it worse and had gone through a lot more than she had. All Silver Spoon had really gone through was losing her best friend at school for a week.
“Every time I see her happy, or think about her being happy, it just makes me so mad. They did all of that and nothing happened to them!” Diamond Tiara hissed. She was trying not to be heard by her dad’s bodyguards. She saw one of them turn his head around a little, showing he had heard something, and Diamond Tiara was left unable to say any more. They stayed quiet for the rest of the journey back.
--- Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo entered the boutique to Rarity’s usual greeting. As soon as Rarity saw who it was she squealed, which unnerved Rainbow Dash, and jumped over to Rainbow Dash and began pushing her towards a chair.
“What are you doing Rarity? We’re just here for our dresses!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Scootaloo watched with wide eyes until she felt something grab her. She was pulled into the air by Rarity’s magic and dropped into a chair next to the one Rainbow Dash had pushed into.
“I know, but we also need to get you cleaned up a little. Star Shine came by earlier and I’m going to make you look the best I can.” Rarity declared as she pulled two buckets of water over with her magic and dumped them on Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Both of them squealed as the water hit them.
“What the hay Rares?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked as her sodden hair fell down her face.
“Sorry, but I need to wash your hair.” Rarity replied. “Besides you’re later than I expected and it would take too long for you to shower.”
“You could have warned us.” Scootaloo spluttered.
“I know, I know. For now just sit still while I fix up your manes.” Rarity said. She actually didn’t do too much after soaking them. She brushed out Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s manes and tied Rainbow Dash’s back using a hair tie that was studded with seven gems, one for each colour of the rainbow. She left Rainbow Dash’s tail be except for brushing it out. She styled Scootaloo’s mane in a similar manner except the tie had a small star on it instead of rainbow gems. She did place a few of the different coloured gems in Scootaloo’s hair too and, again, brushed out her tail. Rainbow Dash fidgeted a lot as Rarity brushed her coat as well but Rarity didn’t let it stop her. Scootaloo was a lot better behaved and sat still once she got over the shock of the water hitting her. There was a mirror in front of her and she saw what Rarity was doing to her hair and smiled as her hair was tied back. The smile grew and grew as each gem was placed into it. Rarity quickly dried them off, except for their hair so it wasn’t ruined, and then put their dresses on them. When they were done Rainbow Dash looked herself over in the mirror and had to admit that she did like how she looked. All Rarity had done really was brush her hair and tie it back but it seemed to make all the difference in the world. Much like her dress, her makeover had been simple but effective. Scootaloo slowly walked around in circles while looking at the mirror so she could get a good look at her mane and giggled as she saw herself. She thought that the tiara and the gems in her hair might have clashed or been a bit too much but it looked great. Rarity really was a master at using gems for things, whether it be in dress designs or makeovers and everything in between.
“Okay, I admit that I really do love this.” Rainbow Dash admitted, looking down at the ground with a small blush forming on her cheeks. She was always confident but had never really thought of herself as all that pretty. She considered it for too girly for her to care about things like that.
“Yeah, we look great!” Scootaloo added, jumping with delight. Rarity giggled and waited for Scootaloo to calm down. Rainbow Dash smiled at how happy Scootaloo was.
“I’m glad you like it girls. He tells me he’s going to do something special to his own mane too.” Rarity said, winking at Rainbow Dash, who went back to looking at the floor. “When will you be setting off?” she asked. Rainbow Dash looked around for a clock and gasped when she saw what time it was.
“Oh no, we were stuck in the school for too long. We gotta get going now!” Rainbow Dash said quickly. She moved just as quickly, scooping Scootaloo up in her forelegs and flying out the door. She returned a few seconds later, much to the surprise of Rarity and Scootaloo. She quickly whispered something in Rarity’s ear. Rarity smiled and disappeared into the back room and reappeared with a black trilby hat with a length of leather going around the crown. Rarity gave it to Scootaloo to hold and Rainbow Dash headed out the door again. “Thanks for everything Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted back to Rarity who pulled herself together in time to wave goodbye from the door.
“Don’t worry about it darling, but don’t stain those dresses!” Rarity shouted back, smiling at their excitement. She walked back inside the boutique and closed the door. “I wonder why they were stuck at school though.” she said quietly to herself. “Oh well, I guess maybe I’ll find out some other time.” she concluded, smiling to herself as she imagined the trio of Pegasi having fun together in Canterlot and various romantic moments between Star Shine and Rainbow Dash once they had put Scootaloo to bed.
Rainbow Dash flew as quickly as she could to the train station. “What’s the hat for?” Scootaloo asked as she looked it over.
“I’ll tell you in a minute Scoots, we’re almost at the train station.” Rainbow Dash replied as the station came into view. When she landed at the station she went to hand the ticket master some bits but was nodded past the ticket barrier instead and made her way onto the train. When Star Shine had booked the restaurant for her he had also booked advance train tickets for Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. They were pretty recognisable figures in Ponyville, or at least Rainbow Dash was, so she didn’t have to stop and was allowed to just hop on the train. She did so and found a private compartment for herself and Scootaloo to be able to have a private conversation. Rainbow Dash sat down on one end of the table in the compartment and Scootaloo sat down on the other before putting the hat down between them.
“So what’s the hat for?” Scootaloo repeated. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“First things first, tell me about what happened between you and Diamond Tiara.” Rainbow Dash replied, pushing the hat to one side and resting her head on her hooves. Scootaloo sighed and did the same.
“I got really mad and, I don’t really know what happened really. I guess I jumped on her and hit her in the face.” Scootaloo replied quietly. “One second she was saying something and the next I was standing over her and she was bleeding.”
“What could she have said that would be that bad?” Rainbow Dash replied. She was amazed by Scootaloo’s actions.. She didn’t think the little filly had something like that in her.
“She..she knows about my dad. She said she’s met him.” Scootaloo said, expanding further. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
“Your dad? How could she know anything about him?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo shook her head and ran a hoof across the table absentmindedly.
“I don’t know. She was teasing me about how we’re not family and said that he’s a pathetic drunk who spends all his time in a bar.” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash rested her head on the table, looking at Scootaloo on her level.
“What do you care what she thinks about your dad? I thought you wouldn’t care about him given...you know.” Rainbow Dash asked. What Scootaloo’s dad had done still made her uncomfortable and she knew it definitely made Scootaloo uncomfortable. There was no need to ever mention it properly again.
“Oh no no, I don’t really care about him.” Scootaloo replied hurriedly. “It was what she said about me an you being nothing like family, and what she said after that…” she added, looking away and out the window. She was looking for something, anything, to talk about other than what Diamond Tiara had said. She didn’t want one of her worst fears confirmed.
“What did she say after that Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked worriedly. She reached her forelegs out and rested her hooves against Scootaloo’s. Scootaloo smiled at the gesture.
“She...she said that Star Shine doesn’t care about me, and that he’s going to leave as soon as I can fly.” Scootaloo said, staring down at the table. She looked up when she heard the sound of Rainbow Dash’s head hit the table.
“Owwwwww…” Rainbow Dash commented quietly, her voice muffled slightly by the table. A small part of her wondered why exasperation seemed to always be met with bodily harm.
“She’s right isn’t she? He’s going to Canterlot every day and I’m not stupid Rainbow. I know how tired he is and how much it takes out of him. You said he doesn’t settle down and he said it himself. He lives near where he’s teaching and moves on when he’s done.” Scootaloo said quickly. She’s right isn’t she?!” she added, exasperated at Rainbow Dash’s lack of a response. Rainbow Dash reached across the table and picked Scootaloo up. She pulled her close to her chest and laid back on the bench she was sat on. She started gently stroking Scootaloo’s mane to calm her down before she delivered the bad news.
“Honestly? Yes. He’s going to leave when you’ve started flying.” Rainbow Dash admitted. Scootaloo started crying softly.
“I knew it. I knew it. I knew he didn’t care about me.” Scootaloo said quietly between sobs.
“Now you know that ain’t true.” Rainbow Dash said adamantly, pulling Scootaloo up further and nuzzling against her cheek. “Yes it’s true he’s leaving, but it’s only temporary. He’s coming back after a month or so. He wants to live with you, with me, with us Scoots. I know he loves you a great deal.” Rainbow Dash said, still gently stroking Scootaloo’s mane and trying not to accidentally tear out any of the gems.
“He...he does?” Scootaloo asked, calming down a little. “He’s coming back?” she was almost smiling again. Almost. She still doubted how much Star Shine might care about her.
“Of course he does silly. He taught you to glide so you could know what it was like to fly. He also taught you that because he was worried about you. Yeah, going to Canterlot might tire him out but he still comes to the school to pick you up. He could just stay at home and nap, but he doesn’t. He comes straight to you. He doesn’t even nap when you’re at home. He stays awake and waits until you go to bed and then you’ll never guess what he does.” Rainbow Dash said, encouraging Scootaloo to guess. Scootaloo’s smile grew ever wider as Rainbow Dash listed things off.
“What does he do after that?” Scootaloo asked nervously. She didn’t dare venture a guess unless she was wrong.
“Well first of all he puts you to bed, then he kisses you goodnight.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo giggled a little.
“I know he does all that.” Scootaloo replied sarcastically. “I’m awake for that.”
“I know that, I’m getting to the good stuff now.” Rainbow Dash replied. She was about to ruffle Scootaloo’s mane when she remembered the gems were there and decided against it. It was bad enough Scootaloo had cried while wearing the dress and may have cried onto it, she didn’t want to ruin her mane as well. “When you’re in bed, and it’s just the two of us, he talks about you a lot. About how you’re going to fly and about how amazing you are. It’s easy to see he thinks really highly of you and he really does care about you. If you want to know how much he cares about you, ask him the story of his brace. Find out how much it means to him.” Rainbow Dash added. Scootaloo had been giggling pretty much non-stop while Rainbow Dash had been talking.
“I tried asking him about it but he wouldn’t tell me anything.” Scootaloo replied, thinking back to the day that she and Star Shine had spent together.
“If he won’t tell you then keep pestering him. It’s just pretty sad.” Rainbow Dash said somberly.
“I don’t think I wanna make him talk about something he doesn’t want to talk about.” Scootaloo replied, looking down. “But you guys really talk about me?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. Rainbow Dash nodded and smiled.
“We talk about you more than anything else.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Wait, what do you say about me? It’s nothing bad is it?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly slightly worried they might be keeping things from her.
“Oh no no, it’s only good things.” Rainbow Dash was quick to reassure her. “Anyway, I was actually going to tell you about Star Shine going today. I would have done it a little better than that brat did though. I need something from you.” Rainbow Dash said. She hefted Scootaloo on to the table and sat back up.
“You need something from me?” Scootaloo asked nervously. “I’ll do anything you want Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo declared as she remembered who was asking her. Nothing would be too big or too small for her idol.
“Hehe, don’t worry Squirt. I just need you to spread a wing for a second.” Rainbow Dash said, laughing a little at the way Scootaloo had responded. Scootaloo did as she was told without hesitation and let out a small yelp of pain as Rainbow Dash tore a feather out of her wing.
“Owwwww, you coulda said you wanted a feather.” Scootaloo said sadly, massaging her wing.
“Sorry Scoots. I didn’t know if you’d be alright with me taking a feather.” Rainbow Dash replied. She plucked out one of her own feathers and placed her feather, as well as Scootaloo’s, between the leather strap and the crown of the hat Rarity had given her. The leather held it perfectly in place. The leather was of course fake.
“It looks nice…” Scootaloo said, scrutinizing the hat. “But I still don’t get what it’s for.” she added.
“Oh it’s another reason I know Star Shine likes you. He says the craziest things when he gets sentimental.” Rainbow Dash replied, sighing at the memory of Star Shine’s almost confession where he had said he wanted to make as many memories with the pair as he could. Rainbow Dash leaned over and told Scootaloo what Star Shine had said.
“He said that? He really is sappy.” Scootaloo said, giggling.
“Well now you aren’t gonna learn what the hats for, cos it’s pretty sappy.” Rainbow Dash said, taking the hat and placing it next to her. Scootaloo pouted but Rainbow Dash wouldn’t budge.
“Heh, I just thought of something.” Scootaloo said suddenly after a few minutes of silence.
“Huh?” was all Rainbow Dash could think to say. She had been snapped into alertness by Scootaloo and thought she was still pouting or about to ask what the hat was for again.
“You and Star Shine talk about me when I’m not around...isn’t that kinda what parents do?” Scootaloo said, looking down to hide the huge blush that formed on her face. She also buried her head in her hooves for good measure. Rainbow Dash chuckled and stroked Scootaloo’s back so she didn’t mess up her mane.
“I suppose it is.” Rainbow Dash admitted, eliciting a squeak from Scootaloo. “No matter what Diamond Tiara, or anypony else for that matter, says about us, never forget that both me and Star Shine love you. I can’t speak for him, but I would be proud to be related to an awesome little filly like you.” she added. Scootaloo pounced on her and buried her head in Rainbow Dash’s chest. Thankfully it was a part of Rainbow Dash the dress wasn’t covering and so wasn’t likely to be ruined by her crying.
“I love you too...and him. I don’t want him to go Rainbow.” Scootaloo said, still crying as she looked up at Rainbow Dash.
“I know Scoots. I don’t want him to go either but he’s coming back, I promise. If he doesn't come back on his own then I’ll fly up to Canterlot and drag him back myself.” Rainbow Dash promised. Scootaloo calmed down again and gently settled into Rainbow Dash’s chest. Rainbow Dash gently laid back again and rested Scootaloo on her side. She slowly stroked Scootaloo’s chest until she calmed down properly. “And you called him sappy…” Rainbow Dash commented snarkily. Scootaloo didn't offer any argument. She didn't care if Rainbow Dash knew how much she loved her. She wanted her to know.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were walking around Ponyville again. Diamond Tiara had told her dad that she was taking Silver Spoon home. She was still being followed by a few of her dad’s guards despite her insistence that she didn’t need it. To her dad, he wanted it and that was all that mattered to him. They were walking a route that the guards weren’t familiar with.
“Excuse me Miss, but I thought we were taking Miss Silver Spoon home.” one of the guards said when it became apparent they were nowhere near Silver Spoon’s house and were in fact heading in the wrong direction entirely. The way they were going lead to the town centre and the only thing important there would be the library. This time she was flanked by a Pegasi and an Earth Pony. Diamond Tiara sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned towards them, smiling sweetly.
“I know boys, but we wanted to get some ice cream. Can we go get some before we take her home? I’m sure daddy wouldn’t mind if you two stay with us.” Diamond Tiara said. It was true there was also an ice cream shop in the town centre. The guards looked at eachother, and then looked back down at the two fillies.
“Fair enough Miss, but again tell us these things.” the Pegasus guard said.
“Well then, let’s go get you girls some ice cream shall we?” the Earth Pony guard added. Diamond Tiara nodded at them and they set off slightly in front of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Even they could tell how depressed Diamond Tiara had seemed to be lately and they were quite happy that she would want something. Filthy could also tell that she wasn’t happy and that was another reason he had been keeping such a close eye on her, totally oblivious to the fact that him doing that was the main reason she had been so down.
“You want ice cream? I never said I did.” Silver Spoon asked as the girls kept close to the guards.
“Nah I need them kept busy while I go in the library. Think you can do that for me? Just stay outside and tell them I went inside when they weren’t looking or something.” Diamond Tiara replied.
“I suppose so.” Silver Spoon said reluctantly. “But why do you want the library?” she asked. If Diamond Tiara just wanted a book or something then Silver Spoon figured there was no problem going in with the guards. Her dad would probably be happy she had shown an interest in reading even. Unless she was too embarrassed to. Silver Spoon herself had felt very conspicuous travelling with the escort herself. That had to be it. She was just embarrassed. Silver Spoon could understand that and so had no problem distracting the guards. Plus now that she had thought about it and been offered it, Silver spoon wanted some ice cream.
“I-” Diamond Tiara began before she was interrupted by the guards. They had made their way to the ice cream shop and now they had to pick what ice cream they wanted. Silver Spoon asked if they could wait outside while the guards went in to get the ice cream. There was outdoor seating and it was pretty warm, so neither guard saw a problem with that. They insisted that one of them would stay outside with the girls while the other went inside. Diamond Tiara had a small problem with this. Like most problems however, there was a solution. “Excuse me…” Diamond Tiara said, tapping the Pegasus guard. He was the one who had stayed outside. He smiled and looked down at her. “I hate to be fussy but I’ve changed my mind, can you go tell your friend I want mint and not chocolate?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes for good measure.
“I suppose so, but if I’m going to leave you two alone I need you to stay together and stay right here, okay?” he pleaded. A guard should never leave their principal unattended but he wanted to accommodate Diamond Tiara as much as he could and make her more comfortable with them being around.
“We’ll stay right here.” Diamond Tiara reassured him. He nodded and headed into the shop and up to the counter where the other guard was being served.
“You know, I think if you just asked, they’d let you go in the library on your own. They seem nice.” Silver Spoon commented.
“Nice? I suppose they are. It’s not very nice having to live with them being around all the time though. Besides they would just watch what happened inside the library from a window and I don’t want that.” Diamond Tiara replied. “Now remember what I said, just keep them distracted. I’ll only be a minute or so.” she added. Silver Spoon tried to reply but Diamond Tiara ran to the library before she had a chance to. She ran through the door and panted as Twilight looked at her, confused by the sudden entrance. “You gotta help me Miss Sparkle.” Diamond Tiara pleaded, kneeling on her back legs and bringing her forelegs together. “Oh it’s just terrible!”
“Whoa there Diamond Tiara, calm down. I’d be happy to help you if you tell me the problem.” Twilight replied, planting a reassuring hoof on Diamond Tiara’s shoulder. “So what can I help you with?” she asked.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard yet but me and Scootaloo got into a fight at school…” Diamond Tiara began to explain. The shocked look on Twilight’s face told her that no, Twilight hadn’t heard that. This worked towards Diamond Tiara’s plan perfectly. “Rainbow Dash got really mad at her and told her that they won’t be going to Canterlot tonight after all. Scootaloo told me all about it and how much she wanted to go and now she won’t get to and I wish I could do something for her.” Diamond Tiara said hurriedly. It wasn’t entirely a lie.
“That’s very noble of you but I don’t know what I can do about it.” Twilight replied. “Do you want me to talk to Rainbow Dash?” she offered. Diamond Tiara shook her head.
“I want to talk to Rainbow Dash myself, but I need you to put the Cloud Walking spell on me and send me up there. Daddy employs Pegasi so I could get up there on my own, but you’re the only unicorn I know who can do Cloud Walking. There isn’t enough time for one of daddy’s Unicorns to learn how to do it so I was hoping you could do it for me. I told my daddy what I want to do and he told me to ask you.” Diamond Tiara explained. Twilight thought it over for a few seconds longer than Diamond Tiara would have liked her to. Every second was vital because one of the guards she was with before could burst through the door at any second.
“I could send you up there easy enough, but how do you plan on getting back down?” Twilight asked. It was the only problem she could see. Diamond Tiara going up there herself made sense. Twilight was a little surprised to hear that Rainbow Dash would cancel everything when the night was also for her and Star Shine. That was another factor to consider. Star Shine was going up there himself early. “Actually what about Star Shine? She can’t just leave him up there.” Twilight mused. “I also wouldn’t send Pinkie up there when she wanted to go welcome Star Shine.” she added as more things came to her.
“I’m sure Rainbow Dash will fly me back down when I’m done. Just send me to outside the door and I’m sure it’ll be fine. I won’t be intruding on them and if they don’t want to see me then, again, Rainbow Dash will just take me down to the ground. I don’t know what she’s going to do with Star Shine though. Maybe she’ll ask Spike to send him a letter, or find another way to do it.” Diamond Tiara said. She was getting worried that her plan might fail before it even had a chance to succeed. She didn’t expect Twilight to question almost everything. If one of the guards turned up before she left then it would all be over. In actuality she was expecting one of the guards to take her down to the ground. She knew they would find out what she was doing eventually and just hoped she would have enough time to make it sound believable she had convinced Rainbow Dash to go and had been left behind in Rainbow’s haste, or so sure she would been found by her guards eventually. Buttering them up might be the better option.
“Makes sense. Spike would do it. When you talk to her pass the message along that I’d be happy to send a message to Star Shine if she hasn’t already.” Twilight replied. There was still the gaping question of why Rainbow Dash hadn’t told any of her friends the dinner was off, but she also hadn’t told any of them that she was going in the first place.
“I will, thank you Miss Sparkle.” Diamond Tiara said sweetly as she felt something strange around her hooves. She figured it was the Cloud Walking spell. A second later there was a loud pop and she was stood outside of Rainbow Dash’s house. She hesitantly knocked at the front door in case anypony was actually home. If that was the case, and Rainbow Dash had cancelled after all, then she would actually try and convince them to leave. She sighed as her knocking barely produced a sound. It was cloud after all. She moved towards a window and peered inside. Seeing nopony inside the house, she carefully climbed through the window. “There has to be something in here…” Diamond Tiara muttered to herself as she looked around frantically. She took care to clean away any mess she made which slowed her down but ensured that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t suspect that anypony had been in the house while she was gone. “Where were you?” she muttered again as she opened a drawer. That’s when she saw it. The answer to all her questions was written down on a small, tear stained piece of paper. Where Scootaloo had been. Why she was living with Rainbow Dash. Even why she was an orphan in the first place was on there. Having seen Scootaloo’s dad, she had come to the assumption the girl was an orphan, and now she had it written down for her and confirmed. She quickly folded the note up and jumped under the table when she heard the beating of wings. She prayed it was one of her guards and not Rainbow Dash. She saw somepony land from her vantage point under the table and moved to get a good look at them. She tucked the note under one of her elbows and came out from under the table when she recognised it as her Pegasus guard.
“There you are Miss, you know you aren’t supposed to be here. Your father wants you to stay away from Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, especially after what happened this afternoon.” the guard said, relieved he had finally found Diamond Tiara. Cherilee had informed Filthy about what happened and he was accepting of Scootaloo’s punishment and saw no reason to try and take the matter further. “Why are you walking like that?” he asked, slightly concerned, when he saw the way Diamond Tiara was limping. It was very difficult to walk properly with something tucked between her foreleg and body so she settled for walking on three legs.
“I think I sprained something running towards the library.” Diamond Tiara said, looking dejectedly at her raised leg. “I’m sorry I ran off, I really am. I didn’t think Rainbow Dash would be happy if I turned up with guards and I was so embarrassed to come here in the first place. Scootaloo hit me but I thought she should still go to Canterlot with how much she was looking forward to it so I came here to tell Rainbow Dash to take her. When I got here they were already gone though, but I knew you’d come and find me.” Diamond Tiara rambled, making her way towards the guard. When she reached him she hugged up against one of his legs.
“Yes Miss, no matter what happens I’ll be there to find you.” he said, lifting Diamond Tiara on to his back. “Miss Sparkle told me what you were up to when I asked her if you’d seen her. I was so worried about out when I turned around and you had gone. I was really proud of you though for wanting to do this, and I’m sure your father will be too.” he added.
“Do you have to tell Daddy?” Diamond Tiara asked. She didn’t think it would be too bad if he was told her version of the story but would have definitely been happier without him knowing.
“I’m afraid so Miss, but don’t worry about nothin’. Like I said, he’ll be proud of you for being so mature.” the guard reassured her. Diamond Tiara hugged up against his neck as he glided down to the ground and thought of all the things she could do with what she had safely tucked away. One thing for sure was no matter what she did; Scootaloo would never live it down.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo made their way off the train and towards the restaurant that Star Shine had booked. Rainbow Dash had made enough visits to Canterlot to get a good feeling for the place and learn where everything was. Even if she hadn’t, it wasn’t hard to see where Canterlot Cuisine was. It was a fairly large building that stood out amongst the other nearby buildings. As they were walking, Rainbow Dash noticed Scootaloo looked a little uncomfortable.
“Hey kid, you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, draping a wing over Scootaloo. Scootaloo was definitely nervous about something but she couldn’t place what it was. She just had a very uncomfortable feeling. There was still something on her mind she could voice, so she elected to.
“Is Star Shine really gonna be mad at me? You told Cheerilee he’d punish me properly…” Scootaloo replied nervously. She had been too happy that the dinner was still going on to really think about how Star Shine might react to what had happened. “We have to tell him right?” she added.
“He might be better at handling kids than me but he’s still a sweet guy. I don’t think he’ll be harsh with you or anything. I told Cheerilee that so she didn’t think you’d just get away with it.” Rainbow Dash replied. “If he shouts at you, then he won’t get away with that.” she added with a giggle. Scootaloo smiled too and pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind. Star Shine had been nothing but gentle, even to Diamond Tiara herself. He didn’t even get that angry over the Gabby Gums column. He seemed practically incapable of getting angry. There was no way that he would get angry with her. Any other worrying thoughts could wait because right now she was about to go through one of the best things she’d ever gone through. Now was not a time for worry, but for smiles. Smiling was exactly what she did as she saw Star Shine waiting outside the restaurant for them. Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched Scootaloo run up to him.
“Hey Star Shine!” Scootaloo called as she huddled up against Star Shine’s foreleg. He held her close with his other foreleg and watched Rainbow Dash come up to him. She smiled as she saw his mane and what he had done to it. It was washed and brushed back as it had been at Rarity’s and he had added a little touch of his own. He had tied it back and because his mane wasn’t as long as Rainbow Dash’s it formed a small but, in Rainbow Dash’s opinion, cute and smart looking ponytail.
“Hey girls, you have a nice trip?” Star Shine asked. Nothing about the way the girls were acting indicated something had gone wrong. “I love your manes. Rarity really outdid herself. You look absolutely beautiful.” he added, blushing as he took in all of Rainbow Dash.
“I’ll tell you all about it in a minute. Now close your eyes because I’ve got something for you.” Rainbow Dash replied, blushing herself at the compliment. Star Shine looked down at Scootaloo who was still smiling up at him. He closed his eyes and smiled, mentally preparing himself for what Rainbow Dash might give him. Or maybe even do to him. He bristled as he felt something touch his head and his ears poke through something. Rainbow Dash poked him on the chest to indicate he could open his eyes. He saw that Scootaloo was now stood next to Rainbow Dash and looking up at him. She had a large smile on her face that was matched by the one on Rainbow Dash’s face.
“He does look pretty good in it.” Scootaloo commented. Rainbow Dash giggled. She didn’t trust herself to speak and was just way too excited to. Star Shine tried to look above his brow but couldn’t make out what was on his head. He settled for lowering his head and taking off whatever Rainbow Dash had put on him. He let out a squeal of his own as he saw not just the hat, but the feathers attached to it.
“I love it. It’s awesome…” Star Shine said quietly. His breath had been taken away. “Are they your feathers?” he asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash.
“Sure are.” Rainbow Dash replied with a nod. “You said you wanted something to remember us by.” she explained.
“Well..ummm...thank you.” Star Shine said nervously. He put a foreleg around each of them and pulled them close in a group hug. “I have something for you two too, but for now let’s get inside okay?” He felt Rainbow Dash nod as she was nuzzled against him. He released the hug and the three of them made their way into the restaurant. Star Shine’s friend had done his part well and there were no problems with the reservations. The trio were shown to their table and looked through the menu. Star Shine ordered a little conservatively knowing Rainbow Dash would be paying. Scootaloo had no such qualms and neither did Rainbow Dash. With their food ordered they had a little time before the food actually showed up. Star Shine poked his head under his wing and pulled a small brown bag out from underneath it.
“Ooh, what’s in there?” Scootaloo asked as Star Shine placed the bag on the table.
“Why don’t you open it up and find out? They’ve been sat in my saddlebags for a long time actually. It’s long past time you get them.” Star Shine replied. He pushed the bag over to Scootaloo. She tipped it upside down and gasped as two small figures fell out of it and on to the table. At first they looked like two Wonderbolts figures which left Scootaloo a little confused. She had already had a Wonderbolts figure from Star Shine and didn’t see what made these ones so special. Then she saw what had been done to them. They were Wonderbolts figures but they had been painted on. Specifically the manes and tails. One of them was painted to look like Rainbow Dash and the other one was painted to look like Scootaloo. Scootaloo hopped off of her seat and wrapped her forelegs around Star Shine in a massive hug. He laughed and nuzzled up to her. Rainbow Dash was far more conservative and settled for nuzzling up to him.
“They’re great. How’d you do it?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking them over and smiling at the detail and how much hers did look like her. One day actual Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash figures would be a thing. For now this would definitely do.
“It was when I bought that figure for Scootaloo. I bought a few more and sent them off to a friend”- Star Shine began.
“Seriously how many friends do you have?” Rainbow Dash interrupted under her breath.
“Who painted them for me and sent them back.” Star Shine finished explaining. Scootaloo didn’t really care where they came from, she was happy just to have one. Star Shine realised he was still holding Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and let them go, laughing nervously. Scootaloo sat down at her seat again and held her figure close to her chest. Even if Star Shine left all she’d need to do to think of him and smile would be to look at that. She giggled just thinking about it. “So...how was the trip? Anything interesting happen at school?” Star Shine asked. “Or work?” he added, looking at Rainbow Dash. He regretted his question when he saw both Rainbow Dash’s and Scootaloo’s faces drop. “What is it?” he asked worriedly.
“Something really bad happened at school.” Scootaloo said quietly. She couldn’t avoid the subject now that he had asked about it.
“And the train journey could have been better…” Rainbow Dash added, referring to telling Scootaloo Star Shine would be leaving.
“What happened at school?” Star Shine asked. He rested his head on his forelegs. He felt it was better to take care of things in the order that they happened. Scootaloo let out a sigh. Rainbow Dash had taken it well and she had faith Star Shine would. Niggling doubts were hard to get rid of.
“I kinda get into a fight...with Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo admitted. Star Shine went a little wide eyed but for the most part his expression didn’t change much. It was unexpected news for sure though. When he got serious also happened to be when he became his most unresponsive. He dealt in fact and left emotion out of the conversation and with that came a lack of facial features. That he raised his eyebrows was a testament to how shocking he found the news.
“What caused it?” Star Shine asked, motioning with a foreleg for Scootaloo to continue.
“She said some things and kept provoking me…” Scootaloo explained, recounting what Diamond Tiara had said to her about her dad, about how her and Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were nothing like family and never would be, and how Star Shine was going to leave because he didn’t really care.
“That’s why the train kinda sucked, I had to explain that you were going.” Rainbow Dash added when Scootaloo was done explaining. “When I went to pick Scoots up from school I had a word with Cheerilee. She’s suspended Scoots for a week and seemed kinda unhappy that Scootaloo wasn’t being punished by me so I told her that you’d decide Scoot’s punishment. So that’s how it is. What you do is in your hooves but so help me, if you shout at her your face will be in MY hooves.” she threatened. Scootaloo looked nervous as Star Shine mulled over everything he’d been told. Scootaloo wasn’t totally to blame. It’s not like he’d actually never lost his temper either. It was something that happened and he had come to see Scootaloo as somepony who could get emotional but not violent. It was an isolated incident and not one that needed strict discipline to be corrected.
“Relax Dashie.” Star Shine said at last. “I’m not about to shout at her.” he added. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s true that I’m gonna be leaving yes, and that is going to play into your punishment.” Star Shine said.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo said in unison.
“I’m not letting you stay home alone for a week, so every day next week Rainbow Dash will put you on a train in the morning, and I’ll send you back to her on one in the afternoon when she gets back from work. I’ll pay for all the tickets of course.” Star Shine explained. “That good with you Dash?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash looked across to Scootaloo and saw that she was smiling.
“It sounds good to me, but it still doesn’t seem like much of a punishment.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo looked far too happy for it to be a punishment.
“Oh nooooo, it’s definitely a punishment. She’ll be with me all the time, and I’ll be keeping an eye on her a lot.” Star Shine said, his voice slightly raised. He was keen to make it sound like an actual punishment.
“Suuuuureeee it is…” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. Scootaloo giggled. She didn’t think it was much of a punishment either. If anything it sounded like Diamond Tiara had done her a huge favour by getting her suspended. It was a shame she’d have to wait a week to thank her. She was so upset that she wouldn’t get to see Star Shine for a month or so but now she was going to get a whole week with him. Maybe she’d even get to visit him sometimes when he was gone and she was back in school. Her happy thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of their dinner and the three of them ate together. It didn’t matter what Diamond Tiara said, to Scootaloo they really were like family.
The rest of the meal passed quietly. They would occasionally talk and when Star Shine was asked about the flying lessons he was giving he gave simple and non-committal answers. He didn’t want to inadvertently upset Scootaloo by talking about some foal that was a lot younger than her flying. Spending a week with him was going to be more punishing than she expected. He hoped she was flying by herself then. He wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to convince her to keep wearing the brace even after she could fly. Part of him was hoping she’d just be a bit of a speed freak like Rainbow Dash and she’d keep it on just to fly faster and faster. It was probably his best shot at it.
“Hey Shine, you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, tapping him as their desserts arrived. Scootaloo had chosen ice cream and the two adults had cake. Star Shine shook his head to pull himself together and smiled at Rainbow Dash.
“Fine thanks Dashie, just thinking.” Star Shine replied.
“Anything I should know about?” she asked him, hoping that he would actually stop hiding things from her and would talk about them instead.
“‘Fraid not. It’s a surprise I have in store for you.” he replied. He giggled because he did actually have a surprise in store for Rainbow Dash when they got home. He had been a very busy pony with all of the time he had to himself during the day. Even when spending his time giving lessons he had two train rides in which to think and plot and plan.
“Oh….looking forward to it.” Rainbow Dash replied. “Sorry about, you know, uhhh…” he began, unsure of how to phrase her apology. She hadn’t exactly doubted him. At best she had jumped to conclusions.
“Don’t worry about it.” Star Shine replied quickly, before she could actually finish her apology. “I was thinking about something else too, but it’s nothing important.” he said, well aware that Scootaloo was watching the display. He could hardly say what he was thinking in front of Scootaloo and if he told Rainbow Dash that he’d tell her later then it would have probably caused unnecessary worry. Rainbow Dash might get mad at him for taking matters into his own hooves and deciding what was best, but this time he definitely felt in the right.
A short time later, after everything had been eaten and paid for, the trio made their way through Canterlot and back to the train station. Star Shine couldn’t help but notice the way that Scootaloo looked at everything around her. He couldn’t blame her really. Canterlot looked incredibly beautiful, even at night. The way the light from the street lamps and the moon bounced off of the polished surfaces of the pathways and houses made it perhaps more beautiful than during the day. That you could only really appreciate the subtle beauty and graces of light during the night was another reason Star Shine loved it so much. “It’s pretty great isn’t it?” Star Shine asked, leaning down to Scootaloo. She jumped as she was so lost in her thoughts she forgot where she was and who she was with.
It’s nice yeah, but there’s something about it…” Scootaloo replied, musing. Rainbow Dash looked across at her. She had looked uncomfortable before but said it was because she was worried about Star Shine and how he might react to her problems in school.
“Maybe you’ll work it out when you spend some more time here.” Star Shine suggested. He was very curious about what might be bothering Scootaloo.
“Yeah...maybe.” Scootaloo said quietly.
“If it bothers you being here then I can come up with something else. You don’t have to come here if you don’t want to.” Star Shine offered. As curious as he was he didn’t want to make Scootaloo uncomfortable.
“Nah it’s okay, I want to spend a week with you anyway.” Scootaloo replied, nuzzling up against him quickly. Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched. She was just as interested in what might be unsettling Scootaloo. She herself had never had any problems with Canterlot. It’s not like there were guards everywhere like the last time she had come for the Royal Wedding. She was quite happy to see the place looking so normal. Star Shine was about to reply when he saw that they had made it to the train station. They were ushered onto the train and made their way to a private compartment.
“It’s nice you want to spend time with me Scoots, but it won’t be all fun and games you know.” Star Shine said when they were finally settled down in their seats. “You’ll be waking up before Rainbow Dash and spending a lot of time on a train on your own.” he explained.
“I know, I know.” Scootaloo replied.
“You gonna be okay on a train on your own?” Rainbow Dash asked. It seemed obvious Scootaloo would have to do that but it hadn’t occurred to her straight away.
“I’ll be fine. I’m not a little kid.” Scootaloo replied.
“You are a little kid.” Rainbow Dash countered.
“You’ve just been through more than most.” Star Shine added, resting his head on the table in the compartment.
“Hey you okay?” Rainbow Dash asked him. Scootaloo hopped over to him too. Any kind of annoyance at what he and Rainbow Dash had said had been replaced by worry.
“I’m fine.” Star Shine grumbled, his voice muffled by the table it was on. “I’m just tired is all.” he explained. Scootaloo hopped back next to Rainbow Dash and left him be. She also decided to stay quiet and let him rest. Rainbow Dash did the same and the rest of the journey passed quietly.
--- While the three Pegasi were enjoying their dinner, Diamond Tiara was sat at a writing desk in her room wondering just what to do. When she was in Rainbow Dash’s house she had glanced over the note she found and wasn’t too sure what it was. She just noticed that it was definitely written by Scootaloo and was probably something important if it was still there. She had read the first little bit and saw that it was about Scootaloo feeling useless and unable to do anything. After reading the whole thing and realising just what it was, and just what Scootaloo had done, she wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t question that what she was doing was something she had to do, she just didn’t know what to do with the note. She didn’t really believe any of it and thought that Scootaloo was just being an attention seeker. She might have had a bit of a troubled past but Diamond Tiara was not about to beleive that she had tried to jump into the Gorge. Scootaloo must have shown it to Rainbow Dash or something and gotten a lot of sympathy. There was no way at all that Scootaloo had done something like that. She was just being an attention seeker. An attention seeker that had to be punished. After much deliberation Diamond Tiara decided to put the note away and get Silver Spoon’s opinion on it and what she should do. There were other stories she could write and if need be she could print something in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s papers. That might even be a better idea. Writing two stories in two days would really get to her. She started work on the first story she had to write.
It didn’t take as long as she thought it would to write. Writing from reality made it much easier to write. Getting the stories in the paper hadn’t actually proven to be much of a problem. Her dad might have taken a much more vested interest in her life now but he hadn’t totally invaded her privacy. She was still allowed to work at the Foal Free Press as long as she stuck to her job of using the press. Her dad was impressed that she wanted to work and doubled her allowance whenever she did. The Foal Free Press was voluntary but Filthy wanted her to know the value of work. She also wasn’t watched when she was working and took a lunch she kept in her saddlebags. Saddlebags that were, thankfully, not checked. Filthy thought that was definitely a step too far and wanted Diamond Tiara to know that he was interested in her life and not trying to invade her privacy or anything. If anything he was actually a little upset she didn’t see it the way he did, and fought against him so hard.
Filthy Rich himself was stood at the bottom of the stairs of his house. He looked up and saw Diamond Tiara’s room. The door was closed, like it always had been lately. He wasn’t even sure anymore when she had started shutting him out and hiding away. She was doing so much that he wasn’t even aware of. He considered going up to her room and knocking on the door, trying to speak to her, but decided against it. The distance between them was far greater than just the stairs and he knew it. It would take time to fix that broken relationship. He wasn’t even sure how to be the father he wanted to be. A good start would have been walking up those stairs but he just didn’t know it. He settled instead for going to his study, and seeing what his little princess had been up to.
“She did WHAT?!” Filthy Rich exclaimed when he found out that Diamond Tiara had been to pay Rainbow Dash a visit. “How could you let that happen?!” he chastised the guard who had found her there.
“I’m sorry Mr. Rich. She slipped away from me. I thought you’d be happy she wanted to help Scootaloo.” the guard replied nervously, backing away from Filthy.
“Happy?! I told you to watch her, and that she wasn’t to go near those two and you tell me that not only were you NOT watching her, but she went and did the one thing I didn’t want her to do. You expect me to be happy after that?!” Filthy Rich hissed. He sat down at his desk and sighed, resting his head on his forelegs.
“Why don’t you go talk to her about it?” the guard offered, risking venturing near to the desk. Filthy Rich let out another sigh.
“If only it were that easy Firefly.” Filthy Rich replied dejectedly. Firefly was a little surprised that Filthy Rich had used his name. He wasn’t sure Diamond Tiara even knew it.
“But it is that easy sir. Just go knock on her door and talk to her.” Firefly replied. “I talk to her just fine, why can’t you?”
“I wouldn’t even know what to say to her.” Filthy replied. Firefly let out a sigh of his own. Filthy was making this a lot more complicated than it needed to be.
“Thanks to us,” Firefly started, referring to himself and the other guards that had been following Diamond Tiara around, “you know a fair bit about her. Even if you didn’t then all you have to do is just talk to her.” Firefly finished before heading out of the study. Filthy Rich grumbled to himself. He didn’t need parenting advice from a guard who couldn’t even keep an eye on the pony he was supposed to be guarding.
The three Pegasi made their way off the train and back to Rainbow Dash’s house. When they entered the house Scootaloo ran off up to her room and Star Shine and Rainbow Dash looked around. Neither of them could notice a difference in anything and had no idea that the house had been searched while they were gone. If they looked close enough then they might have been able to, they were just in such good spirits about what the past few hours had brought. For Star Shine and Rainbow Dash the night wasn’t even over.
“Okay Scoots, get out your dress and let’s get you to bed.” Star Shine called up. He had a plan to implement and It was getting late as it was. “You keep yours on though, you’re going to need it.” he added, looking across the room at Rainbow Dash. She raised an eyebrow at him but he said nothing more and instead headed up the stairs to Scootaloo’s room. Rainbow Dash followed him shortly after, electing to keep her dress on just to see what Star Shine was planning. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash entered Scootaloo’s bedroom to see her laid in bed with her dress laid down, folded up neatly, on her dresser.
“I had a lot of fun tonight.” Scootaloo said excitedly as Star Shine and Rainbow Dash stood next to her bed.
“Me too kiddo.” Star Shine said, smiling. “Thanks for that Rainbow.” he added, nuzzling Rainbow Dash. She had paid for everything after all. It had also been her idea to go in the first place.
“Yeah thanks Rainbow!” Scootaloo added, jumping out of bed and wrapping her legs around Rainbow Dash’s neck. Rainbow Dash smiled and giggled nervously under all the affection.
“It’s alright Squirt but you gotta go to sleep now.” Rainbow Dash said after a few seconds. The affection only made her a little uncomfortable. That didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy it. She was also getting used to accepting affection, especially from Scootaloo. It rarely bothered her at all anymore, if ever. Rainbow Dash lowered Scootaloo back down on to the bed and pulled the blanket over her when she laid down again. “‘Night Scoots. Sweet dreams, and don’t forget that I love you.” Rainbow Dash said, kissing Scootaloo on the forehead. Scootaloo smiled and squirmed a little.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this earlier, but I really do care about you, and you have nothing to do with me going away.” Star Shine added, giving Scootaloo a quick kiss of his own.
“I know.” Scootaloo replied, still smiling. She yawned, closed her eyes, and curled up under her blanket. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash took another look at how cute she was when she was sleeping, or at least trying to get to sleep, and then left her room.
“Sooooo...why did you want me to keep my dress on? We’re not going out and leaving her alone are we?” Rainbow Dash asked Star Shine. She had left Scootaloo at home before, and would work while she was asleep, but she never enjoyed having to do that. She also hated the idea they might actually go out again and leave her behind.
“Nah it’s nothing like that. I just need you to go up to the roof. Got a surprise waiting for ya.” Star Shine replied, trotting off to the nearest exit.
“The roof? What do you want on the roof?” Rainbow Dash called, chasing after him. It was too late and he’d already ducked out of a window and made his way up, presumably to the roof. She thought that maybe he just wanted to look at the stars together or something. They could do that with Scootaloo though. She’d probably enjoy it. She had before. That also didn’t account for why she needed to keep the dress on. She followed Star Shine out the window and up to the roof. When she looked around she couldn’t see him standing there. She couldn’t really see anything remarkable or special set up. There was something off in the distance but she couldn’t quite make out what it was.
“Hey, up here!” Star Shine called from above. Rainbow Dash flew up to him.
“So now will you tell me what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked. She was getting just a little impatient at this point.
“Well do you remember a while back we talked about feeling the wind in your feathers, and how you didn’t really know what that was like?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash nodded, not sure where he was going with this. “Well I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say so.” Star Shine finished. Rainbow Dash sighed but did as he asked. When she closed her eyes Star Shine flew back down to the roof and fiddled with the object Rainbow Dash had noticed. It was a gramophone and a few seconds after he stopped playing with it, Rainbow Dash heard a song play. It was a very light song with a mixture of orchestral and electronic sounds in the beat. She had to admit she liked it. The she heard the lyrics and how it sounded suspiciously like a love song. She felt a shift in the wind as Star Shine came back to her.
“This is nice and all, but what does it have to with the wind in my wings?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously.
“Just trust me.” Star Shine replied. “Now raise your forelegs.” he added. Rainbow Dash decided to trust him and raise her forelegs a little in the air. She jumped as she felt something move around her and press a little too close to her for comfort. “Relax Dashie, relax. It’s just me.” Star Shine said, quick to reassure her. Rainbow Dash calmed down again but occasionally fidgeted.
“Just please tell me what you’re doing.” Rainbow Dash pleaded. “Or let me open my eyes.” she added.
“I can’t tell you. It’s something best felt and shown. Now spread your wings wide but don’t flap them. You’ll be safe, I promise. I’ve got you.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash gave him the benefit of the doubt one more time. She had no reason to not trust him. She unfurled her wings and felt the slump when she stopped moving her wings. True to his word, Star Shine was holding her well enough for her to not fall more than maybe a couple of centimetres. Rainbow Dash felt Star Shine nuzzle up to her and heard him unfurl his wings to their full length. If he stopped flapping too then they’d both fall.
“Hey um, what are you-” Rainbow Dash began before Star Shine gave a huge flap of his wings, and sent them both flying backwards. The wind was whipped away from her mouth but she felt it run through her mane and feathers and she smiled. The experience really was like nothing she could describe. She’d felt the wind in her mane, and even in her wings, but she’d never really taken the time to feel it properly. The way the wind would dance between her feathers, gently tickling her as it passed through. It was like having water go through them but a much more gentle and pleasant experience. She laughed and smiled with glee as Star Shine gave another gust and sent them flying again. This time he only used one wing to send them off in another direction. “Can I open my eyes now?” Rainbow Dash asked after a few more movements. There was something about the way Star Shine was moving that she wanted to verify.
“Of course you can.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. She looked around and saw that she was right about what they were doing. Star Shine might have tried to hide it as something else but the movements were too precise.
“Hey Star?” Rainbow Dash asked, attracting his attention. “We’re...we’re dancing aren’t we?” she asked, her face flushing as soon as she did. Star Shine was controlling his wings very well. He would either flap both of them at the same time to send them flying backwards or he would carefully control one of them to spin them both around. He would also adjust the angle of his wings to send them up or down accordingly. No matter what Star Shine wanted to call it, or how it had started, the two were undoubtedly dancing in the sky. Star Shine nodded slowly, his own face flushing.
“I did want to just show you what it was like to have the wind in your feathers but then I...uh...I wanted to dance with you too.” Star Shine managed to say.
“Next time just say that.” Rainbow Dash replied, hugging up to him. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. Star Shine giggled and nuzzled the top of her head. The song changed a few more times but none of them stuck in Rainbow Dash’s head as much as that first one. Rainbow Dash took the lead with the dance a few times and it was during one such time she felt the need to finally ask. “Hey Star, just what was that first song called?” she asked. She got no response. When she looked Star Shine over she saw that his wings weren’t spread like they were before. They were now just slumped against him. She wasn’t too worried because could still feel him breathing so it was obvious what had happened; he’d actually fallen asleep on her. Rainbow Dash carefully moved so that he was positioned safely on her back and turned the gramophone off and picking it up with her forelegs before heading inside the house. She was tempted to leave Star Shine on the couch but with everything he had done and been through lately she felt he deserved better than that. He’d been putting himself through so much for her and Scootaloo’s sake and pushed himself so hard that he’d actually fallen asleep on her. He deserved a good rest and that was what he was going to get. Rainbow Dash carried him up the stairs, and into her room. She gently laid Star Shine on the bed and curled up next to him. If she was going to unwittingly dance with him, he was going to unwittingly sleep with her.
It was the best nights sleep either of them had gotten in a long time.
The sun rose on a new day and with it also rose Scootaloo from her slumber. She opened her eyes slowly, shook the sleep out of her system, and made her way to the window as she always did when she woke up. She looked up and was surprised to see that Rainbow Dash wasn’t there like she usually was. She couldn’t hear anything either that would suggest Rainbow Dash just wasn’t in her line of sight. She left her room and stood outside Rainbow Dash’s, contemplating walking in. She thought better of it and decided instead to see if she could find Star Shine on his usual place on the couch. It was a Saturday so he would have been staying in the house and not heading out to Canterlot and would probably be sleeping in. If he was awake then he’d know where Rainbow Dash was. Scootaloo poked her head down the stairs and was more confused when she didn’t see Star Shine on the couch. There was nothing to do but make her way into Rainbow Dash’s room.
“Hey Rainbow DaAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Scootaloo began quietly before exclaiming in surprise when she entered the room fully and saw Rainbow Dash and Star Shine in bed together. Rainbow Dash had wrapped a wing around him and he’d turned in his sleep so they were now muzzle to muzzle. Rainbow Dash shot out of bed like a bolt when she heard the shout and thought there might be trouble. Star Shine came too in a little more reserved way. He poked his hoof out across the bed, unconsciously feeling for Rainbow Dash who had been right beside him a second ago. It was then that he realised he had a lot more room than he was used to.
“This...isn’t my couch.” Star Shine said simply as he propped himself up and looked around. He had only really been in this room once so it took a second or two for him to realise where he was. Rainbow Dash came down to the ground and landed next to Scootaloo when she realised there was actually no danger. Scootaloo was still staring at Star Shine, trying to process what she had just seen. “This is...oh…” Star Shine added, flopping back down on the bed when he realised he was in Rainbow Dash’s room. “Ohhhh…” he added when he realised he was on Rainbow Dash’s bed. Every time he spoke or moved Rainbow Dash’s cheeks got a little redder.
“Ummm…” Scootaloo began, finally pulling herself together long enough to try and form words. She couldn’t finish her thought and instead setled for looking up at Rainbow Dash. “Ummmm…” she repeated.
“Nothing happened! He fell asleep on me last night and I thought after everything he’s been through he deserved a good nights sleep is all.” Rainbow Dash hurriedly explained.
“He fell asleep on you?” Scootaloo asked, her brain going back to shutting down as it tried to process all of this and the implications.
“Not like that.” Rainbow Dash replied, facehoofing. She was about to explain what happened when Scootaloo opened her mouth.
“Hey Shine, are you my new daddy?” Scootaloo called out to him, teasing both adults. Star Shine still had his face buried in the bed but Scootaloo heard a groan come from him. Scootaloo jumped up on the bed and started hopping and dancing around Star Shine, which brought back some painful memories of a pink Earth Pony. “Star Shine’s my new daddy! Star Shine’s my new daddy!” Scootaloo sang as she jumped around him. Star Shine lifted his head up and leaned on a foreleg, watching Scootaloo move around him. He sneaked a glance at Rainbow Dash and saw that she was just staring at the ground and shaking her head in disbelief.
“I can be if you’d want me to.” Star Shine said just before she passed his face. Scootaloo lost her footing, slipped over, and landed flat on her back. She started giggling and squirming uncontrollably. “Of course for that to be the case, Rainbow Dash would have to be your mother.” Star Shine added, smirking at Scootaloo and her reaction. The easiest way to stop someone who’s teasing you like that is to take them seriously. Scootaloo squealed and laughed so hard she started choking. Rainbow Dash ran across and patted her gently on the back. Rainbow Dash scooped Scootaloo up and held her to her chest, still gently stroking and patting her back. Scootaloo managed to calm down and stop squirming after a minute or so.
“Well that’s the last time I do something nice for you…” Rainbow Dash said quietly to Star Shine. He poked his tongue out at her.
“She started it.” Star Shine countered, getting off the bed and heading to the door. “Anyway, sorry if I annoyed you by teasing her. It was really nice of you to let me sleep on your bed, and I know nothing happened. I’ll just go make breakfast, come down whenever you’re ready.” he added. Rainbow Dash saw him disappear from the doorway as he headed across the landing and down the stairs.
“Is he okay?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash. She looked a lot less jovial than she did a few minutes ago. Rainbow Dash smiled down at her and nuzzled her.
“He’ll be fine, I just want him to be more careful about what he says.” Rainbow Dash replied. She felt she also had to be very careful with what she said now.
“You...you wouldn’t want to be my mom?” Scootaloo asked. She was tearing up a little. It was something Rainbow Dash was afraid might happen.
“It’s not that.” Rainbow Dash was quick to point out, holding Scootaloo tighter to her chest. “I mean it when I call you an awesome little filly, and that I would love to be related to you. It’s just I’ve always assumed I’d be some kinda big sister. I’ve never really had to think about anything else. I never even knew you needed a mom.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Oh…” Scootaloo said simply. She could understand that. She couldn’t help feeling a little crestfallen, but she could understand. Rainbow Dash cuddled up tight to Scootaloo again.
“Besides, there are things you aren’t thinking ‘bout.” Rainbow Dash said, realising something. Scootaloo looked up at her curiously. “We’d have to go back to the orphanage, and we don’t even know where it is.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Yeah, I don’t remember where it was.” Scootaloo replied, looking down. She had repressed as much about that place as she possibly could. Only the most painful memories, such as always being passed over for adoption, and the few happy memories, remained. Everything else was blank or just a blur.
“Even if you did, me adopting you would mean that you have to tell everypony the truth.” Rainbow Dash added. Scootaloo hadn’t considered that. Rainbow Dash was far too young to have a child her age and there was no way that she could pass Rainbow Dash off as her natural mother after lying about her parents all these years. She smiled and squirmed as she thought of something.
“I think I could tell all of Equestria that I’m adopted if it meant I could tell them all I had you as a mom.” Scootaloo said, burying her face in Rainbow Dash’s chest as she realised what she said. Rainbow Dash giggled and nuzzled the top of her head.
“To be honest it is something I’ve talked about with Star Shine.” Rainbow Dash said nervously. “Not adopting you, but if I’d make a good mother. He seems to think I would.” she said.
“I think he’s a smart pony and you should listen to him.” Scootaloo replied, giggling again. Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head.
“I can’t make you any promises Squirt but I can tell you, again, that you’re amazing. Don’t you forget it.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I don’t think I could, not with you around.” Scootaloo replied, giving Rainbow Dash a big hug. Scootaloo slid down Rainbow Dash, who supported her by moving a foreleg so that Scootaloo was resting on it. She moved her other foreleg around and started tickling Scootaloo’s stomach, eliciting more giggles.
“Besides, even if I was your mom and all, I’d have to be with Star Shine for him to be your dad and I’m not, so there.” Rainbow Dash said, poking her tongue out at Scootaloo. Scootaloo was too busy laughing and squirming to reply. If she could she would have told Rainbow Dash to go out with him already.
“SCOOTALOO! RAINBOW DASH!” Star Shine, the pony in question, called from downstairs. Rainbow Dash sighed as the play was interrupted. She put Scootaloo down and hopped off the bed. Scootaloo followed suit.
“Come on then, let’s go see what the Moment Ruiner Extraordinaire wants.” Rainbow Dash said, still smiling. “He probably just got tired of waiting for us to come down to breakfast” she added. Scootaloo nodded and together they left the room to see what Star Shine wanted. .
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash made their way down the stairs, still laughing at what had transpired just a moment ago. The look they saw on Star Shine’s face as they entered the living room changed that. He looked extremely disappointed about something. His eyes were slightly narrowed and he was frowning. Scootaloo had never really seen him frown and was worried she was in trouble over something. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to think. She couldn’t think of anything that would cause him to be disappointed unless they had taken way too long.
“Sorry we took so long, Scoots had something she had to get off her chest.” Rainbow Dash said, gently tapping the top of Scootaloo’s head. Scootaloo didn’t respond, she was too caught up in Star Shine’s eyes. She swore she saw the corner of his mouth twitch and reveal a few of his teeth, almost like he was growling. “So, uh, where’s breakfast?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around. She couldn’t even smell anything. If he hadn’t even made breakfast then he should be shouting them down for it. He certainly didn’t seem to have anything to be angry about.
“Breakfast isn’t ready yet. I was starting it and then a delightful mailmare came by with the paper. I think you need to see it.” Star Shine replied flatly, his voice level. “It’s on the table.” he added, nodding in the direction of the table. Star Shine made his way to the kitchen, leaving the two girls alone again. He might as well get around to making breakfast and he didn’t want Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to see him angry.
“The paper?” Scootaloo asked nervously. He didn’t specify if it was the Foal Free Press but that’s where her mind went. If Gabby Gums had written about her again then she felt quite sure that she wouldn’t want to read it. Rainbow Dash was just as confused. They walked over to the table and and looked at the paper. They saw that it was not, in fact, The Foal Free Press, but The Ponyville Times. It wasn’t stupid gossip, so what else could have caught Star Shine’s attention? There wasn’t anything coming up that Rainbow Dash could think of. She’d been a little out of touch since Scootaloo came into her life but she didn’t think she was that out of touch. It didn’t take long to find where they would need to read. There was a picture of Diamond Tiara, complete with a bandaged up face, and a headline that stood out above the others.
Incident At Ponyville Schoolhouse By Feather Quill Ponyville is usually a calm and friendly place. Things are quite peaceful except for the occasional incident, but even those are soon resolved thanks to the timely intervention of one or more of the Elements of Harmony we have living here. One could argue that perhaps having them living here in the first place attracts incidents that require them, but that is an argument for another time and place.
For a brief period of time yesterday Harmony was something that was certainly to not be found in the Ponyville Schoolhouse. During the school’s lunch break one little student found herself the victim of a vicious attack at the hooves of another. The victim, Diamond Tiara (pictured above) alleges that she was asked to follow another student, called Scootaloo, so that the pair could have a private conversation. Diamond Tiara goes on to allege that after exchanging some pleasantries Scootaloo pounced on her and struck her in the face.
I spoke with Miss Tiara personally about this and this is what she had to say; “It was so scary. One second she’s bragging about how she’s going out to Canterlot and the next she’s hitting me in the face and my nose is bleeding. I don’t even know what I did to deserve it.”
Other students who witnessed the event back up Miss Tiara’s version of events. While none of them were close enough to hear exactly what was said, they universally agree that the pair were talking, then Scootaloo lowered herself to the ground and pounced on Miss Tiara before attacking her violently. Shortly after the attack the school teacher for their class, Miss Cheerilee, came and broke things up before things could get worse.
“I just wish I could have been there sooner to stop this from happening.” Miss Cheerilee commented when asked about the matter. She refused to comment further, simply describing the entire incident as a “shame”.
Neither Scootaloo nor anypony who could speak on her behalf could be reached for a comment. We tried reaching out to her, her parents, and when all else failed Rainbow Dash, who, as far as we can understand, has been taking care of her recently. We also reached out to Rainbow Dash’s friends to see if any of them knew anything. All but Miss Twilight Sparkle, proprietor of the Ponyville Golden Oaks Library, had no idea the incident even occurred. When asked about it, Miss Sparkle claims that she was visited late in the afternoon by Miss Diamond Tiara who explained what had happened, and wished to go visit Scootaloo and Miss Rainbow Dash. Miss Twilight Sparkle admired her nobility and performed a Cloud Walking Spell on her and teleported her to Miss Rainbow Dash’s house in the clouds. It appears that Scootaloo was indeed going to Canterlot that evening as a treat set up by Miss Rainbow Dash; a treat Diamond Tiara feared cancelled. When she arrived at the house she found it empty and waited to be retrieved by one of her personal guards. When asked why she simply wouldn’t allow one such guard to fly her up there, she expressed concern that it would give the wrong impression if she arrived in such a manner. Her guard was well informed of her location and goal and was able to collect her in minutes.
As per the rules of the school, Scootaloo will be suspended for a full week. If she is going to be violent to somepony who would go on to display remarkable levels of maturity and nobility, perhaps the school is better without her there.
“WHAT?!” Scootaloo screeched when she finished reading. She scanned the page again to make sure that she had read everything accurately and that she had really read what she did. Everything was exactly the same.
“How did a stupid little schoolyard fight get into the paper in the first place?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud.
“Never mind that! This thing is so wrong! Nopony even tried to ask me about what happened.” Scootaloo said, a mixture of anger and nerves. “She was in this house!” she added, running around frantically and checking all the drawers to see if anything was missing. She checked each and every one and saw that nothing was gone. Nothing she knew about at least. She was under the impression that Rainbow Dash would have learned from what happened last time and finally gotten rid of the note. If she had to keep it somewhere, it would be in her room. She was panicking too much to think about it much anyway. Or ask Rainbow Dash if that was the case. After she checked the last drawer she lowered herself to the ground and gave a sigh of relief. “Okay, it seems like nothing’s missing.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief herself. She wasn’t thinking about the note much either and didn’t think Diamond Tiara would have even taken anything. It would have been way too obvious who it was if something was missing. “Wonder what she even came here for then…” Scootaloo added, thinking of just why Diamond Tiara would actually go through all that trouble and even use one of Rainbow Dash’s best friends. It was obvious she would have been found out.
“Oh no…” Rainbow Dash said, breaking Scootaloo’s train of thought as she realised something. Scootaloo looked at her worried, wondering what else could possibly be wrong. “This isn’t the Foal Free Press...this is the Ponyville Times. Almost every pony in town reads this! Everypony is going to only know, and believe, Diamond Tiara’s version of what happened.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo panicked more. She walked across to Rainbow Dash and huddled up to her, seeking comfort.
“You...you think Star Shine believes this?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly very scared that the reason he had been so angry is that he felt Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had lied to him about what had happened. She was fidgeting nervously.
“Of course I don’t believe that.” Star Shine said from behind Scootaloo, making her jump in the air. Neither she nor Rainbow Dash had heard him enter the room again. She flapped her wings on instinct and stayed in the air for a split second before dropping onto the ground. It was too short a time for her or Rainbow Dash to notice it but Star Shine did. He had good eyes and was trained to notice little things like that. He smiled at Scootaloo as she bounced slightly on the cloud layer when she landed.
“So you’re not mad at me?” Scootaloo asked nervously. Star Shine shook his head and smiled brighter.
“Of course not you silly little filly.” Star Shine reassured her, patting her on the head.
“So what were you all grumpy about?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking her place next to Scootaloo. She had noticed Star Shine seemed angry but she didn’t realise that Scootaloo would blame herself for it so quickly. After what they had discussed Rainbow Dash was more keen than ever to show Scootaloo that she would always be by, and on, her side.
“It just made me angry to see it there in the first place. It’s hardly worth being in a proper paper. Kids get into fights at school all the time.” Star Shine said, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah I was wondering that too.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Not to mention she broke into the house, using one of your friends too.” Star Shine added, sighing.
“Yeah but nothing is missing.” Scootaloo said, smiling up at him.
“Yeah I didn’t think she’d take something. Who would be so stupid they take something when they’re the only one who could have done it?” Rainbow Dash added. Star Shine smiled at them both. Scootaloo took another look at the story and noticed something.
“Feather Quill…” she mused quietly, taking note of who wrote the story in the first place.
“You know that name?” Star Shine asked her, breaking her concentration and train of thought.
“I think so.” Scootaloo replied, going back to her thinking. She was sure she had heard that name before. Whenever she tried to think about it all she could think about was Featherweight, and that’s when it came to her. “I knew it! I have met Feather Quill!” Scootaloo declared as she remembered. “I saw him at Family Appreciation Day! He’s Featherweight's dad!” Scootaloo said. She was excited that she had remembered where the name came from but was soon deflated as what happened made it’s way back into her head. “Great, first she pays off the kid and then the dad.” Scootaloo said dejectedly, rolling her eyes.
“Who’s done what now?” Rainbow Dash asked, slightly confused as to what Scootaloo meant.
“Diamond Tiara!” Scootaloo said, gesturing towards the paper as if it was the most obvious thing. “First she gets Featherweight to print something and then she goes and gets his dad too!” she explained.
“Now now, we don’t know that’s what happened.” Star Shine said, offering the voice of reason. “What’s more important is that your side of the story isn’t being told. Do you know where this Featherweight lives? Maybe we can go talk to him and his dad so he can tell your side.” Star Shine suggested, lowering himself to Scootaloo’s level. It didn’t sound like too bad an idea to Rainbow Dash. It would be nice to finally be able to tell their side of the story and stop the lies from getting published. Scootaloo nodded excitedly. She too liked the idea.
“Yeah I know where he lives.” Scootaloo replied. “You want to go now?” she asked. Star Shine nodded.
“If you two are ready to go I don’t see the reason in delaying.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was about to agree when her stomach rumbled. She laughed sheepishly and shied away.
“I suppose breakfast is kinda important.” Star Shine offered nervously. “It’s in the kitchen if you want it.” he added, gesturing towards the kitchen. Rainbow Dash went to the kitchen, followed shortly thereafter by Scootaloo, who was followed by Star Shine. He hoped to get to the bottom of all this and hoped that Feather Quill would be able to provide some answers, or, at the very least, allow Scootaloo to let everypony know her side of the story.
After the three Pegasi finished their breakfast they set about preparing to take care of the day’s business. All that really needed to be done for preparation was for Scootaloo to put the brace on. It felt a little unusual to have it back on. She hadn’t worn it for over a day and it took a minute or so to get used to the feeling of having it on again. She gave her wings a few tentative flaps and giggled as the wind whipped around her hooves.
“Almost there Scoots, keep those wings moving.” Star Shine commented with a smile as Scootaloo hopped up onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Scootaloo gave a salute and spread and stretched her wings. Rainbow Dash spread her own wings and they set off into the sky. “So where are we headed?” Star Shine asked, speaking up to be heard over the wind. Scootaloo pointed a hoof in the general direction of the ground.
“Don’t worry, I know where he lives too. Just keep up with me.” Rainbow Dash called back. “If you can that is!” she added, smirking as she picked up her speed. Scootaloo squealed with exhilaration and hunkered down on Rainbow Dash’s back, furling her wings back into her body. She didn’t want to accidentally be sent off of Rainbow Dash’s back by an errant gust of wind. Star Shine picked up his speed to keep up with her. Rainbow Dash was aware she had Scootaloo on her back and knew she couldn’t go top speed. It didn’t take long for Star Shine to catch up to her. When he would catch up to her, Rainbow Dash would move errantly and pick up her speed a little. She was taking a rather long and scenic route.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Star Shine called out to her from behind. He expected they’d be there by then with how fast they had been going. Rainbow Dash had twisted and turned so much that they were only about half way. Every time they got close she would just move around.
“I thought it’d be good to have a little fun.” Rainbow Dash called back. She turned in the actual direction of Featherweight’s house and made her way towards it. Star Shine caught up to her pretty quickly now that she wasn’t trying to get away from him. He looked at Scootaloo and when he saw her smile and thought Rainbow Dash was right. “I don’t think we’re gonna have much fun today. Even after this we gotta go see Twilight and see why she sent Diamond Tiara up to our house.” Rainbow Dash added dejectedly.
“Yeah, but I’m sure she had her reasons.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash nodded in reply. She expected Twilight did have her reasons, and probably just fell for Diamond Tiara’s lies just like everypony had. If that was the case, she could probably forgive her pretty quickly as long as she accepted Scootaloo’s version. Twilight probably had no idea that Diamond Tiara had even lied to her. For now they had to take care of Feather Quill and hope to stem the tide of lies. Rainbow Dash flew towards the ground, followed by Star Shine. She landed outside a fairly unassuming house. Nearly every house in Ponyville was brightly coloured and this one was no exception. Star Shine couldn’t even notice anything particularly remarkable about it that set it apart from the other houses. He looked around and saw that they weren’t alone in the town. There were some ponies stood around town, going about their business. When they looked at the small group of Pegasi they would start talking amongst themselves. It wasn’t hard to realise they were being talked about, and probably being scrutinized too. Rainbow Dash was right; the entire town had read about what had happened. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Star Shine asked as Rainbow Dash prepared to knock on the door. She and Scootaloo looked around and saw all the ponies staring at them and whispering. Scootaloo started shifting uncomfortably. Rainbow Dash just snorted and knocked on the door.
“Let them talk, we know the truth.” she commented as she heard a call from inside the house. Star Shine snickered at her. “What’s so funny?” Rainbow Dash asked him, a tone of slight annoyance in her voice.
“You’re just being awesome.” Star Shine replied. He found it great that she had reacted like that and wasn’t caring so much about what people thought about her. She had responded pretty badly to the first Gabby Gums article and most of that was due to people making assumptions about her and her relationship with him.
“Oh…” she replied, blushing slightly as the door opened. It was opened by a fairly older looking colt Unicorn. He panicked a little when he saw who was standing at his door. He went to shut up but Rainbow Dash stuck a hoof in the doorway to stop it closing completely.
“You can attack me if you want but you’ll just be proving me right, I’m not afraid to speak the truth.” the pony inside the door said. “That’s what you’re here for right? To attack me for what I said?” he added, still trying to shut the door.
“Not at all sir. We’re here because what you’re saying isn’t the truth and we want Scootaloo to be able to tell her side of the story.” Star Shine replied calmly. Feather Quill relaxed his attempts to close the door, for which Rainbow Dash was thankful. It was starting to hurt her hoof to have a door pressed against them like that.
“You really think I’m not telling the truth?” Feather Quill asked. He still hadn’t opened the door properly but they had his attention now.
“That’s right sir. I assure you that none of us are a threat. Scootaloo is just tired of Diamond Tiara spreading lies about her and wants to tell her side of the story.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo hopped down off Rainbow Dash’s back and put her face in the gap in the doorway.
“It’s true. Please just let me talk to you.” Scootaloo pleaded.
“You said no one who could speak for her could be reached for a comment so we thought we would just come down and give you our comments personally. There’s not a problem with that is there?” Star Shine asked, closing in on a victory. Feather Quill couldn’t deny he had said that, and that it was a good point Star Shine had.
“If that’s all you want, and if you’re sure Diamond Tiara wasn’t totally honest, then I don’t really have a choice. I offered Scootaloo the chance to say her piece and I won’t go back on that. I also don’t like the idea I printed lies.” Feather Quill sighed. He had a lot of integrity and pride in his work. He opened the door and let the three Pegasi in. He showed Star Shine, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo into his living room and they all sat down. Feather Quill sat down and pulled a writing pad and quill out using his magic, and suspended it in the air. “Okay Scootaloo, why don’t you tell me what really happened?” he said to Scootaloo. Scootaloo fidgeted and Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around her, holding her close. The two smiled at eachother and Scootaloo sighed contentedly, ready to tell her side of the story.
“It is true I hit her, I can’t even try and deny that, but she was provoking me and teasing me about a lot of things and she ended up pushing me over the edge. I lost control, and I hit her, but she’s not innocent herself. She lied to everypony and pretended to be nice but she really wasn’t. She was just as mean as ever. I didn’t mean to do anything, I really didn’t.” Scootaloo explained, slowly bursting into tears as she remembered everything Diamond Tiara had said to her.
“Well there were ponies who said that some things were said between you, but she alleges you were just bragging about something. You say she was provoking you, but what could she have said to push you so far over the edge?” Feather Quill asked. It was important he get every tiny detail. Scootaloo started shaking.
“I...I can’t.” she said slowly, sighing again.
“You can’t what?” Feather Quill asked.
“I..can’t tell you.” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine leaned against her.
“Scootaloo...maybe you should take this chance and tell the whole world everything.” Rainbow Dash offered. Star Shine nodded his agreement. In front of Scootaloo was the chance to finally face all of her fears and let everypony know the truth. It was a way to confront and deal with everything at once.
“I...I can’t do it.” Scootaloo said quickly. She jumped off the couch and dashed for the door, running out of the house even.
“Scootaloo wait!” Rainbow Dash called, chasing after her, worried about what had caused her to react like that.
“I’m sorry about that. I really thought she might be able to tell you.” Star Shine said to Feather Quill. He trusted Rainbow Dash to catch up to and find Scootaloo and wasn’t in as big a hurry as her. Feather Quill was a little dumbfounded at the whole display.
“Sir do you have any idea how Scootaloo is seen around here?” he asked Star Shine. Star Shine shook his head. “We’ve always wondered about her. We’ve never really known what to think about her. Yet in these past few weeks an awful lot as come out about her. She stole Diamond Tiara’s tiara and only returned it thanks to the timely intervention of my young boy. She never trusted Diamond Tiara after she tried so hard to be nice and then, when Scootaloo is nice back, she attacks her violently on the same day. I don’t know what she’s like to you, but right now Ponyville sees her as some kind of pathological liar. I can’t print what Scootaloo told me because she has no evidence. Diamond Tiara had witnesses who back up what she said and I’m inclined to believe her story. No matter what might have been said, Scootaloo had no right to attack her. Now I’ve just seen her run out of my house crying after wanting to say something, but then being unable to. I really don’t know about you, but I just witnessed a clearly disturbed little fill-” Feather Quill began before he realised he was being growled at. Star Shine had been a little dejected when Feather Quill had first been talking but as he started to insult Scootaloo, Star Shine had gotten angry.
“I understand she had no right to attack Diamond Tiara, and trust me, that’s the only reason I’m not attacking you right now.” Star Shine said quietly, glaring at Feather Quill who had backed up into a corner. “If you don’t want to print Scootaloo’s side, then that’s fine. The truth will always out in the end. Good day to you.” Star Shine concluded, turning and heading out the house, not trusting himself to stay there much longer. He was not a violent pony in any sense of the word, but he hated when ponies talked bad about the ones he loved. When he left the house Star Shine spread his wings and took off into the air to look for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. After he left Diamond Tiara came down the stairs of Feather Quill’s house. Firefly was stood behind her, as he usually was. Diamond Tiara had expected Scootaloo might try and do something like this and she wanted to hear what had been said.
“Did...did you hear that?” Feather Quill asked nervously, his heart still racing.
“I did.” Diamond Tiara replied sadly, running up to Feather Quill and giving him a hug. “I’m sorry they were so mean to you. I didn’t know they’d act like that. If I did I wouldn’t have asked you to print that story.” she said, tearing up a little. Feather Quill smiled down at her and patted the top of her head.
“Don’t you worry about it. If they’d act like that then I’m glad I did. I can’t believe the way that colt looked at me…” Feather Quill assured her. Diamond Tiara had already tuned him out. Her mind was on other things. Having read the note Scootaloo left, she had a fairly good idea what Rainbow Dash and Star Shine were trying to get her to open up about. That Scootaloo hadn’t done it would prove to be a monumental mistake on her part. She had the chance to rob Diamond Tiara of her final victory and hadn’t taken it.
“Scootaloo, wait!” Rainbow Dash called out as she saw Scootaloo a short distance away. As if Scootaloo hadn’t drawn enough attention to herself, Rainbow Dash calling out like that sure did. Ponies started talking amongst themselves even more than before. If not even Rainbow Dash could control her then just what was wrong with Scootaloo? They were causing quite the scene in the middle of the market. Rainbow Dash was about to take off into the air and catch up to her in a matter of seconds when she saw a familiar white figure slightly ahead of Scootaloo. “Hey Rarity, catch Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash called out, smiling as she thought she would have some help in catching Scootaloo. Rarity wasn’t quite sure how to react or respond though, and Scootaloo slipped right through her legs.
“I’m sorry darling, I didn’t-” Rarity tried to say as Rainbow Dash ran past her.
“It’s okay!” Rainbow Dash called back to Rarity, already well past her by the time Rarity had finished speaking. With the option of just blocking Scootaloo down Rainbow Dash settled for just taking off and flying after her. Rainbow Dash took off, barely leaving the ground, and flew after Scootaloo. When she caught up with Scootaloo Rainbow Dash reached down to grab her in her forelegs and accidentally scuffed the ground. She tumbled on top of Scootaloo instead and together they rolled around on the floor before finally coming to a stop. Rainbow Dash was flat on her back with Scootaloo on her chest. Rainbow Dash put her forelegs around Scootaloo and held her close. Scootaloo was still crying. “Don’t you run away from me like that again.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling the top of Scootaloo’s head.
“I’m sorry. I was just so...so…” Scootaloo tried to explain, tripping over her words.
“It’s okay Scoots. I can understand why you didn’t do it. I wish you did, but I’m not gonna be mad or disappointed you didn’t.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. Scootaloo brought her crying under control and looked up at Rainbow Dash.
“You...you won’t?” Scootaloo asked nervously. Rainbow Dash smiled and shook her head.
“Nope. But I will be sad if you run away from me.” Rainbow Dash replied, frowning a little. Scootaloo jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck in a hug.
“I won’t run away again.” Scootaloo vowed softly. She was coming to terms with Rainbow Dash always being there for her no matter what. It would just take a little bit longer. After everything that had happened she wouldn’t have been too surprised if Rainbow Dash decided to leave her after all.
“Hey you couldn’t run away from me anyway.” Rainbow Dash teased, unfurling her wings, which was rougher than it usually was given that she was flat on her back. Scootaloo spread her own wings and looked at them. She looked a little dejected and Rainbow Dash was worried that she had made a mistake. Scootaloo started to smile and move her wings a little.
“Just you wait. I’ll fly so fast you won’t be able to catch me.” Scootaloo teased. Rainbow Dash let out a laugh.
“I’ll always catch you Squirt.” Rainbow Dash replied, giving Scootaloo one more tight squeeze before climbing up off the ground and onto her hooves. Scootaloo hopped up on Rainbow Dash’s back and hugged the back of her neck. “For now we need to find Star Shine, and get to Twilight’s.” Rainbow Dash added.
“Oh yeah…Wonder where he went.” Scootaloo mused, looking around for any sign of Star Shine.
“I think we should go back to the market, it’ll be easier to spot him.” Rainbow Dash said, kicking off into the air. She headed off in the direction of the market. When she got there she saw not one, but two familiar figures. Rarity wasn’t too far away from where Rainbow Dash had left her and this time she had Star Shine with her too. Rarity pointed a hoof in the direction that Rainbow Dash had ran off in. Star Shine nodded and was about to take off in that direction when Rainbow Dash dropped out of the sky, surprising both Rarity and Star Shine.
“Oh there you are.” Star Shine said, not missing a beat.
“Well hello again darling.” Rarity added. “Not in such a hurry this time I see.” she teased gently. Rainbow Dash played with her mane sheepishly.
“Yeah, Scoots kinda got away from me a little.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo hid her face in Rainbow Dash’s fur.
“Is...is it true she hit Diamond Tiara?” Rarity asked nervously. Her gossiping about Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had gotten her into trouble before. Even if it hadn’t, she didn’t want to believe it was true. She’d never had any problems with Scootaloo other than the hyperactivity her and her fellow Crusaders had. Rarity preferred things to be quiet and calm.
“Yeah...that part’s true.” Rainbow Dash replied, a little sadly.
“That part?” Rarity pondered. She was sad to hear that it was true Scootaloo had hit Diamond Tiara.
“I hit her yeah.” Scootaloo started, picking herself up. “I didn’t brag about anything though, and she teased me a lot and said some very, very nasty things.” Scootaloo explained.
“And the dinner was never cancelled. Cheerilee actually got a little mad at me for treating Scootaloo right after she got suspended.” Rainbow Dash added.
“I’m glad the dinner was never cancelled.” Rarity said, smiling and perhaps showing a slightly misguided priority. “I know how much you were all looking forward to it.” she added.
“Yeah, it was for more than just Scoots, so I didn’t want to cancel it even if she got in trouble. We’re gonna go talk to Twilight about sending Diamond Tiara up to my house now actually.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“So you’re going to be okay with Sweetie Belle? You aren’t gonna hurt her are you?” Rarity asked Scootaloo. Scootaloo was a little taken aback, but didn’t let it get to her. Rainbow Dash was a little angry that Rarity would even ask that.
“I’d never hurt Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo replied, fidgeting and replying before Rainbow Dash could. “I didn’t mean to hurt Diamond Tiara. I only did it cos she was teasing me and Sweetie Belle doesn’t tease me.” she added.
“I thought that’s what you’d say, I just have to take care of my sister.” Rarity replied. “Sorry I doubted you.” she added, nuzzling Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash smiled, suitably appeased.
“We gotta get going, but it was nice seeing you again Rarity.” Star Shine said, smiling at Rarity.
“Yes it has been quite nice. I’d love it if you could stop by some time.” Rarity replied. “I must get back to my shopping anyway.” she added. She gave Scootaloo one last nuzzle and went on her way. “Well that’s one pony convinced.” Star Shine said, watching Rarity leave. “Now we just need...all the others.” he added, sighing.
“First though, we need Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said, heading off in the direction of the library. Star Shine joined her and the two walked side by side. Scootaloo worked her way to the top of Rainbow Dash’s head and flopped down on to it.
“Hey Rainbow…” Scootaloo said nervously, shifting forward a little so she could lean over the front of Rainbow Dash’s face. Rainbow Dash looked up at her questioningly. “Do you think everypony else is thinking like Rarity? Like I’m just some kind of angry pony who’d attack anypony?” she asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“I’m sure that’s not it. She was just worried about her sister.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. “Ain’t that right Shine?” she added, looking across at Star Shine. He smiled back at the pair.
“Yep. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom know what you’re really like, and won’t be like that.” Star Shine replied. He had heard differently from Feather Quill but there was no need to repeat what had been said and further upset Scootaloo. It wasn’t even a lie. He was sure that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would be alright with Scootaloo. He just couldn’t speak for the rest of the town. He hoped that Feather Quill couldn’t either and that there were some ponies out there who would treat Scootaloo just how they always had. Perhaps that might not have been the best case either seeing as she seemed to generally be treated with mild apathy and was left feeling so despondent and unnoticed she had taken matters into her own hooves in a big way. “And me and Rainbow Dash will always love you of course.” he added, voicing his final thought. As long as Scootaloo felt somepony loved her then she would be fine and would be able to get through anything, even being ostracised by an entire town. They lived away from the town and several feet in the air too. It’s not like they would actually have to deal with anypony unless they wanted to. “Let’s just get to Twilight for now, and we can worry about everypony else when we have to, okay?” he asked, trying to bring the focus of everypony back where it belonged. Rainbow Dash nodded, which almost sent Scootaloo flying, and after Scootaloo readjusted her sitting position, they continued their walk towards the library and Twilight Sparkle.
It didn’t take long for the library to come into view. Rainbow Dash practically ran towards the door when she spotted it. Star Shine hurried along behind her. He wasn’t bad at keeping up with her in the air but Rainbow Dash still had a lot of speed on the ground. Rainbow Dash rapped impatiently on the door as Star Shine took his place beside her.
“Umm...this place is a library right? They’re open Saturday too. We can just go in.” Star Shine commented, opening the door and walking into the library. Rainbow Dash blushed slightly. She was so focused on talking to Twilight that she forgot that Twilight’s house doubled as the town library. Twilight herself walked down the stairs as Rainbow Dash entered the main room.
“Oh, morning Rainbow.” Twilight said, smiling when she saw her guest. “You brought Star Shine too? And Scootaloo? Is something the matter?” Twilight added with slight concern when she saw that Rainbow Dash wasn’t alone. If it was just Star Shine she might think that something was wrong with the brace or they needed a book. With all three she couldn’t be sure.
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong.” Rainbow Dash began before Star Shine put a hoof in front of her face to interrupt her. She had sounded a little too angry for his liking. Things with Feather Quill hadn’t gone well and Rainbow Dash didn’t need to lose a friend to this. Rainbow had wanted to have faith in Twilight but seeing her be so nonchalant had annoyed her. She expected her to at least apologise.
“We’re here cos we were wondering why you sent Diamond Tiara up to Rainbow’s house.” Star Shine explained. Rainbow Dash let out a deep breath and Star Shine lowered his foreleg. “What did she tell you?” Star Shine asked.
“Oh, that?” Twilight asked, a slight sparkle to her eye as she remembered how Diamond Tiara had been. “She came in here all worried and told me what had happened at the school. She said that you told Scootaloo the dinner was cancelled and wanted to convince you to go and asked me to send her to your house. I only sent her to outside the door, not inside the house itself.” Twilight explained.
“You think she might have stayed outside?” Scootaloo asked, praying that was the case.
“I’d like to think so. It would explain why nothing was missing.” Star Shine replied.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she came in.” Rainbow Dash added, offering her opinion. At least Twilight hadn’t sent her directly inside the house. If Twilight had been duped then Rainbow Dash could let that go. She was hardly the first or last to be duped by Diamond Tiara.
“What?” Twilight said simply, confused. “Why would she enter the house?”
“I hate to break it to you Twi, but Diamond Tiara lied to you.” Rainbow Dash said, sighing.
“She...lied?” Twilight asked, more confused than before.
“‘Fraid so. I never told Scoots that the dinner was cancelled.” Rainbow Dash explained. “I even got in trouble with Cheerilee for not being serious and punishing Scoots.” she added, rolling her eyes with a derisive snort. Scootaloo giggled a little at the memory of Rainbow Dash being scolded and how she had responded.
“I didn’t think you’d cancel, not with Star Shine there already, and I questioned her a lot, but it was a risk I didn’t want to take. I know how much you were all looking forward to going and I thought she was being noble.” Twilight said, trying to explain her actions. “I...I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry guys. I’m really, really sorry.” she added, looking down at the floor. Scootaloo hopped down from Rainbow Dash and huddled up to Twilight.
“It’s okay, everypony else believed her too.” Scootaloo reassured her.
“Yeah, and you did what you thought was best.” Star Shine added, walking over and patting her on the back. He considered giving her a hug and decided against it, unsure as to how comfortable she would have been with that much physical contact. Twilight smiled at both of them and then looked across the room at Rainbow Dash nervously. Rainbow smiled at Twilight and gave her a big hug. Scootaloo and Star Shine were right; Twilight had done what she did for their sakes, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t be mad at her for that.
“It’s alright Twi, just talk to me yourself next time okay?” Rainbow Dash said, releasing the hug and playfully tapping Twilight on the cheek.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Twilight replied, still smiling. Everything was forgiven and all was well. Except for one small detail. “Wait, why would she lie though? Why would she want to go to your house, and use me to send you there? When you think about it, knowing she lied, it’s a little...silly isn’t it? It doesn’t make much sense.” Twilight asked.
“To be honest we have no clue.” Star Shine replied. “She even goaded Scootaloo into hitting her. Heck even I fell for her cute little girl act.” he added. When he had first met Diamond Tiara she had come across as some sweet little girl. He had seen no reason to distrust her.
“She goaded you?” Twilight asked, looking down at Scootaloo. Twilight was slightly relieved to hear that Star Shine had fallen for Diamond Tiara’s tricks too. It wasn’t the most important thing he had said though. Scootaloo nodded up at Twilight.
“Yeah, she was teasing me about a bunch of stuff and she even told me to hit her. I wanted to just walk away but she kept teasing me and pushing me.” Scootaloo explained, fidgeting nervously, hoping Twilight would believe her. Twilight pondered the information.
“Why would she tell you to hit her? Why would she do all of this at all?” Twilight pondered aloud, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. The more she thought about it and the more she learned, the less she understood what Diamond Tiara might want.
“I really don’t know…” Scootaloo replied dejectedly. She really wished she had some idea of what this was all about.
“Well when did all this trouble with her start?” Twilight asked, putting on a metaphorical thinking cap. She was keen to get to the bottom of this.
“I’d say it really got bad after she got suspended.” Scootaloo said, thinking back to when things had really gone wrong. “That’s when she stopped teasing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and started this whole nice girl act.” she added.
“Diamond Tiara got suspended? What for?” Twilight asked.
“Wonder why that one didn’t make the news…” Rainbow Dash commented, rolling her eyes again. “As for why she was suspended, that was me.” she added. Rainbow Dash went on to explain how Scootaloo had taken a week off of school and when asked about it by Twilight she said it was a heavily personal matter. Twilight could see how uncomfortable Scootaloo was at the mention of it and let it slide for now, thinking that it was something she would need to know at a later date. What was happening with Diamond Tiara was more important right now. If it wasn’t related to that, then it wasn’t something she needed to know right now. Rainbow Dash went back into explaining how she had taken Scootaloo back to school (this time she used Scootaloo’s story that she was taking care of her on a temporary basis) and in the interests of Scootaloo’s safety, had stuck around during the day. After that she explained what happened during the rest of the day, from the incident at the school, and the subsequent meeting with Cheerilee in which Rainbow Dash had stuck up for Scootaloo, pleading her case. Cheerilee had agreed in the end and the result was that Diamond Tiara was suspended.
“Did you do anything else to her? Anything that might have annoyed her?” Twilight asked, running all the information through her head and occasionally making a written note.
“Well the only other thing is the tiara thing, I guess.” Scootaloo replied.
“What tiara thing?” Star Shine asked. Most of this was news to him too. Scootaloo had told him that Rainbow Dash had dropped out of the sky when she was being teased before but he didn’t know all the details.
“We...kinda stole her tiara.” Rainbow Dash admitted slowly. “But we gave it right back!” she added quickly, seeing the disapproving looks Star Shine and Twilight had given her. “Okay maybe we kept it until we were found out, but I think all this is a bit much for a tiara. She already got her revenge when she wrote that Gabby Gums thing.” Rainbow Dash added.
“She wrote that thing?” Twilight asked.
“We’re not sure, but those two seem to think so.” Star Shine replied. He couldn’t help but be a little disappointed they had stolen the tiara, even if they gave it back. He could also agree that what had happened seemed far too much for something that seemed so small. They had given it back and, if Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were right about Diamond Tiara writing that article, then she would have gotten some measure of revenge.
“Well we have a motivation at least.” Twilight commented. “I still can’t work out what she’s trying to do though. It’s obvious she lied to me for some reason or another, and wanted to go to your house. There’s always a chance that she didn’t know you were still going, but if that was the case she shouldn’t have told me she heard you say you weren’t going.”
“So you really have no clue what she’s doing?” Scootaloo asked. It wasn’t really what she was hoping for, but at least Twilight believed her and accepted her mistakes. That was two ponies who were now informed of the truth. Twilight shook her head.
“There is something though.” Twilight said, drawing attention to herself. “If she IS doing something, then one of two things is happening. She’s either making mistakes, or what she’s doing is that incredibly calculated. If that’s the case then there’s no telling what she might do.” Twilight explained. It was definitely something neither Pegasus wanted to hear. They all really hoped that Diamond Tiara was just making mistakes.
The three Pegasi headed back home to Rainbow Dash's manor. They were left demoralised by their visit to Twilight Sparkle and their mood was not helped by the looks that Scootaloo got as they passed through the town. Rainbow Dash got sick of it after a few minutes and took off into the air with Scootaloo on her back, away from the prying eyes and judgmental stares of the ponies on the ground. Star Shine rushed to keep up with her but it was no use. She was getting emotional and cared only about getting Scootaloo back home and away from it all. She was also keen to get away from it herself. Rainbow Dash pulled ahead of Star Shine and left him behind. She got to the house, dropped Scootaloo on the floor, and slumped onto the couch, utterly deflated by the day's events and fully aware of just how little of the day had passed. It wasn't even noon yet and already her day had seemed to have gone so wrong. At least Rarity was convinced that Scootaloo wasn't a threat to anypony and Twilight was also convinced and, even better, trying to help them stop everything before it got too out of control. Not that that meant much to Rainbow Dash. She couldn't see how things could possibly get worse. Scootaloo hopped up onto Rainbow Dash's back and began gently playing with her mane, hoping to help make her feel a little better. Or at least get her to not look so down.
"Hey Dashie, are you gonna sleep on my bed now I've slept on yours?" Star Shine teased as he entered the house and saw Rainbow Dash laid on the couch. She needed some serious cheering up. Cheering up he would be happy to provide if he could. He walked over to Rainbow Dash after not getting any reaction at all. "Awww, why so glum?" he asked, joining Scootaloo in gently patting Rainbow Dash.
"Why do you think?" Rainbow Dash asked, her voice slightly muffled by the copious amounts of couch against it. "Everypony in town is either afraid of, or hates, Scoots and there's no telling what that damn little girl is going to do next." Rainbow Dash added. "That damn little girl" being none other than Diamond Tiara of course.
"I don't care if the whole town hates me as long as you love me and you're happy..." Scootaloo said. She felt herself being hoisted into the air as Rainbow Dash flicked her up with a wing. Rainbow Dash then turned around on the couch so that Scootaloo would fall onto her chest and held Scootaloo close after she landed.
"That's sweet and all Squirt, and I do love you, but all of this is my fault." Rainbow Dash said, confessing her inner fears. It was something she hadn't quite realised until Twilight had them explain everything, including where it all began.
"What do you mean it's your fault?" Star Shine asked, sitting down in the space between the table and the couch. It was pretty narrow so he did have to push the table back a little in order to sit down.
"All of this really started because Diamond Tiara got suspended because of me, and it was my stupid idea to steal the tiara too." Rainbow Dash said. "Scoots didn't even want to do it. She was worried about what might happen. I really should have listened to you." she added, holding Scootaloo close.
"It's okay, I had fun doing all of that." Scootaloo reassured her. "'sides, if it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't even be here for her to tease." Scootaloo added.
"She does have a point." Star Shine concurred. If Rainbow Dash had never even been there in the clubhouse on that day then Scootaloo's life could have ended a lot sooner than anypony ever intended.
"I know, I know. I just can't help but feel this is all my fault." Rainbow Dash admitted, sighing. This was a sight Scootaloo was not used to seeing. Rainbow Dash had always been brash, arrogant and unwavering in her self confidence and self belief. She still was, she was just believing things that weren't true.
"It's not your fault." Scootaloo reassured her.
"She's right, it's not." Star Shine added, nuzzling up against Rainbow Dash briefly. "If Diamond Tiara is behind everything then she is cold, calculating, cunning and most of all, deranged. You didn't make her any of that. You might have gone a little beyond a harmless prank by stealing her stuff, but no sane pony would respond to things like that like this. It takes a special kind of crazy to hold a grudge so strong and for so long." Star Shine explained. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash giggled a little at him calling Diamond Tiara crazy. If she really was behind everything then she truly was crazy. Rainbow Dash might have pushed her over the edge a little bit but she was hardly to blame for Diamond Tiara being crazy in the first place. Rainbow Dash smiled up at him.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." she said, allowing his words to sink in and banish her thoughts a little. She shouldn't blame herself for the actions of somepony else. Actions that she was in no position to prevent. The only one's to blame for them were Diamond Tiara and, at a stretch, whoever had allowed her to do them or wasn't keeping a close enough eye on her. Diamond Tiara wasn't Rainbow Dash's responsibility; Scootaloo was. Right now Scootaloo needed Rainbow Dash to be happy and how she always was. Thanks to the combined efforts of Star Shine and Scootaloo, she was already feeling it too.
"Although," Star Shine began, interrupting Rainbow Dash's series of happy thoughts. Nothing good started with "Although". "Speaking of you taking her tiara, care to tell me about that?" Star Shine asked, looking fairly disapproving before he'd even heard the story. Rainbow Dash laughed nervously and Scootaloo tried to slide as far as she could into the gap between Rainbow Dash and the couch in a vain and rather unsuccessful attempt to hide herself.
"It was after Diamond Tiara was teasing Scootaloo in the playground. I pulled her out of school and we went into town together to have some fun. We stayed a while and heard DT with her dad so I thought I'd let Scootaloo get some revenge on her. I wanted Scoots to be able to remember a time when she got one up on Diamond Tiara is all. I didn't want any of this to happen and didn't think it would." Rainbow Dash explained.
"Well I can understand wanting to cheer her up." Star Shine conceded, nuzzling Scootaloo. "You probably could have gone about it a better way though." he added. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked a little down. Star Shine tried to keep a straight face but after a few seconds he started laughing.
"Huh? What's so funny?" Rainbow Dash asked him, confused. Star Shine calmed down and pulled himself together.
"It sounds like it was actually pretty fun." Star Shine admitted. "Geez, I'm not some kind of grumpy old man just yet. I can appreciate a good laugh." he explained, rolling his eyes. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo giggled at him and Rainbow Dash let out a happy sigh.
"Yeah it was pretty fun." she had to admit. Scootaloo nodded, laughing at the memory of how Diamond Tiara had looked after she had been shocked, both literally and figuratively.
"I still think maybe you should have done something else. Well anyway, there's no need to worry so much about what Diamond Tiara might be up to. What else could she do at this point? We need to focus on improving Scootaloo's reputation and making sure ponies know the truth." Star Shine said. Even if there might be something else Diamond Tiara might do, Scootaloo's reputation and happiness should have always come first anyway.
"Yeah, you got any ideas on that one?" Rainbow Dash asked him. Star Shine shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, but I'll think it over." he replied. "I'm just gonna go make some lunch for now though." he added, taking note of the time. "At the very least I guess we could just talk to every pony in town if we have to." Star Shine said as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo weren't sure if he was serious or not.
"I think I'd do that if I had to." Rainbow Dash said to Scootaloo.
"It'd be nice if we didn't have to though, that'd take forever." Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"I don't think we'd have to tell absolutely everypony. We just need to get ponies talking, like Diamond Tiara has. Rarity might even be telling ponies how awesome you are right now. That'll help." Rainbow Dash explained.
"Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle'll probably be like that too." Scootaloo said, stretching and snuggling into Rainbow Dash's chest.
"Yep, this won't be hard at all." Rainbow Dash said reassuringly, stroking Scootaloo's mane. Scootaloo smiled and settled down, enjoying the feeling of Rainbow Dash stroking her. They could get through anything. They had eachother.
Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Star Shine continued their day as they normally would. None of them really wanted to focus on the morning’s events and the others were quite happy to oblige in this unspoken request. Rainbow Dash was still a little down and after a few hours Star Shine suggested she have a nap to see if she felt a little better after she had some more sleep. Even though Rainbow Dash didn’t feel tired she took the suggestion and went up to her room. She didn’t want to sleep and instead just did some reading.
“You think she’ll feel better after a nap?” Scootaloo asked Star Shine after Rainbow Dash had gone upstairs. Scootaloo was a little confused about Star Shine’s suggestion. She didn’t think Rainbow Dash looked that tired. It wasn’t like she needed a nap to get through her day. She hadn’t even done any morning training having spent the night with Star Shine.
“I’m not sure.” Star Shine admitted, giving a small shrug. “I just wanted her gone for a bit really.” he added, heading towards the kitchen.
“What? Why?” Scootaloo asked a little indignantly, following him into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash was down but she hardly deserved to be kicked out of the room for a while because she was depressed. It wasn’t very fair on her.
“Relax Scoots.” Star Shine replied, turning around and plonking a small hat on Scootaloo. She reached her hooves up and felt that it was a small chef’s hat. She let out a little giggle as she felt it. “I just thought we should make her something nice. Try and cheer her up a bit.” Star Shine said. Scootaloo nodded so enthusiastically her hat almost fell off. “I thought you might like the idea.” Star Shine commented, laughing at the display. Scootaloo shied away a little in mild embarrassment.
“So what are we going to make?” Scootaloo asked, checking the cupboards and preparing to grab utensils and pots and pans as soon as she found out what she needed. She was keen to be as helpful as possible, both for the sake of Rainbow Dash and even Star Shine. Star Shine himself checked the cupboards to make sure that they had everything they would need for what he had planned. He smiled as he saw that they did and started taking various ingredients out and placing them on the counter.
“We’re going to make one of Rainbow Dash’s favourite foods. She loved it a lot when she was younger but always found it too difficult to make. If it didn’t involve flying she rarely had the patience to keep going with something she didn’t get straight away.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo listened intently. She was learning something new about Rainbow Dash and, if she could grasp it herself, something that Rainbow Dash really enjoyed but couldn’t make for herself. Something Scootaloo would be able to make instead.
“So what is it?” Scootaloo asked, practically bursting at the seams.
“It’s something called a curry parcel” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo seemed a little confused so Star Shine went into a little detail. “Well you’ve heard of curry right?” he asked. Scootaloo nodded. She wasn’t quite that ignorant. “Well a curry parcel is pretty much a bit of curry inside some dough.” Star Shine explained. “It’s pretty cold up in Cloudsdale where all the Flight Schools are so spicy and hot foods are pretty popular. Curry’s much easier to make and even eat when it’s made like this.”
“So what do we need and what can I do?” Scootaloo asked. The reasoning behind what they were doing made sense. She couldn’t say she really knew a lot about Cloudsdale food and what the temperature was like high up in Cloudsdale. She’d never been. She could tell that Rainbow Dash’s house was a little colder than on the ground and if Cloudsdale was higher then it must have been a bit colder than even that.
“Well we’re mostly going to need some pans for cooking, and a sheet to put the parcels on when I put them in the oven. You can make the pastry while I cook the curry. Think you can handle that?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo gave a salute and got to work. She scoured the cupboards and produced some pans and sheets like Star Shine asked, as well as a bowl to mix all the pastry in. Star Shine and Scootaloo got to work on their individual tasks.
“...Say, Star Shine?” Scootaloo asked nervously. Star Shine looked across at her and saw she was fidgeting. “When...When do you think you’ll be leaving?” she asked. Star Shine stopped his work and moved across to her, draping a foreleg around her and holding her close.
“I kinda let it slip in Canterlot actually.” Star Shine said, nuzzling up to her. “I said that I’ll send you home on a train next week, not that I’d be going home with you.” he said. It was something he had let out that neither Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo had caught.
“You’ll be gone that quickly?” Scootaloo asked. She didn’t think that it would be that close.
“Well I don’t know for sure actually.” Star Shine admitted. “I plan on moving out when you can fly, and I really think you could be flying that soon, that’s all. If you can’t fly then of course I’ll be coming home with you until you can.” he explained.
“Oh…” Scootaloo replied dejectedly, going back to her work.
“Don’t worry Scoots, I’m going to be coming back and I won’t be leaving you permanently.” Star Shine reassured her.
“I know, but I’m still sad you’ll be going.” Scootaloo replied. Star Shine gave her another nuzzle and went back to his work. She’d need to be happy if she wanted to fly properly on her own. Maybe without even realising it she’d stop herself from flying. He’d still have to leave, whether she wanted him to or not. She might not be able to fly without it any time soon in her current state but the brace would allow her to fly pretty soon.
When everything was done and everything was ready Star Shine sent Scootaloo up the stairs to get Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo found Rainbow Dash laid down on her bed reading a book. “Hey Rainbow Dash, dinners ready.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash smiled and put her book down. She got up out of bed and followed Scootaloo downstairs. She could smell what they had made before she even made it to the kitchen and started smiling in anticipation. She entered the kitchen and her smile grew wider as she saw what was laid on the table.
“I haven’t eaten one of these in forever!” she exclaimed, eating before even recognising Star Shine. After a few seconds she realised she was being watched and laughed sheepishly, stopping eating.
“Well I’m glad you like them.” Star Shine commented. “Eat up, it’s fine.” he added, smiling. All three of them started eating together.
“Hey this is delicious!” Scootaloo exclaimed. She’d never had curry before. They kept eating and soon enough all the food was gone. Rainbow Dash helped them clean up afterwards. She had definitely been cheered up. Not just by the food but by the effort put in by Star Shine and Scootaloo to cheer her up. They played some games together to pass the rest of the day before putting Scootaloo to bed.
“Today’s been pretty busy but tomorrow should be better. Nothing ever happens on Sunday.” Star Shine said as Rainbow Dash tucked Scootaloo in. Scootaloo smiled and yawned.
“Goodnight Scoots. I love you.” Rainbow Dash said, kissing Scootaloo on the forehead.
“Me too.” Star Shine added, giving Scootaloo a nuzzle.
“I love you guys too.” Scootaloo said. She smiled, gave another yawn, and closed her eyes. Star Shine and Rainbow Dash left her room, leaving her alone to sleep.
On the other side of town another little pony was also being put to bed. Diamond Tiara was being put to bed by Firefly of all ponies and not her dad. Firefly wished that Filthy Rich would do it. He would occasionally do it but most of the time would claim he was just too busy. The way things were between Diamond Tiara and her dad made a whole lot of sense to Firefly and would make sense to anypony who really knew it all.
“Can I ask you something?” Diamond Tiara asked Firefly as he pulled the cover over her.
“Sure, you can ask me anything Miss.” Firefly replied, smiling at her.
“Why did you tell Feather Quill I didn’t go inside the house? You could have gotten me in trouble but you didn’t.” Diamond Tiara asked. It was really nice of Firefly to do that. He could have ruined everything but he didn’t.
“I didn’t want you to get in trouble. I don’t know why you went into the house but I trust you. If ponies found out you did go in then it would be bad for you and I don’t want that. I just didn’t want you to get in trouble.” Firefly replied.
“Thanks.” Diamond Tiara said, reaching up and giving Firefly a kiss on the cheek.
“It’s alright miss, but you need to go to sleep now.” Firefly said, heading for the bedroom door. “Goodnight Diamond Tiara.” he added.
“Goodnight...uhhh I don’t know your name.” Diamond Tiara said. It seemed odd to her she didn’t actually know his name given how much time they had spent together in the past week or so. He’d also been employed by her father for several years before he was made her personal guard and escort.
“If you’re interested it’s Firefly miss. Sweet dreams.” Firefly informed her. Diamond Tiara smiled at him, which melted his heart a little bit. He never really could understand why more ponies didn’t see her as he did.
“Sweet dreams Firefly.” Diamond Tiara replied, closing her eyes.
“I wish more ponies saw you the way I do.” Firefly said, closing the door and leaving Diamond Tiara to her sleep.
“Me too…” Diamond Tiara said quietly to herself. If more ponies saw her as a cute little thing that could do no wrong then things would be so much easier for her. She smiled to herself as she fell asleep, remembering that a lot of ponies did actually see her that way thanks to everything she had been doing, and was continuing to do. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. Nothing really happened on Sundays but occasionally, something did.
Diamond Tiara woke up early Sunday morning as the sun was rising. She hopped out of bed and got ready for the busy day she had ahead of her. While she had been working for the Foal Free Press she had recently gotten herself a very small job with the Ponyville Times thanks to Featherweight going to bat for her with his father. With how Featherweight had been talking about her, he had approached Filthy Rich and asked if she could do some paid work for her a couple of hours a week. It had really paid into her favour and allowed her to get the story printed in the Ponyville Times the day before instead of putting it in the Foal Free Press. Either would have done but it was impossible to deny how much more impact it had by being put in the Ponyville Times. Having to drop the Gabby Gums moniker had made things a little difficult but she had managed to get Feather Quill to write something for her and had managed to bring back Gabby Gums for the new story that she had already submitted to them the day before, ensuring it would be published today. Not that Feather Quill actually knew the story was in there. She had put it in herself without anypony realising. They wouldn’t have approved of what she did. Not until they had read it anyway. Once they knew everything, then they would understand why she had to put it in how she did and couldn’t just ask them to do it. Diamond Tiara heard a knock at her door and opened it, revealing Firefly. He was wearing an apron and smiling at her.
“Mornin’ Miss. Ready for breakfast?” he asked. Diamond Tiara nodded, grabbed her saddlebags, and followed him downstairs to have her breakfast before starting her day properly.
The same was happening on the outskirts of town with Scootaloo coming too. She got out of her bed and went to the window as she always did when she woke up. This time Rainbow Dash was practicing like she always would be. She could also hear something that she didn’t recognise. It took her a second or two to realise that it was music and for some reason Rainbow Dash was practicing to music. Scootaloo shoved her head out the window and shouted up to Rainbow Dash.
“Morning Dashie! What’s up with the music?” Scootaloo shouted to be heard over the music. Rainbow Dash landed on the ceiling to turn the music off and made her way to Scootaloo.
“Morning Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said, giving Scootaloo a quick kiss on the forehead. “Star Shine played music for me once and it got stuck in my head so I asked him if I could borrow it.” Rainbow Dash explained. She thought the song sounded a little cheesy but she couldn’t deny how stuck in her head it had gotten.
“Oh, when did he play you some music?” Scootaloo asked, confused. She had of course been asleep at the time. Rainbow Dash had told her they would occasionally talk when she was asleep and she expected that. She had no clue that they might have gotten up to other things though.
“It was after the Canterlot dinner. We did some...dancing…” Rainbow Dash replied, a small blush forming on her cheeks at the memory.
“You danced?” Scootaloo asked, a little surprised. Rainbow Dash had never seemed like the type to dance to her. At least not to something slow and sappy like she was playing before. She didn’t seem like the type to enjoy that kind of music at all really.
“What’s wrong with me dancing?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little indignant. She knew she had a reputation for being a tomboy and not liking girly things but didn’t consider dancing to be all that girly. She could enjoy things like that if she wanted to.
“Nothing.” Scootaloo said hurriedly, still suppressing a giggle. She disguised it as a cough and regained her composure. “So where is the lucky guy who stole your first dance?” Scootaloo asked, teasing Rainbow Dash. She looked around for any sign of Star Shine and couldn’t see any. “Is he still in your bed?” Scootaloo asked, utterly failing to suppress her giggle this time. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and waited for Scootaloo to get it all out of her system. It took a little longer than Rainbow Dash would have liked it to take.
“I don’t know where he is, he’s probably sleeping on the couch.” Rainbow Dash answered after Scootaloo had contained herself. “Sleeping on the bed was a one time thing.” she explained. Scootaloo giggled a little again.
“Okay then, I’ll go see if I can find him.” Scootaloo said, turning and leaving her room.
“Yeah yeah...you go do that.” Rainbow Dash said quietly, still a little indignant. She floated up and continued her routine. A few minutes later she noticed Derpy fly past, signalling that some mail had just been delivered. As it was a Sunday, and there was no post on a Sunday, it could have only been the Sunday paper. Shortly after that her routine was interrupted when she heard a high pitched shriek that could have only come from Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash flew inside the house as fast as she could and headed downstairs. She thought maybe Scootaloo had fallen down the stairs before remembering that Scootaloo had done that before and not hurt herself thanks to the very soft landing that the cloud provided. Rainbow Dash entered the living room and saw Scootaloo in a state of utter panic. She was breathing heavily and backing away from Star Shine who was trying to calm her down and doing a very very bad job of it.
“What is it? What’s wrong?!” Rainbow Dash asked, jumping over to Scootaloo herself. Scootaloo backed away from Rainbow Dash too and even shrieked at her.
“YOU! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! I THOUGHT YOU GOT RID OF THAT THING! WHY WOULD YOU STILL HAVE IT?! WHY!?” Scootaloo screamed before running upstairs, crying heavily. It was the most distraught Rainbow Dash had ever seen her. Rainbow Dash tried flying straight upstairs but Star Shine grabbed her tail with his teeth, holding her in place. He pointed a hoof at the table, which had a newspaper on it, and released Rainbow Dash.
“Before you go up to her, you need to see why she’s so upset.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Scootaloo was mad at her, so so mad. She resolved to get her answers, and approached the table. “She’s gone too far this time. Way too far.” Star Shine muttered under his breath. Rainbow Dash had never seen him actually angry before either. Rainbow Dash could barely believe her eyes as she started reading.
Scootaloo’s Secrets Revealed
By Gabby Gums
Well it looks like I certainly made it to the big time doesn’t it? Whoever thought they would see Gabby Gums posting for the good old Ponyville Times. Not me, that’s for sure. This isn’t about me though, this is about Scootaloo. You might remember her as the pony who assaulted that sweet little filly Diamond Tiara. Well I can tell you a lot more about her than you ever knew before. I’m going to show you something that she showed me. At first it made me feel very very sorry for her and it may do the same to you, but keep in mind that this isn’t the truth. I’ve since found out what really happened.
After that came what had upset Scootaloo so much. There, for the whole of Equestria to see, was her suicide note. Diamond Tiara must have actually come into the house and found it. This was what was Rainbow Dash’s fault. If she had just gotten rid of that damn note then this wouldn’t have happened. Scootaloo was blaming Rainbow Dash for it, and Rainbow Dash was blaming herself for it too. If that wasn’t bad enough there was more after the note. Rainbow Dash continued reading.
Touching, isn’t it? To think that poor little filly was holding so much inside her and that so much had gone on for her. The poor thing was orphaned, teased, and eventually ended up trying to take drastic measures. I can say it definitely brought a tear to my eye. There’s just one problem with it.
It is, for the most part, a bunch of lies and exaggerations. While it is true that yes, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon may have teased her a little, most of it was gentle. The reason the other children laughed along was because it wasn’t anything really bad. Cheerilee would occasionally let the teasing slide but when it became really bad she did get involved. It certainly wasn’t bad enough to justify Scootaloo attacking Diamond Tiara. She also didn’t attack Silver Spoon. This was also hardly Scootaloo’s first record of violence and aggression. I went to great lengths to track down not just her father, but the orphanage that Scootaloo was taken to. It was quite interesting to talk to Scootaloo’s father. I tried to get him to talk to Scootaloo again but he wanted no part of it. He called her a problem child and explained the reasons that she was put up for adoption. To hear Scootaloo tell the story, she had a tragic past, but this is not the case. Scootaloo would constantly lie to her mother and cause fights between her and her father. It’s true she can’t fly but her father tried on many occasions to teach her. She wasn’t “abandoned” because she couldn’t fly, she strained the relationship between her father and mother and in the end she became too much to handle. Her mother never wanted to give up on her but her father pleaded with her. They just couldn’t handle her and she deserved somepony who could. So they made the most difficult decision of their lives and gave her up.
She wasn’t much better in the orphanage. She would avoid the other children and start arguments with the ones who tried to approach her. The staff there tried to teach her to fly too but they also failed because she would refuse to listen to them and do what they told her to do. While she is flightless, all indicators say it is her own fault that she can’t. She also became very possessive of the scooter you see her with now. This scooter actually isn’t hers as the note says. She would refuse to share it with the other children and one at least one occasion she did attack one of the other children when they tried to play with it.
When you think of Scootaloo, and you think of this, keep in mind the facts and keep in mind what is really true. Scootaloo may have had some problems in the past but a lot of them are her fault, and it sure isn’t enough to justify all that she’s done.
“Why would she do that? Why would anypony do something like that?” Rainbow Dash asked. There were tears streaming down her face and she was shaking with a mixture of anger and despair. Star Shine was next to her in a heartbeat with his foreleg around her.
“I don’t know why she would, but don’t worry. We’ll do something about it. Right now you need to go up to Scootaloo.” Star Shine replied. He was more angry than upset himself. Diamond Tiara hadn’t attacked him specifically and Scootaloo hadn’t attacked him. He had no real reason to be upset other than that his friends were being attacked. That made him far more angry than upset.
“But...but...you heard her. She hates me now.” Rainbow Dash replied, turning into Star Shine’s chest. Star Shine nuzzled her and gently stroked her mane, comforting her.
“She doesn’t, she’s just really upset. You’ll be able to calm her down again.” Star Shine explained.
“What...what about you? What are you going to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. She had never seen Star Shine so angry and had no idea what he could and might do in this state.
“I’m going to find that stupid little witch and reduce her to a fine dust.” Star Shine threatened, bringing his other foreleg around Rainbow Dash and clopping his hooves together. “She’s gone too far this time.”
“No don’t do that! That won’t help anything and it’ll just make things worse!” Rainbow Dash replied, squeezing Star Shine tight to try and calm him down. “I need you here, and going after her won’t fix anything. Please...stay here. Please.” Rainbow Dash pleaded, crying again. Star Shine let out a sigh and kept his calm. He returned the hug and nuzzled Rainbow Dash.
“I won’t go after Diamond Tiara, but I do still need to go out.” Star Shine replied, releasing the hug and heading for the door.
“Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, reaching out for him.
“I’m going to get your friends and take them to the library. We’re going to do something about this.” Star Shine explained. He ran over to Rainbow Dash and gave her another hug. “Trust me, Scootaloo will be fine. She just needs you to go calm her down.” he told her.
“How can I calm her down? She’s so mad. Not just at Diamond Tiara but at me too!” Rainbow Dash said dejectedly.
“Kids say things like that all the time.” Star Shine reassured her. “How would your mum calm you down when you got upset?” he asked her. Rainbow Dash thought about it for a second, calming down again and smiling when she thought about it.
“Usually she’d sing to me.” Rainbow Dash said, her smile growing bigger.
“Then go sing to her.” Star Shine suggested, smiling at Rainbow Dash.
“But, what would I even sing?” Rainbow Dash asked, wracking her brains for something to sing.
“Just sing whatever comes to mind. Or what it was that your mum would sing.” Star Shine said. Rainbow Dash nodded. She gave Star Shine one last hug and headed for the stairs. “Good luck, I’ll see you soon.” Star Shine said before heading to the front door.
“Good luck to you too. You have any ideas?” Rainbow Dash asked. She couldn’t think of any herself. Her mind was just too occupied with thoughts of Scootaloo. She had just been too distraught to really think of anything.
“I’m not sure, but we’ll think of something. You stay here with Scootaloo and I’ll be back soon.” Star Shine said. His own mind had been fluctuating and he’d been having trouble focusing. He was normally an ideas guy and had some good ideas. Diamond Tiara had really done a number on all of their psyches. He gave Rainbow Dash one last nod and headed out the door. Rainbow Dash turned and headed up the stairs. She stopped outside Scootaloo’s door, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to see in there. She breathed deeply and pushed open the door. It was as bad as she was expecting. Scootaloo was curled up on her bed, still crying heavily. She didn’t even notice Rainbow Dash come in. She did look up when she felt the shift as Rainbow Dash sat down on the bed next to her. Scootaloo looked at her and stopped crying, her tears replaced by anger again.
“What do you want?” Scootaloo asked angrily. Rainbow Dash fidgeted and looked down at the floor. It was one thing to say she was going to try and calm Scootaloo down, and it was a whole other thing to actually face the reality that right now Scootaloo was incredibly mad at her.
“I...I…” Rainbow Dash began. Scootaloo went back to burying her face in her mattress, not even wanting to look at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed, and began singing gently. The only song that she could think of was the one that Star Shine had played for her. It was a love song more than anything, but there were some lyrics that were pretty appropriate to her current situation.
I've been watching you stumble Through the darkest night Let me tell you It's gonna be alright I can see you've been trying but Your wings got clipped Been waiting in line but Your turn got skipped
I'll be there when you need me I'll be there when you call Yeah I'll be there to catch you when you fall Know that I'll never leave you Out here on your own I'll be the lights that guide you home
There was more to the song but that was all that was really appropriate. Rainbow Dash was singing softly with her eyes closed and both heard and felt Scootaloo shift while she was singing. She opened her eyes to find Scootaloo was curled up against her and, most shocking of all, was smiling again.
“I’m sorry for saying I hate you.” Scootaloo muttered. She was crying again. Now it was more because of what she had done than what anypony else had done. “I got so mad I...well...it wasn’t your fault.” she added, not entirely sure how to phrase her apology. Rainbow Dash put a foreleg around and her and held her close.
“Don’t worry about it. I probably should have gotten rid of that note.” Rainbow Dash replied. She lowered herself down on to the bed properly and Scootaloo huddled up against her.
“Maybe, but she shouldn’t have come in here, or taken it.” Scootaloo admitted. “And I shouldn’t have gotten mad like that.” she added, apologising again.
“I told you it’s okay.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling Scootaloo. “I got mad too, and so did Star Shine. I’ve never seen him that angry.”
“Where is he anyway?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash. “I thought he’d come up with you.”
“He’s gone out. He’s going to get Twilight and everypony else and they’re going to do something about all this. Something that hopefully doesn’t involve pulverizing Diamond Tiara.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo shivered at just the mention of the name Diamond Tiara.
“She probably deserves it.” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. Rainbow Dash giggled at her. It felt good to let some of the tension out.
“Maybe, but it wouldn’t be a good thing. Let’s not turn Star Shine into a murderer okay?” Rainbow Dash said, still giggling a little.
“Yeah yeah, I guess so. It would be kinda bad.” Scootaloo relented. It would have only ended badly for them. “Can we just hurt her a bit though?” Scootaloo asked, far too happy given what she had actually asked.
“That would still be pretty bad. I’m sure Star Shine and the girls will think of something.” Rainbow Dash replied. She couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Diamond Tiara getting some actual punishment for once. “I suppose we could hit her with a storm cloud again if we got the chance.” Rainbow Dash relented. Scootaloo laughed at the memory of Diamond Tiara after they had shocked her, with her mane all frizzy and slightly blackened.
“Do you think we could move? We can start again some other place.” Scootaloo asked after a comfortable silence. Moving certainly would have been one option. The Ponyville Times probably didn’t actually get much further than Ponyville itself. There was a very strong possibility that Equestria at large was not at all aware about anything that was happening. Ponyville was a pretty small place. At least compared to the grandeur of Canterlot.
“If we really had to.” Rainbow Dash replied. “But only if we really, really have to. It’s not fair that we’d have to go when she was the one who did this. All our friends are here too.” she added. “Besides where would we go?” she asked.
“We could go to Canterlot. I bet Star Shine can afford it.” Scootaloo offered. Rainbow Dash thought about it for a minute and shook her head.
“You’re not comfortable in Canterlot. We couldn’t stay there.” she replied. Scootaloo sighed, knowing it was true. She wished she knew what it was about Canterlot that made her so uncomfortable. She didn’t even realise she had a problem with the place until she actually went there. Something about the place just reminded her of things she didn’t want to be reminded of.
“What about Trottingham? We could go live with Star Shine.” Scootaloo offered. It was another good suggestion but once again Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“That’s way too far away and besides, he doesn’t even have much of a home there. It’s probably about the size of the..clubhouse.” Rainbow Dash said, slowing down as she realised what she had said. Scootaloo shivered.
“Yeah, let’s not live there.” Scootaloo said, laughing weakly to try and dispel the bad memories of living in the clubhouse.
“We’re going to live right here. I’m not gonna let her take me away from the ponies that I love. I refuse to let her win.” Rainbow Dash declared.
“Yeah, besides I like living here. I’ve had a lot of fun in Ponyville.” Scootaloo replied.
“That’s right, and I’m sure the town won’t abandon you yet.” Rainbow Dash said, gently stroking Scootaloo’s mane again. The two sat together and waited to see what Star Shine could and would do. They had managed to lift eachother’s spirits up a little and had been cheered up enough to hope. Hope was, after all, the worst thing one could lose. Even in their wildest dreams they probably couldn’t have imagined what Star Shine was getting up to, and what together he and their friends would manage to accomplish.
As soon as Star Shine left the house he headed straight towards the library. He had a few ideas of what to do himself but wanted to make sure that everypony had a good idea of what they were doing and they were all willing to do it. He imagined there wouldn’t be a problem, and just wanted them all to be on the same page. Step one to him was to go to Feather Quill and find out just why he would print such a thing. No self respecting journalist would print something like that in his mind and, despite how their initial meeting had gone, Star Shine felt that Feather Quill probably had a lot of integrity. He made his way to the library as quick as he could and as soon as he got there began rapping frantically on the door.
“Alright, alright, hold your horses.” Spike said from inside the library. “Heh, horses.” he added, smirking at his own joke as he opened the door. He had no time to welcome Star Shine as Star Shine just ran straight past him and into the main room, hitting Spike as he did.
“Twilight? Twilight are you here?” Star Shine called out, still panicking.
“Oh sure, it’s not like you ran into me or anything…” Spike commented drily, rubbing his head. Twilight came down the stairs in a bit of a hurry given how panicked Star Shine had sounded. Spike walked off to make himself a drink.
“What’s up?” Twilight asked, looking him up and down. He looked very out of breath and was even sweaty. He’d clearly been in a hurry, and he was on his own. “Where’s Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo?” Star Shine took a second to catch his breath before replying.
“They’re still in the house. I need your help with something. Have you seen the Ponyville Times yet?” Star Shine said quickly.
“No, I haven’t seen anything yet.” Twilight said, taking a seat at the table. “What can I help you with?” Star Shine joined her at the table and flopped his head down on it.
“You need to see what’s in the paper before I can really explain anything.” Star Shine replied. He’d managed to catch his breath and was breathing much slower than he had been when he first arrived.
“Spike? Have you seen the Ponyville Times?” Twilight called out to the kitchen where Spike still was.
“Yeah, it’s in here. Just a sec.” Spike called back. Twilight heard a breath and smelled a familiar smell before something dropped out of the air from just above her and dropped onto her head, landing on the table in front of her.
“Well that was pretty lazy.” Twilight commented, rolling her eyes. Twilight opened the paper up and scanned through it for a few pages until she found what she was most likely looking for; an article on Scootaloo.
“This is...what? This…” Twilight said, completely flabbergasted by what she was reading. She couldn’t really believe what she was reading. That someone would write it. That someone would print it. That anypony would believe it. It certainly painted a very different picture of Scootaloo than the one she knew. Her eyes went wide when she read the note. “Is...this true?” she asked when she had finished reading it all and put the paper down. Star Shine picked himself up but his eyes went back to the floor.
“The note is real but everything else is fake. Scootaloo wasn’t a problem child or anything, and her dad isn’t some kind of sympathetic figure. He abused her and her legs got broken once. She was abandoned and abused, and probably better off in the orphanage.” Star Shine explained. “You know she can’t fly and everything else has come out now, no point in hiding it anymore.” he added. Twilight was more shocked at that than she was reading the note itself.
“You know who wrote this and how?” Twilight asked. “How’d nothing happen to her dad?”
“What her dad did was technically not illegal. He used a common training practice that’s been used forever and even happens in Flight Schools. It’s just dangerous when a pony can’t fly and when he realised she couldn’t fly, he should have stopped.” Star Shine explained. “ As for who did this; it has to have been Diamond Tiara. She’s the only one who coulda found that note when she came to Rainbow Dash’s house. The note was hidden really well in the house and only me and Rainbow Dash have seen it.” Star Shine replied. “That’s why I’m here; Scootaloo is a mess and Diamond Tiara has definitely gone too far this time. We gotta do something about it. I was gonna go and get the rest of Rainbow’s friends and bring them here so we can do something. I have some ideas and I’m sure together we can come up with more.” he explained. Twilight got up out of her seat and started pacing around, her mind working.
“Well we need to find out why it was printed...we could do with having some proof it was Diamond Tiara too...I wonder if we can get some kind of warrant...maybe I’ll ask Shining about it…” Twilight muttered to herself, still walking in a circle. Star Shine watched her, almost completely entranced by her actions. Spike nudged him and drew his attention.
“Yeah she’s lost. If you want to get her friends go get them. She’ll probably be done by then and full of ideas.” Spike explained. Star Shine nodded and headed out the door. He wondered if he should go to Rarity or Pinkie Pie first and, remembering her had promised Pinkie that he would visit her, decided to go to see her first. He was about to leave when he realised he had no idea where she lived. He poked his head back into the door.
“Hey, Spike, where does Pinkie Pie live?” he asked the little dragon. Spike was trying to keep the place clean as books were flying everywhere as Twilight had begun doing research as well as thinking.
“She lives at Sugarcube Corner, the bakery. It’s built like a gingerbread house, so I doubt you’ll miss it.” Spike replied, picking up any books that fell to the floor.
“Thanks, I’ll be back soon.” Star Shine replied, tipping his metaphorical hat and closing the door behind him. The reason he was going only to Rarity and Pinkie Pie was because they were the only two he had met. He had heard of Applejack and Fluttershy but hadn’t met them. Even if he thought about them and remembered them as Elements of Harmony (and thus more than likely Rainbow Dash’s friends on the level of Rarity and Pinkie Pie) he would have definitely been too unsure to visit them. He didn’t even know if they knew him. Applejack had heard of him, having asked Scootaloo about him, but Fluttershy had no idea he existed. After the original Gabby Gums incident she had been afraid to read a paper incase she was in it again. Her friends would almost keep her up to date on what was happening. The things she wasn’t directly involved in at least. Star Shine took off into the air to get a better view and had a good look around. Spike was right; it didn’t take him very long to spot the bakery, even from the library. He flew on over and landed outside and tapped on the door gentler than he had on the library door.
“Just a second dear,” came a voice from inside the building. The door was opened by an Earth pony with a very light cerulean coat and a mane with two different shades of crimson. Despite looking a little tired she also had a very friendly smile as Mrs. Cup Cake usually did. “Yes, can I help you? We’re closed for Sunday I’m afraid.” she said, looking Star Shine up and down. He was much calmer now and hadn’t rushed so much so wasn’t even out of breath.
“I’m here to talk to Pinkie Pie, is she in?” Star Shine replied.
“I know that voice!” came a very excited voice from inside the bakery. Just as his own voice had been recognised, Star Shine recognised the voice he just heard. He tensed up a little as Mrs. Cake was bounded to the side and her place was taken by a very excitable pink pony.
“You came! You came! You really came! I mean, I knew you’d come because you promised and all but it’s been a few days so I wasn’t sure but here you are and I knew you wouldn’t break a Pinkie Promise because nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise and you didn’t seem like the kind of pony to break a promise anyway-” Pinkie Pie began excitedly before Star Shine put a hoof in her mouth to quieten her.
“I’m sorry but I need your help with something, can you go to the library? Twilight’s waiting there and she can explain everything, and I’m going to go get Rarity too.” Star Shine said. He really did feel bad about quieting Pinkie Pie like that. Pinkie Pie nodded and Star Shine took his hoof out of her mouth. He felt bad about putting his hoof in there in the first place but that quickly went away as he began regretting releasing her.
“I can go there sure but what are we doing? Why are you getting Rarity? Are you getting App-” Pinkie Pie began before her mouth was once again forced closed.
“I’m sorry Pinkie, again, but I’m kinda in a hurry. Twilight can explain everything. There’s been a bit of an emergency and Rainbow Dash needs help.” Star Shine explained. Pinkie Pie nodded again and Star Shine released her again.
“Rainbow Dash needs help? Well I can’t say no to that. I’m going to go then. I’ll see you later. Good luck with it all.” Pinkie Pie said to Star Shine. “I’m going out. Rainbow Dash needs help. Star Shine’s going out again. His hoof tastes like strawberries. Kinda odd. Anyway. I’ll be back later.” Pinkie Pie said, turning her head around and presumably talking to one of the Cake’s. Thankfully it wasn’t either of the twins. With that said, Pinkie Pie set off for the library. Star Shine watched her leave, utterly bemused. He shook his head, snapped back to reality, and headed for the Boutique.
After finishing up with Pinkie Pie, Star Shine headed straight to the Boutique. The rest of the town was starting to wake up and come to life. Ponies were opening their doors and their windows and letting the light in. Star Shine was also getting a few curious glances, both from the ponies who had read the paper and those who hadn’t. The sight of a pony running through town as fast as he could was sure to attract some attention. Star Shine was aware of the looks and it didn’t take long for him to just fly to the Boutique instead of running there. Flying would have been faster anyway and he wasn’t entirely sure why he wasn’t flying in the first place. It didn’t take long to reach the Boutique and when he did, he rapped politely on the door, taking Rarity’s demeanour into account and being polite despite the emergency. Rarity opened the door shortly thereafter.
“I’m terribly sorry dar-” Rarity began before seeing who it was. She was about to announce that she was closed for Sunday as just about everywhere else was. “Oh good morning Star Shine, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, opening the door wide to invite him in. He saw the paper was open on a table. He must have caught her shortly before she read the offending article.
“Did you finish reading the paper?” Star Shine asked, nodding towards it. Rarity turned her head around to follow his eyes to the paper on the table. She turned back at him and shook her head, smiling a little.
“I haven’t no, and it’s quite hard to do when one has gentleman callers in the early hours of the day.” she teased playfully. Star Shine smiled but wasn’t really feeling it.
“I’m sorry for visiting so early but there’s been a bit of an emergency. There’s something in the paper you have to see.” Star Shine said, taking advantage of the open door to enter the Boutique. Rarity didn’t try and stop him and he walked over to where the paper was resting on the table. Rarity joined him and stood next to him as he flipped through the pages until he found what he was after. “I need you to read this, and then I’m gonna need your help with something.” Star Shine explained. Rarity looked at him curiously and did as she was asked. Her response was pretty similar to Twilight’s. A mixture of gasps and shock and mostly by the end, a sense of anger that such a thing had happened.
“This...why this is awful! Who would do such a thing?” Rarity asked, frowning.
“We think it was Diamond Tiara. We pretty much know it was her. Think you can come to the library and help us do something about it?” Star Shine asked. Rarity nodded and looked determined.
“Let’s do this.” She declared vehemently. Star Shine nodded and turned around. He lowered himself onto the ground, offering Rarity his back.
“It’ll be faster if we fly, can you hop on my back? I’ll carry you there.” Star Shine said. Rarity looked at him a little nervously.
“Will it...will it be safe?” she asked, approaching him.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.” Star Shine replied, smiling at her.
“Okay then. If you’re sure…” Rarity replied. She delicately positioned herself on Star Shine’s back and giggled as he unfurled her wings and tickled her underbelly as he did so.
“Sorry…” he apoligised sheepishly after she’d calmed down.
“It’s okay dear.” Rarity replied, patting the top of his head. “For now we have work to do so let’s get going.” she added. As Star Shine took off she thought to herself it was a very good thing that Sweetie Belle was staying with their parents and not with her. Rarity had flown before thanks to the Gossamer Wing Spell so the experience wasn’t as exhilarating to her as it might be to some other ponies. It was still very exciting. Star Shine was flying pretty fast and really pushing his wings to compensate for the added weight of Rarity. Rarity was beginning to see why Scootaloo would stay on Rainbow Dash’s back, other than that she couldn’t fly of course. Before she could really get used to the sensation they were coming in for a landing. Star Shine had pushed his wings to their absolute limit and it didn’t take very long to get back to the library. Star Shine was about to open the door when Rarity tapped him. He turned around to look at her, still on his back. “Sorry to stop you, but I’d like to get off before we go in please.” Rarity said. Star Shine chuckled and lowered himself again so that Rarity could hop off him with no problems. Star Shine stretched his wings after Rarity got off of him and opened the door at last. Pinkie Pie had him flat on his back in an instant.
“Why didn’t you just tell me what happened? Oh this is awful! Poor Rainbow Dash. Poor Scootaloo! We gotta do something about this. We just gotta! Why didn’t Rainbow Dash say anything before? Why is Diamond Tiara being so mean? Oh I really hope there’s something we can do. Twilight got her big brother here. I’m not sure how really. I guess when you’re married to an Alicorn Princess who’s related to two other Alicorn Princesses you don’t question how things happen. Still it was pretty surprising for him to just appear. Twilight sent a message to him asking him for help and he just appeared. Poof! Like magic. It would be magic. He was probably teleported here. Teleporting is magic.” Pinkie Pie said, barely stopping to breathe and leaving Star Shine terribly confused. The only words he’d really caught were “Big brother” and “Alicorn Princesses”. “ Hey Shining, were you teleported here?!” Pinkie called into the library.
“I didn’t tell you how I got here?” Shining Armor said, appearing at the doorway. Pinkie Pie shook her head as Star Shine watched on. He gulped as he saw the large white colt and realised who he was looking at. Who Pinkie was talking to so casually. “Oh. Yeah Cady and Celestia sent me here. Luna’s still sleeping. She looks cute when she sleeps but don’t tell Cady I said that.” Shining Armor explained. Pinkie Pie zipped her mouth shut. It was then that Shining Armor noticed Pinkie Pie was sat on a colt he’d never met before. “Who’s that you’re sat on Pinkie?” Shining asked, laughing a little. He was quite used to some of Pinkie’s antics. “That must be Star Shine right?” Pinkie nodded and got off of Star Shine, who himself went wide eyed that a Prince would even know his name.
“You...you know my name?” Star Shine asked, still shocked. Shining Armor helped Star Shine up this hooves.
“Yeah, Twiley filled me in on everything while you were gone.” Shining Armor explained.
“Good morning Shining dear.” Rarity said, walking past Star Shine and into the library. She had had enough of waiting around.
“Good morning Rarity.” Shining Armor replied, nodding at Rarity as she entered the library. “Say, where are Applejack and Fluttershy? When Twiley said you were getting all Rainbow’s friends I thought you meant all the Elements.” Star Shine looked around in confusion.
“Apple...jack? Flutter...shy?” he asked slowly. He was already tired from all the flying around, not to mention carrying Rarity. Add to that the awe one feels in the presence of royalty, and the confusion one feels to see a royal acting so casually, and you have a very slow brain that struggles to comprehend information. They were both names that he had heard before, he knew that much. Rainbow Dash had mentioned an Applejack who could make amazing pies and a Fluttershy who fell down from Cloudsdale.
“Hey Twiley, he forgot Applejack and Fluttershy.” Shining Armor called into the library.
“I’ll send them letters if we need them, or just to fill them in if we don’t. For now let him in and we’ll get to work. I don’t think he’s met them before, so it’s not too surprising he didn’t get them. We don’t have to blast anything with a dose of harmony so let’s go with what we have.” Twilight called back. Shining Armor entered the library and allowed Star Shine to come in too. When Star Shine entered the library he saw that there were books piled around as well as various pieces of paper. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were sat at a table with Twilight and all three of them had some form of hot drink. There was also a fourth drink that was presumably Shining Armor’s. Shining Armor joined them at the table and Twilight motioned for Star Shine to also join them.
“So what do we have so far?” Star Shine asked, sitting down.
“Twiley came up with a list of things we need to do, so see if there’s anything any of you think needs to go on there too.” Shining Armor replied. The mares (plus Star Shine) nodded and Twilight took out her list.
“Okay in no particular order we need to find some way to prove that Diamond Tiara did this. I asked Shining if it was possible to get a search warrant for her house-” Twilight began.
“If we have some kinda proof she lied to anypony and we have a really good reason to suspect her then I can. If not it’ll take a while to process it.” Shining Armor interrupted her. Twilight glared at him, narrowing her eyes.
“What would count as that?” Star Shine asked, further annoying Twilight.
“Well she told Twilight a bunch of stuff, so if any of that was a lie, and we have proof, that should do.” Shining Armor replied.
“Cheerilee!” Twilight exclaimed suddenly, surprising everypony. She laughed nervously at the looks they gave her. “Cheerilee.” she repeated. “Diamond Tiara told me that she heard Rainbow Dash telling Scootaloo that they couldn’t go out because of the fight, but Rainbow Dash told me that Cheerilee got annoyed at her because Rainbow Dash was still going out. Rainbow Dash never told Scootaloo that they couldn’t go, and was actually quick to tell her they still could.” Twilight explained.
“Oh, for a second there I thought you’d gone crazy.” Shining Armor teased. Twilight jabbed him on the foreleg. “Well that would do actually. I’ll go talk to Cheerilee and see what she says. I’ll be back soon guys.” he added. He got up and left the library. The others, Star Shine in particular, watched him leave and felt hope that maybe something really could be done. One thing was going to be taken care of. They just needed to take care of the rest.
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were still curled up together and just simply enjoying the moment that had been lasting for quite a lot of moments. As with most peaceful moments it didn’t last too long before something came along to ruin it. In relative time Star Shine had just met Rarity and was about to take her back to the library.
“Excuse me? Hello? Is anypony home? Helloooooooooooo?” Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash heard a voice call from outside the house and, presumably, from below it on the ground. Scootaloo looked worriedly at Rainbow Dash.
“Who’s that?” Scootaloo asked. With everything that had happened she was more than a little nervous about strangers randomly visiting the house. Rainbow Dash was pretty well known and the place stood out a lot so she couldn’t even reason it was somepony Rainbow Dash knew.
“I’ll go find out, you stay here.” Rainbow Dash replied. She gave Scootaloo another nuzzle and got out the bed. She stretched and left the room, heading for the front door. She leaned over the edge of the cloud layer and looked down on the ground. She saw a white Pegasus looking up at her. “Can I...Can I help you?” Rainbow Dash called down. “We’re kinda having a bad day.” she added. Scootaloo appeared next to her and scooched up to her.
“Sorry, I got kinda worried and wanted to stay with you.” Scootaloo explained. Rainbow Dash smiled and put a foreleg around her, holding her close.
“I know you’re having a bad day. I saw the paper. I’m sorry about that. I probably had a chance to stop it and I didn’t take it.” the Pegasus called back up.
“What do you mean? Who are you?” Rainbow Dash called back. The Pegasus shifted uncomfortably. There was no way he could say what he had to say next without getting hurt. and probably a lot at that.
“I’m the guard that took Diamond Tiara home after she came here. I qu-” Firefly, for it was him, began. He was cut off by Rainbow Dash flying in to him, knocking him to the ground, and pinning him down. She was glaring at him and seething. To his credit Firefly kept his calm. Years of being a bodyguard had allowed him to experience his fair share of angry and crazy people. Rainbow Dash had every right to be angry at him and he was well aware of that. That made it easier for him to deal with how she was. “I was gonna say that I quit this morning after what I read. I can’t believe she did that.” Firefly said, looking down and not really acknowledging Rainbow Dash’s anger.
“You said you could have stopped this. What did you do?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo was watching from the cloud house. She was starting to get a little scared.
“I lied. I did see her inside your house. She was holding herself odd too, like she had hurt her leg. I didn’t check her to see what it was. I guess, looking back, it was what she put in the paper.” Firefly admitted. At first Rainbow Dash was incredibly angry. She wanted to pound Firefly into dust, but logic hit her brain first. Right under her hooves was a pony who could give proof that Diamond Tiara had entered her house. Maybe he even had proof that she had taken something from her too. Rainbow Dash controlled her anger and stepped off of Firefly.
“You need to go to the library.” Rainbow Dash said, controlling her emotions.
“What? Why?” Firefly asked, confused. Rainbow Dash facehoofed, sliding her hoof down her face.
“Star Shine and Twilight are at the library taking care of this. You could help a lot, so go help. Tell them I sent you and tell Star Shine the singing worked and Scootaloo calmed down. Just that. He’ll know what you mean. Now go already!” Rainbow Dash explained, shouting at the end as both a release of emotions and to hurry his flank up.
“I’ll get on my way then. Again, I’m sorry this happened.” Firefly flied, preparing to leave.
“What happened happened, now go FIX IT!” Rainbow Dash cried out. Firefly could be as hard to deal with as Star Shine. They’d probably get along pretty well. If Star Shine could wait to hear him out before trying to crush his skull. Assuming he hadn’t calmed down yet. Rainbow Dash wasn’t quite sure which outcome she would have preferred. Rainbow Dash headed back up next to Scootaloo once Firefly had been sent on his way. Rainbow Dash scooped Scootaloo up and took her into the living room and placed her on the couch.
“What was that about? Who was that?” Scootaloo asked, watching Rainbow Dash move around the room. Rainbow Dash pulled a book out and sat down next to Scootaloo.
“He was one of Diamond Tiara’s guards.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo made a disgusted face and Rainbow Dash laughed. “Don’t worry, he quit. He said he saw Diamond Tiara here in the house too, so I told him to go to the library. I’m sure he can help the guys out.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Oh. I wonder how how they’re doing.” Scootaloo replied, huddling up to Rainbow Dash.
“Me too. I’m sure we’ll find out soon.” Rainbow Dash replied. She put a foreleg around Scootaloo and started to read from the book. Both of them wanted to just focus on eachother and spending time together and not focus on the bad things that had happened to them.
*** While Shining Armor was dealing with Cheerilee, the rest of the team were still working on what to do next and weren’t just lazing around.
“So...what else is on the list?” Star Shine asked Twilight, who was still looking at her list. Shining Armor had just left and would hopefully not be too long.
“Next was that we need to see Feather Quill and find out just why he printed it. This was much more than idle gossip.” Twilight explained. Star Shine nodded.
“I was thinking that too. I’ll go take care of that then while we wait for Shining Armor to get back.” Star Shine said. He got up to leave and was about to when the door opened.
“Shining are you back-” Twilight began before she realised that while the stallion that had just walked in was white, it was not her big brother. He had not longed left but he was all she could think as to who it could be. It wasn’t even a Unicorn and was a Pegasus.
“You!” Rarity declared, pointing a hoof at him dramatically. “You’re the one who talked to Sweetie Belle about Scootaloo aren’t you?” she asked. She couldn’t be totally sure. The Pegasus looked kind of familiar to her. She was dramatic enough to assume that it was him.
“Uhhh…” Firefly began cautiously. He had lost his nerve as soon as he entered the room and saw all the attention he had suddenly received. He remembered Rarity and visiting her once. “Diamond Tiara asked me to.” he explained. Star Shine tackled him to the ground and was standing over him pretty quickly. “Oh not again.” Firefly muttered. It had been a bad day for his back. At least the last time it was a mare pinning him to the ground.
“What do you know about Diamond Tiara?” Star Shine, growling.
“Quite a lot, seeing as I’m her former guard.” Firefly replied, rolling his eyes. He couldn’t resist being sarcastic given the response he’d been getting. Not once, but twice. “Now you’re Star Shine aren’t you?” Firefly asked quickly before Star Shine could respond. He had some knowledge of Star Shine too.
“Yeah that’s me, why?” Star Shine replied, narrowing his eyes.
“Rainbow Dash sent me. Like I said I’m Diamond Tiara’s former guard. I went to talk to Rainbow Dash before I came here. I saw Diamond Tiara inside your house so Rainbow Dash wants me here to help you guys. She told me to tell you that the singing worked and Scootaloo calmed down. She said you’d know what it meant.” Firefly explained. Star Shine smiled after Firefly had finished speaking. They had another vital piece of evidence as well as somepony who knew Diamond Tiara well on their side and Scootaloo was happy. Or calm at least. Everything was really beginning to turn around for them and it was all a matter of time before everything came to fruition and became great again. Star Shine got off of Firefly and helped the poor stallion up to his hooves.
“Sorry about that. You okay?” Star Shine asked apologetically and much to the surprise of everypony in the room.
“Trained guard, those kinda things happen. Your girlfriend hits harder than you.” Firefly replied. Star Shine laughed which, again, surprised everypony in the room. Star Shine was from the land of wit and sarcasm and could appreciate a good dose of it, no matter who said it.
“I have to agree with you there, though she’s not my girlfriend.” Star Shine said to Firefly. He then turned around to everypony else who was gathered around the table. “I’m gonna go talk to Feather Quill for now. Make sure this guy here talks to Shining Armor when he gets back. I’m sure he’d love the little snippet of information that Diamond Tiara did go inside Rainbow’s house.” Star Shine said.
“Can we really trust him?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah I mean he lied to Feather Quill and said that Diamond Tiara never came inside the house and he helped her out and he’s one of her guards. What if he’s just lying and she sent him here?” Pinkie Pie added. She jumped up and got right in Firefly’s face. He found it extremely uncomfortable. “Are you a spy?” she asked him, staring him down. Firefly backed away slowly.
“Look you don’t have to trust me, you don’t even have to believe me really. All you need to know is that I can help and I want to. After I read the paper this morning I quit. I just walked out the house. I don’t have a job anymore and even if I was lying now, I’m aware of how much trouble I’ll get into for having lied before. Diamond Tiara is not worth that. I thought she was, but she wasn’t. I want to fix this mess I helped make. We don’t need to be friends for that.” Firefly said, pleading his case. Pinkie Pie backed away and smiled at him.
“Okie dokie lokie” she said and sat back down at the table. Twilight and Rarity weren’t as convinced. They weren’t even sure Pinkie was convinced, but they did agree that they didn’t even need to get along. They didn’t even have to talk to him. Only Shining Armor did.
“And we need all the help we can get.” Star Shine said, also pleading the case of Firefly a little. “Speaking of help, I’m gonna see if we can get any help from Feather Quill. I’ll be back in a bit guys.” he added. With that he opened the door and left the library, setting out on his task.
Shining Armor wasn’t entirely sure about where Cheerilee lived but thanks to the help of some friendly Ponyville citizens he found his way there in good time. .He was also quick to reassure the ponies he asked for directions that Cheerilee was in no trouble whatsoever. There was no point in attempting to pass it off as a social call so he could only say that she could help out a lot and hope for the best. Ponyville had definitely had enough of gossip. Or at least of demonising the innocent. Demonising the guilty was something that could certainly still be done by the end of the day. For now they had to be proven guilty and with that in mind Shining Armor approached Cheerilee’s front door and knocked politely. Cheerilee opened the door after a few moments and as gasped and bowed down as soon as she saw who her guest was this sunny day.
“Good morning Cheerilee. Please, get up. I need your help with something.” Shining Armor said sheepishly. He wasn’t really used to ponies bowing in front of him like that yet. He wasn’t sure how Celestia, Luna and Cadance were used to it. It might be something he got used to over time. He offered Cheerilee a hoof to get her back up but she didn’t take it and instead just got up on her own. She was still nervous as Tartarus and was doing her best to contain it.
“Wh-wha-what can I help you with?” Cheerilee asked.
“Could I come in and talk?” Shining Armor asked. He looked around and saw that they had attracted a fair amount of attention. Ponies who passed by were looking across at them and whispering at each other. Cheerilee noticed all the chattering ponies too and moved aside to let Shining Armor in. She nervously closed the door once he was inside, still aware of just how many ponies were looking at her. She really hoped whatever it was wasn’t something bad. Shining Armor entered her living room and took a seat and was joined not long after by Cheerilee herself. He sat down in the living room rather than talk to her at the doorway or in the hall because even though he didn’t think he’d be there long, he wanted her to be at ease and comfortable. He’d worked his way to the top job of the royal guards and had dealt with his fair share of victims and witnesses. He smiled at Cheerilee which unfortunately, given his rank and position, did not help as much as he thought it might.
“What...what can I help you with?” Cheerilee asked nervously fidgeting.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about Cheerilee. I just need to ask you about a few things is all.” Shining Armor replied. “Have you seen today’s paper?” he asked. Cheerilee looked across to where the paper was resting on her table and nodded, looking down.
“I couldn’t believe anypony would do that to such a sweet little girl. I don’t care what they say about Scootaloo. I know what she’s really like and I wish I could do something for the poor girl.” Cheerilee replied. Shining Armor’s smile grew. Cheerilee was more than willing to help and better yet, she didn’t believe the lies and saw things for how they really were. Scootaloo could be quite reclusive, and certainly had been after the Gorge incident, so Cheerilee was more likely the exception, rather than the rule. It was still very good to have at least one pony keep in mind how Scootaloo really is and see things for how they really were.
“There’s actually something you can do. That’s why I’m here.” Shining Armor said. Cheerilee looked up at him a little dumbfounded and confused. She couldn’t see any way she could actually do anything to help. Certainly not something that warranted a Prince to visit. “Do you remember when you suspended Scootaloo and the chat you had with Rainbow Dash after she came to pick her up?” Shining Armor asked. Cheerilee nodded slowly, not seeing what it had to do with anything.
“Yeah, Rainbow Dash came and wanted to take her away as quick as she could. Something about going to dinner in Canterlot. I thought it was a bit much to take her out for dinner the same day she got suspended. Guess she really needed that smile now though, huh?” Cheerilee replied. She was looking a little down again. Scootaloo probably wasn’t as spoiled as she had perhaps imagined.
“Do you remember Rainbow Dash specifically saying that they were still going out? She told you that they were still going out?” Shining Armor asked, practically frantic with excitement. Cheerilee thought it over for a second. It wasn’t exactly easy to remember one specific conversation like that.
“She didn’t tell me specifically they were still going out, but she did tell Scootaloo. Something about needing a good time.” Cheerilee said, still musing it over. To the best of her knowledge that was how things had gone. Shining Armor’s smile faltered a little but it was still there. It wasn’t exactly concrete and would probably not hold up in a court of law but it was something. They had some viable proof that Rainbow Dash had never told Scootaloo that their dinner was cancelled.
“That’s really all I needed Cheerilee, thanks for the help.” Shining Armor said. He got up to leave and Cheerilee followed him out. She had been left very very confused by everything that had happened.
“What’s going on anyway? I don’t see how I’ve helped anything.” Cheerilee asked. Shining Armor turned around around and sighed. He wasn’t sure if he should really say too much. None of the Princesses actually knew that much about the current situation. Twilight had mostly asked him for some kind of legal help or advice from a legal standpoint. She hadn’t detailed much of the situation until he had arrived, talking mostly about what crimes may or may not have been committed and what could be done about them. After reading it Shining had decided to help in person as much as he could. His little sister needed his help and that was all that mattered to him. That had also been all that mattered to Cadance and Celestia who had sent him off without another word after he said that Twilight needed his help with something. Both Celestia and Cadance had been concerned about what might have happened and Shining had reassured them that she was in no danger or trouble. Once that was done they had sent him away after making him promise to tell them all about it when he got back. He wasn’t sure how much he could or really should say to other ponies not directly involved. He had just sort of directly involved Cheerilee. That thought and realisation made the decision for him.
“We think we know who did that to Scootaloo. There was a pony who told Twiley that they heard Rainbow Dash tell Scootaloo they couldn’t go out anymore after she got suspended. With your testimony we can prove they clearly lied to Twiley and anyone who lies to my Twiley and takes advantage of her naivety and trust will pay. Especially after going on to do something like this.” Shining Armor said. Cheerilee was a little afraid given how he’d talked about people paying for taking advantage of Twilight like that. He was a very protective big brother after all. That was another reason that Cadance and Celestia hadn’t delayed him. They knew better than to keep him waiting when his “Twiley” was involved.
“If I’ve helped at all then that’d be great. I’d love to see whoever did this get what’s coming to them. What a sick and twisted thing to do. To know a girl went through all of that and to just...to just use it like that. How could somepony do such a thing?” Cheerilee asked. There were tears streaming down her face as she thought about what Scootaloo must be going through right now. It was one of the worst things that Cheerilee had ever seen. “What’s worse...what if somepony sees it like this? What if they don’t remember what Scootaloo is really like and they think this is what she’s really like?” she asked. She couldn’t really believe that somepony might see it that way but if somepony had such knowledge of Scootaloo’s past and used it as they had then there was more than a chance that somepony else would see it the way they presented it too. Shining Armor walked over to Cheerilee and gave her a hug.
“Sometimes ponies don’t realise that the evil isn’t just the big bad monster that comes to attack a town. It’s not just the Draconequus, the malevolent Nightmare, or even the Queen of the Changelings. Evil is born in the hearts of ponies and all other creatures. Nothing is born evil. But also keep in mind that evil can and will be stopped. Good ponies don’t need to be Element Bearers, Princesses, Princes, guards, or whatever. Good ponies just need to be ponies who take a stand and don’t stand for what’s happening. Never forget Cheerilee that evil only really wins when good does nothing. Not like you, who’s done something. You aren’t the only one too. What happened is being taken care of. You can count on that.” Shining Armor declared. He hadn’t really intended to go on a whole little speech. It had just been what came out. It was how he felt about good and evil. Nothing is born evil, a lot of things don’t stay evil, and evil never really wins unless good does nothing. He released the hug and took a step back from Cheerilee who was now looking at him amazed and a little awestruck. She could see why he became the captain of the royal guards and what Cadance saw in him. He was powerful with his words as well as his body.
“Thanks for that. Just...I dunno...thanks.” Cheerilee replied dumbly. She was still a little awestruck. Shining Armor laughed a little. He’d had that affect on the new recruits before too. Though he’d never hugged any of them as he gave a rallying cry.
“And thank you again for the help. I’ll see you later Cheerilee. I’d say I’ll keep you informed but I’m sure once something happens, it’ll be the talk of the town.” Shining Armor said as he left Cheerilee still standing in her hallway. Shining Armor had a message to send to some of the higher ups in the guards. He held the highest rank and if he wanted to, probably could order a warrant to search Diamond Tiara’s house, but he wanted to make sure everything was above board and that nothing could come back and bite him in the flank over this. There was no need to rush and rushing could lead to things going wrong. For now he had to go back to the library and that is exactly where he headed.
While Shining Armor was busy taking care of Cheerilee, Star Shine was taking care of Feather Quill. Or at least on his way to. As he looked around while passing through the town he saw that he was getting more stares and strange looks than he had gotten when visiting Rarity. It seemed like some ponies really were believing the wrong side of the story. He sighed and picked up the pace, eager to try and get this all sorted out and show them that not everything was how they thought it was. Eventually he did the same thing he had done before and simply took off into the air and flew to Feather Quill’s instead of just running there. It also put less of a strain on his body and he was beginning to get a little tired. Star Shine found his way to Feather Quill’s house and knocked on the door politely. He was very well aware of how he had left the house the last time. Hopefully Feather Quill would hear him out a little. Feather Quill opened the door and as soon as he saw who it was slammed it again. Star Shine’s best smile had been wasted and his hopes had been more than a little dashed. It didn’t help when he heard the door click as it was locked to keep him out.
“Hear me out, please!” Star Shine pleaded to the closed door.
“Why should I? The last time you were here you threatened me! You’re lucky I’m letting it slide!” came a slightly muffled reply from inside the house.
“I wanna know why you printed that story about Scootaloo!” Star Shine called back. There was silence for a few moments and then Star Shine heard the locks click again and the door creaked open a little. Feather Quill poked his head out a little.
“What article on Scootaloo?” Feather Quill asked quietly. He certainly seemed very confused.
“The story that you printed about Scootaloo. It was supposedly written by Gabby Gums. I want to know why you did it. No self respecting journalist would print such a thing.” Star Shine replied. Feather Quill looked more offended than confused now.
“Gabby gums? That trashy gossip column? I assure you no such thing would find it’s way into my paper! I made sure my boy took it out when he took over his school paper. I don’t know why he put it back in but it would never make it’s way into a professional paper like mine.” Feather Quill said indignantly. Now it was Star Shine’s turn to be confused.
“Have...have you even read today’s paper?” Star Shine asked. Feather Quill looked more indignant than before.
“Read? Of course I read it! I’m the Editor in Chief. It’s my job to read everything and approve everything that’s going to go in there and I sure didn’t see no Gabby Gums article and I’d never approve such a piece of trash anyway.” Feather Quill replied. Star Shine was made aware of two things very quickly. One was that Feather Quill had absolutely no idea what he was talking about and the other was that they were attracting even more attention than before thanks to all the yelling.
“Listen, we’re attracting a lot of attention here. Can I come in and talk about this? It seems like somepony slipped something into your paper without you realising it. You need to see what was done.” Star Shine said. He disappeared before Feather Quill could actually answer and returned a second later with a copy of the paper he had borrowed from the first pony who would let him borrow a copy.
“If there’s really something like that in there then I guess we do need to have a chat.” Feather Quill said once Star Shine had stopped moving. He reluctantly stepped aside and allowed Star Shine to enter his house once more. “I wish that nice guard Diamond Tiara has was still here but I guess he follows her everywhere.” Feather Quill said under his breath. Star Shine still caught what he said as he passed him.
“He doesn’t anymore.” Star Shine said, causing Feather Quill to look up at him. “That guard, he quit. He’s sat at the library right now.” Star Shine explained in response to the look Feather Quill was giving him.
“What? Why’d he do that? He was attached to that girl and it wasn’t just because he was guarding her.” Feather Quill said as they entered the living room.
“To be honest I actually have no idea. He seems to know Diamond Tiara did this but we don’t know anything for sure yet. I’ll have to ask him about it when I get back.” Star Shine replied. When he thought about it he realised that all the indications Firefly had given did point to him quitting over what Diamond Tiara had done, and the knowledge it was Diamond Tiara who had done it. If he was willing to lie about seeing Diamond Tiara in Rainbow Dash’s house then he certainly had a lot of faith in her and wouldn’t assume she had done anything wrong. Star Shine smiled as he realised the implications; They might have irrefutable proof.
“Did what? You still haven’t really said what brought you here besides some outlandish claim I printed something terrible.” Feather Quill asked. He was still quite confused by the sudden visit. The only thing Star Shine really had was the one thing he actually needed at least. He had Feather quill’s interest. Star Shine placed the paper down on the table and opened it up to the necessary page.
“Just read that, and tell me why it’s there in the first place.” Star Shine said, tapping the article with his hoof. Feather Quill was more confused than before but did as he was asked. He responded to the article a little different from everypony else Star Shine had showed it to. There was some anger and disgust in there but mostly he was yet ever more confused.
“This...I never approved this! I’ve never seen this before! Such a thing would never EVER make it’s way into my paper.” Feather Quill said, almost offended that the article existed. “This is slander! Libel! In my name!” he shouted, waving his forelegs in the air. He was being far more animated than Star Shine thought he had any right to be. “This...this could ruin me.” Feather Quill said quietly, sinking into his chair and calming down.
“It could go bad for you yeah, but right now it’s definitely going bad for Scootaloo. Is there anything you can do? Any idea how it got there?” Star Shine pleaded. Feather Quill thought it over.
“Well the damage has been done I’m afraid. I can’t take back what happened. For what it’s worth I’m sorry. I know I said those terrible things about her but I would never go this far. I would never let something like this happen. I could print a retraction and say it never should have happened but we’d have to deliver them and I don’t even know what I’d put.” Feather Quill said. Star Shine’s hopes were a little dashed but his mind was working hard trying to think of something Feather Quill could say. Anything that might be able to help. The other question he had asked was still hanging in the air. “As for how it got there...there’s only one way that could have happened. After everything gets approved by me it goes to the press to be printed. The only way this could have gotten in there is a pony on the press putting it in themselves.” Feather Quill explained.
“Who was working the press when this got printed?” Star Shine asked. He felt he already knew the answer. He hoped he was right.
“This would have been printed yesterday in preparation for today. Ponyville is a pretty small place so we only need one pony on the press and the pony on the press yesterday was...Diamond Tiara.” Feather Quill said, slowing down as he realised what he was saying. “That’s why she was here yesterday. She sometimes does some work for me. My boy was telling me what a hard worker she was. Oh I can’t believe she’d do something like this.” he added.
“Seems there’s a lot about her you wouldn’t believe.” Star Shine replied. They had it. They had some pretty undeniable proof that Diamond Tiara had been the one to print the article. Star Shine believed Feather Quill when he said that he had no idea it was published in the first place. There was still the more pressing matter of damage control, which was another reason that he had decided to visit Feather Quill. “You mind saying what you told me in a court if it comes to it?” Star Shine asked. He wasn’t really sure how far all of this was going to go. It always helped to be sure.
“Oh yes definitely. She’ll be lucky if I don’t sue her for this, never mind if you don’t.” Feather Quill replied. Star Shine chuckled a little at the thought of Diamond Tiara finally getting something she deserved.
“There’s one more thing.” Star Shine said. Feather Quill raised an eyebrow at him. “The damage is done, that’s pretty hard to deny, but is there anyway to control it? Is there really nothing we can do?” he asked desperately. There had to be something.
“As I said I can print a retraction but most of the town has already seen the story. The most I could say is to deny any involvement I had. While I plan to do that, it would only really help me and not really help Scootaloo much. Unless you can think of anything you want to put on there then there isn’t much. All we can at this point is provide the truth.”
“I don’t think she’d be comfortable with that.” Star Shine replied sadly. “Is it possible to claim that all of this is a bunch of lies?” Star Shine asked. He felt there was no way Scootaloo would allow something like her life story to be published for the world to see. Not again.
“It’s possible. A lot of ponies would probably believe it too. But you’re smart. You know that won’t help anything, don’t you? You tried to get her to tell me yesterday but she wouldn’t. Heck if she had talked to me yesterday this probably wouldn’t have happened.” Feather Quill replied. It was a harsh truth but it was a truth nonetheless. In a way Scootaloo had missed the chance to prevent all this. “We can certainly discredit Diamond Tiara and when everything is out I’ll be on top of it, but that’s more long term. Even if we discredit her ponies are going to know what she said as truth. They’ll hate Diamond Tiara for what she did, they’ll feel sorry for Scootaloo for what Diamond Tiara did to her, but they’ll still believe Diamond Tiara. They’ll still treat Scootaloo differently. The only way to control that is to control what they believe and to do that we need the full truth.” Feather Quill was pretty much voicing all of Star Shine’s inner concerns at this point.
“I’ll be back soon. I’ll be as quick as I can. Don’t print the retraction until I get back.” Star Shine said, getting up out of his seat and heading for the door.
“Where are you going?” Feather Quill asked.
“I gotta go talk to Scootaloo about this. I’d tell you her life story any day of the week if I thought it’d help but I don’t want to do it without her permission, or without letting her have the chance to do it.” Star Shine replied. Feather Quill watched him leave and take off at speed, presumably in the direction of wherever Scootaloo was.
Star Shine flew back to the cloud manor as fast as he could and pushed himself as hard as he could. He was no Rainbow Dash so it still took him a little longer than he would have liked it to take to arrive at the house. He slowed down before he reached the place to avoid spooking Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. He landed outside as an extra precaution.
“Hoooooney, I’m home.” Star Shine called before entering the house through, for once, the door. The tradition of ponies jumping on ponies that had started earlier in the day continued as Scootaloo jumped up on Star Shine and gave him a hug, wrapping her forelegs around her neck. Star Shine lifted a foreleg to support her and nuzzled her. “Well aren’t you adorable?” Star Shine teased. Scootaloo laughed and made her way on to Star Shine’s back. Rainbow Dash approached him and gave him a brief nuzzle.
“Hey, how are things going? You manage to get everypony? That guy reach you yet?” she asked in reference to Firefly. He'd actually not told his name to either of them and Star Shine didn't even realise this until Rainbow Dash asked about him. Star Shine nodded his head and almost dislodged Scootaloo who had at this point leaned against the back of his neck.
“Yeah I think he's going to be a real life saver. I've got everyone gathered up and get this, PRINCE Shining Armor turned up. How cool is that? I didn't know the royal family would get involved in something like this.” Star Shine replied, completely awestruck with Shining Armor.
“Well he is Twilight's brother, didn't you know that?” Rainbow Dash asked, rolling her eyes. She had spent more than enough time with Shining Armor to not be enamoured with him anymore. Star Shine pouted a little, feeling like he was being mocked.
“Pinkie said something like that, I think, but she was talking so fast I couldn't really keep up with her.” Star Shine said, fidgeting nervously with his hooves. Scootaloo laughed at him a little and Rainbow Dash jabbed him on the shoulder.
“Aww I was just messin'. How come you're back anyway? Something happen?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I actually need to talk to Scootaloo about something but don't worry, we've almost got Diamond Tiara. Shining Armor went to talk to Cheerilee and her former guard seems to know more than he's letting on. Not surprising seeing as he didn't even tell us his name.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo poked her head around Star Shine's neck.
“You need to talk to me? What about?” Scootaloo asked.
“It's not easy to say this Scoots, but the damage has been done. Pretty much the whole town has read the paper, and I'm afraid a lot of them see it the way Diamond Tiara told them.” Star Shine began. Both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked down at that news.
“Is there anything you can do?” Rainbow Dash asked, hoping for something to come from this.
“There's only one thing. I talked to Feather Quill and he told me that he had no idea that it was even in the paper. Diamond Tiara printed it without him even knowing it was in there. He wants to print a retraction, mostly to save his own neck, but that won't really help Scootaloo. The town will hate Diamond Tiara for what she did, but they'll still believe what she said about Scootaloo. Even if we paint Diamond Tiara as a liar, and say it was all a lie, a lot of ponies are still going to think that way about Scoots. Feather Quill suggested that Scootaloo tell her side, and let everypony know the truth. We can't undo what was done, but we can ensure the best possible outcome.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo looked more and more depressed as Star Shine was talking. When he had finished explaining she slipped off of his back and walked upstairs without a word. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine watched her in complete bewilderment.
“Does she really have to do that?” Rainbow Dash asked. From her actions it seemed that Scootaloo was in no frame of mind to do anything that Star Shine had suggested and they might be in for a repeat of her behaviour from the morning. Star Shine sighed.
“I wish I could do something but I think this might be best. If she had taken the chance before then this might not have happened.” Star Shine said.
“Hey don't you try and pin this on her!” Rainbow Dash cried, pointing a hoof at Star Shine who backed away a little.
“I wouldn't think of that. I really wish there was more I could do. I'm trying my hardest here and I'm doing what I can.” Star Shine said, waving his forelegs a little.
“I know, I know.” Rainbow Dash replied, sighing. “I just really wish there was something more we can do.” she said sadly. Star Shine walked up to her and put a foreleg around her.
“I know. Maybe it's for the best this happened.” Star Shine suggested. Rainbow Dash looked at him like he was crazy. To be fair he probably was a little crazy. “Think about it; She wouldn't have to hide anything anymore and she'll not have to worry about anypony finding out anything about her. She can be honest, and she'll never have to be alone anymore.” Star Shine explained.
“A lotta that was already the case.” Rainbow Dash countered. Star Shine did make a good point that it would be good for Scootaloo to not have to hide anything anymore but she was already in a situation where she'd never be alone again.
“In any case, I'm wondering why she went upstairs. Wanna go find out?” Star Shine said, making his way to the stairs and looking back at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, who was just as curious herself but got caught up in conversation, joined him and they went up to Scootaloo's room. Rather than finding her on her bed crying they saw that she was laid down on it and had a quill in her mouth. She was writing something. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine walked across to her to see what she was writing. She didn't really acknowledge them and instead continued to focus on the writing. Rainbow Dash gasped when she saw what Scootaloo was writing. Star Shine smiled at it.
“That's my girl.” he said quietly to himself.
The Truth About Me By Scootaloo To be honest Feather Quill gave me the chance to do this yesterday and I really wish I had taken it. I woke up today to a pretty big shock in the paper and I knew that chance had long since passed. Somepony else had taken it from me. Now, instead of sharing my story, I'm forced to respond to somepony else sharing it. I can't deny how hurt I am but I want to let ponies know that not all of it was true. The note is true though and everything in it. I was living in the clubouse my friends and I made and I did jump into Ghastly Gorge. I hit the lowest point in a life of low points. I felt that nothing had ever gone right for me and nothing ever would. I jumped into Ghastly Gorge and instead of ending, my life changed. I was caught by Rainbow Dash and she took me in. I stayed with her for a week and then she convinced me to go back to school. I still stayed with her and she tried giving me flying lessons. I couldn't get it though and so she brought Star Shine over. He's an old friend of hers and he's really really trying far more than my dad ever did. He even worked out why I can't fly and we're fixing it. Together. My dad tried to get me to fly by throwing me off a cloud. He broke my legs once. My mom stopped him after that happened but he'd still throw me. He'd just try to catch me. I was always terrified he'd miss and call it an accident. Looking back, I was safer and better off in the orphanage. They couldn't get me to fly either but they gave up after I kept failing and didn't try pushing me off things. They were pretty nice and I'm sorry for what I did there. Sorry for hitting that kid when he took the scooter and that I took it. I know I gave them some trouble too.
It's true I attacked Diamond Tiara but what nopony else but her, Rainbow Dash and Star Shine know is why. She teases me all the time with Silver Spoon and this time she really went over the edge. She got suspended herself before I did and when she came back she was all sweet and innocent. I never believed her at first but over time I came to. I thought that maybe she really was nice. I tried to talk to her like a friend and she threw it all in my face and mocked me. She called me a chicken, my dad would do that, and dared me to hit her. I just lost it and did hit her, and I deserve the punishment that I got for that, but I didn't deserve all of this. I didn't deserve what she did to me and trust me she did do this. She came into Rainbow Dash's, no, OUR house and stole my note and published it for the world to see. She even lied about it and twisted it how she did. I didn't deserve that, nopony does, and she deserves everything she gets.
You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but I'm tired of all this. I just want to be happy. I found happiness when I found Rainbow Dash. I found even more happiness when I found Star Shine.
She tried so hard to take it all away from me, and I won't let her. I still have Rainbow Dash, I still have Star Shine and I hope I still have all my friends. That'll be all I need.
Scootaloo
Rainbow Dash and Star Shine watched in silence as Scootaloo wrote. Scootaloo finished writing and after putting her name at the end, dropped the quill and dropped down on to the bed. Rainbow Dash patted her gently on the back while Star Shine slipped what Scootaloo wrote into an envelope.
“You're awesome Scoots. Never forget that.” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled and cuddled up to Rainbow Dash. Star Shine gave her a kiss on the forehead too.
“I'm sure the rest of town will see it soon too. Thanks for the kind words by the way.” Star Shine added. He gave Scootaloo a short nuzzle, another quick kiss, took the envelope in his mouth and flew out the bedroom window and sped back to Feather Quill's as fast as he could. Scootaloo cried a little as Rainbow Dash continued to comfort her.
Star Shine headed back to Feather Quill's as fast as he could. Part of him really wanted to drop by the library and question Firefly some more over just why he had quit being Diamond Tiara's guard but any delay could just make things worse in the long run. He scanned the crowd below him as he flew above hoping against hope to see a particular pony. With any luck he hadn't been at Rainbow Dash's for too long and could catch him before it was too late. By sheer force of good fortune Star Shine spotted Shining Armor as he flew over the library. Shining Armor was about to reach the library when Star Shine suddenly landed in front of him. Shining Armor was trained in how to handle surprise attacks and also to take things in before he reacted, so even more luckily Star Shine didn't end up in a world of hurt. Star Shine took the envelope out of his mouth and held it in his forelegs.
“Hey sorry I can't really talk cos I have to get back to Feather Quill, but ask that guy in the library why he quit. Oh, ask him his name too. You get that?” Star Shine said very quickly, in almost an impression of Pinkie Pie. Shining Armor nodded to show he understood the message and Star Shine took off again before Shining Armor could respond verbally. Shining Armor watched him leave.
“What..the hay?” he asked himself quietly, a little bewildered. He shook his head and entered the library and saw “the guy” that Star Shine was referring to. He was the only pony who wasn't there when Shining Armor had originally left so he had to be who Star Shine was talking about. Twilight and the rest looked up when they heard Shining Armor enter.
“Welcome back Shining, how'd it go?” Twilight asked him.
“I'm not sure to be honest Twiley. We might need a little more than what Cheerilee gave me.” Shining Armor replied a little sadly. “Who's your new friend?” he asked, nodding in Firefly's direction.
“More.” Firefly replied before Twilight had the chance to. Being a guard meant he'd always wanted to sound like a badass at least once in his life. Guarding a little girl hadn't really given him many chances to do that. Firefly smirked to himself as he checked it off of his mental checklist. “Name's Firefly.” Firefly said as he extended a hoof to Shining Armor. Shining Armor chuckled as he bumped it. He'd always wanted to sound like a hero himself and, unlike Firefly, he'd managed to do it on more than one occasion.
“I have a message for you from Star Shine.” Shining Armor said to Firefly.
“Star Shine? You ran into him?” Twilight asked curiously. She had no idea that Star Shine had managed to take several trips and was slightly confused as to how the two could have met given how quickly Star Shine left. “He left right after you did...” she muttered, pondering aloud.
“He had an envelope with him and said something about going back to Feather Quill.” Shining Armor said to explain as best as he could.
“Well anyway what's the message?” Firefly asked. They could worry about what Star Shine was doing some other time, when it really mattered.
“Oh, right.” Shining Armor said. “He wanted to know your name and why you quit whatever it is that you quit.” Shining Armor explained.
“Oh, that's easy. I already said my name. Didn't realise I hadn't said it. Not exactly used to giving it out.” Firefly explained. “I quit being Diamond Tiara's guard this morning.” he added. He winced and flinched, expecting some sort of attack from Shining Armor. Everypony else he'd said that to had attacked him and he was well aware of who Shining Armor was. An attack from him would have hurt quite a lot. Shining Armor didn't really react, much to Firefly's surprise. With no attack coming his way, Firefly chose to continue with the explanations. “I needed to tell you what more I could offer you anyway. When I first got here I said that I saw Diamond Tiara in Rainbow Dash's house that day she got in a fight with Scootaloo.” he explained.
“She was in the house? You're right, that is more. I'll need to send a message out and could probably get a search ordered as soon as with that.” Shining Armor said, cutting Firefly off.
“Oh that's wonderful darling.” Rarity chimed in.
“It sure is! We can get that meanie and be done in time for lunch.” Pinkie Pie added shortly before going quiet as her mind pondered just what she would probably be having for lunch if they finished in time.
“It is, but you also asked me why I quit and I haven't said that yet.” Firefly said. All eyes were laid on him again as the ponies waited for him to continue and explain. “Ye see, I knew she had been inside the house but that wasn't really reason to quit. She could have just gone in for some reason. For all I know Twilight coulda sent her inside the house and not outside it.” Firefly began.
“I definitely sent her outside.” Twilight said defensively. “But er...do go on.” she added, backing away sheepishly as Firefly glared at her for interrupting him. When Firefly turned back to Shining Armor it was his turn to back away sheepishly as Shining Armor was glaring at him. That glare could probably avert a battle.
“Well uhhhh...as I was saying...” Firefly began, regaining his nerves. Shining Armor softened andd stopped glaring at him, which definitely helped Firefly calm down. “This morning when I read the story I asked her if she knew anything about it, seeing how she was working there yesterday. I couldn't believe somepony could do such a thing myself. Then she quietly and calmly told me that she did it.” Firefly explained.
“Wait, she openly admitted to you that she did it? She told you right there and then that she did?” Shining Armor asked suddenly. Speculation was one thing but an outright confession was a whole other thing entirely. Firefly really was so much more than they could have hoped for when it came to finding Diamond Tiara guilty. Shining Armor made a mental note to thank Star Shine for catching what he did and asking him to ask Firefly for more information.
“...Yeah.” Firefly replied, looking down. He'd done it; He'd damned the little girl that he had loved so much at one point. “She was...manic. She was calm when she told me she did it, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do, or say, but when I asked her why she did it and got angry at her she lost it. I guess it wasn't the reaction she was hoping for. She wanted me to react how most ponies in town did. She's really lost it. She kept going on and on about how all of this proved that Scootaloo needed to be punished and that she was right. I think she truly believes her own delusions.” Firefly explained, looking and sounding progressively more depressed. He was coming to terms with reality as much as Diamond Tiara was. Part of him had wanted to simply get help for Diamond Tiara and to try and bring back the little girl that he had known and loved. The sweet little thing who had smiled at him and who just needed a little love. The more he thought about it and the more he saw the damage that Diamond Tiara had done, how hard ponies were fighting to fix it, it became more real to him that she was probably already long gone. Maybe that sweet little girl never existed. It was best he told them everything he knew and leave nothing left unsaid. She really wasn't worth lying for. He still believed she needed some help. He just wasn't sure what that help was anymore, or how the ponies around him would react if he had asked them to help Diamond Tiara.
“Hey Spike, you around anywhere buddy?” Shining Armor called out. “I need two letters taken, post haste!” he added. Spike was in front of him a second and seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He was also holding two pieces of parchment and an inkwell with a quill in it. He placed the inkwell on the ground and prepared to write a letter, waiting for Shining Armor to dictate to him. “Oh wait, before I do, I'm not sure how well your delivering works. One of these letters is for that Star Shine guy, can you get a letter sent to him?” Shining Armor asked. “The other will be for some of my boys but we can send it to Celestia and have her deliver the message if we need to.” Spike nodded at him.
“Should be alright to as long as he's not moving and doesn't notice it.” Spike answered.
“Yep, we should be good. Spike sends his letter direct to the pony it's for. I recommend sending the other one straight to Celestia, it's easier for him to do if he can picture the pony in his head.” Twilight said, offering an explanation as to just how Spike's ability to deliver letters worked. Rarity oohed and Spike blushed a little. Pinkie Pie giggled a little at Spike's blush but not too much. She didn't want to give away that she knew Spike had a crush on Rarity. “It'd be great if we could get a letter to Star Shine before he and Feather Quill do watever it is they're planning.” Twilight added, musing aloud again. Shining Armor took it as a cue to hurry up and dictate his letters to Spike.
“Alright I'll send the one to him first then. Listen up Spike, and write this down.” Shining Armor said. Spike readied his quill and prepared to write. Shining Armor dictated both letters to Spike. As he was dictating the letter for Star Shine he got an idea to send one to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo as well. They would definitely want to see what he was planning to do. Spike took down all the letters and then sealed them up and prepared to send them on their way.
“Bye bye letters!” Pinkie Pie called out as they disappeared in a puff of green flame.
“Bye bye Diamond Tiara.” Firefly added with some melancholy.
Star Shine hurried on his way to see Feather Quill again after quickly talking to Shining Armor. He hoped by the time he got back that Feather Quill would already have his own retraction ready and they could just add Scootaloo's little piece to the end of it and get it sent on it's way. He'd run the press himself if he had to to get it all sorted. He arrived at Feather Quill's house and, keeping to his polite ways even in times of crisis, knocked politely rather than just barge in. The door opened of it's own accord and Star Shine was a little confused to see nopony waiting on the other side of it.
“I'm down in the basement!” a voice called, presumably from the basement. Star Shine looked around and saw a door set into the staircase leading upstairs. He opened it and found a set of stairs leading down. He headed down them and saw that the Ponyville Times was literally an in-house operation. It was good for Feather Quill that Ponyville was a relatively small town. There was a myriad of different equipment including a press in the middle of the room, a few desks with typewriters on them and another small desk on it's own against one wall. Feather Quill was sat at that desk with some papers in front of him., as well as a few more strewn around the place. They were mostly stories that never made it to print for some reason or another, or articles that needed to be scrapped due to errors. “Welcome back, how'd it go?” Feather Quill asked. Star Shine walked over to the desk and dropped the envelope down on to it.
“I got Scoots to talk, that's all she had to say.” Star Shine said, indicating the envelope. Feather Quill opened it up and read the paper inside.
“Oh...my...I had no idea she'd been through all of this...” Feather Quill said slowly as he read through it and took it all in.
“I think she preferred it that way. She's going to get a lot of attention and pity she never wanted now.” Star Shine replied, sighing. He told himself that he had good reasons for never telling Rainbow Dash about his own home situation and what was happening was taken by him as proof that he was right to feel that way. He never wanted what Scootaloo was going to go through for himself.
“Most likely yes, but it has to be done. I've no problem printing this, and I've already written my retraction. We can just put them together and get them sent out. You have anypony ready to deliver them?” Feather Quill asked. Star Shine had considered using the ponies gathered at the library to deliver things, and that was the option he was about to declare when suddenly something appeared above his head and dropped on to it, eventually falling down on to the table. It was a sealed letter.
“What the...” Star Shine mumbled, rubbing his head where the letter hit him. He bit off the seal and rolled the letter out. Feather Quill watched curiously, opting to value Star Shine's privacy and not read the letter. It was clearly intended for him if it had hit him like that, even if neither of them really had a clue about where it came from or how it had reached them how it did.
Star Shine, it's Shining Armor here. Well, Spike's writing (and sending -Spike) but that's not the point. The point is that Firefly, that's the name of Diamond Tiara's former guard by the way, has said that Diamond Tiara actually confessed to him that she was responsible for what happened. This is definitely more than enough. I'm summoning a few more of the guards and then I'm going to go to her house and search it, as well as bring her and her dad in. I can't do much, what with her being a little filly, but I'll do everything I can. If you have time, tell Feather Quill to hold off on whatever it is you're doing with him, he might be interested in this information. In any case, it shouldn't take too long until Diamond Tiara has a few unexpected visitors. Good luck with whatever it is you're planning. I don't think you'll want to miss this, so hurry it up! Oh, Spike, you might as well send a letter to Rainbow Dash telling her pretty much the same thing. I know she'll want to see it too. What? No, there's no point in writing that down really. You have? No matter, just send it. That's pretty much all there is to put, so you can send it whenever. Stop writing and send it already!
The letter ended abruptly after that, implying that Spike had indeed stopped writing and sent it however he did without even signing it. Star Shine was giggling with glee by the time he finished reading. Everything was coming to a close and much quicker and easier than he imagined it could.
“What was it about?” Feather Quill asked, more than a little confused about Star Shine's reaction. Whatever it was must have been some very good news.
“Quick, put everything together and put it on the press. I'll print and deliver them myself if I have to. Shining Armor, captain of the royal guards and Prince of Equestria, is about to pay a visit to Diamond Tiara. I gotta be there.” Star Shine said hurriedly. He was unsure of what to do so after a little bit of rushing around the cramped room settled for standing by the press and waiting for Feather Quill to do something.
“What?” Feather Quill said simply, stunned by what Star Shine had just said.
“I'll explain as we work but get a move on! I need to get these printed and sent out. If there's any left I'll just hand them out at Diamond Tiara's house. I'm pretty sure there's going to be quite a crowd. Oh she'll get a taste of public humiliation...” Star Shine replied, still smiling gleefully. Feather Quill assembled everything they would need and put it on the press ready for Star Shine. Star Shine quickly got to work as soon as Feather Quill gave him a quick lesson in just what to do. As he worked he explained to Feather Quill what was going to happen to Diamond Tiara.
“Will you be alright if I leave?” Feather Quill asked after Star Shine had done explaining. Star Shine nodded.
“I should be alright yeah. You want to cover this?” Star Shine asked, taking a guess as to why Feather Quill wanted to leave. He expected as much. Feather Quill nodded and hunted around for his reporting equipment.
“Yeah I'm going to get this personally. I'll take a few copies for myself if you're late or a crowd gathers early.” Feather Quill explained. He dropped all his stuff into a bag, grabbed a few copies of the retraction to put in there too, and put a messenger bag next to Star Shine. “Oh, that's a bag for you for when you deliver these.” Feather Quill explained.
“Thanks, I guess I'll see you there then.” Star Shine replied. Feather Quill nodded and left Star Shine to his work. Star Shine stopped working again after about five minutes when it started to take a little too much of a toll on his body as he'd done it as fast as he could rather than take his time. Thankfully he'd already printed what should have been enough copies. He scooped them all in the bag and followed Feather Quill out of the door.
***
Across town, in a cloud house in the sky, another note fell out of thin air and hit a different pony on top of their head. It hit Rainbow Dash on the muzzle on the way down and landed in the folds of the book she was holding. Rainbow Dash lifted the book up to let the letter fall out and Scootaloo caught it.
“It's a letter.” Scootaloo said, stating the obvious. Rainbow Dash rubbed her muzzle while Scootaloo unfurled the letter and put it on the table. The pair of them leaned over to read it.
To Rainbow Dash (and probably Scootaloo) Hi guys, it's Shining Armor here. Remember me? I heard Star Shine already paid you another visit today but I'm not sure how much he told you and there are some things we've only just learned. I'm telling you and him at the same time. We have her. That guy you sent turned out to be an incredible gift. Diamond Tiara confessed to him herself which is why he left. If it wasn't for you sending him, and for Star Shine asking me to question him, I don't think we'd have found this out. Great job Dash. Star Shine's really doing a lot of work too. He's not bad, I guess. In any case I'm also getting Celestia and Cadance to send me a few guards how they sent me, and together we're going to pay a small visit to Diamond Tiara to see what we can find. I got the feeling that you might want to see that yourself. If you would, then hurry on over. I don't want to delay this too much and I don't think you'd like that either.
Until next time, Shining Armor.
“You wanna go?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo when they finished reading. Both of them were smiling brightly at the news but Scootaloo's was a little shaky.
“I dunno...” Scootaloo admitted shakily. She fidgeted as she continued talking. “I do...but all those ponies...” she added. She didn't really want to go out in public just yet. She was still so scared about how everypony might react to her.
“I won't make you do anything you don't wanna. I'd rather stay here with you if you'd like to stay.” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo nuzzled up to Rainbow Dash and buried herself in Rainbow Dash's side. “At least it'll be over soon...” Rainbow Dash said, soothing Scootaloo.
Star Shine flew from house to house, dropping off retractions as he went and, on occasion, taking a brief second to explain what had happened and just why he was hoofing things out. He also kept an eye on the ground as he flew around, seeing if he could catch a sign of Shining Armor and everypony else. He had no idea where Diamond Tiara lived so he couldn't just hang around there. It had the added benefit of meaning that he got to visit a wide range of ponies and brought as much attention to the situation as possible.
After a short amount of time, and using up most of his copies, he spotted Shining Armor walking through the town. He was flanked by two Royal Guards and following close behind him was the rest of their little ragtag crew with Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Firefly. Spike was also riding on Twilight's back. Star Shine flew across to the group and landed next to Twilight and walked in step with her.
“Oh hey.” Twilight said as Star Shine dropped next to her. “What have you been up to?” she asked.
“What's with the bag?” Pinkie asked as she noticed the saddlebag adorning him.
“It's a little...ratty.” Rarity commented. It was a fairly old bag and was a little tattered.
“Feather Quill printed a retraction and I got Scootaloo to write a little something too. I've been delivering them while I waited for Shining Armor to come along.” Star Shine replied. He occasionally still took a paper out and passed them on to ponies that they passed. He would also occasionally zip down the road and pass a paper along and return to the small crowd.
“Aren't you tired?” Rarity asked after Star Shine zipped down the street again. Star Shine certainly looked tired but was holding himself up pretty well.
“I'll be fine, don't worry about me.” Star Shine replied, smiling reassuringly. Pinkie Pie disappeared and returned impossibly quickly and holding something in her forelegs. She threw it over Star Shine's head and he saw that it was a band that fitted around his neck and it also had a drink attached to the front with a straw sticking out. Star Shine tasted the drink and discovered that it was water. “That's pretty nice. Thanks.” Star Shine said to Pinkie Pie, who had fallen back in line with the rest of the group.
“No worries, you looked thirsty. Don't push yourself too hard, 'kay? You'll be way too tired to do anything and you might pass out or something and maybe something will happen to you while you're sleeping. I don't know what, but something. Anything is possible.” Pinkie Pie replied. Star Shine raised an eyebrow at her.
“Wellllll...thanks. Again.” Star Shine said slowly, going back to his drink. He still wasn't quite used to Pinkie Pie's antics. Or the way that the crazy things she said had a tendency to be surprisingly right. For now he just had to worry about how the confrontation with Diamond Tiara might go. As they approached Diamond Tiara's house Star Shine looked around but couldn't find any sign of Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo. “Anypony seen Rainbow Dash?” Star Shine asked, still looking around.
“She's not here. No idea where she is but she's not here. Maybe she stayed at home. Coulda been something to do with Scootaloo. Maybe she just didn't want to be here. I don't think I'd want to be around ponies if that happened to me. Well maybe not if I was me. But if I was her. But then I wouldn't be me. Well anyway she's not here.” Pinkie Pie replied. Star Shine raised an eyebrow at her again and turned his attention to Twilight Sparkle.
“Hey Twilight, you think you can teleport me to Rainbow Dash's?” Star Shine asked.
“Right now?” Twilight replied, her horn glowing a little as she prepared to cast the spell to teleport Star Shine. It wouldn't have been too much trouble to do it. She'd been able to teleport Diamond Tiara easily enough and she doubted the weight involved would really affect her ability to do it.
“Not right now no.” Star Shine replied hurriedly, shaking his head before she could do it before he was ready. Twilight's horn stopped glowing and she smiled at him.
“Well yeah I can do that easy enough, just tell me when you want me to.” Twilight said.
“Think you could come with me so we can get back quick too?” Star Shine asked. His brain was going a mile a minute as he formed and reformed plans. There was something he thought he might have to do it and being able to get to Rainbow Dash and back quickly would make it a lot easier. He was also more tired than he was letting on so he doubted that he would really be able to fly there and back on his own. Twilight pondered the problem for maybe a few seconds before she nodded. She was about to reply when she bumped into her brother's rear. He'd stopped walking. They'd reached Diamond Tiara's house. It was a fairly grandiose building, especially in contrast to the buildings around it. It was at least the size of Rainbow Dash's house if not a little bigger and was richly decorated with a well kept front lawn that even included a fountain. It was a show of extravagance more than anything as most ponies didn't have front gardens. Filthy Rich had simply bought more land than his house needed. By this time there was a small crowd around them. Any group walking through a town would attract attention. A Prince who happened to be captain of the royal guards, two of his guards, and half of the Elements of Harmony could hardly walk through a town without attracting a lot more attention. Twilight backed away sheepishly and let her brother do his work uninterrupted. Even Pinkie Pie was oddly quiet. Star Shine was not quite as quiet and took the opportunity to hand out as many retractions as he could to ponies who hadn't already seen it. Shining Armor approached the door and, ever the dignified class act, rapped on it politely. They weren't in any kind of real hurry or dealing with somepony dangerous so they didn't really need to burst the door down. Which, to him, was a bit of a shame. That always made for a good show. The door was opened shortly afterwards by a white Pegasus who was wearing an outfit much like Firefly's guard outfit.
“Can I...can I help you?” the doorpony asked, dropping down into a deep bow as soon as he saw who was at the door. Shining Armor was practically glaring holes through the guy.
“Yes you may. You can step aside. We have reason to believe that Diamond Tiara is harbouring stolen property as well as evidence related to a conspiracy she orchestrated and by law, I am here to conduct a search of the house as well as ask her a few questions.” Shining Armor replied formally. He spoke a little louder than he might have needed to. He wanted to make sure that everypony who had gathered around was well aware of what was happening. Even before he finished speaking the gossiping had started amongst the crowd. It had started with Star Shine giving out retractions and escalated thanks to this new revelation. The doorpony didn't know how to react and so simply didn't react. Shining Armor moved him to one side and entered the house after a few seconds of looking at his vacant expression. Filthy Rich came into the hallway as Shining Armor started to climb the stairs.
“What in the blazes is going on here?!” Filthy Rich called out, either unaware or simply uncaring about who his guests happened to be.
“We're here for your daughter and to search the house.” Shining Armor replied simply. He turned to face the other two guards who were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. “You take that way, you the other, and I'll take upstairs.” he said to them, motioning where he wanted each one to search. They nodded their understanding and set off to take care of their appointed tasks.
“On whose authority? What right do you have to do something like that?” Filthy demanded. Shining Armor sighed. His horn glowed and a letter appeared in front of his face. He used his magic to suspend it in front of Filthy Rich's face.
“As you can see, I'm here on the authority of Princesses Celestia and Cadance. Your daughter entered Rainbow Dash's house illegaly and we suspect while she was there she took something belonging to Scootaloo and used it to conspire against her.” Shining Armor explained, giving a brief recap of what was written on the letter. It was just a formal piece of paper outlining the charges and signed by Celestia. He was sure Candance must have played some small part in it and was worth mentioning.
“That idiot Firefly said something like that when he quit this morning, but there's no way my little girl would have done something like that!” Filthy Rich cried.
“You...you really are that stupid aren't you?” Shining Armor asked, facehoofing. He had tried to maintain his composure and act with dignity, he really really had. Before Filthy Rich had a chance to respond to that, Diamond Tiara came out of her room. She'd been attracted by all of the commotion.
“Daddy, what's going on?” Diamond Tiara asked with mock innocence. The same condescending without being outright condescending tone she used with everypony but Silver Spoon.
“It's nothing you need to worry about dear.” Filthy Rich replied. “There's been a bit of a misunderstanding but don't you worry, Daddy will fix it.” he reassured Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara smiled at her dad but the smile was soon washed away as she felt a magical field around her. She was pulled out of the room and placed next to the doorway by Shining Armor.
“Sorry Filthy, but some things can't be fixed by money. I'M the one who's here to fix things.” Shining Armor said, entering Diamond Tiara's room and completely ignoring protests from both Diamond Tiara and her dad. He probed the room with his magic first to see if there was anything he could find before actually searching properly. Filthy Rich came to the doorway and looked aghast as Shining Armor searched through his daughter's personal belongings.
“You can't do this! She's just a little filly!” Filthy Rich said, taking any and all chances to defend his daughter that he could. Shining Armor ignored him and continued to search. He hit the jackpot when he checked her drawers and found Scootaloo's suicide note on top of a diary. Something in him, the instinct of a guard most likely, told him to look through the diary. He certainly had the authority to do so. He did and found far more than he would have hoped to. Diamond Tiara had not only hidden the note in plain sight but she'd also detailed all of her plans down. She really was new at this whole sociopath thing. Or she was just so messed up she felt no need to really hide what she was doing. As Shining Armor looked through the diary he saw that it was the latter that was more correct. It was quite a depressing read. It also served as an actual diary and was full of entries about how Diamond Tiara felt that her dad never paid any attention to her. At first there were some nice things written about Firefly but as time went on, and Diamond Tiara became more and more lost, it became more about what a fool he was and how easy he was to manipulate. Shining Armor felt something he really didn't think he could feel for Diamond Tiara; sorry. She had felt no need to really try and hide anything because nopony ever really cared to pay much attention to her.
“Boys!” Shining Armor called, finally taking his eyes off the diary. His guards were stood behind Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich in an instant. They would have entered the room but the doorway was a little crowded. “I have everything I need.” Shining Armor said, holding up the suicide note and the diary with his magic. “Take them both. We'd need Filthy Rich because of Diamond Tiara's age, but I want him anyway.” Shining Armor's horn glowed and shackles appeared on the forelegs of both Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich.
“What the heck is this for?” Filthy Rich demanded.
“Daddy what's going on? I'm scared. Daddy do something.” Diamond Tiara said quickly. She was really starting to panic. Shining Armor picked Diamond Tiara up with his magic and placed her on his back. He didn't expect her to try and get away and if she did, he could easily grab her again. Filthy Rich was laid across the back of one of the guard ponies, something he highly disagreed with.
“Tell me what's going on here, this instant!” Filthy Rich demanded.
“Happily.” Shining Armor replied, smirking at Filthy Rich and draining all the blood out of his face. “Your daughter is under arrest for illegal entry, theft and conspiracy.” Shining Armor explained. Diamond Tiara herself was mostly shaking and muttering to herself. Something about how it was somepony else's fault. “And you, Filthy Rich, are under arrest for serious child neglect.”
Shining Armor left the house with Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich in tow on the backs of his guards. Thankfully for Shining Armor Celestia and Cadance had the foresight to send him two Pegasus guards who would be able to transport anypony who happened to need transporting. Shining Armor heard all the chattering and gossip before he'd even left the house fully and when he came outside he saw that the crowd that gathered had grown a lot more considerably than when he first went inside. He ventured a guess that perhaps the only ponies who weren't there at this point where Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Applejack and Fluttershy. The latter two were too far away to really get caught up in everything. Applejack lived on the outskirts of town and Fluttershy lived next to the Everfree Forest. Firefly ran next to the guard carrying Diamond Tiara when he saw the shackles on her forelegs.
“Is...is this really necessary?” he asked Shining Armor. He didn't care too much as to why Filthy Rich had shackles too. Diamond Tiara was still muttering to herself. Seeing her like that had brought back how she was before everything went wrong. Firefly felt concern for her again. Filthy Rich was still protesting but his words were falling on deaf ears.
“'Fraid so, but we'll get her out of them as soon as we get her to Canterlot and start official proceedings.” Shining Armor replied. Firefly reached out to Diamond Tiara and was not put off by the warning glare that the guard gave him. He carefully picked up Diamond Tiara. The guard moved to stop him but Shining Armor placed a hoof on the guard's shoulder to let him know it was okay. Shining Armor had read Diamond Tiara's diary and knew that Firefly was the pony that Diamond Tiara was closest to, and he had a pretty good feeling that those feelings were probably mutual. He made a mental note to tell Firefly what he read in the diary. Not how Diamond Tiara had seen him near the end, but how she had seen him before. That loving and sweet guy her daddy employed who seemed to care the most about her.
“Can I carry her? I promise I won't try anything, I just don't want her to go alone.” Firefly asked. Shining Armor nodded, taking pity on the pair. Firefly held Diamond Tiara close and then placed her on his back.
“I need to stay here for a little bit longer guys. I need to talk to Star Shine about something. Stay on either side of Firefly and go straight to Canterlot and the palace. If he tries to get away then take him down without hurting the filly.” Shining Armor instructed the other two guards. They saluted and took their positions next to Firefly. Firefly kept his calm when most others may have felt more than a little intimidated or even frightened after hearing those instructions. He had no plans to try and escape so felt he had nothing to fear. The three Pegasi took off after Shining Armor gave one last salute as a signal for them to do so. Pinkie Pie and Rarity came to his side as he watched them leave.
“Was it really okay to let Firefly go with them like that?” Rarity asked.
“We'd need to question him too anyway. He won't try anything while he's got Diamond Tiara on his back like that.” Shining Armor replied.
“So why was Filthy all tied up too? Has he been bad? He always seemed kinda nice too. I wonder who's going to sell Zap Apple Jam now if he's gone. I should probably go tell Applejack about that.” Pinkie Pie asked before her train of thought left the station and derailed the conversation.
“He was kinda nice, certainly didn't let the money go to his head, but he was a pretty lousy dad. None of this woulda happened if he'd just paid some attention to his daughter.” Shining Armor replied. He turned away from the sky as the Pegasi disappeared into the horizon. “Now, where's Star Shine?” he asked, scanning the crowd for any sign of the blue colt. Shining Armor quickly realised that Star Shine wasn't around. Neither was his sister Twilight.
“Oh Twilight took him to Rainbow Dash's. He stayed around long enough to see Diamond Tiara brought out and then left. I dunno what for though. He didn't say and they left pretty much straight away.” Pinkie Pie replied before Shining Armor's over-active imagination had a chance to really kick in. There was some information he wasn't privy to and Rainbow Dash and Star Shine's sort of relationship was one of those pieces.
“Any idea when he'll be back?” Shining Armor asked, looking back at Pinkie. Pinkie shook her head.
“Dunno. He's coming back though. He said something about wanting to get back quick. That's why he took Twilight with him. So she could get him back quick too. Poor guys more tired than he's letting on. I wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep.” Pinkie Pie replied, sounding a little concerned for the wellbeing of Star Shine.
“I'm sure he knows his limits and won't try and go past them dear.” Rarity said reassuringly, patting Pinkie on the back. Pinkie smiled at her and Shining Armor went back to waiting for Star Shine to return. There was something that he needed to discuss with him. *** “Any time now.” Star Shine had said as soon as he had seen Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara in shackles. He was curious about why Filthy was chained up too but his concern for Rainbow Dash trumped all, except perhaps his concern for Scootaloo. Twilight had nodded, lit her horn, and that was how the pair found themselves where they were now; outside Rainbow Dash's house. Twilight had the foresight to apply a Cloud Walking Spell to herself before teleporting them and so stood on the cloud layer next to Star Shine. “Rainbow, Scootaloo, I'm home! Again!” Star Shine called, opening the door. Scootaloo jumped on him in a second and gave him a big hug. It was pretty much a repeat of his earlier visit to the house. He laughed as he nuzzled Scootaloo and Twilight walked in the house too. She was blushing a little at the display of affection. It was rather quite cute and intimate. She almost felt like she was intruding on a very private moment.
“Uhhh...hi Rainbow, hi Scootaloo.” Twilight said simply. Rainbow Dash ran up to her and gave her a hug.
“Hey Twi, what are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked across curiously.
“I asked her for a ride.” Star Shine replied on behalf of Twilight.
“How are things in town? We got a letter from Shining Armor.” Scootaloo asked, looking up at Star Shine.
“That's why I'm here. Diamond Tiara and even Filthy Rich are in custody and on their way to Canterlot. I don't know what Shining Armor found but it must have been something big.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash gasped at the news. “I was wondering why you two didn't come so I asked Twilight if she could bring me home. I was a little worried.” he added to explain what he was doing back at the house.
“She's...gone? Both of them?” Scootaloo asked. She could hardly believe that after everything Diamond Tiara had done and put her through it could all be over so quickly. Diamond Tiara had always bothered her and upset her. Not just in the past few weeks, but for most of the time she'd been in Ponyville. It was taking a second for it to all sink in. Star Shine nodded and smiled.
“That's right sweetie. It's all over now.” Star Shine replied.
“Well maybe not all.” Twilight said, dampening the happy atmosphere a little. The three Pegasi looked at her. She shied away from the attention a little. “It's just that Scootaloo might need to testify in court or something.” Twilight explained. “But for the most part it is over yes.” she added, smiling at Scootaloo.
“We can worry about that later. She's gone!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly. She grabbed Scootaloo out of Star Shine's grip and started throwing her in the air and catching her. Star Shine and Twilight watched the display for about a minute or so.
“So why weren't you guys there? I thought you'd want to see that.” Star Shine asked after letting them enjoy their celebration for what he felt was long enough. Rainbow Dash caught Scootaloo and didn't throw her back into the air. The fun was kind of over now. Instead, Rainbow Dash chose to hold Scootaloo close to her chest.
“Scootaloo was too nervous to go. She didn't want everypony looking at her.” Rainbow Dash explained. Star Shine walked over and hugged them both.
“I get that, don't worry. I hadn't really thought about that.” he said. He gave both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo a kiss on the cheek and turned his attention back to Twilight. “Seems I need to go back after all.” he said to her as he made his way next to her.
“Wait? What for?” Rainbow Dash asked him. Star Shine whispered something in Twilight's ear. She giggled and nodded, her horn glowing.
“There's something I need to take care of back there.” Star Shine replied. “Scootaloo, do me a favour and put your brace back on!” he called as a magical circle surrounded both him and Twilight. Twilight was taking her time casting the spell, as per Star Shine's whispered request.
“What for?” Scootaloo called back to be heard over the wind that had suddenly whipped up around Twilight and Star Shine. Theatrics were also in the request. Every colt secretly wanted to do something cool at least once in their lives and this might be one of the few chances he got to look awesome. He was relishing in it.
“You'll find out later! Just do it!” he called back. He nudged Twilight and she finished the spell. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo watched in confusion as Star Shine and Twilight disappeared into nothingness.
“You remember where the brace is?” Rainbow Dash asked, still quite confused. Scootaloo nodded dumbly and hopped out of Rainbow Dash's grip, setting off to find the brace and put it on.
Star Shine and Twilight reappeared in roughly the same spot they had occupied in the crowd. Thankfully it was still a vacant space and they didn't happen to appear on top of somepony. The pop was certainly loud enough to distract everypony from their chattering and draw attention to them. All eyes were quickly on them. Pinkie Pie was quickly next to them.
“Hey, where'd you go? Anywhere nice? That didn't take long. Why'd you go?” Pinkie Pie asked very quickly.
“We...er...we went to see Rainbow Dash and Scoots to see what they're up to.” Star Shine replied.
“Oh, well, Shining Armor wants you by the way. I think you should go talk to him. Sounds important. Is everything a Prince has to say important? Or does everything a Prince say have to BE important? Oooh this could take a while.” Pinkie Pie said exuberantly, rubbing her forehead as she tried to wrap her mind her own dilemma. Star Shine stared at her dumbfounded and Twilight let her be. It was better to let her work out things like this on her own. Any distractions or additional information would result in the process taking longer and rarely ever shorter. Star Shine snapped back to reality and looked around for signs of Shining Armor. It didn't take long to see the particularly large white stallion walking towards him. Star Shine walked forwards himself to meet Shining Armor half way.
“Pinkie Pie said you wanted to talk to me but can it wait? There's something I really have to do.” Star Shine asked. Shining Armor nodded in reply.
“I guess. There's something else you really have to do but you've got a little time.” Shining Armor replied. Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief. The chattering started up again and perhaps had some renewed vigour now that the pair had talked, albeit very briefly. Star Shine looked around frantically for something and, having not found what he might have been looking for, shot up into the air.
“You'll tire yourself out doing that!” Pinkie Pie shouted up at him. “Seriously, stop!” she added for good measure. Star Shine ignored her warnings and darted about through the air. It looked like he was still looking for something.
“Any idea what he's doing?” Shining Armor asked Twilight, who by now had made her way to her brother's side. Twilight shook her head.
“Nope.” she replied simply as Star Shine continued to fly around. Shining Armor had been a little worried that the guy might be trying to get away from him at first. It had quickly become apparent that wasn't what was happening at all. Now he almost wished he knew what Star Shine was looking for. It would have made the process faster if they could all look. Star Shine let out a small squeak of delight as he found what he was looking for. He flew off a short distance and returned, perhaps quite dangerously, pushing a storm cloud. He flew next to it, reared, and bucked it as hard as he could without putting his hooves through it. That would have ended badly. A loud crack thundered through the air and silenced the crowd around him. They all turned their eyes to him which unnerved him a bit. He tried his hardest to hide behind the storm cloud. He had wanted their attention, which is why he had made the loud distracting noise in the first place, but he didn't realise just how much attention he was going to attract. Still, this was what he had come back to do and he had to do it. He stood on the storm cloud and cleared his throat.
“H...Hello everypony. For those who don't know, my name is Star Shine and I'm Scootaloo's flight instructor.” Star Shine said. He stammered a little at first before coming into stride and holding a little more confidence. Pretty much the whole town was listening to him. He didn't want to screw that up.
“I thought you were her dad?!” a voice called out from the crowd below.
“I thought you were Rainbow Dash's coltfriend!” called out another, followed by a laugh that went through the entire crowd. Star Shine, to his credit, rubbed his mane sheepishly and batted off the comments.
“Well I'm neither of those right now, but maybe in time.” he said, laughing nervously. “For now I know that there's a little girl sat at home who's worried about how you might all react to her. A lot of things have happened, and a lot of stuff has come out.” Star Shine continued.
“What the hay is he doing?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular. Pinkie Pie still responded by shushing her.
“I can't speak for all of you of course, but I know I still love her very much. Nothing is going to change that.” Star Shine said, blushing a little.
“Are we talking about Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo?” came another cat call from the crowd. This one was followed by more laughter than the other one. Pinkie Pie performed a spectacular gravity defying jump and landed on top of Star Shine. He let out a grunt of pain as she landed on him but otherwise stayed upright and didn't fall through the cloud thanks to the additional weight. He made a mental note to ask Pinkie to never do something like that again.
“Come on everypony, the guy's here pouring his heart out and there's a scared little filly at home. Can you let him talk?” Pinkie Pie asked the crowd below. Star Shine heard a few apologies come from the crowd. With the way a lot of ponies were shuffling about it looked like there were a few more apologies than that.
“Uhhh...thanks.” Star Shine said dumbly to Pinkie Pie.
“Don't mention it.” she replied with a smile. She jumped down on to the ground and landed on her feet perfectly. Star Shine had managed to reach the point where all of Pinkie Pie's friends eventually made it to; he had accepted that he would never be able to understand how she did half the things she did and he should give up trying. It made life a lot easier.
“As I was saying...” Star Shine began, regaining his composure and clearing his throat. “Scootaloo is sat at home right now. She's really worried about how you guys are going to react and she's worried that some of you might take what you read seriously. She told you herself what really happened and how she really feels. If you think you're going to like her less, or treat her differently, then I ask that you please don't. I've been where she is and I know the pain it brings. I was always afraid of how other ponies might react if they knew the truth and it drove a wedge between me and my friends. I only had one real friend and even she didn't know anything...” Star Shine continued. It was getting a little difficult for him to speak. He was saying things that he'd never really said. Things he really wished Rainbow Dash was around to hear. Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Twilight were looking up at him with sad eyes. Shining Armor couldn't resist smiling a little. The colt in the air was pretty charismatic. “I never really let her get close. I never allowed myself to get close to her. Then she learned the truth and it was okay. I didn't have to lie anymore and I didn't have to pretend anything. I started being more open with her and I started allowing myself to feel how I had before. Luckily for me I think she still has the same feelings too...” he continued on. Shining Armor's smile was starting to fade. Star Shine was dragging this on and he'd lost track of his train of thought. Right now it was more like he was voicing his own feelings as he realised them. Pinkie Pie jumped back up on to Star Shine's back.
“That's nice and all but you're supposed to be focusing on Scootaloo!” she hissed into his ear before dropping back down to the ground. Star Shine shook his head to clear it.
“Right...right...sorry about that.” Star Shine called down to the ground. “As I was saying, I was worried and Scootaloo is too now. If you really believe what Diamond Tiara wrote about Scootaloo then read everything over again and remember that Scootaloo isn't lying. If you won't treat her any differently, or if you care more about her now than you did before, then I think it's worth letting her know that. I can spend hours reassuring her but nothing would compare to just five minutes of you guys letting her know how you feel. Whether it's good or bad, I don't want her to be worrying about it. If it's good, then that's great. If it's bad, then she can accept it and move on faster. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go home.” Star Shine concluded. “Well...Rainbow Dash's.” he added, correcting himself. Star Shine floated to the ground as ponies started stamping the ground in approval. He was very surprised by the reaction. He was expecting some approval but certainly not that much. He landed on the ground and started walking towards Rainbow Dash's. He was followed by Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Shining Armor. Star Shine looked back after about a minute and saw that he was also being followed by maybe every single pony who had been in the crowd. Scootaloo was definitely in for a big surprise when he got home for what was hopefully the last time that day. Shining Armor made his way to Star Shine's side.
“We've got a bit of a journey ahead of us, and we need to talk.” Shining Armor said.
“Sure, what's this about anyway?” Star Shine replied with a smile. He felt there wasn't anything to be nervous about. Nothing he could think about anyway.
“It's about Scootaloo.” Shining Armor said. Star Shine's ears twitched. Shining Armor definitely had his attention with that. “Is it true that she ran away from an orphanage and that neither you or Rainbow Dash have officially adopted her?” Shining Armor asked. Star Shine nodded.
“Yeah. I won't deny we haven't thought about it. I've got no clue where her orphanage is though.” Star Shine replied. Shining Armor sighed a little. He had hoped to be wrong for once.
“To be honest I should probably take her in too. I can't have a kid running around without a legal guardian.” Shining Armor said sadly. He didn't want to separate them. If it was up to him he would just leave them be. Unfortunately it wasn't his decision to make.
“I...see...” Star Shine replied dejectedly. The wind had really been taken out of his sails by that.
“Do you really have to do that?” Twilight asked, butting her way into the conversation. Her and the other girls weren't too far behind and had heard everything. “Scootaloo's really happy with Rainbow Dash. She's wanted to live with her pretty much since she got here.” Twilight added.
“She really has. She looked ever so happy when she was in my shop. I've never seen her like that.” Rarity added to the defense.
“Splitting them up just sounds so cruel. Why'd you have to be cruel Shiny?” Pinkie Pie asked. Star Shine smiled and Shining Armor relented under the verbal assault.
“I'm sure they'd make a great family and I don't want to split them up. It's just if they want to stay a family then they need to make it official, that's all.” Shining Armor offered as his own defense.
“I get that, I really do. Just give me some time to find her orphanage please? It's pretty hard because she barely remembers anything from then. Heck she probably...repressed...it.” Star Shine replied. His voice and body stopped as his mind went into overdrive. He knew a little about psychology as well after having dealt with emotionally troubled foals. No matter how much something is repressed a part of it remains in the brain. It could manifest as anything but was commonly an apprehensive feeling for seemingly no reason when confronted with something that would be a strong trigger.
“I guess given the circumstances I can give you some time.” Shining Armor said. Star Shine wasn't really listening.
“She...she repressed it. I think...I'm pretty sure...I know where her orphanage is.” Star Shine said slowly as the realisation came to him. “It's in Canterlot.”
“Rainbow?! You home?!” a familiar southern accent called from outside Rainbow Dash's house. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had gone back to enjoying their book. Having recognised the voice Rainbow Dash wasn't as bothered by the interruption as she might have been before. She had no clue why Applejack had decided to visit out of the blue however and resolved to find out. She left the house with Scootaloo in tow and leaned over the edge of the cloud layer. She saw not just Applejack, but also Fluttershy.
“What's up AJ?” Rainbow Dash called down.
“Hi Fluttershy!” Scootaloo shouted, waving at Fluttershy. Fluttershy waved back with a smile but didn't reply. She looked nervous. Well, more nervous than she usually did.
“What in tarnation was up with that thunder earlier? There a storm due today?” Applejack asked.
“...I didn't hear any thunder. There's no storm scheduled until tomorrow. Somepony might have lost a cloud. I don't think they'd buck it though.” Rainbow Dash replied. She had no real idea what Applejack was talking about. It was possible she had missed the thunder. Nopony should have set any off though.
“All Ah know is that Ah heard some thunder and then a few minutes later poor little Fluttershy here was knocking on my door cos she got scared. Ah'm closest to her.” Applejack said.
“...I was worried the animals might be scared...” Fluttershy said timidly as she played nervously with her hooves. Only Applejack heard her. “That's all...” she added, trying to cover for her own shyness. The truth was a bit of a mixture between what she had said and what Applejack had said. If she was really that scared she probably wouldn't have even left her cottage. Applejack was about to respond when she heard what sounded like more thunder.
“What the hay is that?” she asked, looking around to see where the noise might be coming from. Fluttershy hid behind Applejack and let out a whimper. “Rainbow, you're in charge of weather aren't you? Why's there a storm comin'?” she called up to Rainbow Dash as she gently patted Fluttershy to keep her calm.
“That's...that's not thunder...” Rainbow Dash said, peering off in the distance. She couldn't make out any particular ponies but from her vantage point she could see what appeared to be a very large crowd moving across the fields surrounding her house. Moving specifically towards her house it seemed. As the crowd got closer she began to make out individuals in it. One that stood out was the pony at the very front of it; Star Shine. “Sometimes I think that idiot wants to die.” Rainbow Dash sighed.
“What is it? What's going on?” Applejack called up. She still couldn't really see the crowd.
“It's not thunder!” Rainbow Dash called down. Fluttershy calmed down and gave a sigh of relief. “It's a large crowd. Looks like the whole town!” Rainbow Dash added. Fluttershy gave a yelp and looked for something to hide behind. Something a little bigger than Applejack. She settled for hiding behind Applejack again when she couldn't find anything. Scootaloo ran inside the house. She wanted no part of whatever was going to happen. Rainbow Dash followed her inside.
“Oh I know, she doesn't want to go into town so I'll just bring the whole town to her.” Scootaloo said sarcastically. Rainbow Dash patted her on the back.
“I'm sure he had his reasons. Might not be good but I'm sure he has them.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. The crowd got closer and closer and soon enough the sound of marching ponies stopped. Star Shine appeared in the doorway about a minute or so after this happened.
“I'm home. Again. I brought some guests, hope you don't mind.” he said as he walked through the door. He braced for what he felt was an inevitable hug but it never came. He looked around and saw that Scootaloo was huddled up to Rainbow Dash, who was still comforting her. “I...errr...take it you do mind.” he said simply.
“Why'd you bring the whole town back with? Even Fluttershy and Applejack showed up!” Rainbow Dash chastised him.
“I didn't mean to...” Star Shine said, moving his hoof across the ground apologetically.
“I suppose they all just followed you home?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well yeah actually. That's pretty much what happened.” Star Shine replied with a giggle. They really had all followed him home. “Can you please just go outside for a second?” he pleaded. This was backfiring on him just a little. He hoped that when Rainbow Dash knew everything she would be a little more willing to forgive him.
“Why are they even here?” Scootaloo asked quietly.
“I really wasn't expecting them all to come here. Really. I asked them to come with me to let you know how they feel. I didn't want you worrying about how they might treat you.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo let out a sigh.
“Suppose I don't have a choice now.” Scootaloo said. She was getting tired of having her choices taken away from her. She walked back outside and Rainbow Dash followed her. Star Shine gave a nervous laugh as Rainbow Dash glared at him while she passed him.
“If this goes badly, you're dead.” she whispered in his ear as she passed him. This really was not going well for him. At least Scootaloo was wearing the brace like he asked, he noted. He followed them outside shortly after. Scootaloo nervously made her way to the edge of the cloud layer and peered down at the crowd below. As soon as they saw her a large cheer went through the crowd. Scootaloo looked across the crowd and saw that Applejack and Fluttershy had found the rest of the group and all five of them (six if you included Shining Armor) were all beaming up at her. By this point Star Shine and Rainbow Dash were stood right behind Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash was beaming back at the crowd and it looked like she was about to cry.
“We love you Scootaloo!” called a voice from the crowd.
“We're sorry we didn't notice anything sooner!” called another. Rainbow Dash let go and started crying. Scootaloo started crying too. She had never felt so accepted and like she belonged since she had moved in with Rainbow Dash. She thought that Rainbow Dash was a one time thing and that the vast majority of the town would regard with her with apathy or, worse, disdain. They would simply not care about her. She never expected such an emotional outpouring.
“So I take it I get to live?” Star Shine whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear nervously. Rainbow Dash nodded and nuzzled up to him. In her wildest dreams she never would have expected something like this to happen. The crowd switched from cheering Scootaloo to awwwing at Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. Scootaloo turned around to see what they were all reacting to and lost her footing. She slipped and fell off the cloud layer. An audible gasp ran through the crowd and Star Shine reacted before Rainbow Dash had a chance to.
“FLAP!” he called down to Scootaloo. “FLAP YOUR WINGS!” he prepared to leap down after her in case his calculations were wrong. In case Scootaloo wasn't ready yet. Rainbow Dash leaped after Scootaloo but stopped herself before she reached her. She was staring open mouthed at Scootaloo, trying to process what she was seeing. In front of her, with her eyes closed tight, was Scootaloo. In mid-air. Not gliding, but hovering. Holding herself in place.
“Scoots...open your eyes...” Rainbow Dash said softly. She was almost starting to cry again. Scootaloo heard Rainbow Dash's voice crack and was afraid to open her eyes. It sounded like something was wrong. She hadn't felt the ground or anything and wondered what was going on. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. There was something wrong with what she was seeing. She wasn't moving. She saw Rainbow Dash hovering in the air and smiling at her so widely Scotaloo thought she could see all her teeth. It was then that her brain started to process what was happening. She looked down to confirm what she already knew. She saw the ground below and that's when it really hit her. She was hovering.
She was flying.
Another loud cheer erupted from the ground below and Scootaloo let out a squeal of delight so loud even the people at the far end of the crowd could hear her. She had done it. She had everything she had ever wanted. She was accepted by the town. She was accepted by Rainbow Dash. She was flying. It felt a little off to her. Something felt a little wrong. But she was flying. There was one thing she had wanted above all that she had managed to find and that was a family. Scootaloo flew over to Rainbow Dash who hugged her tight while Star Shine looked on and grinned at her in a way that she always wished her father had. Some things had gone a little bad but in the end she had it all. Scootaloo wept tears of joy as Rainbow Dash hugged her so tight she couldn't hear the voices of the crowd. Star Shine joined in the hug and Scootaloo enjoyed the moment with her new family. Nothing mattered anymore. Not the past, not the future. Only that one shining moment she found herself a part of. Some more things were to come, but for now she was very happy to just enjoy what was already happening. There were questions left unanswered but this was neither the time nor the place.
“Congratulations Scoots. I knew you had it in you.” Rainbow Dash said happily.
“Thanks...” Scootaloo replied dumbly. She was still trying to process everything that was happening. She was flying. With Rainbow Dash. It was all she ever dreamed. It was almost too much for Scootaloo. She huddled as tight as she could to both of them and enjoyed the warmth, joy, and love she was feeling. She even stopped flapping her wings. She knew Star Shine and Rainbow Dash would support her and that they always would. She had nothing to fear, nothing to hide from, and everything to live for. Underneath their little group Pinkie Pie had began a “Scootaloo's First Flight” party and, after enjoying the moment a little longer, Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash and Star Shine went down to enjoy the festivities. Star Shine enjoyed them a little less than the others as he fell asleep precisely as Pinkie Pie told him he would. While he was out Pinkie explained to Rainbow Dash everything Star Shine had done and just what he had said to get ponies to come over, including all the slightly mushy stuff he said about Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash flew Star Shine up to the house for the sake of his own safety and so he could get some much deserved rest. She gave him a quick kiss on the forehead like she did with Scootaloo before heading back down to the party. The filly of honour was being accosted on all sides by ponies who continued to apologise for not noticing anything sooner or for making her feel how she did. Scootaloo assured them that it was alright because there was one pony who believed in her and never gave up on her and over time she gained another. Now she had a whole town who felt that way.
You only need one pony. Sometimes you have them and sometimes you don't. If you don't then they are out there waiting for you. One thing is for sure though; Everything will always work out in the end.
Diamond Tiara still hadn't calmed down by the time that the guards and Firefly reached the Royal Palace. With crime not being much of an issue, a small sector of the palace was dedicated to crime and punishment. Towns that were a good distance away from the capital, such as Appleoosa, had their own law enforcement and offices. Ponyville had one too but it was more for smaller petty crimes that wouldn't take long to fix. Child neglect was a serious accusation and Diamond Tiara had very nearly ruined a life. Firefly was allowed to stay in a waiting room for visitors. He was not formally charged with anything and was mostly there for some questioning. He had decided to stay on his own to give Diamond Tiara any support or comfort he could offer. Shortly after the party for Scootaloo had started Shining Armor had sent a letter to the guards informing them that he would be arriving soon. Twilight didn't have the power to send him as far away as Canterlot so he was stuck on the train. As much as he wanted to stay and enjoy the festivities, he had work to do.
Shining Armor arrived a few hours later and then the questioning began. Filthy Rich of course pleaded ignorance and innocence. When confronted with what his daughter had done he had plead ignorance and when informed that his ignorance had been what he was arrested for, he had pleaded innocence. He claimed that he had taken an interest in his daughter's life. To a degree he had by having his guards keep an eye on her but he failed to use the information in any kind of manner and could have easily spent some time with her to learn more about her. Firefly proved to be useful in the case against Filthy Rich as well, having confronted him about it himself. The way that Filthy had disregarded Firefly's advice would prove to be damming evidence. Filthy Rich had attempted to form a relationship with his daughter on several occasions and had gone to bat for her, but she clearly never felt it was good enough. Extracts from Diamond Tiara's diary were read to him. Entries where she would despair about how her dad never paid any attention to her. At first she was depressed about it and would lament the situation. Over the course of time depression had turned to anger and she had grown to despise her father. Her own attempts to get close to him had failed and she stopped caring and trying. She resigned herself to her father having no interest in her life. She even started to see Firefly as some kind of surrogate father and would praise him, saying that she wished her dad was more like him. Filthy Rich's pleas of “I had no idea!” were not withheld and a trial was set. Both he and his daughter would be tried on the same day. There was a chance he would lose custody of her and they wanted to make sure that they knew what they were doing with them both at the same time.
When Diamond Tiara was questioned she had responded the same way she did with Firefly. She never bothered trying to hide what she had done. She wasn't as proud as she was, having seen how everypony had reacted, and it was partly that she knew there was no point in trying to deny anything. They had her diary and they had the note. They had everything they needed on her. When asked about her motives Diamond Tiara had tried to defend herself using the fact that Scootaloo stole her tiara against her. The charges were noted and set aside to be looked into. Rainbow Dash would later receive a fine and her and Scootaloo would have to do some community service, but not much more came of that. Diamond Tiara was informed that while she had been wronged, she still had no right to do what she did. She should have informed somepony rather than taking matters into her own hooves. Vigilante justice was just as illegal as the crime the vigilante seeks vengeance for. If she had simply reported the stolen tiara then all of the mess could have been avoided. Much like with her dad, a court date was set and the wait began.
Filthy Rich was the first to be tried. Firefly was in attendance and would give evidence in both cases. Filthy had stuck to the defense he had used during his questioning. He had no idea what Diamond Tiara was up to and he had tried to find out. The prosecution had stuck to the argument that he could have tried a whole lot harder and had even turned down chances that he had to talk to his daughter. He wilfully ignored her and left her to her own devices. If he had paid more attention then it was another way that the entire mess could have been avoided. In the end it was ruled that he had wilfully ignored Diamond Tiara and his behaviour was tantamount to, if not actually, neglect. The judge ruled that as he was a single parent he would lose custody of Diamond Tiara and she would be transferred to a local orphanage. It was, perhaps ironically (though more coincidentally) the same orphanage that Scootaloo grew up in. Firefly had cried out at the decision. He pleaded that Diamond Tiara would not function well in an environment like an orphanage. There was no need to take her to an orphanage because he would take her in, and he would take her far away to Baltimare and give her a new start. The judge, under the advice of Shining Armor, took what Firefly had to say in consideration. They would make a final decision at the end of Diamond Tiara's trial.
Diamond Tiara's trial didn't take too long. She had pleaded guilty and there was more than enough evidence to damn her. The main focus of it was to decide just what to do with her. It was clear that she was guilty but it was also clear that she had issues and she needed help as much as she needed punishment. In the end it was decided that Firefly would be able to adopt her. She was to have regular visits by psychologists to see how she was doing, but she wouldn't have to live in an orphanage or receive a major punishment. She was just a filly after all, no matter what she had done. She would receive a second chance, with a completely new start and with a colt who cared very much for her and wanted her to succeed. She would go on to live with Firefly in Baltimare like he promised. At first she was visited once a month and after a year, when it became obvious she was in a much better mental state, the visits became less frequent and stopped altogether. Firefly joined the police force in Baltimare and while he couldn't give Diamond Tiara the life that Filthy Rich had, he could certainly provide for her. A second chance was exactly what she needed and she went on to become a psychiatrist in an effort to ensure that no other little pony ended up how she did. She would go on to live a pretty good life and be a good pony, in thanks to the second chance she was given, and having a pony who cared for her there to guide her on that path.
Filthy Rich was not to be so lucky. The neglect charges would stand and he would go on to serve six months imprisonment. Word of his trial and imprisonment soon spread quite far. He found it very, very difficult to keep his businesses going even before he was released. He would go on to lose almost all of his money. Eventually he found himself a dead end job in a dead end town but he was never able to regain his former glory. It was a simple life. When the nights settled in, and he was left with himself, he would be faced with the reality of what had happened. Blaming others could only last him so long. Eventually he realised and accepted his mistakes and would try and re-establish contact with Diamond Tiara. By the time they were reconnected she was already pretty successful and had made something of herself. She had done it without making the same mistakes he had too. She hadn't alienated herself from those around her. In a way he had taught her one of life's most important lessons. They were never quite father and daughter again, but they were something. It was a good and simple life; one that Diamond Tiara might have never thought that she needed.
For Scootaloo, the next week was incredibly important. Unfortunately she was still suspended from school despite everything. Fortunately this meant that she spent the majority of her week in Canterlot with Star Shine. She was able to join in his flying lessons now that she was flying and was finally given the flying lessons she was promised all that time ago. Star Shine insisted she keep the brace on even though she was flying. Scootaloo wasn't sure why but she trusted that he knew what he was doing and went along with it. He even had Twilight charge it back up again without her knowledge to keep it going for the whole month he would be away. On the second day Star Shine sent Scootaloo home with a note for Rainbow Dash and made her promise not to read it. She agreed and stuck to her word and gave it to Rainbow Dash as soon as she got home. Rainbow thought it might have been a bit of a love letter and was not expecting what it actually was;
Rainbow Dash I have good news and bad news. The bad news is there's something I didn't tell you. I'm sorry for that but there was never much of a chance. Shining Armor told me that because Scootaloo doesn't have an official guardian, as neither of us have adopted her, he wants to take her away. The good news is that we have some time. We had no idea where the orphanage was and it's a pretty big thing to think about.
When I thought about it, I realised that the only place her orphanage could be is Canterlot. Remember how she seemed scared and uneasy here? It's because she grew up here and repressed it. Once I had a starting point it wasn't too difficult. I asked my friend about it and he told me that there was an orphanage around here. After I sent Scootaloo home yesterday I went and looked for it and I found it. They actually think she's dead. When she ran away she ran into the Everfree Forest and that's how she ended up in Ponyville. They didn't know she survived and because she never came back out the forest on their end, and they never found her, they thought she had died in there. They actually told her parents about it. Her mother didn't take it well and blamed herself.
Well anyway, the point is that I found her orphanage and now you can adopt her. I wish there were better circumstances than this. I really do wish it wasn't a case of “You have to adopt her or she'll be taken away” but that's unfortunately how things are. I do advise you to think about it though. If you think you aren't ready to be a mother then I think you should consider giving her up. You can adopt her when you're both a little older.
Whatever your decision is, come with her to Canterlot on Friday and let's do it. If you adopt her, then you'll need to be here of course. If she has to go back, then I think it's best for you to do it personally rather than having Shining Armor take her away. You'll have time to explain everything to her.
In either case, I'll see you on Friday. I'm looking forward to it. I miss you. Star Shine
Rainbow Dash had to admit he had a point. She wish he'd told her sooner but he did have a point about it being better for her to drop Scootaloo off if she wasn't going to adopt her. Rainbow Dash sighed and began considering the options. She had said that she would be proud to be related to Scootaloo but becoming her mother would be a very big deal and she wasn't entirely sure that she was ready. She really had always imagined she'd be some kind of big sister figure. She had really come into the role of mother over the past few weeks and had managed to handle things pretty well. Was Star Shine to thank for that? Would she be able to do it on her own? She just didn't know.
Over the course of the week Rainbow Dash paid close attention to Scootaloo and herself. How she responded when Scootaloo needed something and how she was when Scootaloo needed to be disciplined. She thought about everything that had happened and tried to put it all in perspective. She was going to make a decision that would alter not one, but two lives forever. It wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. She thought that when offered the chance she might have jumped on it and taken Scootaloo in right away. One benefit of Scootaloo's secrets being revealed was that Rainbow Dash could openly discuss them with her friends. Twilight's opinions had mirrored Star Shine's really. She advised Rainbow Dash to do what was best for Scootaloo, even if it meant causing her some short term pain by giving her up for a while. Rarity had reminded her of how happy Scootaloo had been lately and how happy Scootaloo would be if Rainbow Dash legally became her mother. Pinkie Pie was remarkably sombre and honest with her thoughts. She had shared her experiences babysitting the Cake twins. While Scootaloo wasn't a baby, there were going to be some times when taking care of her was going to be overwhelming. Fluttershy had also been overwhelmed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders at one point but had managed to bring them under control. It was Applejack who offered perhaps the best advice of all. Her parents had died while Apple Bloom was very young. Granny Smith had taken care of them but there was only so much she could do. There were times when Apple Bloom had been too much for her to handle and Applejack had become somewhat of a surrogate mother as well as sister. It was one the reasons their relationship was as deep as it was. She had kind of had that situation thrust upon her, and at first she wasn't sure what she was doing, but she had come to learn it all as she went. She had taken care of Applebloom with a little help. Applejack and the rest of Rainbow Dash's friends would be there for her no matter what she chose to do. By the time Thursday night rolled around Rainbow Dash knew what she was going to do.
Scootaloo was a little surprised when Rainbow Dash got on the train with her in the morning. Rainbow Dash avoided questions about why she was going to Canterlot which made for a very awkward and very quiet train ride. Star Shine was waiting for them at the train station and when he saw them he couldn't help but give Rainbow Dash a hug. It had been nearly a week since he'd last seen her.
“You know what you're going to do?” he whispered in her ear as he hugged her. Rainbow Dash nodded and he released the hug. “And good morning to you too Scootaloo. I'm afraid there's been a slight change of plans.” he said to Scootaloo.
“Change? We're not having a flying lesson?” Scootaloo asked. She hoped Star Shine would be able to shed some light on why Rainbow Dash was with them. Part of her thought that she might be involved in the flying lesson. She was a little disappointed to hear that wasn't the case. It would have been awesome.
“We're taking a small journey today. That's why Rainbow's here. She needs to come with us.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo was confused even more and followed them as they walked off. Star Shine was slightly ahead of Rainbow Dash but it still looked like she knew where she was going, even though she had no idea.
Scootaloo started to feel very uneasy as they got closer to their destination. Neither Rainbow Dash or Star Shine were talking and they wouldn't tell her what was going on. They turned a corner and she saw a building that made her jaw drop and the rest of her start to shake. It was an orphanage. As she looked at it she realised it wasn't just any old orphanage. It was her orphanage. The one she had grown up in. They were taking her back. All those times they had said they loved her were a lie. She had everything she wanted and now it was about to be taken away again. She screamed and bolted in the opposite direction.
“Scootaloo, wait!” Rainbow Dash shouted, chasing after her.
“You didn't tell her anything?” Star Shine asked, running alongside Rainbow Dash.
“I thought you didn't want me to!” Rainbow Dash hissed back. Rainbow Dash pounced on Scootaloo before Star Shine had a chance to talk back. The pair tumbled over eachother and it ended with Scootaloo in a tight hug.
“Let me go! I don't want to go back! Don't take me back!” Scootaloo shouted, struggling to get out of Rainbow Dash's hold. “Why would you take me back? I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted me to stay. Is this cos I hit Diamond Tiara?” Scootaloo asked worriedly. “Did...did you plan this? Is that why you wanted me to come to Canterlot with you? Why you said it'd be a punishment?” she asked Star Shine through tears. Star Shine sighed and nuzzled Scootaloo. It didn't help calm her down at all.
“I didn't plan this. I only realised that your orphanage was here last week. I told you coming to Canterlot would be a punishment because I thought you'd have to sit and watch a filly a lot younger than you flying when you couldn't. You went and proved me wrong though and you started flying. There's a very good reason you're here but I think it's best if Rainbow Dash tells you.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo calmed down as he was talking and she looked at Rainbow Dash with a mixture of expectation and worry. Rainbow Dash smiled at her and all of Scootaloo's worries vanished. There's no way Rainbow Dash would hurt her or do anything bad. Just that reassuring smile made everything go away.
“Scootaloo...Shining Armor asked me to bring you back here. He told me that I'd have to make our little family official or I'd lose you.” Rainbow Dash explained.
“You...you mean?...” Scootaloo began. Perhaps the total opposite of what she thought might happen was actually going to happen.
“After talking about it with my friends and thinking about it all week, there was only one thing I could do. I don't know if I'd make a good mom, or if I can really take care of you, but I'd like to find out. I'd like to learn all of that with you Scoots. I had to bring you back here so I could take you away again.” Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo struggled to contain her excitement. It was a complete contrast to how she was a few minutes ago.
“You you you you you you you you.” Scootaloo rambled constantly, unable to contain herself long enough to ask the question that was burning in her brain. The one that would just send her insane. Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile and Scootaloo jumped about five feet into the air.
“Yes Scoots, we're here so I can adopt you.” Rainbow Dash confirmed. Scootaloo, seemingly defying the laws of physics, jumped again in the air and shot up another few feet. In reality she had just flapped her wings as hard as she could and shot up a little. She did something she never thought she would do and flew towards the orphanage at top speed.
“Come on already! Let's get this over with!” Scootaloo called back to Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. The pair of Pegasi had been watching her with large smiles on their faces. They laughed and followed after her, towards the orphanage.
“I think you made the right choice. I know you're going to be amazing.” Star Shine said while Scootaloo was still out of earshot.
“Thanks. I might need a little help from you along the way.” Rainbow Dash replied, leaning into him.
“Sure, I'd be happy to be there for her. For you both.” Star Shine replied, returning the nuzzle.
“Hey!” Scootaloo called back to them. She was still a good distance from them. The pair looked up at her. “Is Star Shine actually gonna be my new daddy?” she asked. Star Shine let out a laugh and Rainbow Dash blushed, pulling away from him.
“I told you Scoots, I'll only be your dad if me and Rainbow get married.” he called back. Scootaloo thought it over for a few seconds.
“Oh. Well hurry up and get married then!” Scootaloo called back. She laughed and flew towards the orphanage as Rainbow Dash chased her down while Star Shine laughed even harder. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash waited for Star Shine when they reached the door to the orphanage. All three went in when he arrived. The matron in charge recognised him and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Scootaloo. Star Shine had explained to her that she wasn't actually dead but it was still a shock to actually see her. They still had all of Scootaloo's records on file. In a matter of minutes she was declared legally alive again and, a few minutes after that, legally the daughter of one Miss Rainbow Dash.
The three spent the day in Canterlot together to celebrate. Rainbow Dash had booked the entire day off of work and Star Shine had agreed with his friend that given the circumstances, he could have a day without flying lessons. After a whole day together it came time to say goodbye again. This time it was a bit more of a goodbye. They wouldn't see Star Shine for another few weeks. They went to the train station together and said their goodbyes.
“Congratulations Scoots. Now you be nice to your new mother.” Star Shine said, giving Scootaloo a hug.
“I will. Promise.” Scootaloo replied, giggling. She hadn't really stopped giggling all day. Or come down from her high.
“I'll see you in a few weeks Rainbow. You and Scoots have fun. If you need me, just send me a letter. Ponyville ain't that far away.” he said as he hugged Rainbow Dash. He pulled away slowly, as if there was something else he wanted to say or do. “And...” he said slowly, fidgeting nervously. “No, it can wait.” he concluded, shaking his head. He smiled up at Rainbow Dash to reassure her nothing was wrong.
“You okay Shine?” Rainbow Dash asked, curious as to what he was going to say. “What was it?” Star Shine shook his head again.
“It doesn't matter. Just...stay awesome.” he said. He gave Rainbow Dash a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed as a whistle blew behind them to signal that the train was about to leave. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo gave Star Shine one last quick hug and got on the train. There was something else Star Shine had wanted to say, but he felt it would have been unfair to tell her something like that as they were about to be separated for a few weeks. He also wasn't entirely sure about his feelings anyway. It could have just been something he wanted to say because he was about to lose her for a while. Star Shine watched the train wistfully for a minute or so before it disappeared entirely. He slowly walked home once there was nothing keeping him waiting at the station.
“I wonder what that was about?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. The pair were sat in the train together. They'd managed to find an empty compartment for just the two of them.
“I dunno. I guess you'll find out later mom.” Scootaloo replied. She giggled again as soon as she did. She still wasn't used to using that word and it still set her off. It would do for the next few days. It would also take Rainbow Dash a while to get used to it too. They had their whole lives to get used to it though.
With Scootaloo adopted there was just one thing left for her orphanage to do. It was a rule there that they would let a parent know when their child had been adopted. That way they would know whether or not the child was still in the orphanage and, should they so choose later down the line, re-establish contact. In very rare cases a parent was not informed. This usually happened when a parent was abusive and a child was taken away for their own good. If Diamond Tiara had ended up in the orphanage then Filthy wouldn't have found out when she was adopted. Luckily for him he was there when Firefly offered to take Diamond Tiara with him so it wasn't very hard for him to find her again. Her ending up quite successful had helped there too.
Unluckily for Scootaloo the abuse of her father was never reported. As far as the orphanage were concerned, her parents had given her away because they couldn't cope with her. This meant that when she was adopted her father would be informed. Her mother had long since passed but her father was alive and well. Well, drunk anyway. He had also left Canterlot quite a while ago. He had ended up in quite a lot of trouble with the law in his new home but none of it had really reached Canterlot. The orphanage had no clue. So they had no choice but to send him a letter.
When Scootaloo's dad opened the letter he read it while mumbling to himself. His voice was grizzled from all the abuse his body had been put through over time. "Blah blah blah....Canterlot Orphanage....blah blah blah Scootaloo....blah blah blah adopted...wait what?" he all but roared when he read it. He had to read it several times to make sure it really had said that Scootaloo was alive and well and even adopted. There was no mistake. "Ponyville eh? I guess my little girl is about to have a visit from her dear old dad..." he said to himself. He smiled to himself as he thought of what he could do to Scootaloo. He had helped bring her into this world and in return she had ruined his life.
Now it was time for him to ruin hers. To get the revenge he never thought he'd be able to get.
