Prologue: The Fall
“C’mon Scoots, almost there!” said Rainbow Dash to the orange pegasus as they trotted forward. They were almost to the top of a particularly large hill. It was one of the biggest near Ponyville. The sun was just beginning its daily climb for the day, overlooking all of Equestria. The moon was slowly relenting the suns takeover, and eventually subsided.
“Rainbow Dash, did you have to wake me up this early?” Scootaloo whined, obeying nonetheless. She had been woken up early by Rainbow Dash that day to practice more lessons in flight, and Scootaloo been looking forward to it all week. However her excitement was overshadowed by her sleepiness in the early morning fog. They sooned reached their destination. The top gave a beautiful view of the sunrise, and a small glimpse of Ponyville in the fog.
The rainbow maned pegasus looked to the surrounding area. The conditions weren’t too good for flying, but she didn’t expect much trouble with it. After all, what was a little fog to someone as trained as her? “Alright, have you been practicing moving your wings really strong? And really fast?” she asked, knowing the answer before it left her muzzle. She was very predictable.
“Yep. I even did some exercises without my scooter!” she said, slightly regaining her enthusiasm. Even if it was early, and really foggy, she trusted Rainbow Dash and listened to her every word. It’s what sisters did after all.
Dash nodded her approval at her. “Give it time, you’ll be cruising so fast ponies won’t see you coming!” she said, confidently. She had grown fond of the little filly, whom she had promised to look over like a sister. And she had faith in what she was teaching her; which was to be more like her.
The young filly looked up to Rainbow, finally out of the morning haze, and eager to follow her mentor. “You really think so Dash??” she asks, eyes shining despite the lack of sunlight. Any praise she could earn from her mentor was as good as gold to the filly.
Lightly punching her shoulder, Rainbow smirked. “You kidding? With enough practice you could be the next Rainbow Dash!” she said, striking a pose. She looked to Scoots and to the sky. “In fact...I think it might be time for your first practice run!” she added.
Looking up nervously, Scoots gulped. “I don’t know Rainbow...It seems pretty foggy...” she said quietly.
Chuckling, Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s foggy. The weather ponies aren’t up yet to clear the fog. Besides, your with the one and only Rainbow Dash. What’s the worse that could happen?” she asked, rhetorically. She then picked up Scootaloo with a hoof raising her to the sky.
The filly was about to object, before she was hoisted into the air. She looked downward to see the ground quickly fall away. She gave a quick sigh. “Eyes on the prize Scoots. Forearms out, keep balanced, and flap those wings!” said Rainbow Dash confidently. Scootaloo obeyed, knowing the procedure.
Scoots closed her eyes as she did this, focusing on beating her wings. She had been told it didn’t matter if they were a bit small for her size, and that they’d still work.
Dash was busy compensating for the weight. However, soon she found she needed to compensate less and less. Eventually Scoots was supporting her own weight in flight. Rainbow slowly slipper her hoof from under Scoots. She was flying in the usual pattern they flew. She slipped behind Scoots, not too worried about her now. As far as Rainbow was concerned, it was smooth sailing for Scoots.
The orange pegasus followed the route through memory. However it didn’t take long for her to realize that Rainbows hoof was gone. “WOoAh!” she said veering to the right, searching for Dash while losing altitude. Her fear had come true. “Rainbow Dash?!”
Dash saw her begin to panic. “Scoots! Don’t freak! Right behind you!” she said, hoping to comfort her enough to at least keep a level altitude. The worst thing somepony could do was panic on their first flight.
She had gone down a considerable ways, from Rainbow Dash. However, after hearing Rainbows voice she tried to calm herself, and let her natural instincts take over. She took a few deep breaths and after a moment or two, she giggled. She was actually flying. She had never imagined that it would feel this good or amazing. She fully embraced her new ability. She looked back to Rainbow Dash, a smile plastered across her face. “Rainbow I’m doing it! I’m flyi-”
*THWACK*
Scootaloo disappeared from Rainbows vision. She stopped immediately and quickly rushed to the spot she had last seen Scoots. She heard several cracks as something plummeted through a multitude of branches, before landing with a *Thud* . The silence was unbearable for the few moments it lasted.
The Cyan pegasus rushed to the ground, without a moment to spare. She looked through the trees, but they all seemed the same. The fog obscured everything within a few feet below the treeline.She wondered why she didn’t hear Scoots crying after a fall like that. She began to panic and called out Scootaloo’s name. “Scoots?! Where’d ya go?” she yelled into the forest. She got no reply. She began to fear the worse, that fear flooding through her body. She quickly rounded a set of trees. “Scoots? Scoootallooo?!” she yelled, still receiving no reply. Only a quiet echo from her own voice.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a reprieve from the silence.“Rmbw Dsh...” she heard faintly, as if far away. It came, almost as a whisper. She looked around frantically. “Scoots?! Where are ya??” she asked desperately, still unable to find her. Again came the faint whispering , sounding softer than before. “Dsh....”
Dash looked behind every tree, her hope waning that’d she’d ever find her adopted sister. Then, another sound. ”Dash...” it said more clearly, and much closer. Rainbow flew to the spot where she heard her name. Laying there, behind a tree, laid a figure. It didn’t look anything like the shape of a pony; it bent at far too many angles for a pony who was healthy. However, she was not healthy. And she was very much in pain.
The young filly, whose body was so mangled, managed to look up to Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t cry; she didn’t have the strength to. She was barely conscious. She said two words, before her body shut down. “I’m....Sorry...” she whispered, almost silent. Then her head fell flat, quickly losing any sensations to the world.
Rainbow couldn’t believe that this mangled pony was Scootaloo. And when she stared at her, and issued her apology, she began weeping. Deep wracking sobs filled her body as the realization of what had occurred dawned on her. She continued this for a few minutes until she realized she needed to do something to help Scoots. She looked to the sky and screamed like she had never before, calling out in desperation, for anypony who could help Scootaloo.