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Will You Keep My Secret?

by xCobaltRainx

Chapter 1: The Secret

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Will You Keep My Secret?

Chapter One

The Secret

The serene midday weather that enveloped the town called Ponyville could lift anyone's spirits; and it usually did. But on this particular day, a lonely orange pegasus filly wheeled down the side paths on the outskirts of town.

This peculiar filly does something no other pony ever does: She uses her wings to propel herself forward on a scooter. But on this day, she kept her wings snapped shut at her sides, not even wanting to look at them. She rolled her way around using her legs, like all other ponies. She kept her head hung, surveying the ground and each individual pebble that disappeared underneath her blue scooter.

She had kept this swaying motion that propelled her forward for what seemed like hours. This motion was the only thing that she could focus on other than her thoughts. The lump in her throat grew larger as she again recalled the events from earlier that day.

Back at school, Diamond Tiara had crossed the line. She had actually recruited their entire class to take part in the bullying. The assembled mob created a wall of themselves in front of the filly, and trapped her from behind by one of the outside walls of the school.

They taunted her, called her names, and teased her with words that conveyed a simple message: She could not fly. She could not fly and she should be ashamed to call herself a pegasus for not being able to. What kind of pegasus can't fly? A pegasus baby, of course, you must be a baby! This general form of teasing had gone on for ages, the other fillies relentlessly bombarded her with harsh words that, when thought about, were basically true. The bell to come in from recess was the only thing that did, or could, stop the onslaught of terror.

Once the others had left, the only thought that flowed through the filly's mind was escape. Get out of this wretched place and find somewhere safe to hide. That is what she was focused on now, but that had been a few hours ago. She was now riding around aimlessly, zombified in her movements. She didn't really care if anyone was around; she was too busy with her thoughts.

While immersed in the great, swelling sea of her psyche, she failed to notice a certain cyan mare hovering above her. She had been that way for at least five minutes, simply watching the orange filly go. The mare decided to speak up to snap her friend out of her trance.

"Hey Squirt, whatcha doin'?" were the simple words spoken, but they were enough to catch her attention. "Squirt" jumped three feet in the air and landed on the gravel with an audible thud.

"Eh, hi, Rainbow Dash," said "Squirt." She hadn't the energy required to muster an enthusiastic response. She normally answered to Dash's greetings with stammered half-sentences. Her weak reply was met with a worried look from Dash. Something was wrong, and she was going to find out what it was.

"What's the matter, Scootaloo? Normally when I say 'hi' to you, you bounce off the walls. Everything okay?" asked Dash with a wry smile.

"Huh?" asked Scootaloo, relieved to hear her name accompanied with compassionate words. It had only been a week and a half since their camping trip where they became honorary sisters, so she was still getting used to Dash calling her one. "Yeah, I'm fine, nothing is wrong," said Scootaloo, truly trying her best to wear a smile. She failed miserably, and Dash picked up on it. The cyan mare gave her new sister a disappointed frown, and looked into those large purple eyes to try to set things straight.

"You think I was born yesterday? I may not be an egg-head, but I'm not stupid. I know when a pony is having a tough time, so out with it," said Dash, finding a sad look plastered on the filly's face. Scootaloo sighed, resigning herself before Dash's wisdom.

"Some of the other fillies at school were making fun of me for not being able to fly, and they didn't stop until I couldn't hear myself think anymore. I just want to fly, Rainbow Dash, so I can prove them wrong and show them that I'm…I'm not some worthless baby," said Scootaloo, conveying her current dilemma and hoping that the mare could help.

"Okay, first of all," started Dash, "you aren't worthless. I wouldn't call you my sister if you were worthless. And where were your friends?"

Scootaloo's face turned downward. "Well, Applebloom's sick and Sweetie Belle is with Rarity in Canterlot for a vacation."

"Oh," said Dash. She knew Rarity was gone, but didn't know Sweetie Belle went with. "So…you still can't fly? Aren't your parents teaching you or anything?" asked Dash. Scootaloo's face flushed and her ears snapped back. She eventually regained a scrap of her composure and formed a few sentences.

"No, uh, th-they aren't. They d-don't have time to…to teach me how, so...I'm kinda on my own right now. They're always super busy, and they're never home at the same time." Scootaloo had tried her best to be convincing.

"She's not telling me something, and I'm going to figure out what," thought Dash. She was getting impatient with Scootaloo, but she knew that you needed to take these sensitive matters slowly. After Dash had said she would be Scootaloo's sister, she went to Applejack and Rarity for advice. They had helped her along and taught her everything she needed to know; now it's time to use some of those techniques. She left the subject of Scootaloo's parents where it was and started somewhere else.

"Hmm, your parents can't teach you?" said Dash, pondering her next move. A smile lit her face up when the idea came to mind. "Scootaloo, since your parents aren't teaching you, I will. I could use something to occupy myself with." Dash took note of the ear-to-ear grin that spread across the smaller pegasi's face.

"Really?! You'd teach me how to fly? You'd do that?" asked Scootaloo, bewildered and amazed at the speed of the turn their relationship had taken.

"Sure. That is the kind of thing you wanted me to do, right?" asked Dash.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. I mean, I'm probably just another fan to you..." Scootaloo looked down and hoped her words were not true in Dash's mind. The older mare walked up close to Scootaloo and offered some comfort.

"Nopony I take on as a sister is just another fan. Let me tell you something: The thing that sets you apart from all of my many fans is that while all of you want to be me, you are the only one actually trying to be me. I never mention this, but when I finish clearing the sky, I would go to the last cloud, lay on it, and before I take a nap, I'd watch you scoot around town, doing awesome tricks and stunts, completely throwing caution to the wind while doing them. You are the only pony in all of my years of awesomeness that does that."

Scootaloo eyes widened as she realized where she stood in her sister's life. Before today, she hadn't known how much Dash had admired her. She still didn't know, but she now knew that it had to be a lot more than she does with all of her other fans. The idea of Scootaloo's idol looking upon her with these feelings filled her heart with joy. She looked up at her sister, and found a smile beaming back at her.

"There's just one thing before I can teach you how to fly: I need your parent's permission," said Dash.

Scootaloo's sense of peace was again shattered. "Wh-What? Why do you need my parent's permission to teach me something?" she asked.

"Because, it's part of the Pegasus Code, duh. Pegasus Code dictates that it's a parent's duty to teach their fillies how to fly. Fortunately, there can be an exception. If a parent is unable to teach their filly how to fly, then they can hire somepony to do it."

"Well, we don't really need to do that code stuff, do we? I mean, I'm sure they'd be okay with it." Scootaloo tried to convince Dash to put away her loyalty just this one time. But, knowing Dash, she would never disregard what made her an Element.

"We have to follow it. The Unicorns and the Earth Ponies have their codes, and they follow them. So we have to follow ours as well," said Dash, not giving up her search for what was wrong.

"W-well I don't think they can give permission right now, they're way too busy with all their stuff. I-in fact neither of them are home right now," lied Scootaloo, further entrenching herself and hoping Dash would just give up. But Dash was relentless, and was getting tired of Scootaloo's lies. She had had enough and decided to get to the bottom of this.

"Scootaloo, I told you, I'm not stupid. Something is wrong, and, as your honorary sister, I need to know what it is so I can fix it. If your parents can't teach you, or give me permission to teach you, then I guess you're on your own." Rainbow Dash really didn't want to say such things, but she needed a way in, and this is how Scootaloo was going open the door. She turned her back and spread her wings. This sealed the deal, and effectively provoked an answer.

"Wait, Rainbow Dash!" called Scootaloo. Her walls were broken, and she had given up the fight. She realized that she'd have to tell Dash or she would never fly. Dash turned her face upward as she found her ticket in. Still turned away, she folded her wings in and listened.

"Do you promise not to tell anypony if I tell you why?" asked Scootaloo, hoping Dash would return. Dash turned with a more serious look, her smile replaced.

"Why do I need to promise you not tell anypony? What's this big secret?" asked Dash, now concerned for the safety of this filly.

"Just promise me, and then I'll tell you," responded Scootaloo.

"Okay, fine, I promise not to tell anypony your secret, so out with it." Dash realized just a bit too late that the tone she had used was not very convincing.

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed; she would need more than that. "Pinkie promise not to tell". Dash sighed and straightened herself up.

"Okay, I promise not to tell anypony your secret. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Now will you please tell me what's going on?"

Scootaloo sighed again, and began. She had never told anyone this secret, so it was going to be difficult to get out. However, she needed it out or she will stay on the ground forever.

"Okay, the reason my parents can't teach me, or give you permission to teach me is because…because…" Scootaloo paused. This was going to be tougher than she thought, but she pushed on. "Because I…I…*murmur*." There, it was out. She hoped it had been loud enough.

"What? I can't hear you. What's up with your parents?" Asked Dash, prodding the filly for more information. Dash had actually heard what she said, but she couldn't believe it, so she sought clarification.

"I said...I-I don't…*murmur*," said Scootaloo, wishing she could stop being such a crybaby and tell the mare outright.

"Seriously, you need to speak up, I can't hear a word you're saying," said Dash, her voice cracking at the last syllable.

"I SAID I DON'T HAVE…parents," admitted Scootaloo, finally communicating the secret she had hoped to keep forever. Scootaloo looked down, suddenly taking an interest in her hooves.

"O-oh, okay. So…*sigh*…so that's why," said Dash. Looking at the filly's condition made her upset at herself for causing so much tension. "Sorry I asked."

"I-It's okay, you weren't going to teach me how to fly if I didn't tell you." said Scootaloo. She looked up at her sister to find a strangely empathetic expression. "I've been living at Ponyville's Oak Side Orphanage on the edge of Ponyville for pretty much all of my life. It's not too bad, the matrons are nice enough, but, I want to live somewhere else." Scootaloo fought to keep back a stray tear.

"Humph," said Dash. "Well I guess since I'm kinda like your only family, the decision is mine to make. And you know what Scootaloo? I've decided to get you flying by the end of next week!" Dash struck a pose and thought of the future.

The orange filly's face lit up. She had told her secret, sure, but now she will have a flight teacher. She will finally get to fly.

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