Catch You

by PinkiePie35

First published 21st of August, 2012

Sometimes you don't know how much you truly love a friend until you lose them.

Scootaloo has always looked up to Rainbow Dash as her friend, her inspiration; Even her big sister.
But as tragedy comes to prove, everyone must eventually say goodbye to their idols at one time or another... sometimes unexpectedly... and carry on their loved one's legacy.

In this tragic tale, Scootaloo will realize that life is a precious gift that can be taken away in the blink of an eye... or in the flap of a wing.

(Credit to http://knifeh.deviantart.com/ for picture and idea)

A Starry, Quiet Night

The gentle air was tolerantly humid, the glistening stars a delightful backdrop on the deep, dark blue sky.

Above the ground, a pleasant but easy breeze blew through the dimmed sky, and the ever watchful moon sat just above the horizon.

Nighttime had just settled upon Equestria.

The sky was painted with gray and white clouds of all sizes; some wispy and thin, others thick and fluffed, and all shimmered upon by the diamond moonlight.

Upon one of the more plush clouds, there lay a bright orange Pegasus, her bright violet hair ruffled in her usual style, her teenage wings tucked at her sides. Her bright purple eyes gazed outwards, out upon the beautiful display lain out before her.

Down on the ground below, the wind blew gently through the saw grass dispersed about the land, creating a sweet but soft tune that filled the area.

Scootaloo pulled a piece of fluff out from the cloud, placed it under her head, and relaxed her chin upon it.

It was a great night to stargaze, to say the least.

Scootaloo had always loved stargazing. Perhaps it was the beauty of the stars themselves she loved so much, or maybe it was the way they hung over the earth with a watchful eye, always there to talk to her, or more likely it was a combination of the both- in any case she could not exactly place a hoof on the feeling- but she loved looking at them, and she loved the way her heart felt when she did.

Scootaloo chuckled to herself.

It felt so long since she had been able to just relax like she was now; she had been training vigorously lately for the Junior Speedstars tryouts.

And how could she not?

Her idol and friend, Rainbow Dash, was in the group herself when she was Scootaloo's age. It only seemed fitting that Scootaloo followed in her hero's footsteps.

And what better training method than practicing with her idol, who had been in the Speedstars before?

Dash had been practicing with Scootaloo for weeks to build up her speed, stamina, and confidence. Scootaloo trained until her bones hurt. She really, really wanted to make this year's tryouts. Now, the tryouts were only 6 days away.

In fact, Scootaloo was sore even right now, despite the fact that she hadn't trained since yesterday.

But the soreness was one that came with accomplishment; Scootaloo had become quite the flyer as she became older, and training with Dash had trimmed the fat off of her skills.

Man, Rainbow Dash was like a big sister to her. She loved her and looked up to her each and every day. Scootaloo even owed her cutie mark to her, partially.

She turned around and stared at the symbol on her flank, bold and bright as ever.

A slick black scooter wheel with ice white wings shooting out of the sides and a violet streak of lightning shooting from the wheel was emblazoned on her flank.

Scootaloo chuckled once again.

With a bolt of quickness, Scootaloo hopped off of the cloud, nose-dove, and spread her wings open. She turned her body slowly upward, and began to glide through the air, flapping her wings softly from time to time to keep in the air.

The ground below sped along with her, and the air whistled through her mane.

She spotted a large cloud a few feet away, sped up, and -woosh!- flew right through it, disintegrating it into tiny water droplets.

The mist covered her face, and slowly ran dan her cheeks as she flew faster yet.

She pulled to the left, soared downwards, pulled quickly upwards, and looped around several times, then flew straight for a few hundred feet.

Scootaloo felt alive.

Grinning widely, Scootaloo found another soft looking cloud, hovered above it, and sat down on her rump.

Suddenly, a rainbow streak appeared in the sky.

The streak flew across the evening sky, decorating it with a bright trail of the 7 colors as it looped and twisted and turned about.

It was Rainow Dash!

Scootaloo began to watch contently as Dash continued to fly, though Dash was unaware of her presence.

Suddenly, Dash, high up in the sky, hovered in place and looked down. She closed her wings, and began to dive downwards, gaining speed rapidly. She performed a ton of flips and tricks as she dove, and straightened out her toned body as she got closer to the dirt. When she was only about 50 feet from the ground, Dash quickly angled her wings upward, allowing her to glide directly above the ground, and flew upward and upward, aiming for a large grey cloud.

Scootaloo, after watching this much of Dash flying, recognized Dash's maneuvers as one of her new signature moves: The Rainbow Charged Flash!

Rainbow Dash had bragged on end about this new trick when she was training with Scootaloo for her tryouts, and after hearing the procedure of the move OVER and OVER again, Scoots could easily recognize it when she saw it.

Scootaloo remembered the conversation she had with Dash just yesterday:

"...and then, just as I barely brush the ground, I swoop straight up, aim for that thunder cloud, Sonic rainboom, and -Bam!- out in all directions, lighting goes flying!" said Dash.

"Yes Dash, I know, you've told me for, what, 45th time now?" said Scootaloo jokingly, laughing.

"Exactly! This trick is so undoubtedly cool, it DESERVES to be explained 45 times!" replied Dash, laughing as well.

Yup, Rainbow Dash was absolutely obsessed with this trick, and although Dash had described it so much to her, she never actually got to see Rainbow do it.

So of course, seeing it now gave Scootaloo the chills as she soared up towards that cloud.

A cone of speed began to form around Dash, as she accelerated faster and faster.

Finally, as she neared closer and closer to the cloud, Dash successfully broke the sound barrier, and went straight into the cloud.

Rainbow tinted lightning erupted in all directions from the cloud, the huge sound of the Rainboom and the lightning combined screamed through the sky, and a great flash blinded Scootaloo for a few seconds.

Scootaloo's jaw was dropped, staring at where the rain cloud used to be.

Slowly, a smile began to form on her face.

Scootaloo was in complete awe at the magnificence of Rainbow's trick.

She had known a Sonic Rainboom was quite the sight, but to see the very colors of the rainboom be electrified by the flaring bolts of lighting was truly amazing.

Scootaloo stood on her hind legs and cheered out into the night sky at her hero's awesome accomplishment.

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash! If that wasn't the coolest trick I've ever seen, I dunno what was!"

She stared above into the sky, where the cloud used to be. Dash had probably gone really high after she went through the cloud, Scootaloo thought, and so she waited for Rainbow to come back down from the high above.

After about a minute of waiting, Scootaloo knew something was wrong.

Sure, Dash probably went high up, but it shouldn't have taken her this long to make her way back down.

Scootaloo scanned the sky, and despite her efforts, could see no Rainbow Dash.

After looking some more to no avail, Scootaloo stood up on her legs, and began flying around, looking for her.

Far and wide, up and down and across the sky she looked, but still, she could not see Rainbow anywhere.

Suddenly, in the distance, Scootaloo thought she saw something falling from the sky.

It had a smoke trail as it fell, and, as Scootaloo noticed as she squinted, it appeared singed to a very light grey cyan...

"Oh no. Oh Celestia no," Said Scootaloo.

It was Rainbow Dash.

I'm so sorry...

Instantly upon seeing her, Scootaloo hovered, staring in disbelief as her hero fell.

Finally, as she came to her senses, she sped straight out to where Dash was falling like a jet.

She crashed through several clouds, stopping at nothing to reach her.

Rainbow, falling, was slightly higher than where Scootaloo was, but she was still quite far away.

Knowing that she had be quick if she were to catch Dash, Scootaloo picked up her speed and raced faster yet toward her falling hero.

Scootaloo was closing the distance gradually, but Rainbow was still falling too fast.

Rainbow was now almost horizontally level with Scootaloo, although still very far away.

Scootaloo kicked her wings into overdrive and began to fly even faster, trying desperately to close more distance between them before Rainbow was further down than Scootaloo. She knew that once Dash was lower in the sky than she was, she would no longer be able to fly straight out to her, but would have to start flying downward, which would require her to fly much faster if she were to catch her.

Still a little more than an estimated seven hundred feet away, Dash was now lower in the sky than Scootaloo, and she kept falling.

Scootaloo angled her wings slightly downwards, and continued flying towards Rainbow Dash, who was now slightly below her altitude. Her wings were burning with pain from flying so fast, but she didn't dare stop. She kept going diagonally downwards towards Rainbow. The pain in her wings was agonizing, but rather than giving into the impulse of slowing down, Scootaloo only accelerated.

She had only an estimated ten seconds of flight time left between her and Dash when Scootaloo realized how close they both were getting to the ground.

The ground seemed to have teleported closer to them, as it appeared much nearer than it did just a few seconds ago.

They were only as high as the lowest clouds, and it would be, without a doubt, less than half a minute before Dash collided with the ground.

Worse yet, Dash was still a few feet below Scootaloo in the sky.

Scootaloo gave one final exertion of strength and drove her wings to the limit as she finally closed the horizontal distance. She was now not very far above Dash, although she did have some vertical distance to close, and she continued soaring straight downwards with all her might to save her idol's life.

Slowly, Scootaloo began to get closer and closer to Dash, but the ground was approaching at a terrifying rate.

Scootaloo focused on Rainbow Dash as the tears from the wind flew out of her eyes.

Rainbow's body was charred slightly; her belly was blackened and her hooves were dirty with black dust.

Her wings were flailed open as she fell.

Scootaloo, still getting closer, focused then upon Rainbow Dash's face.

It was then that Scootaloo noticed Rainbow's eyes.

They were open, and looking straight at Scootaloo with fear.

She was still alive, and conscious no less.

"Help," She mouthed.

At this, Scootaloo drover her wings beyond their limit, and she could no longer feel them. She was now even closer to Dash; she was almost within touching distance. With only a few feet left in between them, Scootaloo looked behind Rainbow Dash and saw that the ground was literally only a second away. In one final and desperate effort, Scootaloo darted downward and grabbed for one of Rainbow's hooves.

She missed.

Scootaloo lost her composure in grabbing for Dash's hoof, and her body flipped out of its downward position.

Scootaloo recovered quickly, and was about to begin soaring downwards again to catch Rainbow.

But it was then that she looked down and saw that it was too late.

There, on the ground, Rainbow lay, her wings mangled behind her back, and her face freckled with only three tiny drops of blood.

Her wings had been open, and the impact had been slightly nullified, as her wings acted somewhat like a parachute.

Because of this, Rainbow was (beyond Scootaloo's knowing) barely conscious, and had not been killed instantly. Nevertheless, it was obvious that the damage was already done. It looked fatal.

Scootaloo flew down to Rainbow as fast as she could, landed on the ground, and burst in tears upon seeing her fallen hero.

Scootaloo rested her head upon Rainbow's charred belly and cried. Cursedly , Ponyville hospital was miles away from them.

She had failed her hero, her idol, her inspiration and her sister, and the realization was too much for Scootaloo to handle well.

"Rainbow Dash... I'm s-so sorry.... I... I couldn't.... catch you..."

Scootaloo could barely talk in sad heaves between her crying.

"Sh... it's okay squirt, don't worry..."

Scootaloo, unaware at first that Rainbow was even still conscious, looked up at Rainbow's face.

"Rainbow... you're... still alive..."

Rainbow managed a weak smile. Then she began again.

"It's... not... your fault...really..." Dash whispered.

"W-whaddaya mean... it's not my fault?" Scootaloo sobbed.

She paused for a moment.

Then, Scootaloo began again. "You were there for me... when I needed you... you helped me get...my cutie mark...you trained with me... for the Junior Speedstars... and I couldn't even.. catch... you..."

Rainbow Dash chuckled weakly.

"Squirt, what are you talkin' about?" Dash replied. "Training with you, being there for you- heck, even just being with you- it was my pleasure, you... you were... you were the little sister I never had, Scootaloo. I loved you as if you... were my family.... and I still do love you... Do you know that?"

Painfully, in tears, Scootaloo nodded her head up and down, crying uncontrollably.

"Watching you grow was more of a gift... than I could ever ask for... having someone to cheer me on... to be my fan... and my friend... that in itself... was more than you could ever imagine... so please... don't blame yourself for this. Promise me that... please... little sis?"

Scootaloo was now full out wailing in her tears.

"O-okay... Rainbow... I... promise..."

Rainbow showed relief on her face now.

"Okay... good... Scoot, listen now..." Dash began to whisper.

Scootaloo tilted her tear stained face up very slightly towards Dash.

"You are a great... flyer... I don't care if you caught me... or not... you got potential, kid... you just have to believe in yourself... I believe in you, squirt..."

"But I couldn't fly fast enough... t-to save you..."

"But you flew great!" Rainbow replied.

"That was a seriously long distance that you flew... and even if you didn't catch me... you flew so fast, heck, I haven't seen a filly your age fly that fast s-since... well... me, really," said Rainbow, laughing a tiny bit at her boasting.

Even Scootaloo let a little laugh out between her cries.

"Ahahah... thanks... I guess..." said Scootaloo, trying to look somewhat happy to Dash.

Rainbow, with the last of her strength, wrapped her hooves around Scootaloo.

"Kiddo, I need... you... to make one last... promise to me..."

It was obvious that Rainbow was starting to fade, and that she only had a few final seconds with Scootaloo.

"A-anything... anything for you, R-rainbow Dash..." said Scootaloo softly inbetween sobs.

Rainbow Dash began whispering for the last time.

"Promise... me.... promise me that you'll never give up on yourself... I know at times... things may seem pretty... hopeless.. but trust me... friends will get you through those tough times... I want you to grow strong... make friends... be a great flyer... and show the world that you're a real special one.... ever since I met you... I always wanted the best for you... I'm sorry I won't be... able to be there... for you... anymore... but please... promise me... that you... will try your best... and be your best... for me... please?"

Tears ran down Scootaloo's cheeks, and she rested her head upon Rainbow's chest, still crying.

"I...promise..." She managed to get out.

"Good... now listen... I h-have to... g-go now... know that I will always love you... and that... I will always b-believe in you...always..."

"O-okay Dash..." Said Scootaloo, breathing uncontrollably heavy through her wet eyes.

"I love you Rainbow Dash..."

"I... love you... too... squirt..."

Scootaloo slowly began stroking Rainbow's mane, and very slowly, Rainbow began to close her eyelids.

With her other hoof, she held Rainbow's hoof tightly, and held a gaze with Dash's magenta eyes as she faded away...

Scootaloo painfully squinted her eyes in tears as she finally lost sight of Rainbow's glowing magenta eyes.

Scootaloo could still feel Rainbow's heart beating, and her body was still warm....

Scootaloo stayed loyal by her fallen hero, stroking her hair, resting her head upon her stomach, until finally, Rainbow's heart slowed down, beating slower.... slower........ slower..............

Until finally... it stopped altogether.

In a matter of minutes, the heat from Dash's body flowed out of her and into the air around her.

Scootaloo cried loudly, her head still on Dash's body. She kissed Rainbow on the head once more.

"I love you...Rainbow... Dash..."

Slowly, Scootaloo got up onto her shaky legs, picked up Rainbow Dash, and placed her on her back.

Scootaloo blinked a few times to get the remaining tears out of her eyes, and wiped the residual tears off of her face with her hoof.

Slowly, she began walking to the general direction of Ponyville.

Scootaloo looked up in the sky, and saw the stars gazing down at her, the beautiful moon hanging in the sky, and with the last of her spirit, smiled up at them.

The gentle air was tolerantly humid, the glistening stars a delightful backdrop on the deep, dark blue sky.

Final Goodbyes

Scootaloo awoke with a start.

Slowly, she opened her tear crusted eyes and stared at the ceiling, her eyes foggy and blurred.

After a few seconds, she sat up, and hit her alarm clock on snooze.

The clock read: 7:00a.m.

She lay back down, turned over, nustled her face in her pillow, and with the cruelty of being brought back into the reality of what had happened 2 nights ago, began sobbing again.

Why is it fair, she thought, that my only real family has to be taken away from me...

And it was honestly and painfully true.

Her mother and father had died when she was young, and she had no siblings, and apparently no relatives to take care of her, either...

She was abandoned, to say the least.

Scootaloo cried and cried; Rainbow Dash was her only real family, sure she had Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but those were only friends- Sweetie Belle had Rarity, and Applebloom had the whole Apple Family.

So who did Scootaloo have, then?

Well, now she had lost the one family member she DID have.

And it was like a knife to the chest for her.

Suddenly, she stopped crying.

She sat up once again, wiped her tears with her covers, and began to think.

No, she told herself. Rainbow Dash wouldn't want to see you like this. What did you promise her? That you would cry and mourn over her and not pick yourself back up?

No.

You promised her that you would be strong, that you would do your best- for her.

Scootaloo had made up her mind. With what seemed like an enormous amount of willpower and energy, Scootaloo got out of bed.

She stretched her wings and legs, and then, after a moment, slowly trotted towards her kitchen.

There, she made a measly breakfast of fried dandelion, toast, and sasparilla.

As she took her food to the table and began to eat, she looked around her house.

It was hard not to think of Rainbow Dash, whichever way she looked.

Rainbow Dash had gotten her the job down at Weather Managment, so that's how she was able to get her house.

Rainbow Dash was there helping Scootaloo unpack her things into her new house on that day, Scootaloo remembered.

She looked around more, and came across a picture of her and Rainbow Flying together.

Rainbow Dash had hung that picture up herself when Scootaloo first received her new home, and even now, Scootaloo could imagine Dash clumsily placing the picture on the nail stuck in the wall.

She looked away.

It hurt too much to look.

Wiping a few bittersweet tears out of her eyes, Scootaloo began to chew her toast, stuffing in bits of dandelion with it. She took a sip of sasparilla. It made her eyes water from the carbonation.

After taking the final bite of her dandelion and the final sip of her sasparilla, Scootaloo put her dishes in the sink, washed them, and walked to her door. She turned around one last time at the picture of Rainbow and her, smiled glumly, turned back around, and flew out her front door. She began flying through the sky.

She had been cooped up in her house for the past day in depression... and flying through the air, cutting the wind with her wings- it had rejuvenated her a little bit.

She looked in the distance and saw Rainbow's house.

Her heart came up to her throat, and she looked down and away from the house, a few tears escaping from her eyes.

How strange and saddening, Scootaloo thought, it would be to never again see a bright streak of Rainbow leave that house again in the morning...

Scootaloo held back her tears.

This day was not about her.

It was about Rainbow Dash.

Slowly, she focused her eyes on Ponyville, and slowly started descending towards it. After a few moments, she landed on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Sluggishly she walked, through Ponyville.

She passed Sugarcube corner on her left, and thought of Pinkie Pie.

Then she began to wonder: How well had Rainbow's friends been coping with this?

She could only begin to think about it, because the thought saddened her beyond belief.

Besides, she would be seeing Rainbow's friends very soon, anyway.

She left Sugarcube Corner behind and continued on through Ponyville.

She passed Twilight's library on the right, and kept walking.

Finally, she arrived at her destination.

The Ponyville Cemetery.

She looked around at all the headstones. So many fallen friends... so many lost ponies...

She looked around some more, and found an old pony in some religious robes, accompanied by Twilight and Pinkie.

She slowly galloped towards them, and when they noticed her, they both ran towards her.

Pinkie and Twilight both hugged her tightly, crying softly together. For a moment, it seemed like they would never let go. Scootaloo knew how they were feeling, and how sad it felt not to have a shoulder to cry on; so she let them continue to hug her and cry upon her.

"Hey guys..." Said Scootaloo.

"H-hey Scoot," said Pinkie.

"Listen, I know this is a really sad thing... but uh... I think Rainbow would want us to be happy, not sad, right?" said Scootaloo with a smile and a sniffle.

"R-right, you're right..." said Twilight.

"She would want us to be happy."

With that, the two gave Scootaloo a final squeeze, and let her go.

"So, where are the others?" Scootaloo asked.

She turned around, and as if an answer to her question, she saw Applejack and Rarity, each with their little sisters.

Knowing how upset Scootaloo must have been, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both ran up to Scootaloo and hugged her.

Scootaloo returned the embrace as best as she could, and felt a little better inside; she was here with her friends, that cared about her. It wasn't the same as family, but it was warm; it was somepony.

She let them go and they went back to their sisters.

Scootaloo then embraced quickly with AJ and Rarity.

Not long after, Fluttershy arrived.

Her face was damp and wet. She walked up to all of her friends and squeezed them tightly, crying ever so softly as she did so. Poor Fluttershy must have suffered the most from the loss of Rainbow, Scootaloo imagined. After all, she had known her since she was just a filly.

Now that all of the greetings and emotions were out, they began walking silently back to where the old pony stood. Scootaloo had figured by now that he was the one who was taking care of the funeral.

He spoke.

"Good morning, all. Are you ready to begin?"

Twilight responded.

"Yes, sir, we're all present," she replied.

"Okay, let us begin then," he said with a firm but sympathetic voice, smiling back at Twilight.

"We are here today to recognize the passing of a great hero, a great friend, a great worker, a great athlete, and a great mentor- Ms. Rainbow Dash."

He motioned over to his left, where an altar lay.

Among the altar, there lay several things; pictures of Rainbow and her friends, things that her friends held dear to them that they had offered up to her, and most importantly, a cyan blue coffin.

Upon the coffin, there was a painting of Rainbow Dash's Cutie mark.

"Of course, the passing of such a pony comes with great sadness- but also, with great responsibility."

"I'm sure that, right now, she is looking down upon you, her friends, bearing you the best of lives, and I'm sure that she wants you to live your lives to the fullest, despite her passing- and so comes the responsibility of doing so in her name."

Scootaloo continued listening contently, not daring to shame her fallen friend by not paying attention.

"However, I am sure that Ms. Dash would like to be remembered. From what I hear, Ms. Dash's abilities were quite competent, were they not?" he said with a smile.

Everypony nodded their heads, some laughing a little bit, remembering the way Dash would boast about how awesome of a flyer she was- and indeed, she was.

"Precisely," he continued.

"So although we should not stop our own lives in the mourning of the passing of Ms. Dash, we should of course not forget to remember Rainbow Dash for who she was; for what she did."

The other ponies solidly nodded in agreement.

"So, at this time, I invite you all to do what Ms. Dash would have liked you to do most at this time- call upon the good memories that you shared with her, and forget the bad ones. Would anyone like to start off and share with us their fondest memories of Ms. Dash, and bid her farewell as she enters the afterlife of Celestia?"

At first, no one spoke.

Then a soft quite voice emerged.

"Um...*sniff*...I'll go first, if that's okay with you..." said Fluttershy.

The elder pony nodded, and stepped aside. Fluttershy stood facing towards the coffin.

She wiped her nose and face, sniffled, and began.

"Well, Rainbow Dash, I don't even know where to start... you were my best friend in Flight school... you made those big old meanies leave me alone, and ever since then, we've been such great friends over the years."

Fluttershy giggled sweetly.

"R-remember the time when you were in that silly race in flight school, and when you started, the wind you made when you darted from the starting line knocked me off a cloud?"

Everypony chuckled at this.

"Ah, yes, you were so fast Dash, and you never let anypony bring you down.... and I... admired you for that. I always wanted to be like you, to be able to stand up against people that only want to hurt me... and not let anypony bring me down..."

"Oh, and thanks for the cutie mark," she said shakily.

"If it wasn't for you... things would have been very different right now."

Fluttershy broke into tears at this point, but managed to continue.

"And so... Rainbow D-dash... please know that I loved you as a friend... more than you could ever know... thanks so m-much for all you did for me... I will never forget you... okay...? Pinkie Promise..." Fluttershy drifted off.

After this, Fluttershy got on her knees, rested her head on the coffin for a few seconds, smiling sadly, and whispered,

"I love you Dash. Stay fast."

Fluttershy got up, and walked back sadly, with a small smile on her face.

They all embraced her, the elder pony included.

"That was very meaningful, Ms. Fluttershy. I'm sure Ms. Dash is looking down upon you smiling right now," he said with a smile.

Fluttershy just nodded her head lightly and glumly.

"Would anypony like to go next?" he requested.

"I would," said Twilight.

"Very well," said the pony, as he stepped away from the coffin and made way for Twilight.

Twilight walked up to the altar and faced directly towards the coffin.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight.

"What's not to say about you? You were the 2nd pony I met here in Ponyville, and even though I was so grumpy when I first got here, you made it appoint to make me your friend. Not to mention, you came with me to fight Nightmare Moon when you barely even knew me."

"Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, beginning to tear up, "You were always loyal to me and never abandoned me. Friends like that come around once in a lifetime."

"Not to mention, I owe my cutie mark to you. Had it not been for your Sonic Rainboom, then I would have never become Celestia's understudy and I would have never even traveled to Ponyville... I would have never even met you."

"Rainbow, it's not hard to see that you were a great pony. But I want you to know that you have my respect, and my love. Forever. I will never forget you, okay? I promise."

Twilight smiled and, looking at the coffin, did the Pinkie Promise signal.

Then, just had Fluttershy had done, Twilight knelt down to the coffin, placed her head on the surface, and whispered to it.

"Thanks for everything. Rest easy. Stay strong. We love you."

Twilight stood up, turned around, and walked back to the group.

Though she was teary-eyed, Twilight was not crying; she seemed rather at peace.

She wore a sad smile upon her face.

The elder pony shook her hoof.

"Very sweet, Ms. Sparkle ,"he said softly to her.

"Who would like to volunteer next?"

Pinkie Pie was the next to answer.

"Oh, um, me please!"

"Certainly," he said, stepping aside again.

Pinkie Pie bounced rather quickly over to the coffin, and began talking once more.

"Hey Dashie, dunno if you can hear me, but here goes!"

"Rainbow Dash, you made me who I am today. And I'm not just exaggerating; if it wasn't for you, I would be mining rocks on some boring old rock farm, my personality'd be dull, and I'd have none you guys... my best friends! And I owe it all to you."

"I'll never forget watching you do a Sonic Rainboom in the Best Young Flyer's competition, and I'll never forget fighting changlings in Canterlot with you, and I'll certainly never forget that time when we went around pranking everypony!"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped, and her voice became much less hyper and more quiet.

"And of course, I'll never, ever, ever, ever forget everything that you've done for everypony, Dash. You always made people's days brighter, even mine, when I went all loco and sad, and you took me to my birthday party to make me happy again."

Pinkie embraced the coffin in a hug, and gave the cutie mark a quick kiss.

"Be a good mare, Dashie," she said ever so audibly.

Pinkie turned around, wiped a few tears from her eyes, and slowly trotted back with the rest of the mane 6.

After a pause of silence, Rarity spoke.

"I'd like to go next, if it's too much trouble, sir," said Rarity in a respectful voice.

"Absolutely," he said, leading her to the coffin, and then moving aside.

After staring at the coffin for a few seconds with a light smile, Rarity began.

"Oh Rainbow, I have nothing but good to say about you."

"Why, we were best friends before we even knew each other, were we not? In fact, we all were, in a sense. We were all brought here together, by you, my dear, although indirectly. By fate, you and I became great friends. I'll never forget the time you saved me when I was falling because of my own arrogance at the Best Young Flier's competition. I owe you my cutie mark and my life."

Rarity sniffled a bit, a few drops of water falling from her eyes, and continued.

"After all... you are the Element of Loyalty... are you not?"

Rarity wiped her face, just so as to finish her speech while staying strong.

"Rainbow Dash. You had so much to give the world, and you gave and gave, and to this day, we are all thankful for what you gave us- your friendship."

Rarity sat on the ground and leaned her head against the side of the coffin.

"Dashie. We are forever in your debt. We love you and will never forget you."

"Pinkie Pie promise."

Rarity rubbed the side of the coffin at patted it gently, then got up and walked back.

She cantered speedily to twilight and rested her head on her shoulder, embracing her friend in her sadness.

Rarity felt as if no friend could replace Rainbow Dash, as did the rest of her friends.

The elder pony came to Rarity and began to pat her on the back.

"It is okay Ms. Rarity, she is at peace. I'm sure she would like you to feel the same."

Rarity stopped crying for a moment and nodded her head, but continued to rest sadly on Twi's Shoulder.

The whole time, Scootaloo appeared rather solid and had nothing but a few tear droplets in her eyes.

She was, in reality, extremely depressed on the inside, and she wanted to rip her heart out from her chest; it hurt so much to see her own hero like this.

As she recalled her fondest memories that she and Dash shared together, the bittersweet sadness punched her in the soul.

It hurt so much.

Still, Scootaloo let nothing but a few tears escape, and controlled her emotions.

She was determined on being strong and at peace for Rainbow Dash.

It was the least she could do to repay the pony who did so much for her.

Applejack was next to go up.

" 'Ah reckon 'ah should go now?" AJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, of course, dear," replied the old colt.

Applejack walked slowly over to the coffin, examining the items on the altar as she passed by it. After looking at all the things lain out for Dash, she arrived at the coffin. She cleared her throat.

"Well, RD, 'ah can't say 'ah ever expected ta' see ya' like this so soon..."

She paused for a moment, and then continued.

"...but 'ah do know that life can be pretty unpredictable at times. So, that bein' said, 'ah'd like ta' let ya' know that you meant the world ta' me, ya' hear?"

"Each mornin' at Sweet Apple Acres, 'ah'd get up in the mornin' and start buckin' the trees, and at about noon, what do 'ah see? Why, it's you, dashin' across the sky, each and every mornin'."

Applejack sat on the ground next the coffin.

" 'Ah gotta admit, it's gonna be mighty strange not seein' ya' each mornin' from now on, but that's alright, I reckon. Besides, this is about you, not me."

Applejack got more serious.

"Rainbow, sure we had our differences, but I feel like you were one of the closest friends I had. When I was homesick in Manehatten as a filly, you led a rainbow straight back to ponyville, leadin' me back home to where I belonged; with my family and my friends... You may have not done so directly, but that doesn't matter, 'cause in the end it brought us all together."

"Listen, I'm not the best with words, but... I want you to know that I love you more than you will ever know. You got that?"

Applejack's speed of talking suddenly slowed down.

"Don't you ever... forget that... now... listen, I will ALWAYS remember you, sugarcube... you rest easy now... I love you.... Goodbye, Rainbow... Dash..."

She stood up and gripped the coffin in a tight embrace, not daring to let go of it too soon.

She took a few steps back, and when she was a few feet away from the coffin, she stared back at it, titled her hat towards it, and said ever so softly:

"See you around, RD."

Finally, she walked back to the group, who were all teary eyed as well.

They all embraced in a group hug, Scootaloo included, and even the old funeral colt was teary, which came as a surprise to the rest.

Finally, Scootaloo stood up very tall and proud.

After a few moments of silence, Scootaloo spoke at last.

"I would like to go next, please." Scootaloo said.

The elder pony responded.

"Yes, Ms. Scootaloo, please proceed."

Time seemed to slow for Scootaloo as she approached the coffin.

It felt so sadly strange to see her idol boxed up in a coffin; the mare she had looked up to since she was a very little filly, now lain before her, cold and not moving.

She looked at the Alter more closely as she approached the coffin. She noticed a picture of Dash and her friends in Canterlot, bunched together and laughing at the Canterlot Castle in some party. Twilight and Dash were dancing, Twilight performing her usual goofy dance, and Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie were nearby. Fluttershy was a few feet away, talking to a bunny.

To the left of the picture, Scootaloo saw another photo, and it nearly broke her heart.

The frame was a bright crimson, and the picture was of her and Dash, soaring through the sky together, smiles plastered on their flight-struck faces.

It was a copy of the one Scootaloo had at her house.

There was only two copies of this photo, one of them was the one in Scootaloo's house, and the other one belonged to Rainbow Dash.

So the photo that Scootaloo saw now was none other than the very photo that belonged to Rainbow Dash herself.

Again, another bolt of sadness swept through Scootaloo's mangled heart.

She tried to pull a smile at the memory that the picture told.

She arrived at the coffin, planted her hooves on the ground, and prepared to begin speaking.

Suddenly, her emotions overcame her.

She stared at the coffin.

A huge wave of sadness rushed over her, and she almost fell to the ground.

Just a few days ago, Rainbow Dash had been with Scootaloo, alive and helping her train for the Speedstars.

Now, just a few days later, she lay stiff and dead inside wooden confinement.

It didn't seem possible to Scootaloo that such a close pony could be taken away from her in such a short amount of time...

Scootaloo longingly wished that it could all be a dream, that she would wake up to Rainbow Dash, smiling over her head, calling her to be with her; she wished she could escape the cruel reality.

Scootaloo closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, she found it was all a cruel dream.

There she stood for a few seconds, her eyes shut loosely.

When she opened her eyes again, she found that nothing had changed; the sadness still remained in her heart, and she still remained standing in front of the coffin of her fallen idol.

It was all too real.

She could no longer hold in all of her sadness.

To do so would have been toxic.

Scootaloo let out a series of heavy sobs as she looked over her fallen idol, and collapsed to the ground.

She began to speak, breathing hard and crying hard.

"R-rainbow Dash.... why... why did you... have to go..."

Scootaloo, still sobbing uncontrollably, spoke through her hot breaths.

"I l-love you... and you... were the b-big sister I never had... I had... no one... as a small f-filly... my parents died... I only had two friends... and n-no one took care of m-me... until you came along... You... you were my inspiration, my sh-shoulder to cry on, my everything... my whole wide world..."

"Please.. come back... p-please, Dash..."

There she sat, crying and crying and crying.

After a few moments she began speaking again.

"Whatever you do... D-Dash... wherever you are... right n-now... if you can hear me... please... don't ever forget me... you meant and w-will always mean... so m-much to me... I promise... never to forget you... Just please... okay...?

At this, Scootaloo grabbed a blue cloth with her teeth that she had hidden in her wings.

It was lined in gold silk, and the pattern of a young pony lay on the front of it.

It was her Cutie Mark Crusader cape.

She lay it on top of the coffin.

At this, everypony began to cry, especially Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, as they knew how much that cape meant to Scootaloo.

"Rainbow... Dash..." Scootaloo muttered, still crying harder than ever.

"I want you to have this... I got my cutie m-mark... because you helped me get it... so I only think... it's only fit if... you have it..."

"Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry... that I didn't catch you... I know you told me not to b-blame myself..." Scootaloo paused, catching her breath from her lung blasting heaves.

"...but I j-just want you to know... that I will get faster... so that... I could have c-caught you, okay?"

Scootaloo continued sobbing, tasting the salt of her tears as they streamed down her face.

"Rainbow Dash... you meant everything to me... I love you... and I'll love you... forever... Dash..."

Even Pinkie Pie was crying rather hard now.

"I'll see... you... real soon... okay... Rainbow...Dash...?"

She received no answer, although she was not expecting there to be one.

She got up, pulled the Cape off the coffin for a moment, kissed, cloud of the cutie mark placed the Cape back on top of the coffin, and whispered:

"I love you."

Slowly, she turned around, head towards the ground, tears falling fast to the ground, and walked slowly back towards the group. They all embraced her with the biggest hug they could give. Together they all wept.

After they were finished, the elder pony began.

"And so," he said, "if there no longer are any final requests, we shall begin the burial now," he said with yet another sympathetic smile.

They all agreed and walked over to the coffin.

Together, the 9 ponies lifted the coffin, and carried it over to the hole which the elder pony had dug out for Rainbow.

Slowly, they lowered it on the ground next to the hole.

"Well," the colt began, "now would be the time for final goodbyes, my friends."

One by one, Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all went and said their teary goodbyes to Dashie forever.

At last, Scootaloo went up to the coffin, sat on the ground next to it and looked up into the sky. It was a clear and beautiful day, the sun was out, and all seemed right in the world for once.

Scootaloo, as a single tear went down her left cheek, began to talk to Dash.

"Nice day, isn't it?" she started.

"Just the kind of day you would love to fly in. Don't worry though. I'm sure where you're going has plenty of sunny days to fly in," she said grinning up at the sun.

"Know that I appreciate everything you've done for me, since I was a filly, and to this day. I'll never forget it, nor will I forget you."

Lastly, Scootaloo leaned on the coffin, and embraced it in a hug.

She sat by it for several minutes, gripping tightly and not saying a word.

Her friends stared at her sadly as she did so.

At last, she looked up at and said:

" I love you, big sis. Be good."

Finally, she stood up, tear-less, and looked down at the coffin.

She was ready.

Once again, Scootaloo and her friends lifted up the coffin, and this time, placed it snuggly in the hole.

The old colt was just about to start burying it when Scootaloo said:

"May I?" she asked.

"Of course." he replied.

Scootaloo picked up the shovel, and after having one final look at the cutie mark crusader cape on the coffin, began piling the dirt atop.

It was a very sad moment, and everyone cried as they saw their beloved friend for the last time, even Scootaloo as she piled the dirt with her shovel.

After a few minutes, Rainbow was at last covered by the dirt, underneath the ground inside her coffin.

Scootaloo picked up the gravestone that lay on the ground and looked at it. It read:

Behind the words, Dash's cutie mark lay emblazoned on the gravestone.

To Scootaloo, it looked just perfect.

She placed the gravestone right in the dirt above where they had buried her, and smiled.

The old funeral colt began one last time.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, rejoice that your friend Rainbow Dash may now know eternal peace, and that your final deeds to her be done."

Still crying somewhat, the mares all nodded with great smiles.

"Now, go in peace, and bid Rainbow Dash farewell!"

They all said "Goodbye Rainbow Dash" together, and walked away together.

Everypony gave each other great hugs once more, and finally, they dispersed.

Scootaloo flew back up to her home in the sky.

She passed by Dash's house on the way.

She smiled.

She entered her house, and when she did, she was greeted by a picture on the wall.

It was her and Dash, flying together.

She smiled.

Carrying Forth the Fallen's Legacy

A bright yellow pegasus mare with an indigo mane trotted towards the exit of the waiting area, and into the flying zone, just as the previous pony had done. By now, the procedure was quite understood.

It was early morning, and the tension in the waiting zone filled the air.

Several pegasi waited for their turn, stretching, talking, and preparing to perform for the judges.

Among the ponies remaining still in the waiting area, there was a certain orange pegasus, her violet mane straightened and no longer curled upwards in her previous style.

All the ponies currently in the waiting room had a mentor, just as all the ones previously in the waiting room did.

This particular pegasus had no mentor.

Scootaloo stood tall and proud, a numbered patch placed over her cutie mark.

It read:

15.

Her brain was clear, her mind strong.

She opened her wings, stretched them from side to side, and then rested them back against her hips.

She broke into a very low to the ground hover, stretched her hooves out again in the air, then descended back to the cloud floor.

She focused her bright purple eyes on the exit, awaiting the moment that she would walk through it herself.

Slowly, while standing in place, Scootaloo closed her eyes and began to think.

She began to think of her accomplishments. She thought of her life. She thought of her friends.

She thought of her mentor that couldn't be here today, but that Scootaloo was sure she was watching from a distance.

She smiled.

It was a bright and sunny day, a soft breeze blew, and the heat was soothing.

Upon a cloud elevated above Ponyville, there lay a light blue cyan pegasus, a rainbow mane ruffled over her eyes as she napped.

Scootaloo rode her scooter quickly under the cloud, and began shouting upwards:

"Rainbow Dash! Wake up! C'mon, wake up!"

Slowly, Dash cracked open her eyes and sat up, stretching her back and wings.

She looked down at Scootaloo, who had a gigantic smile from cheek to cheek, and laughed.

"Wow, squirt," she began, "you really can't wait any longer, huh? Not 'till after... maybe I finish my nap?"

Scootaloo shook her head side to side, still grinning hugely.

"Waiting? There's no time for waiting! You promised today would be the day!"

Rainbow chuckled again to herself.

"I know kid, I know, I'm just messin' witcha'. I'm coming down right now."

Scootaloo hopped in place as Rainbow hovered downwards, right in front of where she stood.

"Rainbow Dash! What's up?"

"Oh hey kiddo, not much," Dash replied, still smiling at how happy her little follower was to see her.

Dash began again.

"So, you ready to earn a cutie mark today?"

Scootaloo jumped into the air, flapped her wings hard, and hovered a bit in excitment.

"Of course I am! I've been waiting for this moment all week, and I know how cool you are, so I figured, 'gee, if anyone can help me get a cutie mark, it'd be Rainbow Dash,' so then I asked you a week ago and you said yes and I mean I knew it'd be awesome but now that the day is actually here I'm so excited and-"

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof, giggling, and began talking.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold your horses there, kid. I understand, no need to explain. Besides, we wouldn't wanna waste any more time of the day of your cutie mark, right?"

Scootaloo closed her mouth and nodded smiling.

"Okay then," Dash said, "follow me. I have someplace I wanna take you to work on getting your cutie mark."

Scootaloo looked up at Dash with curiosity.

"Where?" She asked.

"Don't worry," Rainbow said.

"You'll see."

Scootaloo got back on her scooter and followed Dash.

Scootaloo remained solid and in good spirits as she waited for her number to be called.

Scootaloo went over her flying routine through her head one last time, making sure she had everything committed to memory well enough to perform it.

Scootaloo took a few steps towards the exit and took a peek outside.

It appeared the previous pegasus had just finished her routine.

The 3 judges held up score cards. They read:

4

6

4

The pegasus began crying in her hooves, and slowly flew back to the waiting area.

She knew that an averaged score of 4.5/10 would not get her into the Speedstars. She tore the number off of her flank, galloped to the entrance of the waiting room, and left in tears.

Scootaloo, slightly shaken by the display, began to get slightly nervous.

What if she ended up the same way, and what if she failed and never get into any flying groups, and what if-

Scootaloo's thought process was broken by the announcer calling the next performer. A black pegasus colt with white hair stood up on his hind legs, ran towards the exit, and jumped out into the performing area and began to fly.

Scootaloo quickly shook the doubt out of her mind, and went back to her solid mindset.

You can do this, she thought to herself.

You can do this.

After going on for what seemed like ages (to Scootaloo, anyway), Rainbow and Scootaloo arrived at a stone valley, hundreds of feet deep. They were at the top.

Scootaloo unmounted her scooter.

"Rainbow Dash, what's going on?" Scootaloo began. "What the hay is this place?"

A good distance away, a stream of hot water flew up from a crater-like hole, then sizzled back down. Scootaloo figured it was some kind of hot spring or geyser.

Dash smiled and began talking.

"This here is Ghastly Gorge, Scoot."

"Ghastly what now?" Scootaloo said in confusion.

"Ghastly Gorge. It's where I come whenever I need to think or when I need to focus. I think this would be the perfect place to earn a cutie mark, if I might say so myself," she said.

Scootaloo looked around. The place was all stone, had a very cold look to it, and seemed like the exact place you wouldn't want to earn a cutie mark in. She wasn't so convinced.

Still, she went along with it.

"So, Rainbow Dash, where do we start?"

"Well," she replied, "you've told me you can do some basic tricks and flight, right?"

Scootaloo shook her head up and down a few times.

"So, let's see it then, Scoot."

"Okay!" Scootaloo said.

She jumped into the air, and flapped her small wings with great effort. Sure, she could fly well, but it was no doubt harder for a filly, as their wings are smaller than a full grown pegasus mare.

She gained some altitude, dove down diagonally, pulled up into a loop, did a few barrel rolls, then reverted back to a hover, slowly gliding back down.

"Well well well," Dash began, "that was a good start. Why, you'll have a cutie mark in no time!"

Scootaloo blushed a bit at the compliment.

"So, seeing that, I know that you know basic form for loops and twists. That being said," said Dash, taking off into the air, "Maybe we should start working on some stuff that's a little more..."

She paused for a moment.

"...advanced?" she said with a wink.

"Oh, yeah!" Scootaloo said excitedly, "that sounds totally awesome!"

"Heh heh," Dash chuckled, "good."

Scootaloo flew up into the air and got level with Dash.

"Alright, just watch what I do, and try to follow."

Dash proceeded to perform an advanced combination trick; she dove, did a few front flips as she fell, straightened out, pulled up into a loop, then another loop, dashed out straight, and then finally ended the trick by closing her wings, spinning and flipping at the same time, and reopening her wings in a flash just before she touched the ground.

Scootaloo was in awe; how could she ever do a trick like Dash just did?

Dash, giggling at Scootaloo's dropped jaw, spoke.

"C'mon squirt, your turn!"

Scootaloo doubted she would get the trick down right away, but started off anyway. She successfully dove and did a few flips as she fell, but lost her balance in the final flip, flew out of control, and regained her balance a few feet above the ground.

Rainbow Dash was trying her best to hold in her laughter, and Scootaloo just rolled her eyes at her, smiling.

She flew back high up and tried again.

Time seemed to slow down as Scootaloo waited for her name.

She was filled with mixed emotions.

She felt like she owed so much to Rainbow Dash, and that she needed to repay her, right here, right now.

Frantically, she began to think how she could make it up to her hero.

And that was when she decided.

Her regular flight plan for the auditions ended with a suicide dive with plenty of tricks before she reached the arena floor.

Instead, she decided that she was going to replace it with a much different trick.

A Rainbow Dash signature move.

Well, this was it. Scootaloo stretched herself one final time, trotted towards the exit, and leapt out into the warm morning air.

She flew out into the performing arena.

The arena was somewhat cylindrical, but the walls of the arena didn't extend too far into the air, and the top of the arena opened into the sky above it. Scootaloo thought that the arena appeared to look somewhat like the same arena that Cloudsdale held the annual Best Young Flier's Competition in.

Rainbow Dash had won that competition once, she recalled.

The walls were circular, and it contained a flat floor made also made of soft clouds, clouds that would support a pegasus standing on it, but that looked as if they could easily be broken through. Protruding out of one of the parts of the wall, there was a small platform with a desk plant atop it. At this desk, there were 3 judges, waiting for her.

She flew out towards the judges, then landed on the cloud floor before them.

"Name," One of them said.

"Scootaloo," she replied.

"Hometown?" another asked.

"Cloudsdale," Scootaloo said.

"Reason for seeking partaking in the Junior Speedstars?" the 3rd one asked.

Scootaloo paused for a moment.

Then she spoke.

"To make somepony proud," she said.

The judges ruffled a few papers, took a few notes, and then one spoke:

"Alright, Ms. Scootaloo, you may begin," he said firmly.

Scootaloo nodded her head and flew high into the sky.

Now for what seemed like the hundredth time, Scootaloo rose back into the air to try the maneuver again, very frustrated.

She had already nailed down the dive, the flips, and the 2 loops, but when she closed her wings to fall and perform the final part of the trick, she would always chicken out and open her wings back up. No matter what she tried, she couldn't get herself to do it.

Rainbow watched contently as Scootaloo tried again.

Just as she had done several times before, she had no trouble until the part we she had to drop with her wings closed.

Once again, she opened her wings in fear.

She came to the ground, let out an angry grunt, and stomped her hooves.

"I'll never get this trick right! No matter how many times I try, I'm still no good!" Scootaloo said, upset.

Dash flew over to comfort her.

"Hey, squirt, take it easy on yourself, no one can just perfect every detail of a brand new trick in their first couple of tries," Rainbow said sympathetically.

Scootaloo didn't want to listen. She had been practicing the trick for so long, without success of finishing it correctly, and was beyond reasoning.

"So what? I didn't take 'a couple' of tries, I took a bunch! And I still couldn't do it! How am I supposed to earn my cutie mark if I can't even do one cool trick?"

Scootaloo flew towards her scooter, teary eyed.

She started riding away, looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry I wasted your time, Rainbow Dash..."

"Hey, kiddo, wait!" Dash yelled after her.

"Why should I?" Scootaloo retorted, her eyes still fixed on the ground. "I'm no good!"

Dash's voice was more urgent now.

"No, kid, really, wait! Watch where you're going!" Dash yelled.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said.

She looked up to see that she was heading straight for the spring they had noticed on the way in. She tried to avoid it, but it was too late.

She was shot up high into the air by the blast of water, still atop her scooter. The fountain of water fell out below her, and she was a rather high distance into the sky.

She began to fall.

Scootaloo clutched her scooter, scared out of her mind. She shook in the air as she plummeted, unsure of what to do. The spring had caught her by surprise, and she was still somewhat paralyzed and dazed with fear and adrenaline.

The eruption of the geyser had filled her ears with a ring for a few moments, and it wasn't until this buzz subsided that Scootaloo heard Rainbow's voice as she shouted to her:

"Hey, try it again!"

Scootaloo shook herself back to awareness and, falling fast, shouted back.

"What the hay are you talking about? Are you crazy? Help me! I can't fly holding this heavy scooter!"

"Do the trick again! You've got your scooter this time! It'll feel more natural! Trust me!"

It took Scootaloo a few moments to realize what Rainbow was saying, but when she did, she was still mildly high in the sky...

In fact, from how far away the ground seemed to Scootaloo, it seemed to be the exact altitude from which she had attempted to pull off Rainbow's stunt several times before.

Nervously, Scootaloo proceeded to start the first part of the manuever, and started flipping through the air as she fell, her hind legs pressed tightly against the bottom of the scooter as she did so.

Scootaloo had reached a decent altitude to begin her performance.

Okay, Scootaloo thought to herself.

Here goes nothing.

Scootaloo flipped her body so that her head was toward the ground and her hind legs towards the sun.

Swiftly, she dove, accelerating faster and faster as she fell.

After a few seconds, she began flipping and flipping, so fast that she became an orange and purple blur as she dropped. The judges smiled and wrote down a few notes.

After Scootaloo could flip no longer without making herself dizzy, she straightened out her body and flapped her wings very strenuously, cutting downwards through the sky at an alarming rate.

The wind blew past her ears and through her mane, whistling as it went.

Then, just as she was level with the judges again, she pulled up tightly into several loops, and used the momentum from the loops to shoot back up higher into the air again.

This time, however, she truly went up and up; she could hardly make out the arena by the time she was as high as she wanted to be.

She inhaled a deep breath, and prepared herself for the last part of her act.

"This one's for you, Dash."

Scootaloo shot like a bullet down back towards the arena, working her wings as hard as her mind allowed her to.

The cold wind stung her eyes as she flew, the air chilled her body, and her wings felt very hot. Still, she accelerated faster and faster.

A small, slightly rounded cone began to form around Scootaloo as she flew.

Scootaloo's felt her wings were melting at this point, but she didn't let herself stop.

There was too much to lose if she did.

"I... won't... let you... fall... this time... Dash..."

She pushed her wings further and harder yet, and she began to feel the pain even in her back.

Suddenly, the cone sharpened from a rounded point to a spiked point.

She was now getting very close to the performing area, and the judges could now see the cone as well. One took off his glasses in disbelief, to make sure his eyes weren't playing game on him. He found that they weren't.

Tears flew out of Scootaloo's eyes and evaporated in seconds.

The wind screamed past her.

Finally, with one last push, Scootaloo increased her speed, and her wings felt like they had deteached from her body.

She broke the sound barrier, and the cone erupted into a blinding spectral beauty of violet and orange.

As Scootaloo flipped, the added weight of the scooter caused her to flip faster and quicker than she had before.

Rainbow watched as Scootaloo became a twirling blur. A slow smile crept onto her face.

Then, when Scootaloo saw she was nearing the ground, she straightened out, and with all her might, pulled up with her wings.

With the heavy scooter being held by her hooves, it was physically agonizing as she curved back upward into the sky. Her scooter nearly brushed the ground.

Like she had done before, she pulled up into the first flip, then the second, but this time, she added a third! Now elevated above the ground once again, Scootaloo flew out straight, carrying her scooter with her as she flew.

Rainbow Dash now had the goofiest, biggest smile drawn upon her cheeks.

"You got this, kid!" she yelled to her fan in the distance.

Scootaloo, shaking, was now nearing the final part of the advanced trick.

She hovered, scooter in hooves, and with the shut of her eyes, placed her feet on the scooter.

She closed her wings.

After falling for a second, she looked out to her left, expecting to see that her wings had instinctively opened again.

Except, they weren't open.

Scootaloo blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating or something of the sort. Had she really...?

She had.

She had done it.

She'd managed to keep her wings closed. She felt safer closing her wings when she had her hooves on something solid rather than in the air; in this case the Scooter provided that sense of safety.

Finally, Scootaloo flipped and twisted at the same time as she fell with her wings tucked, just as Dash had instructed her to do.

As she was just about to hit the ground, she opened her wings and pushed hard.

She was hovering(though sinking ever so slightly) literally a few inches above the stone floor.

She hovered downward, let her scooter down, and slowly planted her hooves back onto the ground, panting heavily.

She'd done it. She'd completed the trick that Rainbow had taught her; in a single day, no less!

A few feet away from Scootaloo stood an ecstatic Rainbow Dash, smiling with tears in her eyes.

"H-hey kid?" she said happily.

"Yeah?" said Scoot.

"Look at your flank, squirt."

"What are you talking about Da-

Scootaloo gasped.

A slick black scooter wheel with ice white wings shooting out of the sides and a violet streak of lightning shooting from the wheel was emblazoned on her flank.

Her cutie mark.

It was there.

Scootaloo looked as if she were about to explode.

Suddenly, she darted at full speed towards Rainbow Dash, tackling her to the ground.

They laughed as they rolled a little bit on the ground, and finally they came to a stop.

There they laughed more and smiled together, laying on the ground.

"I knew you could do it, squirt." said Dash, embracing the filly in a great hug.

"Thanks Dash. You don't even know how much I owe you!" Scootaloo replied.

"Eh, don't mention it kid, you did it yourself up there," she said, grinning.

Scootaloo rested her head on Dash's belly.

She let out a few tears of happiness.

"I love you, Dash."

"I love you too, squirt."

The judges could not believe their eyes.

One of them had a large smile on his face, while the others' jaws were dropped in amazement.

Scootaloo, a large purple and orange trail painting behind her as she flew, crashed straight through the cloud floor of the performing area. She flew all the way down to the ground, and pulled up just above the earth. She glided right above the dirt, and she was so close to it that she could have touched it if she so desired. The charming aroma of the blades of grass filled her nostrils as they whistled past her face and mane. Scootaloo closed her eyes for a moment, relaxed.

For the first time in a while, things actually felt like they were going to be alright. She had lost so much in a matter of days...

...but yet, as Scootaloo realized in that very moment, she still had so much to gain, so much potential to reach, so many dreams to chase...

...and she knew that she would never stop until she caught those dreams, until she gained all she could, until she reached her full potential.

She would do it because she made a promise, a promise to the one mare who meant everything to her.

And it wasn't a promise she ever intended to break.

She soon snapped her eyes open once again, curved back upwards, and flew back up in an arch over the arena, leaving a purple and orange rainbow hanging over the place.

She gradually decreased her speed, and slowly hovered back over the performing area.

As she descended, a smile slapped on her face, she noticed that literally everyone was staring at her; the judges, the announcer, even the remaining pegasi that were to perform next.

She giggled slightly when she saw this.

At last, she reached the cloud floor where she had started, and landed.

For a long while, the judges just stared at Scootaloo, and she returned the stare.

Finally, the one who was smiling spoke.

"Ms. Scootaloo, I have no idea what that, er- maneuver you just performed was called, but..."

He paused for a second.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that was the most magnificent flying display I have seen in my life. Am I right?" he said, motioning towards the other judges.

They both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ms. Scootaloo, I think I can safely say that after a performance like that, you can consider yourself on the Junior Speedstars flight team."

Scootaloo just nodded her head, tearing up in joy.

"Ms. Scootaloo..." the judge began again.

The three judges each held up a scorecard.

Each had a number on it.

They read:

10

10

10

"...fabulous job."

"Thank you." replied Scootaloo, firmly.

"Come back at the same time in 3 days, and we will announce who has and who hasn't made the cut- expect yourself to have had made it."

Scootaloo nodded again, extremely happy.

"Thank you so much."

She looked up once more at the purple and orange rainbow that she had created over the stadium.

She bade them farewell and flew away, still looking at the rainbow.

She sped away down towards Ponyville, and quickly landed right near the ponyville cemetery.

She ran as fast as she could towards a familiar looking gravestone, a cloud with a bolt of rainbow lighting shooting from it painted behind the writing.

Scootaloo started to speak.

"Rainbow Dash, I did it..." Scootaloo began.

"I made the team..."

Scootaloo got not response, although she knew Dash was listening.

She lay down on the dirt, resting her head right next to the gravestone.

"Guess what? I did a sonic rainboom for the tryouts today! I did a sonic rainboom, just like you! And this is just the beginning! I'll get better and better, and I'll join the Wonderbolts, just like you wanted to!"

Silence.

Scootaloo calmed down slightly more, her voiced softened to whisper, and she stared directly at the headstone.

"Rainbow Dash, none of this would have been possible without you. Never forget that."

There she sat for a long while, laying in silence with her fallen companion, sharing her happiness with her.

Finally, Scootaloo nuzzled the gravestone one last time and got up.

"Thanks for everything, big sis."

"I love you..."

Then, slowly, Scootaloo began walking away, bittersweet tears falling to the ground.

She turned around one final time and whispered,

"...and I'll never forget you."