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Somewhere Beyond Us
Something woke Rainbow Dash from her slumber one night.
Annoyed, she shifted her position on the cloud. It couldn't have been the moonlight; because of the full moon that night, she had dragged her cloud down so that the layer of clouds above blocked the light.
Dash soon picked up a strange, muffled sound from the ground below. She shifted her position on the cloud so that her ears were pressed against the fluffy surface, blocking out most of the sound. With that settled, she let her mind drift.
After a minute or two Rainbow Dash realized the sound was growing louder. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and sat up, prepared to beat the snot out of whatever was disturbing her from her peace.
But it was Scootaloo, sobbing into a pillow.
Rainbow Dash was unsure of what to do. Scootaloo was normally a stoic young filly, keeping her emotions concealed behind a mask of tomcoltishness, just like Dash herself.
Do I give her a wing? Do I just pat her on the back and send her home?
Something occurred to Rainbow just then.
Does Scootaloo even have a place to go home to?
Deciding to take the initiative, Rainbow Dash touched down and trotted over to her young friend, sitting down carefully beside her.
Scootaloo’s head snapped up, obviously startled. “R-rainbow Dash?” she cried, eyes widened and already starting to scuttle away. “No, no, no! Sh-she can’t see me like this!” she mumbled.
Under any other circumstances Rainbow would have laughed. But this is serious, she told herself, biting her lip. C’mon, Dash, say something!
Scootaloo was backing up the way she had come, as if she had been caught being naughty and was trying to evade punishment.
“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow said. “I, uh, heard something.”
Great start, she thought. You’re so great with talking, Dash.
She forced herself to keep talking in hopes of filling up the hole she had already begun digging herself, and bringing Scootaloo back. “Hey, you can cry in front of me, it’s okay.”
Scootaloo continued to inch backwards, almost cautiously now.
“Let’s talk about this, ‘kay?” ventured Rainbow Dash. “Why’re you crying?”
One on hoof, Rainbow Dash just wanted to go back to sleep. If this was how her biggest fan was going to react to her trying to help, she was done with it. But she also wanted to keep trying to coax Scootaloo back. After all, what was loyalty if not selflessness?
Scootaloo had stopped moving, sitting there with tears coursing down her face and her pillow on the ground in front of her.
There was nothing else for Rainbow to do but catch up with her friend, which was something she did best. Before the filly could react she raced forward and scooped the filly up on her back. Within seconds they were sitting on the same cloud Rainbow had been roused from minutes ago.
Stunned, Scootaloo looked up into the face of Rainbow Dash and then did the thing she had told herself not to do.
As Scootaloo cried into her hero’s shoulder, she began to speak. Rainbow made out, “Parents… I… miss them…”
“You miss your parents?” Rainbow asked, confused. Before now, she had never been swayed from her belief that Scootaloo had a family to go home to every day. “Where are they?”
Evidently, that was the wrong question. It was a long time before Scootaloo regained speech, and by then, her tears were gone. “Rainbow Dash… are my parents are gone forever?”
Rainbow cringed. “Where are they?” she repeated softly, prepared for the worst.
This time Scootaloo kept her composure. “They’re…” Rainbow knew she was trying to avoid the word “dead”.
The two sat in silence for a moment. Rainbow tried to think up something wise to say, to comfort Scootaloo.
“Y’know, Scoots,” she began, “when you… stop living, you’re not gone forever.”
Scootaloo looked up again; Rainbow took that as a signal to keep talking. “I think… when you stop living, you go somewhere else. Somewhere beyond us, just over the horizon.”
Scootaloo appeared puzzled now. “How do you know?”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “How do I know?” she repeated. “Because sometimes, my parents smile down on me. I can feel it, in here.” She pounded on her heart. Scootaloo returned her smile.
“And sometimes, Scoots,” Rainbow continued, “I bet you can feel your parents smiling on you too.”
She tried to keep talking, but nothing came out. Nothing more needed to be said.
Annoyed, she shifted her position on the cloud. It couldn't have been the moonlight; because of the full moon that night, she had dragged her cloud down so that the layer of clouds above blocked the light.
Dash soon picked up a strange, muffled sound from the ground below. She shifted her position on the cloud so that her ears were pressed against the fluffy surface, blocking out most of the sound. With that settled, she let her mind drift.
After a minute or two Rainbow Dash realized the sound was growing louder. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and sat up, prepared to beat the snot out of whatever was disturbing her from her peace.
But it was Scootaloo, sobbing into a pillow.
Rainbow Dash was unsure of what to do. Scootaloo was normally a stoic young filly, keeping her emotions concealed behind a mask of tomcoltishness, just like Dash herself.
Do I give her a wing? Do I just pat her on the back and send her home?
Something occurred to Rainbow just then.
Does Scootaloo even have a place to go home to?
Deciding to take the initiative, Rainbow Dash touched down and trotted over to her young friend, sitting down carefully beside her.
Scootaloo’s head snapped up, obviously startled. “R-rainbow Dash?” she cried, eyes widened and already starting to scuttle away. “No, no, no! Sh-she can’t see me like this!” she mumbled.
Under any other circumstances Rainbow would have laughed. But this is serious, she told herself, biting her lip. C’mon, Dash, say something!
Scootaloo was backing up the way she had come, as if she had been caught being naughty and was trying to evade punishment.
“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow said. “I, uh, heard something.”
Great start, she thought. You’re so great with talking, Dash.
She forced herself to keep talking in hopes of filling up the hole she had already begun digging herself, and bringing Scootaloo back. “Hey, you can cry in front of me, it’s okay.”
Scootaloo continued to inch backwards, almost cautiously now.
“Let’s talk about this, ‘kay?” ventured Rainbow Dash. “Why’re you crying?”
One on hoof, Rainbow Dash just wanted to go back to sleep. If this was how her biggest fan was going to react to her trying to help, she was done with it. But she also wanted to keep trying to coax Scootaloo back. After all, what was loyalty if not selflessness?
Scootaloo had stopped moving, sitting there with tears coursing down her face and her pillow on the ground in front of her.
There was nothing else for Rainbow to do but catch up with her friend, which was something she did best. Before the filly could react she raced forward and scooped the filly up on her back. Within seconds they were sitting on the same cloud Rainbow had been roused from minutes ago.
Stunned, Scootaloo looked up into the face of Rainbow Dash and then did the thing she had told herself not to do.
As Scootaloo cried into her hero’s shoulder, she began to speak. Rainbow made out, “Parents… I… miss them…”
“You miss your parents?” Rainbow asked, confused. Before now, she had never been swayed from her belief that Scootaloo had a family to go home to every day. “Where are they?”
Evidently, that was the wrong question. It was a long time before Scootaloo regained speech, and by then, her tears were gone. “Rainbow Dash… are my parents are gone forever?”
Rainbow cringed. “Where are they?” she repeated softly, prepared for the worst.
This time Scootaloo kept her composure. “They’re…” Rainbow knew she was trying to avoid the word “dead”.
The two sat in silence for a moment. Rainbow tried to think up something wise to say, to comfort Scootaloo.
“Y’know, Scoots,” she began, “when you… stop living, you’re not gone forever.”
Scootaloo looked up again; Rainbow took that as a signal to keep talking. “I think… when you stop living, you go somewhere else. Somewhere beyond us, just over the horizon.”
Scootaloo appeared puzzled now. “How do you know?”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “How do I know?” she repeated. “Because sometimes, my parents smile down on me. I can feel it, in here.” She pounded on her heart. Scootaloo returned her smile.
“And sometimes, Scoots,” Rainbow continued, “I bet you can feel your parents smiling on you too.”
She tried to keep talking, but nothing came out. Nothing more needed to be said.