Sweet Apple Summer: A Braeburn and Pinkie Pie story

It had been nearly a month since Braeburn had rescued the Cutie Mark Crusaders from being a three course meal for the now-dead ogre that terrorized the Everfree forest, and the story had been exaggerated to ridiculous proportions since then. The true story of how Braeburn had managed to devise a clever strategy and utilize the fauna of the forest to his advantage had been fabricated into an absurdly over the top, yet epic tale: The Bronco from the southern frontier had descended from the heavens on high and smote a legion of ogres with a mighty roar... The story was asinine, of course, but no matter how many times Braeburn had attempted to correct this yarn that had been spun - the citizens of Ponyville would either seem to selectively ignore him, or disregard his editorial as modesty.

Braeburn recalled that night he had rescued the three fillies as Fluttershy carefully removed the stitches from the back of the cowboy's neck, careful not to exacerbate the wound. "Taint nothin' but fantastical tomfoolery, Miss Fluttershy, Ah assure you. Ah did sustain this bite from a timberwolf, but this business about killing an army of ogres with a shout? That's silly talk." He winced when Fluttershy began tugging the laced stitching free from his skin.

"I still don't understand why you wont go back to the doctor to have these stitches removed,” Fluttershy stated in a gentle voice before carefully snipping another stitch. “I hope I'm not hurting you. I've never performed this procedure on a pony before."

"Really?" Braeburn stretched on the sunflower-colored mare's kitchen table before laying back into his slumped posture. "Ya seem real good at it; Ah'd think ya was a nurse if Ah didn't know no better."

Fluttershy smiled shyly at the stallion's compliment. "I'm more accustomed to stitching up smaller animals, but I guess this isn't much different."

"You'd better remain still, or you wont get a treat," Discord, who proceeded over the operation, a doctor's mask over his mouth, and a steel tray in his paw upon which laid an assortment of surgical tools, laughed in mild amusement.

Braeburn chuckled in response as Fluttershy loosened the seam of the final stitch. She then snipped it, tugged it from her patient's skin, then discarded the thread into a small dish she used as a medical-waste container.

"Alright, now just let me put some ointment on this and we'll be done. I don't want this getting inflamed." Fluttershy held her leg out to discord who handed her a tin which contained a thick solve that carried a nutty fragrance. She gently worked the ointment into the stallion's wound before wrapping it with a white cotton bandage. "All done."

Braeburn stepped down from the table and rolled his neck around, happy that he was finally able to move his neck again.

"And here's your treat!" Discord snapped his fingers and conjured a doggy biscuit at the edge of the stallion's nose. The insufferable draconicus twiddled his fingers with a playful smile on his face as he noted Braeburn's unamused expression. "Would your prefer a squeaker toy?"

"Discord, stop teasing him!" Fluttershy chided before turning her head back to her patient. "I'm so sorry, Braeburn. It's kind of in his nature to be annoying. He is the god of chaos, after all. After we were able to rehabilitate him, he has found other ways to get his kicks... Harassing everypony that has the misfortune to come visit me is probably his favorite hobby now..."

Braeburn's eyebrow went down and his expression softened, the bone-shaped dog biscuit still teetering at the edge of his snout. "It's okay, miss Fluttershy. Ah can appreciate a bit of humor at mah expense." He then knocked his head back, making the biscuit fly through the air. He caught it in his mouth and chewed as he winked back at Fluttershy, who giggled with a hoof over her mouth at the cowboy's silly antics.

Discord's smile curved into an irritated frown. "Would you like another?" he asked begrudgingly.

"Let me have it," Braeburn answered with his mouth agape.

Discord once again snapped his fingers, this time conjuring a bottle of soda to appear in front of Braeburn. It glowed as it telepathically shook in front of him before the cap burst open, assaulting the stallion with a torrent of sticky-sweet grape soda. "How'd you like that? Sorry if it wasn't cold enough."

"Discord!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Braeburn!"

The stallion stood there, soaking wet, swishing around what little bit of soda he was able to catch in his mouth before swallowing it. "Ah like grape just fine, but Ah'm more of sarsaparilla guy."

The draconicus cocked an eyebrow. "Well played, Braeburn..."

The stallion then kissed Fluttershy on her hoof, making her draw back in surprise, then he made his way to the door. "Ah hate to just leave ya after ya patched me up, Miss Fluttershy, but Ah got plans with miss Pinkie tonight."

Fluttershy's cheeks were still rosy red from Braeburn's affectionate display of gratitude, but she was able to pull herself together with a few short breaths. "A-are you two going to the summer carnival tonight?" she inquired, not able to look him directly in his eye out of embarrassment.

The stallion seemed almost ecstatic by Fluttershy's question. "We sure are. Ah can't wait to see them fireworks she told me about. Ah wonder if they'll be as amazing as the ones she makes."

"Yeah,” Fluttershy agreed. “Her rockets are pretty fun to watch."

Braeburn turned to exit through the front door, but not before tipping the brim of his hat down over his eyes and looking back with a blushing, toothy grin. "Ah was talking about the ones she makes in mah heart, miss Fluttershy." He nodded his head toward them once more. "Ladies." And then he was gone, closing the door of Fluttershy's cottage behind him.

"I'm so telling Pinkie Pie he said that," Fluttershy cooed with her hooves on her face.

"I'm not a lady," Discord grumbled with an indignant smile as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Braeburn sped down the hill from Fluttershy's cottage. He rounded about the cyclical dirt path that curved down and away from the edge of the Everfree forest, ran down the dirt road, and came upon the bridge he had used to gain access to the valley in which Fluttershy lived. His quick pace was brought to a grinding halt when he noticed the orange cones and yellow caution tape that was set across both access points to the bridge, which stretched over a dangerously powerful channel which carried water into Ponyville. He then noticed the ponies in construction attire that were about the area. A team of Pegasi wearing orange reflective vests and yellow hard hats flew about busily, not noticing the cowboy who had entered their work site.

Braeburn looked around for a pony who didn't seem to be too preoccupied with the bridge to answer his questions. He looked to a plump stallion with a dark five-o-clock shadow who sat on a log with a cigarette in his mouth and a foam coffee cup in hoof.

"S'cuse me, sir?"

The construction worker took in a long pull from his cigarette before answering in a deep voice that was laced with a thick Manehattan accent. "Eh, what can I do for ya, cowboy?"

"What happened to the bridge?"

"As ya can see, da bridge is in dire need o' repair." He gestured toward the center of the bridge with his hoof.

Braeburn turned and looked at the battered structure in bewilderment: it was pockmarked with large holes, and the boards were cracked and warped; it didn't look like it would be able to sustain his weight if he tried to walk across it. "Ah just crossed this bridge an hour ago, and the only damage it had in it was a cracked board... What the hay happened to it?"

The bulky manehattanight face-hoofed as he let out a chagrined groan. "Hurricane fricken Derpy happened to it, dat's what."

Braeburn tilted his head, perplexed by the worker's vague answer.

"New girl." The worker disambiguated before pointing to a grey mare holding a bucket of water over her head at the foot of the bridge.

"Am I doing a good job, boss?" She asked, noticing the foreman was looking at her.

"Ya doin' good, sweetheart, just keep that bucket level."

"Yes, sir!" The blonde-maned mare replied enthusiastically before her left eye glanced off in a different direction.

The construction pony turned back to Braeburn and said "I'm not gonna give ya all da details, but let's just say dat girl and power tools don't mix. We was called out here ta' replace a few boards, but dat ditzy mare turned what was suppose to take ten minutes into an all day project." He took another drag of his cigarette before carelessly tossing the butt into the stream. "But what can I do? I don't got the heart to fire her - She has a kid ta' feed."

"That's real nice of ya sir, but is there any other way to Ponyville?" Braeburn asked anxiously. "Ah don't have all day to wait for the bridge's repair."

"Yeah, ya can take the detour through the edge of the forest. Careful though: even on its edge the Everfree forest can be a dangerous place - I don't suggest you go alone. I heard about some crazy cowpony that lives in there. Ripped an ogre's head clean off with his bare hooves then drank his blood from the neck socket, from what I heard; Scary stuff..."

"Ah'll watch out for him," Braeburn chuckled before he hastefully set off down the detoured path through the edge of Everfree

The construction worker shouted one last bit of advice to the cowboy as he fled down the path:"Stick to dem arrow signs and you'll be okay!"

"Thanks, mister!" Braeburn yelled back before turning down the road that lead into the outer forest.

The edge of the forest didn't seem to be as perilous as it's inner regions. Braeburn was thankful for that, for he was fearful of having another run in with the timberwolves or any of the other horrors that awaited unfortunate wanderers who would dare stray beyond it's edge. It wasn't too long until the familiar sweet smell of Apple trees tickled his senses. The path, braeburn thought, must wind around Sweet Apple Acres. He soon surmised that if he strayed from the detour signs and followed his senses, he'd be able to cut a path straight to the farm thus shortening the trip to his destination. He continued on at a brisk gallop, his heart yearning to reunite with that pink-maned blue-eyed angel of his. She was probably worrying about him that very moment. No doubt she had already assumed that he was intercepted along the way to the bakery by Slenderpony, or Big Foot, or one of the other strange conclusions Pinkie Pie would jump to when she worried about him. It didn't take long for Braeburn to recognize the path he was on. He had already exited the Everfree forest and was traveling down the route that lead through the orchards of his family's farm. He stopped when he had come upon the crusader's tree house and pondered if he had enough time to stop and make sure the girls were staying out of trouble. However, Part of him doubted they would be up to any mischief so soon after serving their sentences.

He remembered that Apple Bloom's punishment was for her to assist him with his work on the new property. After the task had been done, she was to march directly to her's and Apple Jack's room where she would remain the rest of the day. Her sentence lasted two weeks.

Sweetie Belle was sent to live with her parents, but she came back after three weeks of desperate pleading, much to Braeburn's relief; the little lady needed to be disciplined for her brash actions, but she didn't deserve to be separated from her friends for the whole summer.

Scootaloo received no punishment to his knowledge. Rainbow Dash thought it was awesome how she had gouged the ogre's eye out. In fact, he had even heard that Dash took Scootaloo out for icecream and a movie that night after the incident. Braeburn knew it wasn't his place to question Rainbow Dash's guardianship, but an undisciplined child would more often than not end up as an unruly adult. It would not surprise him in the least to find out that the rough and narcissistic Rainbow Dash was raised in a similar fashion. Still though, Dash was one of Pinkie Pie's best friends, he didn't want to think ill of her.

Braeburn decided to pay them a quick visit, just for the peace of mind. He scaled the ramp and knocked on the door. He waited for what felt like an entire minute before knocking again. After another long wait, he assumed that nobody was there, but just as he turned to leave he could hear a small voice from inside the club house.

"Who is it?"

"Scootaloo?"

"Braeburn?"

The stallion turned around just as he heard the door's hinges squeak. Half of the orange filly's face peered out from behind the oak wood door from the darkness inside. Braeburn instantly noticed with concern Scootaloo's puffy pink eyes and the slight tremble in her voice that she was conspicuously trying her damnedest to hide. "Braeburn... W-what's up?" She stammered.

"You okay, darlin?"

"On top of the world," she answered with as much a smile as she could force.

"Can Ah come in?"

"If you want."

Her face disappeared into the darkness of the tree house, leaving the door open for the concerned stallion to enter. Braeburn stepped inside the dark building and closed the door behind him. Compared to how bright it was outside, the inside was nearly pitch black. It took several moments for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He could barely make out Scootaloo sitting at a table across the room in complete silence. Braeburn couldn't find a chair big enough for him so he just sat on the floor next to her. She remained silent as she busied herself with something on the counter in front of her, but he couldn't make out what it was as his eyes had not yet completely adjusted to the dank room. More moments of uncomfortable silence passed until Braeburn decided to brake the ice.

"So where are the others?"

"Out," she answered curtly.

"They just left ya here?"

"I told them to."

Braeburn could hear the crumpling sounds of paper. His curiosity piqued, he strained his focus on the source of the noise. It was there in Scootaloo's hooves he could see that she was making origami figures.

"Ya like origami, huh?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, then, why are ya—"

"Because, Okay!?" Scootaloo shouted abruptly.

Braeburn speechlessly shrank back, startled by the filly's sudden outburst.

The enraged filly's face slowly softened into a look of remorse. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that." Her lip began to tremble before she quickly turned in her stool and went back to her project.

Braeburn's eyes could finally make out what she was making. "Are those..."

"Yep," Scootaloo whispered under her breath, her jaw trembling. "Chickens... " her eyes overflowed like cracked floodgates with the tears she had been holding back as her mouth turned up in another forced smile. "Flightless birds... Ironic, isn't it? My nickname, I mean."

'Sugarcube," the stallion's voice came out as soothingly as he could make it. "Tell me what's wrong... There's gotta be a way Ah can help with whatever you're going through."

The distraught filly remained silent. She laid her head down on the table and blew the paper birds of the desk, watching them as gravity dragged them helplessly to the ground. "Rainbow Dash took me to a doctor yesterday - she was becoming concerned with the muscle growth in my wings..." She fell silent again, but Braeburn remained attentive for her.

"He prodded at the muscles and tendons at the base of my wings, then he took a few X-rays. When the doctor diagnosed me, Rainbow Dash became furious. She got right in the doctor's face and demanded a second opinion from what she called 'a competent doctor'; she was more upset than I was. I really wish she didn't make a huge scene like that - it's not like it was his fault. But, as I was saying, they brought in another doctor."

Braeburn could feel beads of sweat running down the back of his neck as his mind went through the worst scenarios he could possibly imagine. Scootaloo was silent again, which only seemed to compound the stallion's concern. "What did they say?"

Picking her head up from the puddle of tears that had accumulated on the table, she faced Braeburn with glazed, expressionless eyes. "Lame Wing."

"Sugarcube, Ah don't know what that is."

"It's a crippling malformation that effects the wings." She then opened a drawer in the table and produced a hospital pamphlet that read 'living with broken wings.' "Let me tell you something," she scoffed with a humorless smile. "It's a good thing they had one of these to give me, or I'd just be lost in my misery!"

Braeburn remained speechless as he watched her furiously tear the pamphlet to shreds before she collapsed to the floor in an emotional fit of hysteria.

"I have nothing! All I wanted out of life was to follow Rainbow Dash in her hoof steps! We had it all planned out: she was going to join the Wonder Bolts, and I was going to follow her! We were going to be Wonder Bolts together! We use to just hang out and talk for hours about the things we would do, the obstacles we'd overcome!"

Braeburn had never felt so helpless in his life. He desperately thought of something he could say to consul her, but nothing would come to him. But that didn't stop him from trying. "Darlin, you can't just keep on like this. Ah don't want to throw cliches at you, but its always darkest just before dawn. You can't just stay cooped up in this tree house for the rest of your life with the blinds drawn over the windows."

"The blinds are drawn because I don't want to see the sky anymore. It will just remind me of everything in life that I can never have. I might as well live in darkness for the rest of my life. There is no dawn for a crippled Pegasus."

"But there's always somethin' to look forward to. Ah'm sure if you think about it, you'll see that—"

"You just don't get it, do you!?" Scootallo sat up and glared at the wall. "You're not a Pegasus. I don't mean to sound like I'm being prejudice, but you just don't understand what it's like. How could you? Everything in Pegasus culture revolves around flight: our social activities, our sports, even our courtship rituals. Heck, our cities are all built on clouds way up in the sky, and it's not like they'll build access ramps for me. there is no point in looking at the sky anymore; it will only end up with me pining for the life I'll never have. I might as well just be struck dead..."

An idea slowly came to the stallion as he sympathetically watched the distraught little filly curl up into a fetal position. It was a shot in the dark, but what he had planned was better than nothing. "You know what? You're right: Ah ain't a Pegasus. Ah could never in a million years understand what you're goin' through. You need a Pegasus to help ya, and Ah got just the one in mind, too."

"I don't want anyone's help, Braeburn. I just want to be left alone. And Rainbow Dash is probably thinking of a way to get rid of me so I wont hold her back, so there is no point in even going to her... Can't say that I blame her. Everyone would probably be better off if I just faded away from existence." After several moments of silence, Scootaloo looked back and saw that her visitor had already taken his leave. She laid her head back down with nothing but her self-deprecating thoughts to keep her company until she sobbed herself into a deep, dreamless sleep.

A rapping at the clubhouse door roused the orange filly from her sleep. She stretched out, uncurling her body from the balled up position she had been laid in and sleepily shambled to the door. She opened it by just a crack and peeked outside to tell the annoying stallion again that she didn't want his sympathy. Standing there, however, was not the golden earth pony she had expected. It was a young colt: light grey coat, dark grey mane, purple eyes. He eyed her curiously as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She silently looked back at him before her sleepy brain's light switch flipped on. She let out an involuntary squeal of surprise and slammed the door right in his face, then quickly backed against it to keep him from trying to enter.

Braeburn, you idiot! Why did you have to do this to me? Of all the ponies he could have sent...

"Scootaloo?" Rumble's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.

"Y-yes? What?"

"You wanna come outside and talk?"

"N-no! I-I mean! I'd like to, but I'm not feeling all that well right now..."

"Well, can I come in there, then?"

Scootaloo kept her back firmly pinned against the door. She glanced at a nearby mirror while keeping herself firmly backed into the entrance and repelled in disgust at her reflection: her mane was a mess, her face was streaked with dried trails her tears had left behind, and her eyes were still pink and puffy; there was no way in Tartarus she was about to let him see her like this. She quickly scanned the room for inspiration in order to fabricate an excuse. Her eyes locked in on the CMC banner that proudly hung across the ceiling on the other side of the clubhouse. "I'd like to let you in, but this is the Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse... You have to be a blank flank to be let in."

"I am a blank flank..."

Scootaloo cursed under her breath as she searched for another excuse. "No... Uh... No boys aloud!"

"That's not fair!"

"Yeah, well, you better get use to it, kiddo. The world isn't a fair place." She wished she hadn't said that. It only served to remind her of how true her statement was as she looked back at the useless appendages that protruded from her back. Several moments of silence passed before the filly curiously opened the door to check if the colt was still there. Just as she had opened it to barely a crack, the door was suddenly forced open as Rumble slammed himself into it at ramming speed, sending a surprised Scootaloo sliding across the floor on her back.

She looked up at him hovering over her, then quickly hid her face. "You jerk!"

"You're the jerk!" Rumble spat. "You're a sexist jerk! No boys aloud my butt!"

"No, you!" Scootaloo countered weakly, her face still hidden away by her forelegs. "You just resort to force when somepony doesn't let you have your way?"

"I thought you wanted me to come in!"

"Why? I said you couldn't come in! As in 'do not enter! Keep out! No trespassing! No entrada!'"

Rumble shrugged. "My big brother told me once that when girls say no, they actually mean yes."

Scootaloo sneered in disgust. "That's not true, and your brother sounds like a misogynistic pig!"

Rumble looked surprised by this stunning revelation. His brother always seemed like a fountain of knowledge as he was the one that taught the little colt everything he knew. "So... That's not true?"

"No, it's not!"

"Oh, okay... Well, I'm in here. We might as well hang out."

"No!"

Rumble brought his wings to his sides and landed softly on the ground. Tension grew even stronger within the young filly as she could hear his rhythmic hoof steps approaching her.

"Scootaloo, do you hate me, or something? You have always been really nice to me. I thought we were friends."

"I don't hate you," Scootaloo answered somberly before rolling to her belly and sitting up on her haunches. Rumble curiously watched her turn her back to him as if she was hiding something. "I don't hate you, Rumble. I'm just going through some things right now."

"Lame Wing?"

The orange filly sniffled before looking down in annoyance. "Braeburn made you come here, didn't he? He probably told you everything." She suddenly tensed her entire body when she felt Rumble's hoof brush gently against her back.

"No, he didn't. I can tell from looking at your wing's muscles. And it wasn't Braeburn who talked to me, it was Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"So you already know. I guess you'd find out eventually. Did you come here to laugh at me? Or are you just here to give me your sympathy. I'll bet you came here to try and convince me that I'm not useless."

Rumble shrugged indifferently. "I'm not here to do any of that. You're only as useless as you think you are. If you think you're useless, then you're probably right. Nobody knows you better than you, so who am I to disagree with your opinion of yourself?"

"I agree, Rumble. I'm useless. I'm a crippled Pegasus. What's a Pegasus without her wings? I'm more like an earth pony without the dense bones and thick muscles, I guess..." She looked at the the group of origami chickens on the ground next to the table. "I guess I'm more of a chicken than anything else. I'm a flightless bird that serves absolutely no reason other than to simply exist."

Rumble's eyes narrowed. "So, what then? You're just going to lay down and die? Do you know how pathetic and selfish you sound right now? Do you think Rainbow Dash thinks you're useless?"

"She's probably going to disown me; I don't blame her. It's not like she'll be able to lug me around wherever she goes. She can carry me right now, but do you really think she's going to want to do that when I'm older? Do you think I can be a Wonder Bolt if I have Rainbow Dash hanging on to me all the time?"

"I don't think you really want to be a Wonder Bolt," Rumble said with an irritated frown. "I think you just want to do it because Rainbow Dash wants to do it. I'll bet if she was, I don't know, a chess player, you'd try to do that instead, am I right? You're not only a chicken, you're a robot. An automaton. You don't want to be original, you just want to emulate. You're a robotic chicke—"

Scootaloo spun around and struck the colt in the face before he could finish his sentence, leaving a dark bruise on his cheek. Rumble turned his head to face her again.

"How dare you judge me!" Scootaloo barred her teeth as a new stream of tears streaked her face. "Don't talk to me like you think you know me!"

"I don't know you," Rumble replied calmly. "How could I? You don't even know yourself. You're too busy trying to be somepony else, and now that there's a roadblock in your way of that goal, you're incapable of getting over or around it."

"It's not about not being able to emulate Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo shouted.

"What is it, then?"

"It's about being a Pegasus! A Pegasus needs the sky, Rumble! I can't believe I have to tell you this! I'll never even be able to play one of our most basic games in the state I'm in..."

Rumble placed his hoof under his chin curiously. "What game is that?"

"Free falling," Scootaloo answered. "As easy as it seems, it looks really fun, but it's just another thing I'll never be able to do in my lifetime... Rumble, look, I don't care what you think of me, because it doesn't matter to me anymore. There was a time when I actually liked you, like, really liked you, but there's no point anymore. You've obviously come here to gawk at me, the miserable crippled Pegasus. Now that you've seen her,  you can leave. Maybe if I pray and wish really, really, really hard, Celestia will take pity on me and put me out of my misery so I can be spared the pain of being further ridiculed and ostracized."

"Okay," Rumble growled, "That's it. I tried this Braeburn's way, I'm taking this into my own hooves now. I've only heard you carry on like this for a few minutes and I'm already at my limit!"

Scootaloo looked up at Rumble who was now approaching her. She quickly got up on her four hooves and backed away. "You said Braeburn didn't tell you to come down here."

Rumble took an aggressive-looking crouched stance as his wings shot out. "I lied!" He then charged toward her, took her in his forelimbs, and smashed through the roof.

"What are you doing?! Rumble, I can't fly!" The panicked filly looked down at the shrinking world below her with terrified, tear-stricken eyes."

"You wanna go free falling? You wanna die? I'll grant you both of those wishes right now! Life played you a bad card, I'll give you that, but I am so sick of you whining about how useless you are, and how you wish you could just die! You're cooler than all of this, dammit!"

The irate colt carried her as high up as he could go. Scootaloo kept screaming in protest, but Rumble kept climbing until the oxygen became almost too thin to breathe, until they could see the curvature of the planet off in the distance. The air became so cold that white lines of frigid air trailed at the tips of Rumble's wings as he tore his way through the sky's zenith. He finally stopped climbing, and evened himself in the air at a hover. He looked down and smiled at the filly in his legs who now seemed too scared, or most likely out of breath, to continue with her screaming. The only sound she made was the chattering of her teeth. Whether it was from the cold or from fear, Rumble couldn't guess.

"Please, don't drop me..." Scootaloo whimpered as her body tremored uncontrollably.

The terrified filly could feel his legs loosening around her. "But I thought you wanted to die," he said before releasing her completely. She kicked and her body flipped and flailed uncontrollably as she plummeted in terminal velocity toward the ground far below, but Rumble quickly caught up with her. Rumble, having far more experience with free fall than her, was able to twist through the air by making motions with his legs like a rudder on a zeppelin. He twisted himself around and situated him self behind Scootaloo, and then coupled his front legs around her.

"Rumble!" She screamed as loud as she could over the howling wind. "What ever point you're trying to make, you've made it. Don't let me fall!"

"But falling is the fun part! It's the ground you have to worry about! It's kind of like life, you know? You live until one day you just stop living. No one knows when their day or time will come, but it will, and that is the only thing we can really be certain about. It's kinda like when you fall. You fall, and fall, and fall, and fall, until, eventually, you hit the ground. You might as well enjoy the fall, right?"

"I get it! 'enjoy life,' yeah, that's all well and good, but how can I enjoy life when all I have are broken dreams?!"

Rumble spread his wings, causing them to fall at a slower pace. "I'm going to tell you something. So you'd better listen to me. I'm not trying to compare my sob story to yours, I just want you to know this: My dad died before I was born, and my mom died from complications soon after having me, which left Thunderlane as the reluctant parent. My big brother had dreams, but he was never able to realize them. He dropped out of school and had to work a full time job and a part time job to support us both. You wanna know what the funny thing is? This is the kicker: he never complained, not even once. Through the act of simply being born, I destroyed my brother's hopes and dreams. Everything he was going to do with his life was flushed down the toilet. He could have put me up for adoption, but he said 'No, he's my brother. I'll take care of him' and he brought me home from the hospital. He was seventeen when that happened, and it's been about nine years since that day. He'd be all done with college by now if it hadn't been for me. I have asked him on several different occasions if he regrets the decision he made. And do you want to know what he said? 'No, because having a little brother like you is better than anything else I could have had. If I had the choice to go back in time and let the hospital take you away from me, I'd decline in a heart beat, even if that would mean having to raise you all over again.' Do you understand the moral of this story? Crap happens. Even if your dreams are destroyed by an insurmountable obstacle, life has a funny way of giving you something else of equal or greater value. You need not look any further than your own testimony for evidence of that. You were an orphan, weren't you? Look at what you have now though. You have Rainbow Dash to look after you. And I don't want to hear crap about how she's supposedly trying to get rid of you. You also have Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom for friends. I would say those three more than make up for having a lack of parents."

Rumble's words struck their intended target. Even as they plummeted it was as if Scootaloo had forgotten all about the premise of falling to her death while her mined mulled over the information that was just given to her. It took a moment, but when she had digested everything Rumble had said, it felt like she was opening her eyes after a long sleep.

"Y-you're right... About everything...You're actually right. I-I can't believe how much sense you just made!"

"What?" Rumble yelled over the wind.

"I said, you're righ—"

Rumble released his grip so he could turn her around to better hear her. Once he had her facing him, he locked his legs around her again. They continued plummeting in that diving formation while he waited for her to speak again. However, the combination of the rate at which they were falling and the way Rumble was holding her made it extremely difficult for her to focus her thoughts. She took a deep breath before trying to articulate herself again.

"I said, you're right, about everything. I don't know what it was. Maybe I just needed the wind the clear my head, or maybe I needed to hear the right words from the right pony. It all just feels clear now. My blessings in life far outweigh my misfortunes..."

What was once a hard, disapproving gaze softened into relieved smile on the colt's face. He lowered his head forward and rested his forehead against hers, which caused her to turn a shade of red. "You actually get it, Scoots. I'm going to admit that you had me scared for a while... All that talk about wishing you didn't exist, and how everyone would just be better off without you. I'm sorry if I was a little harsh with you."

"It's okay. Your harsh words were the only ones that were getting my attention."

Before the two knew it, they were awkwardly staring into each other's eyes. They both looked away when it became apparent how intently their gazes were.

"S-so," Rumble said, attempting to ease the tension.

"Y-yeah?" Scootaloo responded, anxious clear the awkward feeling from the air.

"Are you ready to start living again?"

"I am. I'm still a little upset about my wings, but I think I can move on now."

"That's good news." Rumble flapped his wings, turning their rapid descent again into a steady climb.

"What are you doing now?"

Rumble gave her a wink. "You know how I said living is like falling? Well, you said you were ready to start living again, so that's what you're going to do." The rambunctious colt took her into the air and dropped her once more. This time, instead of holding onto her, he let her fall freely with him. Scootaloo flailed a bit, but Rumble sped up beside her to show her a proper falling formation. "Spread out all four of your legs and puff out your chest," he advised. She did exactly as he said and it caused her to stop flailing and spinning out of control; she was amazed by how well it worked. An excited smile began to crack at the corners of her mouth as she felt adrenaline coursing through her. "Now dive." Rumble tucked his forelimbs to his sides, and kept his hind legs straight. He was now falling ahead of her at a much greater speed. It took Scootalloo a moment to get her limbs the way he had his, but after a few difficult seconds of struggling against the force of the wind she was able to dive, and the velocity at which she fell increased dramatically. It took a massive amount of concentration to be able to breathe while falling through the air at that speed, but, once again, she mastered it. Her slight smile was now a thrilled, ecstatic grin. Even though the wind stung her eyes and chilled her to the bone, she could do nothing to keep from covering her mouth with her hooves and breaking into a wild giggle fit. The fear of having to live her life with her disability, just like the fear of falling had all dissipated into an intoxicating surge of adrenaline.

The pair eventually broke the layer of clouds, indicating that it was time to slow down. Rumble locked Scootaloo in his grip and their plummet slowed into a steady drift. He brought her gently to the ground, and even though he attempted to place her on her hooves, she instantly collapsed onto her back. Rumble watched her with an amused smile as she placed a hoof over her rapidly expanding and contracting chest. "Please... Please tell me we can do this again!"

"Yeah, we'll do it again. How about we get some grub first though?"

"I don't have any money."

Rumble rolled his eyes before approaching a nearby tree with a stone at it's base. The winged colt pushed the rock aside and retrieved a small bag. He weighed it in his hoof for a moment before he explained. "You know how I told you first that your friends asked me to come talk to you?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"Then I said I lied and revealed it was actually Braeburn who had me come see you?"

Scootaloo nodded again.

"Well, those were actually both true cases. Braeburn found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in town. All three of them found me and told me about what was going on with you. They didn't even have to ask me to come see you, the moment they said you were upset, I asked where you were so I could come talk to you. Braeburn gave me this bag of bits and told me if all else fails, I could at least take you somewhere for lunch. I'm not really sure what he was trying to hint at though. Everyone seems to know something I don't..."

"He did that?" Scootaloo asked. "But you didn't fail. I feel so much better... And then some."

"Yeah..." Rumble chortled with a sly smile. "But I'm hungry, so let's pretend I failed so we can have a miserable meal together."

Rumble approached Scootaloo and extended his hoof to help her up, but instead of letting him pull her up, she dragged him to the ground and latched onto him with the tightest grip she could manage. Rumble let out a yelp of surprise as she nearly squeezed the life out of him.

"Rumble."

"Yeah?"

"You're awesome."

The little colt could only laugh in response. "No, you're the awesome one. The way you do those tricks on that scooter of yours. There is nothing I could do in the air that looks nearly as cool as that."

"How about we just both be awesome, then?"

Rumble got to his hooves and helped the exuberant filly up. "That sounds good to me."