I just wanted to be like her. To live like her. Her fame, her ability, her personality. I admired that so much. To the point of a small obsession. I was envious. I could never do the things she did, not in a million years. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without her...
The evening sun shone down through the clouds of Ponyville. A long rainbow streaked through the sky like a comet, covering it’s light blue shade a number of brilliant hues. As always, Scootaloo stood firmly on the ground, watching the spectacle as she cheered her newfound sister on.
Scootaloo’s eyes were kept closely on Rainbow Dash. She watched as the rainbow obediently followed her as she flew through the air. Rainbow darted around in practically every direction, making the rainbow dance to her whim. The filly buzzed her wings, taking in the spectacle.
Suddenly Rainbow fell into a nose dive. Scootaloo held her breath for a moment, her eyes growing wide. Rainbow quickly turned herself up again and flew parallel to the ground just above Scootaloo, letting the brilliant rainbow streaks dissolve and glittered down as tiny sparkles in the air just above the fillies head.
“Whoa! Rainbow, you’re so awesome! You’ll win the Quadrennial Pegasis Aeronautics Competition for sure!” Scootaloo shouted in amazement, riding after Dash on her scooter.
“Hehe, well it’ll be pretty hard to compete with the rainboom, after all!” Rainbow responded with a shout as she looked back at the filly.
“Rainbow, watch out!” Scootaloo yelled in a flury.
Rainbow turned her head back around in a hurry. She came face to face with a large, gray cliff. Her heart sunk a bit at the gargantuan obstacle. She tried to turn around but was thrown off by her overwhelming speed.
She instead pulled her wings back, flapping them in a flurry of motion trying to move backwards, just before smacking into the cliff. Her head spun with stars as she fell to the ground with a big thump. Dust flew up into the air, covering bits of her body in a thin layer of dirt.
“Ugh…” Rainbow groaned.
“Rainbow, are you alright!?” Scootaloo called, riding her scooter across the grassy field.
Rainbow lay rather still, inching her hoof across her body to her head.
“Rainbow! You’ve had worse crashes than that, don’t die!” she yelled.
“Oh, be quiet, squirt. Something like that could never kill-” Rainbow paused to coughed. “Me!”
Scootaloo finally caught up with Rainbow, who was laying face up in a pile of dirt. She could see Rainbow had a few scrapes and a small bruise forming on the side of her head.
“I swear, you have to be more careful, Rainbow! What would you do if you broke something?! I can’t have you kickin’ the bucket when something as important as the QUAPAC is coming up!” she scolded her.
“Pfft, I’ll be fine. Crashes like that are no problem! I can handle it! Come on, the worst crash I ever had put me in the hospital for a pitiful two days. Nothing’s gonna happen.” Rainbow told Scootaloo, picking herself up.
Her legs wobbled a bit and her wings were a little ruffled. She padded her wings a bit with her hoof sending dust particles into the air.
“I don’t care! Any crash is too dangerous!” Scootaloo continued.
Rainbow stood strong again, and walked up to Scootaloo. “Fine, fine. I’ll be more careful! You should have more faith in your big sis, though, right? Hehe.” she chuckled, pulling Scootaloo under her wing.
“Rainbow, you’re the best sister ever. I just don’t wanna see you hurt, is all!” she replied, hugging her back.
“Yeah, yeah...” Rainbow said sarcastically. “I’m gonna win the QUAPAC, though. The Quadra Annual Pegasis Aeronautics Competition-”
“It’s Quadrennial, Rainbow.” Scootaloo corrected.
“Pfft, alright then, what’s the A stand for?” Rainbow inquired.
“How should I know? It’s just a stupid acronym.” Scootaloo spoke, releasing herself from Rainbows wing.
“Hehe, whatever. The point is it only happens every four years, and last time, I wasn’t skilled enough to make it into the roster. This time though,” she paused to look at the sky. “I’ve gotta make it count! It’s the next step toward my dreams. And you’ll be right there beside me to watch me live them. Right, Scoots?” she finished.
“O-of course I will! And when I find my dreams you’ll be there for me too, right?”
Rainbow rose a hoof to her chin.
“Hmm... I don’t know, squirt...” she teased.
“Rainbow!”
“I’m kidding, kidding! I’ll definitely be there, but first you gotta start lookin’ for something to work for!”
“That’s what the Cutie Mark Crusaders are for! We’ll definitely find our true talents!”
“Yeah, it’s totally not like you tell me that every day.” Rainbow laughed again. “Maybe you want my help getting your cutie mark instead?”
“No, Rainbow, you have to keep practicing for the QUAPAC!”
“Of course.” Rainbow spoke teasingly. “It’s getting a little late, the sun’s almost out of sight.”
Scootaloo looked out at the crimson sunset above the horizon. All she could think about was how vivid the colors looked. The brilliant fiery orange blending in with the cerulean blue above. She sighed and stood up. She picked her scooter up off the ground and stood it upright.
“I guess I’ll see you here again tomorrow, right?” she asked, securing her helmet straps. “It’s the weekend after all.”
“I don’t know, I was thinkin’ about practicing somewhere else. It’s a secret spot, though! Maybe some other time, alright?” Rainbow told her.
Scootaloo paused for a moment. She took another quick sigh before responding. “Y-yeah... I get it. Well then, see ya at the show! I know you’ll knock ‘em dead!” she exclaimed, pushing her wings against the air, setting herself off on the dirt path to Ponyville.
“Hehe, you better believe I will!” Rainbow called to her with a huge smile across her face.
---
As the night grew thick, Scootaloo drifted through the lamplit streets of Ponyville. She’d long since removed her helmet, hanging it by the straps on her handlebars and letting her purple mane flow in the wind. She’d been barely paying attention to what she was doing. She swerved around rocks that jutted out of the dirt path basically on autopilot.
“I wonder when Dad’s coming home...” she wondered aloud, leaning her chin against the handlebars of her scooter. “I really miss him... And ya know, he’d probably love to take me to see Rainbow at the QUAPAC. He always loved watching pegasi fly. That might be one of the reasons the old man married Mom, huh?”
She grew silent again, turning the corner onto her street. She quickly noticed the familiar buzz of the insects that roamed the woods along the back of her neighborhood. She moved along the street stopping at the third house from the end on the right hand side, just like always. She felt a knot in her stomach as she looked at her house. A sense of dread washed over her as she stepped into the yard, scooter in hand.
That house. She took another glance at it. That putrid green shade boarding the shingles was revolting and clashed with the pristine white texture that made up the rest of the home. There was a pretty barren garden that sat on a sort of pedestal boarding the front of the house. It cut off to the right to make way for the concrete steps that ran from the yard to the door.
Scootaloo was reluctant to even step onto the concrete let alone enter the house. She putzed around the lawn, walking in little circles a far distance away.
What do I do, Oh what do I do? Thoughts ran through her head of various situations that would play out if she’d entered but none of them were any good. She decided to leave the house alone for now.
Instead, she went up to the tree house that was built a long time ago by her father. It was made in one of the large trees that had grown inside her yard and was sort of jutting out from behind the house. You could still see it from the street, though. She could always count on this place to feel a sense of nostalgia whenever she entered it, even a touch of warmth and peace.
The neighborhood fillies were all so jealous of her for that tree house back then, too. She laughed, thinking about how inferior it was to the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ club house Apple Bloom fixed up. She wished she could just spend all her time there instead, but it wouldn’t feel right transforming the club room into an impromptu house. This place was what she had to work with.
The paint was chipped and the hatch that opened up from the bottom was completely rusted. The window had a web patterned cracked in it from a misguided baseball and the roof had a little hole in the left corner. She’d been meaning to fix it all up, but she just couldn’t gather the strength to go out and do it. There’s no way she’d ask her friends to help with it. She didn’t want them wandering into the house. Or worse, they might start asking odd questions.
Scootaloo quickly folded her scooter up and clung to the handlebars with her teeth as she climbed up the rope ladder that ended at the wooden hatch. When Scootaloo pushed on it, she could feel the hinges bending the wrong way again.
She grunted, clinging to the rope. Being ever so careful, she slid the hatch open and pulled herself up. Inside was a pile of hay she occasionally used for a bed in the corner opposite of the hole in the ceiling. It was stiff and hard to sleep on, but it would be too much work to get a real mattress up here. Or at least, that’s what she told herself.
A small, one-drawer night stand stood just next to the bed of hay. It was the one thing in the tree house that looked so nice it felt out of place. The one window the place had was pointing towards the street. Dull, orangish light could be seen streaking through the glass from the lamp across the street. It bathed the room in a very dim glow.
The wood flooring creaked loudly as Scootaloo threw her scooter next to her bed before plopping down, exhausted.
Suddenly, laughs and giggles could be heard faintly in the wind. It was unsettlingly familiar.
Could it be... her? Scootaloo thought, quickly pulling herself from the straw bed and pressing herself against the window.
“...I know, right...” a womanly voice spoke.
“It’s not...” another voice spoke loudly, but trailed out of hearing range.
“Oh, great... She has guests over like usual. Guess it was a good thing I came over to the tree house tonight.” Scootaloo said to herself, rolling her eyes.
She pulled the drawer out from the nightstand. Inside was a flier, sort of wrinkled but mostly intact.
“Well it might not be the QUAPAC, but it’s better than nothing! And I can use my scooter!” Scootaloo spoke quietly to herself with an excited tone, gripping the piece of paper.
I guess the school is good for something after all, huh? I do wonder why they didn’t print the name of the competition on the flier though… Ah, that doesn't matter
Scootaloo plopped down again onto the bed of hay. She felt the tingle of the brittle hay against her back as she sat face up, holding the flier firmly in front of her.
“I wonder how many other fillies will enter? I hope not too many… I can’t fly very well, so too much competition would be bad…” Scoots voice became quieter and slower. Her eyes began to droop. “Maybe I can get the girls to cheer me on? And Rainbow will surely cheer me on!” She set her hooves on her stomach pressing the flier against her fur and closed her eyes.
I hope I can get good enough to challenge Rainbow to a race… Hehe, I just need to be able to fly period, huh?Scootaloo thought, just before drifting off.
“...And here she is… The mare you’ve all been waiting for! Scootaloo!”
The cheers of ponies roared throughout. The tall, sterner looking Scootaloo clad in her wonderbolt uniform stepped up to the plate.
“Thank you! Thank you all! It’s great to be here! I just wanna say ‘thank you’ to all my good friends here tonight! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and most importantly Rainbow Dash. All of them were so kind to me, and it feels great to have you all here to cheer me on, too.” she spoke.
“But what about your family?” a voice asked.
“M-my family?”
“Isn’t your family important to you? What happened to them? Why don’t you ever talk about them, or even think about them?” voices called from the crowd
“I-I think about them! It’s just complicated!” Scootaloo began to panic.
“It’s not complicated, you just don’t like them. Isn’t that right? You despise them all.”
“N-no… Of course not! I love my family…” she said with a wavering voice.
“No you don’t!” The crowd grew restless.
“No! You’re wrong!” Scootaloo began to tear up.
“You don’t love your family! You hate them, don’t you!? You hate them all!” the crowd chanted.
“Y-you’re wrong… You’re wrong! Why are you picking on me… Why…?” Scootaloo cried. Tears streamed down her face as the words streamed themselves into her mind. Repeating over and over. The stares of the ponies pierced her soul. She ran away, the stage disappearing, fading into darkness. She ran into the void, the faces of the ponies following her, chanting.
“YOU DON'T LOVE THEM! YOU DON’T LOVE THEM!” They chanted, creeping up on her.
“Stop it! Just stop it, please! I’m begging you!” she yelled through her tears.
Suddenly she slammed into an invisible wall, sending her falling backwards. Falling down into the depths of the void.
“AHH!” Scootaloo yelped, quickly sitting up.
“Oh… It was just a dream…” she began to shake a bit.
Scootaloo stared out the window. The sun was just peeking over the the eastern hills.
M-maybe I should talk… No no no… I can’t bring them into it. I can’t! Scootaloo slapped herself with her hooves.
“What should I do now? It’s still pretty early…” She thought outloud. “I know!”
She got up out from the hay and grabbed her scooter. Quickly sliding the hatch open, Scootaloo slid down the rope to the ground.
I’ll just get in some practice. I gotta be ready for that competition just like Dash for her own! It might not be that important but everypony’sgotta start somewhere, right?
Scootaloo dashed off to the street with scooter in hoof. Right when she got to the road, the crack of a door opening was heard from her house.
“Scootaloo, what do you think you’re doing?!” a voice called in a stressed tone.
A chill went up Scootaloo’s spine as she set her scooter on the dirt road.
She’s up this early?! she thought beginning to weigh her options.What do I say?
“I-I’m going out… What does it look like?” She cringed.
A mare came out of the house and began to stomp towards the filly, her soft white coat shimmering in the light. Her scarlet red mane set gracefully by her chest alongside a small purple purse with a sash wrap around her neck.
“Listen here, young filly… I can’t have you riding around on that scooter! Do you know what the neighbors think of your little stunts?! I can’t have you ruining my image around town! It’s also incredibly dangerous.” she scolded.
“They don’t think anything of it! What do you have to be so fussy about?!” Scootaloo told her, taking a step onto the scooter.
“Yes they do! I know they do! That’s a mother's intuition at work.”
Oh don’t act like you’re my realmother… Scootaloo wanted to say.
“Now come inside, and get rid of that awful thing already! You know how I feel about you going off like this… You have chores that keep building up, and it’ll be hell if I’m going to do ‘em.”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth and just glared at her. She thought about how that mare likes to think she’s all high class, but when her stupid accent slips out she passes it off like nothing happened. She couldn’t stand how fake she was.
“Hey, don’t give me that look! Now do as I say!” She stood just to the side of her, a despicable look in her eye. Almost like she was ready to hit her upside the snout.
Scootaloo remained silent. Her grip on the handles tightened as she looked away from the mare and toward the street.
“Are you listening?! What’s wrong with you? I can’t let your stupid father think I’m letting you hurt yourself! Gimme that thing now!” she yelled, lunging for the scooter.
Scootaloo’s face tightened. She flapped her wings, propelling herself forward. The mare fumbled to the dirt, her purse flailing over her shoulder.
“Child, what is wrong with you?!” she yelled again, picking herself up.
Scootaloo had enough. She couldn’t stand to be in her presence any longer. Her face grew more furious by the second. She quickly turned her head and spoke.
“Don’t you talk about my dad that way! I hate you!” she screamed at her.
She took off in a flash down the road. She kept riding even as the echos of that witch screaming rang through her ears. She couldn’t look back. There was no way she’d let that mare do whatever she wanted.
She began to tear up, liquid barely breaking the surface of her eyes. She gasped and quickly whipped it away.
“Stop it! Get ahold of yourself, Scoots! You’re stronger than this, right? You’ve got work to do, right? S-stop being such a foal… This is no time for crying, we’ve got things to look forward to!” she declared, trying to cheer herself up.
I guess I’ll head over to Apple Bloom’s. She’s usually up pretty early. She could help prep for the practice! She’s pretty organized anyway. she mused.
Scootaloo grew silent again, riding off into the cold, early morning air. The sun was just showing itself in full. The world glowed a light morning blue as the gentle early morning breeze made the trees sway.
Scootaloo rode up on the dirt path that led up to the Apples’ farm. The feeling of wind through her mane and the sound of the plastic wheels crackling under the dirt road was unusually comforting today. She instantly forgot all about what happened back at the house as she grew closer to her friend’s house. All that mattered was the QUAPAC and her own little competition.
Scootaloo made her way up the dirt path to the Apple Farm. She screeched to a halt just in front of the barn.
Applejack opened up the barn doors wide, letting the breeze blow through. Strands of loose hay flew into the air before gently floating back down. Applejack pushed a wagon out the had a large tank attached to it. A contraption of sorts was also inside. It looked to be a metal half sphere covered in small holes, with a thick hose going from it to the tank.
“Oh hey, Applejack!” Scootaloo said as cheerful as ever.
Applejack peeked over the large device. “Oh, Scootaloo, Ah didn’t ‘spect ta see ya this early in the mornin’.” Applejack began. “If ya’lls lookin’ for Apple Bloom, she should be inside.”
“Alright! Say, whatcha got there?” Scootaloo asked on a whim.
“Oh, it’s just a sprinkler wagon. Ah use it to water all the trees here in the orchard. Usually Rainbow helps me by using a rain cloud, but she’s off practicing so Ah’m stuck doin’ it alone.” she explained.
“So, what, you sayin’ it would be better if she wasn’t practicing?” Scootaloo asked suspiciously.
“Hah, no way! She’d usually miss out on helping me anyway. She always sleeps in too late. ‘Sides, the race is only two weeks away and Ah wanna see ‘er win!” Applejack explained, pulling the cart away.
“Me too! I can’t wait to see her fly in the QUAPAC! It’s gonna be so awesome!”
“Haha yeah, she’s really tryin’ hard, ain’t she? Anyway, have fun with Apple Bloom! I gotta git ta work.”
“Kay!” Scootaloo said, running past her.
Scootaloo quickly opened the wooden door to see a bright yellow filly sitting at circular table eating cereal, milk dripping from her spoon back into the bowl. Her usually tidy red mane was still in shambles. Her eyes perked up as she noticed her friend walking on in.
“Apple Bloom! There you are!” Scootaloo said, approaching the table.
Apple Bloom quickly choked down her cereal and smiled back. “Oh, heya, Scoots! Whatcha doin’ ‘ere so early? She asked. “Ah know you usually like to sleep in.”
“Oh, well see, I’ve gotta practice just as hard as Rainbow Dash for this upcoming competition! You know, the one set up by the school? If I ever wanna be as cool as she is, I’ve gotta step up my game, ya know? So I’ve decided to practice my little flank off until then!” she told her.
“Ohhhh, I see. So then what you’re saying is ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders: Trainers’? I could see that working! Sweetie Belle might be able to help, too!” she said excitedly.
“Sounds like a plan, Apple Bloom! I’ll meetcha’ back over here with Sweetie Belle later. For now, I’m off to practice on the dirt roads.”
“Alright, Scoots. I’ve got some early morning chores to do anyway. See ya!” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo ran out, closing the door behind her.
Now, where should I go for practice? The field me and Dash were at yesterday was good, but not having a road is bad on the wheels… Oh, I’m too excited to think about stupid wheels! We’ll go there! Scootaloo thought.
She quickly hopped back on her scooter and strapped on her helmet. Little tufts of her purple mane stuck out from the holes. She gripped the handles firmly like always and flapped her wings fast, propelling her forward. She did a tight U-turn and darted down the slope back to Ponyville.
Scootaloo was in the familiar field, Rainbow would always practice in. She couldn’t help but imitate her as she rode around in the grass, trying to go as fast as her little wings would take her. Sweat started to fly off her face as she continued. She performed stunt after stunt, from twirling around to flips to a slow glide down from an aerial. She could feel herself growing stronger with each session.
Scootaloo jumped into the air one last time, taking off from a sloped rock. The movements and positioning of her body was memorized. She just needed to put it into practice. She twirled it around her body, flipping it from side to side. She landed on the ground, but quickly lost her balance and fell into the dirt.
She panted heavily as the sun beat down the heat. She curled up into a little ball, her scooter just beside her in the grass.
I’ll do it! I’ll get better than her! I can’t be holding her back any longer!Rainbow Dash… I will surpass you! That is my goal… And then we’ll practice together, like real sisters… she thought, staring back at the sky, squinting at the glare of the sun.
“Ah found ‘er, Sweetie Belle! She’s over here!” Apple Bloom called.
Scootaloo jumped at the sound, but quickly got to her hooves.
“Oh, hey guys! What’s up?” she asked.
“Don’t play dumb, Scoots! I thought you said you’d come get me later with Sweetie Belle! When ya didn’t come ‘round, Sweetie and I went ta look fer ya!” Applebloom said.
“We spent, like, an hour looking!” Sweetie Belle chimed in as she ran up to her friends.
“Sorry, I guess I kinda lost track of time. I’ve been workin’ up a sweat out here! I feel a little stronger, but I have a long way to go, I think!” Scootaloo explained.
“Hmm…” Sweetie Belle hummed, holding a hoof to her chin. “You know, I bet if it’s flying lessons you’re looking for, why don’t you just ask Rainbow?” Sweetie asked.
“You’d think she would have already taugh ya by now.” Applebloom said, a conserned look in her eye.
“Well, we haven’t had time! I guess… With the QUAPAC coming up and all she needs practice!” Scootaloo explained.
“Oh, so then I guess we’ll need some other way huh…” Applebloom spoke up.
“Well, what about Twilight? She might have some books on it! Maybe we can read about how to properly prepare a pegasus pony for flight?” Sweetie Belle asked, thinking out loud.
“Not a bad idea, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo began. So, wanna go see her now?”
“Sure!” Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said in unison.
The trio of ponies made their way back to Ponyville. They stood outside the large tree house that housed the recently-crowned princess and town bookworm, Twilight Sparkle. It was kind of a surprise to the Crusaders that someone so close to them would rise that high up in the royal hierarchy, but nothing’s really changed in the somewhat distant relationship the three had with her. A lot of the initial hype has died down now, as well, much to the delight of everypony involved.
Scootaloo decided to burst through the door, barging into the library. Sweetie and Apple Bloom stayed safely outside, staring in through the open door.
Spike jumped, nearly toppling over the ladder he stood on. Several books fell as a result, and slammed to the ground. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle piled through the door, just in time to cringe alongside Scootaloo at the disaster.
“Spike! What are you doing down there?” Twilight hollered from up the stairs.
“Sorry! But it looks like we got some visitors!” he called back.
“Sorry, Spike! I didn’t mean to startle you!” Scootaloo apologised, picking up several of the fallen books.
Spike quickly shelved the remaining books he held onto and climbed down the ladder to meet the fillies.
“It’s fine, but try not to do that again… I don’t want these books bursting into flame! Twilight would kill me…” he said.
“Why would I kill you, Spike?” Twilight asked, floating down on her wings.
Before spike could respond, Scootaloo quickly ran up to Twilight.
“Hey Twilight, do you have any books on flying? Like, how to get better and stuff?” she asked, a spark in her eyes.
“Woah woah, Scootaloo, what’s going on?” Twilight asked.
“Scootaloo here’s tryin’ to practice for our school’s… Uh...” Apple Bloom paused, trying to remember the name of the event.
“She’s totally gonna crash the track team’s meet up!” Sweetie Belle proclaimed.
Twilight paused, giving the three a worried look. Spike snuck away into the kitchen.
“So then… Um… What?” Twilight asked again, trying to piece together this mismatched information.
Scootaloo sighed briefly. “It’s not like that! It’s like… Open enrollment. And it’s not a track team meet up! It’s like a… I don’t know, I forgot to bring the flier with me! Just trust me, this competition is totally legit! I just need a few pointers ‘cus… Um, well I…” She paused, and looked away for a brief moment before looking back. “I-I can’t fly alright! And I need to learn how, and fast!” she finished, with a frustrated look in her eye.
“Uhuh… And you want me to teach you? Isn’t Rainbow better at that than me? I mean, I just started flying a little while ago.” she told them.
“No no no, Rainbow is busy with the QUAPAC! I can’t bother her about flying lessons right now!” Scootaloo told her.
“Well, what exactly are you looking for? I mean, I don’t think you’ll be able to increase your flying ability by a significant amount quickly. These things take time after all!”
“Well, what can you tell me? Like, how do I get stronger!? Is there like, a book here somewhere that’ll tell me?”
“Hey! I know, let’s look fer it!” Apple Bloom suggested, digging into the shelves of books.
“Good idea!” Sweetie Belle joined in.
The duo pulled mountains of books off the shelves while Scootaloo watched.
“Nope! Not this one!”
“Sweetie Belle, stop! You too, Apple Bloom! I just re-organized those!”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, Twi. We’ll fix it up good as new when we find it!” Apple Bloom told her, pulling more books from the shelf and skimming through the pages.
“Hey guys, you can’t have all the fun without me!” Scoots interjected.
The trio of little fillies demolished the library's shelves, sprawling books all over the floor.
“Girls! Come on, you’re making a mess!” Twilight told them, levitating discarded books back to their proper shelves.
“Hmm, ya think “Aeronauts of the 12th Pony Century” will have anything useful?” Sweetie Belle asked the group.
“Oh, let me see!” Scootaloo quickly snatched the book away and flipped through it.
“Nah, it was just some stupid models.” She tossed it back into the pile.
“Spike! What are you doing in the kitchen!? Get over here and help me!” Twilight called in a whisper, her voice hidden by the noisy fillies search.
Spike peeked his head around the arched doorway, pastry crumbs covering his upper lips.
“Well what do you expect me to do? I can’t fight off three crazy fillies!”
“J-just… Help clean up, I’ll take care of them for now…” Twilight told him.
“What do ya plan to do?” he asked.
“I’ll just keep ‘em occupied. You see what you can do about finding something that they want. A book about flying? Can you do that?” she asked with a pleading voice.
“Can do, ma'am!” he saluted her.
“Great!” She turned back around. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo! I’ll explain everything I know about flying upstairs! It’s good to have a primary source when dealing with this kind of thing!” she said.
“Really, Twilight? Thank you!” Scoots said, running to her side. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom quickly followed suit.
“Now, now, my little fillies, follow me upstairs! It’ll be less… cluttered.” She sighed.
The three fillies nodded in excitement, and followed the lavender mare up the stairs to her makeshift study.
It doubled as her bedroom as well, holding a soft purple bed and a window just to the right of it. A large desk covered with papers and scrolls sat in the back of the room along with a chair, both adjusted to the center.
She quickly set up three of the old bean bags she liked to lounge around on from time to time when she was little; levitating them from the closet and pressing them against the blank wall opposite the door.
“Here you go. Just sit down, and I’ll tell you some interesting facts about flying!” she spoke pedantically.
The three fillies sat down as they were told, laying on their stomachs with their limbs over the sides of the round furniture.
“So, then! Flying! What makes flying special? It lets you move about in the air at pretty much any rate and whenever you want. It’s incredibly useful for many reasons, but do any of you know why it works?” she asked, hoping to stall for time.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at Scootaloo, who sat just a bit further toward Twilight.
“W-what, don’t look at me! I don’t know how to fly remember?” she said sourly.
“Well, I guess that’s where we’ll start, then! Flying is a sort of magic!” Twilight began, laying down on the carpet.
“Magic? What? Ah thought it was, like, wind currents and pushing air and stuff.” Apple Bloom said.
“I just asked you what you thought it was… No matter, it’s best to clear up this little misunderstanding! See, we ponies don’t fly the same as something more mundane like a bird or an insect. We’re special in that we wouldn’t be able to fly without the use of magic! The small wing spans of your average pegasus pony would simply not be large enough to push enough air under one to propel one upward!” she began.
“Alright, so then what?” Scoots asked.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Flying is a lot like swimming, I find, but a lot more precise and a lot harder. You need some serious muscle in your wing joints and plenty of dexterity to move around as fast as say, a racer pony. What you’re basically doing when you fly is using the magic in the air as a sort of intangible surface to push off from. Imagine ice forming out of thin air and jumping from it just before it disappears. It’s a little more complicated than that, but it works.
“In short, you’re using your wings as a three dimensional extension of your legs, in that you move in all three dimensions rather than just North, South, East, West.”
“Woah, that sounds a lot harder than I thought! I can barely imagine it…” Sweetie Belle said.
“Sounds ta me it’s just like runnin’ but with a different parta yer body! I bet it’s easy as pie if ya get the hang of it!” Apple Bloom said.
“Well it's not easy for me! I can tell when I try to fly that I’m feeling something… but I can’t push off, I guess? What am I doin’ wrong?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, in various studies I’ve read, there are many reasons pegasi might experience the inability of controlled flight. Stress, tremors, weakness, emotional trauma, the works. In your case, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Sometimes, it’s a combination of all of them! Other times, it’s completely unknown why.”
Scootaloo stood up, a determined look in her eye. She stuck out her wings and flapped them, jumping into the air, trying to feel the push. Magic must be welling up inside her, she just needed to force it out and use it!
She floated in the air for a few seconds before plopping back down to the floor, exhausted.
“I could feel it! Almost. It was like a push, but not! Like… oh, I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Does it feel kinda like you’re floating in water? Like you’re kickin’ your little hooves but with your wings instead?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah! That’s it! I guess it’s kinda like swimming after all? Who knew?”
“So then, can you figure out why she can’t fly from that? It might be like swimming, but she’s still not moving!” Sweetie Belle pointed out.
“Hmm… I’d say it’s that she can’t focus her magical power to her wings. Perhaps something biological? A possible disability of the brain to harness magical energy? Seems unlikely but possible.” she thought out loud.
“A-a disability? Like, a forever thing? Twi, you’re not telling me I won’t ever be able to fly!” Scootaloo said angrily.
“No, no, even if it was a disability, many ponies can get over such a one as this. It’s not like someone chopped your wings off. You just gotta train yourself to use magic instead of it coming naturally to you. It’s either that, or find what else could be effecting your mental magic output. If you’re feeling stressed or weak or have some sort of subconscious malady, you could start by fixing those things. Stay calm, keep fit, and have fun! It builds strong chi and refreshes the soul!” Twilight rambled.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Twilight, with a flick of her horn, opened the door, letting her assistant in. He brought with him three rather thin books about flying.
“I did what you said, Twi! I got the books! There weren’t very many that deal with this subject though…” he scratched his head.
“It’s fine, Spike! Thank you very much!” Twilight said.
Scootaloo ran up to the dragon and snatched the books from his claws.
“This is perfect! I’ll totally be able to catch up to Rainbow now!” she said gleefully, clutching the books in her hooves.
Twilight gave her a pointed glare for a second, gesturing toward her assistant. Scootaloo giggled nervously.
“Y-yeah, thanks, Spike! It means alot to me!” she said, turning toward him.
“No problem, I’m here to help!” he said to her.
“Hey, Twilight, do you think you might be able to teach me how to use magic?” Sweetie Belle asked, sitting up in her bean bag chair.
“Well, maybe some other time, Sweetie, I’ve got work to get done. Being a princess is really tough, you know.” she explained. “If I get some free time, I’d be more than happy to later, though!”
“Alright! So Ah guess that’s it then, right? Scoot, did we get all the things we came for?”
“Oh yeah, we got everything for now. Twilight, do you mind if I come back here every once and awhile to talk about this a little more? Maybe you could be my coach or something? In between your princess work, of course.”
“Oh, of course, pop by any time. I can always spare a few minutes, but please… When you do, try not to make a mess out of my house, huh?” she giggled a little half heartedly.
“No promises! I’mma take off now, I got some serious practicing to do!”
Twilight waved the trio off as they ran down the stairs.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders: Personal Trainers! Yeah!” Sweetie Belle Blurted out, passing right through the door.
“Ah can’t wait ta see ya perform Scoots, Ah’m sure you’ll beat them all by a landslide!” Apple Bloom said, rushing in front of the group.
“Oh, you best believe it! I’m aiming high on this one! I know I can’t be a little foal and back out now. That old saying… uh, when the buff get going… something or other. The point is I’m gonna rock this!”
“Scootaloo, there you are!” a voice screamed in a fury.
Scootaloo could feel a sharp chill down her spine as she registered the voice. Her eyes grew tense and she blanked for just a moment. She reluctantly turned around to see her stepmother running up the road.