Scootaloo's Summerby Kasper COEIChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter One“Goodbye, kids! Have a great summer!” Filly after filly ran out of the front of the school, cheering various things that they’d do over the summer. Once the stampede, rainbow colored from the various ponies, had ceased, a trio of ponies walked out calmly. Their calm walk betrayed the excitement beaming in their eyes, however. “Oh boy! It’s summer! I can’t wait for all the fun stuff I’ll do over it!” Apple Bloom said, her voice nearly a yell. “I know! There’s so much stuff planned for me!” Sweetie bell replied. “So guys,” Scootaloo chimed in, running ahead of the other two and facing the, “I’ve been going around Ponyville to check out new areas, and I found all sorts of cool places we can go to find our special talents!” Without waiting for a reply, she pulled a rolled piece of paper out of her backpack and layed it down. She unrolled it, revealing a map of Ponyville which showed some buildings far more distinctly than others. “It turns out that up north of Twilight’s house there’s an ice cream shop, and further than that a skate—“ “Uhm, Scootaloo…” Sweetie Bell had cut her off. Sweetie Bell’s eyes were down, and she was shuffling the dirt with her hoof. “I… kinda… am going away for a lot of the summer. My sister’s taking me with her to tour part of Equestria on her big fashion show thing. I won’t be back until almost the summer’s end.” “Oh… well, when you get back, Apple Bloom and I will—“ “Actually, I’m gonna be leaving for the summer too. My sister and Big MacIntosh are taking me with them to visit the rest of the Apple family, and we’re all way over Equestria.” “So you’re both leaving? Then who’ll I have to hang out with?” “Well, isn’t your sister gonna take you with her somewhere?” Sweetie Bell asked. “Yeah, you were talking about how she had a surprise for you the other day!” Apple Blossom added. “Oh… yeah, my sister…” Scootaloo’s voice dropped in volume momentarily. “I uh, I totally forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me!” She then said, a happy tone. “No problem! That’s what friends are for! And besides, at the end of the summer, we can go to all those places!” Sweetie Bell said. She was about to continue, but from the distance, she heard her sister calling. “Sweetie Bell, oh Sweetie Bell, where are you? Come now, it is time for us to get home and get packing!” Rarity called. “Coming!” Sweetie Bell called back, and she quickly ran off to join her sister. “Bye, Sweetie Bell!” Apple Bloom called. It was only a moment later when her sister called as well, from the opposite direction. “Apple Bloom, c’mon! You silly filly, we better hurry up!” “Bye, Scootaloo! See you after summer! Have fun!” “Yeah, bye…” Scootaloo watched as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell both left for their sisters. She sighed to herself, staring down at the ground. She noticed a blue feather on the ground. As memories she’d rather repress began to surface in her mind, she slowly moved her gaze from the feather to her tail, and to somewhere just behind her. “I’ll be hanging out with my sister, alright…” She thought to herself. She stood and began her way towards the local bakery. She walked in solitude and in silence, her head hanging low and her feet almost dragging. To her left and her right, as she walked, various ponies engaged in merry conversation over various topics. She found this only further depressing, enforcing the fact that she hadn’t her friends with her to converse with. She walked onwards, until the bakery was just barely visible in view, and she then took a left, heading west. The silence and solitude continued for a while, and eventually she reached her destination. The soft dirt that had been under her hooves turned from brown to a more grey color, and she looked up to the place in front of her. It was a vast area with stone jutting from the ground here and there. The ground was covered in a mixture of the grayish dirt and grass as well. A tear formed in her eye, but she fought the others back. She then looked further up at the sign. It read, “Ponyville Memorial Park.” Scootaloo, still silent, walked into the cemetery and slowly made her way through the eerie place. She passed stone by stone on the ground, each holding a respective plaque for different ponies that had died either for noble cause, or unjustly in some form or way. She walked, first heading straight in, and then taking a slight right. It wasn’t long before she came to a fairly secluded part of the graveyard, and she looked over the scattered stones on the ground. In the center of the twelve sparse and spaced stones sat a fair-sized boulder with a large plaque on it. She walked to the center rock, and read over the plaque, although she had already memorized its words. “Here rests ponies who had given their lives in attempt to save those they valued more so than themselves, in acts of heroism and compassion. May their souls rest in peace and be proud of the deeds they had done.” Another tear escaped Scootaloo’s eye, but again, she fought to hold them in. She shook her head, and looked to the right of the stone. There, seven feet from her, was her destination. She took the final steps to it, and sat, and lay next to it. She rested her head on the flat stone, the sun-warmed plaque comforting her. She closed her eyes. It was then she couldn’t hold the tears anymore. It started out slow, like a leaking faucet; one tear after another slowly dripped down her face. Without transition, however, it quickly turned to a steady stream. Her body shook lightly, and she began to silently sob. Her ears lay limp and her tail was lifeless. It stayed like this for many long, drawn-out minutes. The minutes piled into ten, and then fifteen. For a long time, Scootaloo didn’t speak; there was no one to speak to. But eventually, once the water flow had slowed and Scootaloo could functionally think, words formed from her lips. “I miss you…” She started in a whisper. “I really do.” She continued. “And I miss Mom, and Dad…” Her voice slowly grew in volume until she regained a normal speaking voice. “But most of all, I miss you… I wish that you were here, still. I’m so lonely at times… My friends keep me company when I see them, but most of the time, I can’t see them. Especially this summer.” She paused, thinking, and then continued. “You, though… You were always there for me, no matter what, no matter where. I really miss you.” She opened her tear-filled eyes and blinked a few times to clear her vision. In front of her, she saw a dead flower boquet. “I’m sorry, I forgot to bring you new flowers…” She mumbled to herself. She pushed herself upright into a sitting position, and wiped the tears from her face with her arm. “I’ll bring some tomorrow, I promise.” She paused again, as if being responded to. A light breeze blew over the cemetery, causing a single leaf from a nearby tree to fall. “I can’t bring them today. I was gonna go an—“ “Yeeeaaahaha!” Scootaloo looked up in the air to where the voice came from. She saw Rainbow Dash in the distance flying towards the cemetery. “I can’t let anyone see me here!” Scootaloo thought to herself. “Especially not Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo quickly made a dart for the large rock and hid behind it, opposite of the way Rainbow Dash was coming from. Rainbow Dash was flying quickly overhead, and just as she came into view of Scootaloo, she stopped. Scootaloo held her breath. Rainbow Dash turned around, not seeming to notice Scootaloo. “Come on, Tank! Let’s go, we’re gonna be late! ...whoa, wait! We haven’t tried that setting yet!” Scootaloo could only see Rainbow Dash’s actions, and she seemed shocked. Suddenly, out from nowhere, Rainbow Dash’s pet turtle, Tank, whizzed by in the air at unbelievable speeds. The local tinker shop had created an attachable rotating blade for his shell, and with it came several speed settings, including the untested “Mach.” It seemed like Tank had decided to try it out. “If it’s a race you want, it’s a race you got!” Rainbow Dash yelled, She flapped her wings twice and then zipped off, at a speed equal to her pet’s. She zoomed off and noticeably grew in speed until she left sight. “..good, she didn’t notice me.” Scootaloo sighed relief. “I don’t want her to see me here… She’ll think I’m uncool.” Scootaloo added in her head. In reality, it wasn’t so much that Scootaloo was afraid to be thought of as uncool. It was more so that she didn’t want Rainbow Dash to dislike her. Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash like a sister… Like she did her own sister once before. In many ways, Rainbow Dash reminded Scootaloo of her sister and thus felt attatched to her. “I better get out of here before some pony sees me…” She added in her head. The previous sadness she had showed seemed to have disappeared; at least, she showed no signs of it outwardly. “Bye!” She said to her sister’s plaque. “Like I said, I’ll bring the flowers tomorrow!” She ran back to the front of the cemetery and left, quickly taking a right once she’d gone out. She ran through the town, towards the Apple Ranch owned by the Apple family. There was housed the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom didn’t know, but secretly, she’d taken up residency in it; it was far better than how she’d managed before their friendship and club was made. Chapter Two“…and that, my fellow ponies, concludes this week’s official Rainbow Dash Fan Club meeting!” Scootaloo stopped speaking briefly, and was immediately followed by tens of ponies sheering. Scootaloo waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. “And to end this meeting, would everypony please raise their right hoof and recite our Pledge to be Awesome?” Scootaloo paused again, and everypony stayed silent, raising their right hoof. They all stared at a rainbow-colored flag in the corner of the room. In unison, they all began to recite: “I pledge to be awesome, to set a new pace; I pledge to be loyal, and never disgrace; I pledge to think new, creative, not rash; I pledge to think cool, just like Rainbow Dash!” “Bye everypony! See you all next week!” From behind the stand that Scootaloo stood at, she watched as everypony made their way outside. The ponies all slowly shuffled in mass to the door, where they gunneled in until exiting single-file. Some ponies had conversations over just how fast rainbow Dash could go, and others were recalling some of the ‘awesome’ things that Rainbow Dash had done. It was a short while before all the ponies had left, leaving Scootaloo alone in the room. She sighed to herself, smiling, and took off the rainbow wig she wore, revealing her magenta mane. “That meeting went well.” Scootaloo said to herself. “We covered a lot of stuff.” She stared solemnly at the door, however, sad. “I wish Rainbow dash had made it, though. She was supposed to speak.” She made her way to the corner of the room, where a wooden Chest sat. She opened the trunk, revealing multiple costumes and wigs in it. Some of the costumes were from the Cutie Mark Crusader’s talent show audition, and some were from their attempts at finding their special talents. She placed the wig in the trunk and closed it. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. “Hey there, squirt!” Scootaloo immediately recognized the voice, and a large smile grew on her face. Her wings opened in surprise. She spun around to see her idol standing in the doorway. “Rainbow Dash!” She exclaimed. She ran the short distance to stand in front of Rainbow Dash. “Yep! In the flesh!” Rainbow Dash took a moment to pose, and Scootaloo stared while she did. “Hey, Skitterloo, s—“ “Scootaloo.” Scootaloo cut off and corrected Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo wasn’t at all offended by Rainbow Dash getting her name wrong. She was acknowledged by her! “Scootaloo, right. Anyway, Scoots, sorry I didn’t make it. The Wondebolts were talking to fans after the race, and I got to talk to them!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew wide as she remembered talking to her idols. She began describing her talk with them to Scootaloo, but Scootaloo had zoned out in happiness. Rainbow Dash had just called her a nickname! Scoots! She soon returned her attention to Rainbow Dash, to hear the last of her sentence. “…so to make it up, how’d you like to come flying with me for a while?” Scootaloo’s jaw dropped. Did she hear that right? “F-Flying? With you? Yes, yes, yes!” Scootaloo jumped up and down, and her wings were again out. She couldn’t help but show her joy! But suddenly, she stopped bouncing, and stared at her wings. Rainbow Dash didn’t know that she couldn’t quite fly yet. “B-But… Uhh…” “But what?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo sighed, as the truth had to come out sometime. She hoped for the best and that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t dislike her for this. She folded her wings and sat down, staring into Rainbow Dash’s crimson eyes. “U-Uhm, I…” She dropped her head as if in defeat. “I can’t actually fly yet.” She confessed. “You can’t?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo remained silent, and shook her head. “Well, you need somepony to teach you, then! And it just so happens that you’ve got the best flier in all of Ponyville right here!” Scootaloo looked up in surprise. “What? Are you saying… you’ll teach me?” “Yep! I’m gonna train you the same way that I was taught! C’mon, Scoots!’ Scootaloo jumped to her feet, and followed Rainbow Dash as she ran outside. Scootaloo was about to continue running after Rainbow Dash, but she had an idea. “Wait a minute, Rainbow Dash ‘ In an instant, she turned around and ran back towards the Cutie Mark Crusader’s club house. She ran around the tree it sat on, and retrieved her scooter from where in lay. She picked up the helmet and heard Rainbow Dash calling to her, “C’mon!” Scootaloo quickly slipped on the helmet, and hopped on her scooter. She began flapping her wings and then began moving. As she curved around the tree, Rainbow Dash laughed out, “Alright! Now you’re talking!” Scootaloo sped up her wing speed and sped off. In response, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew, following Scootaloo. “Hey Scoots, we’re heading to the fields north of Ponyville!” “Got it! Wanna race there?” “Race? Sure! But do you think you can keep up?” Scootaloo gripped the handles on her scooter tighter. “I can do my best!” Rainbow Dash grinned, and prepared to bullet forward. “Ready… Go!” Rainbow Dash surged her wings down and sped up, quickly leaving Scootaloo behind before she had time to react. Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash’s actions and surged her wings down, flapping them faster than before. She shot forward, and Rainbow Dash was no longer growing smaller in her view. Scootaloo was going just as fast as Rainbow Dash, although she knew her idol wasn’t going as fast as she could. Scootaloo didn’t care, though. She was speeding along with Rainbow Dash! Scootaloo watched the road ahead of her for things she might have to dodge. She saw none for many seconds. She closed her eyes, feeling her wings flapping… She was still at a fairly relaxed pace, only barely straining her wings. “Time to kick it up a notch!” She paused her wing beats for a moment, preparing to surge her wings. She shot forward, picking up her wing speed again. She leaned to her left, dodging a branch in the road and then leaned right to be in the center of the road again. She looked up and watched as Rianbow Dash grew closer and closer. Rainbow Dash looked back to make sure Scootaloo hadn’t been left too far behind. To her surprise, Scootaloo was slowly gaining on her! “Not bad, Scoots! I think it’s time we pick things up a bit!” Rainbow Dash surged her wings quickly, speeding up just enough to travel faster than Scootaloo .In return, Scootaloo surged her own wings once, and then twice. She could feel her wings straining to keep up the speed, but she continued onward. The road in front of her curved, and she followed it, leading into Ponyville. Scootaloo focused her vision directly ahead of her. She could see several ponies walking on the outskirts of Ponyville, and she knew that there would be many more in town. Going around Ponyville would be safer, but directly through town was fastest, and she was in a race after all. She glared up at Rainbow Dash for a moment, to see how far ahead she was. She hadn’t gotten too far… With a gulp, Scootaloo looked back at Ponyville and continued onward. Chapter Three“Watch out!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned left, narrowly avoiding the Cakes and their babies. As she bent around them and returned to her original path, she had to bend right to avoid Doctor Hooves. She looked up to the sky for less than a second, eyeing Rainbow Dash’s position. She was slowly getting farther and farther… But Scootaloo couldn’t speed up with all of the ponies about. “I’m gonna have to make up for lost time when I get out of Ponyville…” She thought to herself. She then doubted her own thought. “No, I can’t. The fields are right after the edge of town.” Pausing her thought, she curved around two elderly stallions outside of the retirement home. “I need to speed up now, or never!” With that, Scootaloo began flapping her wings faster, rather than surging them. She could feel the wind against her growing stronger as she grew faster, and she could feel her wings growing tired quickly, but she pushed on. She could impress Rainbow Dash by winning this race! Scootaloo began dodging more and more ponies as she grew closer to Ponyville’s marker. She passed carts upon cards, and ponies upon ponies. They all seemed like a blur as Scootaloo zipped by, and she nearly fell once or twice making emergency, dodging turns. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as there seemed to be a pause in the crowd of ponies. She closed her eyes momentarily, but upon opening them, found Fluttershy directly in her path. “Oh no!” In a spring-like motion, Scootaloo bent her legs then bolted up, lifting her scooter off of the ground. She launched herself over Fluttershy, narrowly avoiding the top of her mane. Scootaloo wanted to yell a ‘sorry’, but she was too preoccupied keeping balance from the heavy thud of the landing. She quickly was back in control. Looking forward, she didn’t see anypony within a good fifteen seconds. She took the time to look up for Rainbow Dash. With much surprise, she saw Rainbow Dash directly above her. She was keeping up with her idol! This gave Scootaloo new-found energy. The fatigue in her wings disappeared, and she pressed onward faster. She was confident she could make it through the next part of town with no problem. Scootaloo did, indeed, finished the next part of Ponyville with little trouble. It almost seemed as if she could tell what was going to happen, as she reacted to every incident the second it occurred. As Scootaloo left the more densely populated areas of Ponyville, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash still above her, despite Scootaloo having sped up slightly. Knowing it wasn’t long until the northern fields, Scootaloo decided to give it all she had; She surged her wings once, twice, three times… The surges began quickly stacking up. She soon reached twenty-one, and she stopped there. Her wings had a hard time keeping the speed she’d set, but she simply gritted her teeth and continued onward. She saw no sign of Rainbow Das when she looked up, and she smiled happily, looking back forward. The plains were in sight, and Scootaloo sped past the last buildings of Ponyville. Her scooter began to grow wobbly from both, her speed and the now-dirt road, but she continued on. She was almost there. Just a few more seconds, and she’d win! Suddenly, as if the floor gave out from under her, Scootaloo couldn’t feel her scooter under her anymore. A large root from a nearby shrub was surfaced, and it caused Scootaloo to flip. As Scootaloo tumbled on the ground, the world a big, spinning blur, she could only think of how disappointed Rainbow Dash would be. Scootaloo tumbled for many seconds, scraping her flank and leg, and she came to a halt at what she could see to be blue hooves. She knew they belonged to Rainbow Dash. When Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash’s face, expecting to see sadness, disappointment, disgust, or some other negative emotion, she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash surprised herself. It was a mixed look of surprise and being impressed. “Nice job, kid!” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo groaned as she lifted herself into a sitting position. “Sorry… I didn’t see that root, so that’s why I fell.” “No! I don’t mean nice job on the fall, Scoots.” “Then what do you mean?” “Nice job keeping up with me! Now, you didn’t exactly win, but you sure proved yourself. I watched you the entire time you were going, and your wings never stopped flapping once. You flapped them fast, too!” Scootaloo was very surprised to hear this praise. She was also very confused as to why she was being praised, and her face showed it. “Normally, when Pegasi fly, we flap for a little bit but then let ourselves rest on and ride the wind. We don’t use out wings constantly, normally… You, though, have to always use them of that scooter of yours! You have some crazy endurance… I’d say you’re only twenty percent shy of me, one of Equestria’s best fliers! “R-really?” Scootaloo’s face brightened up, and she beamed at hearing this. “Not kidding! But enough talk. Think you can handle some training after that race?” Despite the tiredness in Scootaloo’s wings, she knew it wasn’t that bad and that she could continue. She nodded excitedly. “Alright, then. Let me fly up to my house, and I’ll grab something real quick. Then we can start!” Chapter FourScootaloo stared up at the sky, waiting for Rainbow Dash to return. Her heart was racing because of the pure excitement she held in her body. She was going to train with Rainbow Dash! No, Scootaloo wasn’t training with Rainbow Dash… She wasn’t strong enough for that. More specifically, Rainbow Dash was training her! Scootaloo grinned wildly when she saw the familiar-looking Pegasus return from the clouds above. But then, her grin dulled slightly as she attempted to make out what Rainbow Dash was carrying. As Rainbow Dash grew closer, Scootaloo recognized the thing slung across her back as a bag. It looked like a duffel bag… But what could Rainbow Dash have brought down? As Rainbow Dash finished her decent and landed, Scootaloo stepped closer, curiously looking at the bag. Before Scootaloo could ask what was in it, however, Rainbow Dash unzipped the bag, revealing what appeared to be weights. “Uhh, Rainbow Dash? Are those weights?” “Yep! Like I said, Scoots, you have amazing endurance. But one of the reasons you can’t fly,” She paused, walking to Scootaloo. She pulled Scootaloo’s wing out, stretching it, and then flapped it a couple of times. She felt along the wing to Scootaloo’s back, and then pressed behind her shoulder. “Is because you don’t have much strength in your wings,” she finished. Scootaloo turned her head, looking ad her wing, and then at Rainbow Dash’s folded wing. She then noticed the difference in bulk… Rainbow Dash’s wing always seemed larger than Scootaloo’s, but Scootaloo passed it on as just the age and size difference. It wasn’t until now that Scootaloo realized part of this size difference was muscle. “So how am I going to strengthen my wing muscles?” “Easy!” Rainbow Dash replied. She dropped Scootaloo’s wing, which Scootaloo folded against her body again, and walked back to the duffel bag. She pulled out the weights, which read ‘ten’ on either side. She then placed them outside of her body on either side, and pulled out straps from the bag. She attached them to the weights first, and then to the lower-half of her wings. From there, she began rising and lowering her wings slowly, raising and lowering the weights. “You do wing-lifts to start off.” “Seems easy enough… But if you do ten pounds, then—“ “No, no, Scoots. I do much more than ten pounds. I got my old, light set so you could use them, however.” “Really?” “Yep! Now enough of a break.” Rainbow Dash quickly took the straps off of her own wings and held them towards Scootaloo. She smiled, almost too innocently. Scootaloo could detect the slightly off feeling of Rainbow Dash’s smile, but stepped forward without hesitation. She opened her wings, and allowed Rainbow dash to attach the bands to her wings. She let her wings droop as the straps were put on and tightened, and upon Rainbow Dash backing off, let her wings lift to feel the weight she had on. She was surprised to find them almost light. “I’m just lifting these up and down, right Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, skeptical. “Yep! You’re doing that twenty times to start off. But before you start,” Rainbow Dash paused, opening her wings. She spread all of her legs slightly, and bent them, lowering herself ever so slightly. She slowly lifted her wings up and down, keeping them perfectly level with the ground. As she continued her demonstration, she finished, “do you see how I’m doing this? This is how you need to do them. And if you do them wrong, you have to restart.” Scootaloo nodded excitedly. “Got it!” She spread her legs ever so slightly, copying Rainbow Dash to as close to perfect as she could muster, and then bent her legs. “Good. Now start.” Scootaloo began flapping her wings, fairly fast. Within three seconds, she’d been able to complete an entire eight lifts. She found this surprisingly easy. As soon as this thought had come across her mind, however, Rainbow Dash shook her head, interrupting. “No, no, no, Scoots. Stop that.” Scootaloo slowed her wings, and then let them rest, setting the weights on the ground. As Rainbow Dash remained quiet, eyeing Scootaloo, she understood that she had to figure out what flaws she had done. She thought for a moment, and then nearly jump with excitement. “Oh! Right! Gotta keep them level to the ground, right?” Rainbow Dash said nothing as Scootaloo adjusted her wings, staring at each one as she made them become parallel to the ground. When Scootaloo seemed satisfied, Rainbow Dash instructed her, “Again.” Scootaloo began flapping once again. This time, as the last, she’d reached eight flaps by the time Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Stop, Scootaloo. Try again.” Scootaloo looked at her wings, and noticed that they’d stayed parallel to the ground. She wondered what Rainbow Dash was being nitpicky about… As she looked down at the ground in thought, she noticed what was wrong. She’d stopped bending her legs! She let them bend slightly once more, and looked expectantly at Rainbow Dash. “Go ahead and start.” Scootaloo nodded, and taking a moment to check her posture, continued flapping. Her speed dropped, but only ever so slightly. She was still able to manage a complete seven lifts. “C’mon ,Scootaloo! Stop and think for a moment!” Scootaloo was slightly taken back by this. Just a moment ago, she was being praised by the blue Pegasus. She didn’t blame Rainbow Dash, however. Whatever she was doing wrong, this was the third time she’d done it. “I’m going to do this with you this time. I want you to copy me exactly.” Scootaloo nodded, studying Rainbow Dash very closely now. As Rainbow Dash returned to the lifting position, Scootaloo checked everything that might be wrong. Scootaloo studied Rainbow Dash’s tail position, which directions her hooves faced, how far apart her legs were, her wing position and angle they were held at. Scootaloo copied everything to a dime. When Scootaloo nodded to Rainbow Dash, showing that she felt ready for Rainbow Dash to begin, Rainbow Dash gave a small nod back. Rainbow Dash began lifting and raising her wings slowly. Her wings took a full second to rise to the peak of the exercise, and a full second to return down to the ground, which was the resting position. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she watched Rainbow Dash. She realized what she’d been doing wrong. She’d been going too fast! Way too fast! Scootaloo wanted to kick herself for not realizing this, but she understood herself. She’d been too excited at the idea that Rainbow Dash was training her. As thoughts rushed through her mind of how she could, and couldn’t, believe herself, she copied Rainbow Dash’s motions with her wings. Scootaloo let her wings rise and fall slowly, feeling the weight of the weights she’d been carrying. When she went quickly, she hadn’t felt any challenge to her wings’ motions, but now that she slowed down, she could feel the strain of her wing muscles. She could feel them getting exercise. Despite the adrenalin still pumping from the excitement of it all, Scootaloo quickly began feeling the pain of the exercise. As she neared her seventh, eighth, and ninth times rising and lifting, she felt as though her wings could tear off. She gritted her teeth and pressed on, however. She counted her twelfth lift. Her fifteenth. Her seventeenth. She was ready to let her wings drop to the floor by eighteen. Nineteen hit, and she wanted to cry out in joy. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash spoke. “Now Scootaloo, pause mid-lift.” Scootaloo obeyed without thinking. Her wings were only at half-rise of her final, twentieth lift. Her eyes widened as the burn in her wings slowly grew. She looked at Rainbow Dash with a questioning look. “Almost there, Scoots. You did forty seconds of lifting. Now hold it for twenty, make it a minute…” Scootaloo held her breath. She knew that twenty seconds wasn’t long, but it felt agonizing. It felt horrible. It ended. “Aaand, twenty. You’re not allowed to drop them until you finish that rise!” Scootaloo let her breath fly out, and she gasped in, trying to muster the final bits of strength in her wings. Slowly, painfully, they lifted. They went from half-rise to three fourths, where they froze for a moment. They dropped down again to half, and Scootaloo almost panicked. Scootaloo could only imagine what Rainbow Dash might do if she dropped her wings! Above all else, the most threatening thought was Rainbow Dash taking back her word to train her. She let this thought drive her, and her wings surged upwards, finishing the rise. Her wings dropped to the floor, where the weights bounced upon impact. She sat down, unsure on how to help her wings recuperate. At first, she couldn’t feel her wings anymore. And then the fatigue from the exercise kicked in. Despite how painful it was, it felt promising. It felt rewarding. “Good job, Scoots!” Rainbow Dash praised the little Pegasus. She walked forward, and lightly bumped Scootaloo’s shoulder with her hoof. “I didn’t think you’d actually make that!” Rainbow Dash added. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, a smile on her face, and she panted a laugh. “Neither… Did I…” She confessed. “Well,” Rainbow Dash began taking the weights off of Scootaloo’s wings for her, “I’d say that was a good start. There’s a couple other things I wanna get through today, though, before we call it quits.” Scootaloo was silent at this. How could she do more? Her wings felt like stone, and she could hardly move them. But she knew she had to. She wanted to. And so she would. Chapter FiveA lone, shadowed filly walked along silently down a dirt road. On either side of her, tall trees stood securely and silently. The leaves that covered the branches of the trees gave only slight rustles as they swayed at the will of the breeze. The moon would be shining in the sky, being partly covered only every-so-often by a stray cloud, were it not that this night held a new moon. The sky was scattered with stars like sprinkles on a cupcake; some spots were clusters, while others were sparse. The world under these twinkling beauties was faintly lit, as without the moon’s aid, they could provide only minimal light. Slowly, as the filly continued her way down the dirt road, it opened up to become a sort of clearing. Dead center this was a large tree, a wooden structure adorning its truck and branches. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, originally built by Apple Jack, and restored by the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. From the door to the clubhouse, a two-part staircase descended to the grassy ground. Half-way of the stairs, it turned at a ninety-degree angle to the side. Scootaloo wearily dragged herself up the stairs and into the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, and looked around inside for the candle she kept near the door. Despite it being pitch black and the dead of night, the gamboge-colored filly could see fairly well. She had been walking for a long while to the clubhouse, and her faded-purple eyes had adjusted fairly well. The white candle was on the floor, sitting next to a box of matches. With some effort, Scootaloo walked to the items and sat down, picking up the matches and pulling one out. She lit the match it against the rough part of the box, and with it, lit the candle. The clubhouse was quickly illuminated, the flickering of the candle creating inconsistence in the light. The posters hung on the walls could be seen, but not recognized, similarly to the other features of the clubhouse. Grabbing the candle holder with her mouth, she stood up and turned towards the chest in the corner. Scootaloo walked to and opened the wooden chest, reaching deep inside with her hooves. She pulled out a blanket and pillow from the bottom, setting them at her side and closing the chest. From the flickering light of the candle, the blanket could be made out to be rainbow-colored. The pillow was a plain white. It had no cover over it. Normally, Scootaloo would make an attempt to make her small set seem more comforting. Tonight, however, she didn’t bother. Her exhaustion made her want one thing, and that was sleep. She set the candle down beside the blanket and pillow, and crawled under the blanket, breathing a sigh of relief. She shuffled and fidgeted under the blanket, using her hooves to spread the blanket around her as best as she could with the little energy she had left. Eventually, deciding that it was good enough, she turned her head and blew out the candle. As darkness again took over the dimly lit room, Scootaloo let her body relax. She no longer held her wings against her body. She let them extend naturally out, relaxed. Her legs lay limply on the floor. Her head rested gratefully on the pillow. She let her mind clear of all thoughts. Quietly and slowly, time went on. Scootaloo lay awake, hoping to fall asleep soon and rest. She couldn’t, however, find herself able to. Many things were beginning to penetrate the empty mind she’d had. The eerie silence made her remember her childhood; the innocent day that started with silence, just as quiet as this night. Her mother and father were nowhere to be found, she remembered. When the thoughts of her sister began to emerge, she squinted her closed eyes. She shook her head, her mane dragging on the pillow. She unconsciously let out a soft groan, the memories bringing some form of pain to Scootaloo. Just as a tear began forming in her eye, she began regaining control of her mind. As her head cleared, she let it fall to the side in relief. The pool of saline that had formed in her eye slid down her cheek, and fell onto the pillow. She attempted a soft, subtle smile. Time went on again, but instead of being relieved and relaxed, her mind was now unsettled. She opened her eyes, and stared where her head faced; to the wall on her left. She stared at the blackened wall for only a moment before deciding that she wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon. With effort, working against her aching muscles, she used her arms to sit up. She threw the blanket off of her and stood up, walking to the door of the clubhouse. She opened the door, and stepped outside, staring up at the moon. She let her eyes trace the pattern of the waxing crescent. She sat down on the outside porch. Her mind was now buzzing with various thoughts; most of them painful memories. She decided to think about the one memory that wasn’t painful, to tire out her mind. Well, really, it wasn’t a memory, Scootaloo decided. She could still feel the pain and exhaustion from it, so it was still here. She began reliving the day: The morning, when she first got to school. The time she’d spent in school, unable to wait for summer. The excitement she’d had when the bell rang, and afterwards the disappointment when Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, told her they’d be gone. She skipped over the event at the cemetery… And then she remembered the fan club’s meeting and Rainbow Dash afterwards. Her confession, Rainbow Dash’s reaction, and the training she’d done. She fixed the last part to add “Brutal” before training. As she thought of the day as a whole, she realized just how big if a day it truly had been. It made her feel even more tired than she was… She was thankful. Hopefully this would make her fall asleep. She took her gaze away from the moon, and walked back inside the clubhouse, shutting the door behind her. Chapter Six“One, and two, and one, and two!” A rhythmic voice called out. It seemed to echo through the green pasture and engulf any other noise present, despite it being only just louder than ‘talking voice’. The pony making it was Rainbow Dash. Her red eyes moved up and down with the figure they were locked onto, watching every slightest movement it made. “Come on, Scootaloo! Don’t slow down now, you’ve got ten more!” Rainbow Dash seemed to cheer the words. She watched as Scootaloo, who was on the ground, arms folded and her wings keeping her up, nodded. Scootaloo was doing wing pushes, which were push-ups via wings rather than arms. There was a very concentrated look plastered over her face as she continued. “One, and two, and one, and two!” The blue pegasus continued the pattern. After a few moments longer of this chant, she smiled, saying, “Good! All done!” The gamboges filly let her arms out, pressing her hooves against the ground. She held herself up with her arms, and let her wings rest. She pulled them against her side. As she stood up and wiped small traces of sweat off of her forehead, she heard Rainbow Dash begin speaking again. Her ears twitched and were held up as she listened to her mentor. “Alright, Scootaloo. You just finished a consecutive thirty-five wing pushes.” Rainbow Dash began walking around Scootaloo in a circle, slowly, eyeing the young filly. “That’s way past what I thought we’d get you to in a week.” She continued, stopping for a moment behind Scootaloo. From this angle, Rainbow Dash could clearly see Scootaloo’s back. The blue Pegasus took a step toward Scootaloo, looking down at the wing muscles that had quickly developed on the filly. She seemed to nod in satisfaction. She took a step back, continuing to talk. “This is also way past what you need to be able to fly.” Scootaloo’s head shot around, staring at Rainbow Dash with hopeful eyes. Had she heard right? Fly? Way past what was needed? Before Scootaloo could ask, “Really?” Rainbow Dash had already answered with, “That’s right, you heard me.” Scootaloo couldn’t hide her joy; She immediately bounced up and down, cheering “Woohoo!” It didn’t last very long, however. As she noticed the blue Pegasus silently watching her, an indifferent expression on her face, the filly stopped. She stood still again, assuming Rainbow Dash had wanted her to. Without giving a nod of approval, or a shake of disappointment, Rainbow Dash continued her slow venture around Scootaloo—now started over because Scootaloo had turned and faced her. “You’ve got the endurance, and now the strength. We’ve got a decent breeze going, which will keep you in the air when you get there.” Scootaloo’s mind was buzzing with excitement. She became unfocused from Rainbow Dash for the prospect that she’d be flying soon. Her! Flying! She’d been dreaming of this for the longest time, especially considering all the other Pegasus colts and fillies she knew could fly—or at the very least, travel a short distance off the ground. It was her time to shine! Where would she fly first? Who would she tell first? It was all so exciting! “Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was suddenly next to Scootaloo’s face, her mouth near the filly’s ear. “You listening?” Scootaloo jumped, her mind being brought back from her imagination. She slowly and nervously shook her head. “N-n-no, s-sorry,” She began, stammering, “I-I was thinking about f-flying and spaced out.” Rainbow Dash smiled in understanding. She nodded her head. “No need to freak out,” she began explaining, her voice having a slight sound of sympathy. “I understand being excited. Heck, when I was told I’d finally be off the ground for the first time, I couldn’t pay attention to my coach, even when he had to bump me across the shoulder to pay attention! I ignored pretty much everything he said—or anyone said, for that matter, until I flew for the first time that day.” Now, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to get lost in thought. She had a look of wonder in her eye, as if she were re-living the day she’d first flown. “When he first told me, I was in total bliss. I was about ready to jump straight off the cloud he’d situated me on, knowing nothing about proper in-flight wing control, aerial balance and maneuvering, the ability to judge wind… Nothing. I just wanted to feel the wind under my wings, as I’d often done before by opening them on windy days… But I always had just stood on the clouds when I did it. But this time, I just wanted to feel the winds under my wings without the ground under my hooves.” Scootaloo’s wings slowly unfolded, and she looked back at them. She knew exactly what Rainbow Dash meant—she often would stand on windy days with her wings open, to hope to feel what it was like to fly. She wanted to know the feeling without ground underneath her. Rainbow Dash continued, “When he finally got my attention for the few seconds he had, he just showed me how to hold my wings when I jumped. Just so that I would hover—not fly and do loops, not make a sonic rainboom… Just hover and slowly float down. Start from square one. I think he realized he needed to satisfy me just a bit before he could get more proper instruction in. When I finally jumped…” She paused. Her own wings opened, and she flapped them softly. The dirt underneath her unsettled, and some dust was tossed about. It wasn’t a bother to her or Scootaloo, however. “It wasn’t at all like I imagined. It was a million times better… The feel of flying, soaring, of… Of defying gravity itself, letting nothing bind you. It’s not really easy to explain…” The rainbow-maned Pegasus let herself stare off for only a moment more, before looking down at Scootaloo. She could tell from the gamboge filly’s eyes that her storytelling hadn’t helped the restlessness in Scootaloo. “But enough talk! Let’s get those wings of yours to get you off the ground!” Scootaloo nodded excitedly. Her wings fidgeted at her sides, and she had a hard time controlling her excitement. She managed, however, using most of her concentration; what little she had left was left on Rainbow Dash. “Now then. You’ve watched plenty of other Pegasi fly, right? Or at least take off?” “Yeah, of course!” Scootaloo turned her head slightly. She obviously did! After all of those times she shared with Rainbow Dash through the ye—oh, yeah. Rainbow Dash didn’t know, she remembered. Scootaloo was following her secretly… But still, there were plenty of other Pegasus in Ponyville. It should be obvious she had. “But have you watched them closely?” “N-not closely, no.” Not except for you, Scootaloo added in her head. “Well then. Let me show you how you actually fly. You see,” Rainbow Dash opened her blue wings, extending them far out. She held them parallel to the ground. “you’ve always done this, because it helps you propel on your scooter.” She began, slowly for demonstration, lifting her wings up and down. They never strained to go further out, nor did they fold in—they stayed at a relaxed length out. “This creates a double-push, in a sense, which is great,” She stood up on her hind legs and began beating her wings faster. She couldn’t sit still while doing this, and began running on her hind legs because of it. “When you’re on the ground, at least.” She dropped to her front legs, again, and trotted back towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo had turned, and watched Rainbow Dash as she made a little way off. “And that won’t work in the sky, right?” Scootaloo asked the rhetorical question—of course it wouldn’t. Otherwise, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be bringing it up. “Exactly. Now, what you need to do is imagine…” Rainbow Dash looked up to the sky in thought. She was searching for a good analogy. “Imagine that you’re swimming.” She decided. The blue Pegasus flapped her wings, and quickly left the ground. She hovered only a few feet above the floor, however. She continued speaking to Scootaloo, while moving forward ever-so-slowly. “Lifting off and flying up is similar to doing a front-stroke.” She began using her arms in mid-air to mimic a swimmer. She extended forward, brought her hoof down until it was extended to her hip and past, and brought it up again. When she brought her hoof forward, however, she didn’t re-trace her steps backwards. She brought it up, right against her body, to simulate creating as little friction as possible. “When you push or propel yourself forward, you’re making a full stroke through. When you’re bringing your wing or arm back up, however, you fold it into your body to make sure there’s as little resistance as possible. It makes sure that you don’t just push yourself right back down.” Scootaloo nodded again. Despite her eagerness being a distraction, she listened to Rainbow Dash’s advice with fierce intensity. She watched as Rainbow Dash lowered herself to the ground again, and walk over to her. “The only difference with swimming and flying, however,” the larger Pegasus again opened her wings. She slowly closed them half-way, and brought them straight up, where she extended fully. She brought her wings down to the floor, where her feathers rested upon it, and then curled her wings back into her body—only halfway, still. She let them again raise to the sky. She repeated this process many times, letting Scootaloo make a note of each movement. And she did—Scootaloo paid attention to each muscle movement, the point when Rainbow Dash’s wings pulled in, and how close to a 90-degree upright her wings created upon finishing the revolution. Eventually, Scootaloo said with an air of confidence, “Alright, I think I’ve got it.” Rainbow Dash folded her wings against her body. “Go for it, kid. Show me the form, slowly.” Scootaloo quickly and skillfully replicated Rainbow Dash’s movements. It took only moments to satisfy the blue Pegasus. “Alright, then. I want you to face the wind,” Rainbow Dash paused so that the gamboge filly could do so. “And begin doing what I told you. But for real this time. Do it hard, do it strong… But don’t go super-blazingly fast, like how you do on your scooter.” Scootaloo could feel her heart pounding, and she almost felt dizzy. It was finally time! She was going to fly! After all this time, all this waiting, all this dreaming… She opened her wings. She took a deep breath. She lifted her wings, slowly, bracing herself to begin the pattern. Suddenly, a thought took over Scootaloo’s mind—what would she do when she got in the air? Rainbow Dash hadn’t told her! Should she try and fly forward, or go straight back to landing, or… It was too late to think these things, however. Her body had begun working against her, and she’d already begun flapping. They were soft flaps—not containing the strength needed to lift the filly. “Harder!” Rainbow Dash half-commanded, half-cheered. Scootaloo surged her wings, and suddenly, the floor was no longer beneath her. As the gamboge Pegasus lifted higher and higher off of the ground, she could feel, faintly, a stronger pull growing. She continued her climb, however. Despite her excitement and fear working together to force her eyes closed, she kept them up. She stared wide-eyed at the ground. Ten feet! Twenty! She had to be somewhere just over that, above the ground! And she was getting higher! She couldn’t stare at Rainbow Dash to look for a sign of joy—she could only watch her rise for a moment longer, before looking up and around at the world she was now entering. “Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash’s piercing voice jolted Scootaloo out of her thought, and the surprise caused Scootaloo to falter. Her left wing froze for a moment, and Scootaloo nearly fell out of the sky—due to some unknown luck, she regained balance. “Scootaloo, hold your wings out perfectly straight, like when you hold out weights and don’t move your wings!” “Perfectly straight, got it!” Scootaloo nearly panted the words. Flying was surprisingly tiring—despite Scootaloo not finding it a strong fatigue, she was definitely feeling slightly winded. From the top of her wing’s climb, she let them fall out to her sides, perfectly straight and perfectly still. She expected herself to falter some way, and so she waited. But nothing happened. More time, and still nothing happened. Scootaloo stared forward. She was hovering in mid-air! The breeze was holding her in place. Her smile grew wide—enough to make even Pinkie Pie gasp in astonishment. Suddenly, she heard Rainbow Dash’s voice again beside her. “Hey, Scoots! You’re flying!” “Y-Yeah…” Scootaloo nearly whispered her response. She expected herself to scream it out with joy—but she was caught in awe at the experience. She looked forward, staring at the open sky. She looked to her left, the side opposite Rainbow Dash. She stared towards the horizon for a few moments. And then she looked toward her right, at Rainbow Dash. A sincere smile was on the pegasus’ face. “How d’you like it, Scoots?” Scootaloo was quiet for a moment, before looking down at the ground underneath her. She was slowly growing closer to the floor. She thought of the feeling of absolute freedom leaving her, of the ground returning to under her hooves. “It’s… It’s unreal, it’s slightly scary, it’s exciting… I really, really love it!” “I thought so! Now, Scootaloo, flap more and get high, if you can! The sky’s the limit for right now! I’ll tell you how to get back down when we get up there!” Without warning, Rainbow Dash shot upwards. Scootaloo watched as Rainbow Dash flew straight-up with minimal effort, her entire body aiding in the climb. It was completely unlike the method that she’d told Scootaloo to fly—body fairly still, wings parallel to the floor, and appearing to basically stand in the air. Scootaloo suddenly had a determined look over her face. “If she can do it…” Scootaloo knew this would end badly. Almost all odds said so… But there’s that one, single shining hope. The one that Scootaloo would herself hope for. Scootaloo thrust her wings down, and attempted to climb vertically as Rainbow Dash had. She could feel herself slowly climbing. A single flap, a double flap, five, six… and suddenly, she could feel the wind against the back of her head. She was falling, and backwards. She plummeted the short fifteen feet she’d been from the ground back to it, landing with a thud. Just before landing, she flapped a single wing, throwing her right-side up. The jolt disoriented her, and her vision became blurry for a moment. By the time she’d closed her eyes, shook her head, and opened them, clearing her vision, she saw Rainbow Dash’s hooves in front of her. As Scootaloo looked up from where she lay, she saw Rainbow Dash peering over her. There was neither disappointment nor approval in her indifferent gaze. “Ambition will get you far, kid,” she began, as if sounding praiseful, “but as far as it might take you, it’ll send you straight back down to where you started if you go too far its path.” Scootaloo let out an audible groan, resting her head on the ground. She followed with a ‘huff’ of self-disappointment. “But enough philosophical moments, here. Get back up! You’re gonna get back in the air for a while longer, yet.” “You’re not… mad at me, for ignoring what you said? To just climb up?” “Of course not! Everypony takes a tumble like that for one reason or another, and everpony gets a little rebellious once or twice. But I’ll sure-as-hay be mad if you don’t pick yourself back up, and work until you’ve got this thing down!” Scootaloo quickly sat up, and stood up. “You got it!”
Chapter One“Goodbye, kids! Have a great summer!” Filly after filly ran out of the front of the school, cheering various things that they’d do over the summer. Once the stampede, rainbow colored from the various ponies, had ceased, a trio of ponies walked out calmly. Their calm walk betrayed the excitement beaming in their eyes, however. “Oh boy! It’s summer! I can’t wait for all the fun stuff I’ll do over it!” Apple Bloom said, her voice nearly a yell. “I know! There’s so much stuff planned for me!” Sweetie bell replied. “So guys,” Scootaloo chimed in, running ahead of the other two and facing the, “I’ve been going around Ponyville to check out new areas, and I found all sorts of cool places we can go to find our special talents!” Without waiting for a reply, she pulled a rolled piece of paper out of her backpack and layed it down. She unrolled it, revealing a map of Ponyville which showed some buildings far more distinctly than others. “It turns out that up north of Twilight’s house there’s an ice cream shop, and further than that a skate—“ “Uhm, Scootaloo…” Sweetie Bell had cut her off. Sweetie Bell’s eyes were down, and she was shuffling the dirt with her hoof. “I… kinda… am going away for a lot of the summer. My sister’s taking me with her to tour part of Equestria on her big fashion show thing. I won’t be back until almost the summer’s end.” “Oh… well, when you get back, Apple Bloom and I will—“ “Actually, I’m gonna be leaving for the summer too. My sister and Big MacIntosh are taking me with them to visit the rest of the Apple family, and we’re all way over Equestria.” “So you’re both leaving? Then who’ll I have to hang out with?” “Well, isn’t your sister gonna take you with her somewhere?” Sweetie Bell asked. “Yeah, you were talking about how she had a surprise for you the other day!” Apple Blossom added. “Oh… yeah, my sister…” Scootaloo’s voice dropped in volume momentarily. “I uh, I totally forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me!” She then said, a happy tone. “No problem! That’s what friends are for! And besides, at the end of the summer, we can go to all those places!” Sweetie Bell said. She was about to continue, but from the distance, she heard her sister calling. “Sweetie Bell, oh Sweetie Bell, where are you? Come now, it is time for us to get home and get packing!” Rarity called. “Coming!” Sweetie Bell called back, and she quickly ran off to join her sister. “Bye, Sweetie Bell!” Apple Bloom called. It was only a moment later when her sister called as well, from the opposite direction. “Apple Bloom, c’mon! You silly filly, we better hurry up!” “Bye, Scootaloo! See you after summer! Have fun!” “Yeah, bye…” Scootaloo watched as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell both left for their sisters. She sighed to herself, staring down at the ground. She noticed a blue feather on the ground. As memories she’d rather repress began to surface in her mind, she slowly moved her gaze from the feather to her tail, and to somewhere just behind her. “I’ll be hanging out with my sister, alright…” She thought to herself. She stood and began her way towards the local bakery. She walked in solitude and in silence, her head hanging low and her feet almost dragging. To her left and her right, as she walked, various ponies engaged in merry conversation over various topics. She found this only further depressing, enforcing the fact that she hadn’t her friends with her to converse with. She walked onwards, until the bakery was just barely visible in view, and she then took a left, heading west. The silence and solitude continued for a while, and eventually she reached her destination. The soft dirt that had been under her hooves turned from brown to a more grey color, and she looked up to the place in front of her. It was a vast area with stone jutting from the ground here and there. The ground was covered in a mixture of the grayish dirt and grass as well. A tear formed in her eye, but she fought the others back. She then looked further up at the sign. It read, “Ponyville Memorial Park.” Scootaloo, still silent, walked into the cemetery and slowly made her way through the eerie place. She passed stone by stone on the ground, each holding a respective plaque for different ponies that had died either for noble cause, or unjustly in some form or way. She walked, first heading straight in, and then taking a slight right. It wasn’t long before she came to a fairly secluded part of the graveyard, and she looked over the scattered stones on the ground. In the center of the twelve sparse and spaced stones sat a fair-sized boulder with a large plaque on it. She walked to the center rock, and read over the plaque, although she had already memorized its words. “Here rests ponies who had given their lives in attempt to save those they valued more so than themselves, in acts of heroism and compassion. May their souls rest in peace and be proud of the deeds they had done.” Another tear escaped Scootaloo’s eye, but again, she fought to hold them in. She shook her head, and looked to the right of the stone. There, seven feet from her, was her destination. She took the final steps to it, and sat, and lay next to it. She rested her head on the flat stone, the sun-warmed plaque comforting her. She closed her eyes. It was then she couldn’t hold the tears anymore. It started out slow, like a leaking faucet; one tear after another slowly dripped down her face. Without transition, however, it quickly turned to a steady stream. Her body shook lightly, and she began to silently sob. Her ears lay limp and her tail was lifeless. It stayed like this for many long, drawn-out minutes. The minutes piled into ten, and then fifteen. For a long time, Scootaloo didn’t speak; there was no one to speak to. But eventually, once the water flow had slowed and Scootaloo could functionally think, words formed from her lips. “I miss you…” She started in a whisper. “I really do.” She continued. “And I miss Mom, and Dad…” Her voice slowly grew in volume until she regained a normal speaking voice. “But most of all, I miss you… I wish that you were here, still. I’m so lonely at times… My friends keep me company when I see them, but most of the time, I can’t see them. Especially this summer.” She paused, thinking, and then continued. “You, though… You were always there for me, no matter what, no matter where. I really miss you.” She opened her tear-filled eyes and blinked a few times to clear her vision. In front of her, she saw a dead flower boquet. “I’m sorry, I forgot to bring you new flowers…” She mumbled to herself. She pushed herself upright into a sitting position, and wiped the tears from her face with her arm. “I’ll bring some tomorrow, I promise.” She paused again, as if being responded to. A light breeze blew over the cemetery, causing a single leaf from a nearby tree to fall. “I can’t bring them today. I was gonna go an—“ “Yeeeaaahaha!” Scootaloo looked up in the air to where the voice came from. She saw Rainbow Dash in the distance flying towards the cemetery. “I can’t let anyone see me here!” Scootaloo thought to herself. “Especially not Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo quickly made a dart for the large rock and hid behind it, opposite of the way Rainbow Dash was coming from. Rainbow Dash was flying quickly overhead, and just as she came into view of Scootaloo, she stopped. Scootaloo held her breath. Rainbow Dash turned around, not seeming to notice Scootaloo. “Come on, Tank! Let’s go, we’re gonna be late! ...whoa, wait! We haven’t tried that setting yet!” Scootaloo could only see Rainbow Dash’s actions, and she seemed shocked. Suddenly, out from nowhere, Rainbow Dash’s pet turtle, Tank, whizzed by in the air at unbelievable speeds. The local tinker shop had created an attachable rotating blade for his shell, and with it came several speed settings, including the untested “Mach.” It seemed like Tank had decided to try it out. “If it’s a race you want, it’s a race you got!” Rainbow Dash yelled, She flapped her wings twice and then zipped off, at a speed equal to her pet’s. She zoomed off and noticeably grew in speed until she left sight. “..good, she didn’t notice me.” Scootaloo sighed relief. “I don’t want her to see me here… She’ll think I’m uncool.” Scootaloo added in her head. In reality, it wasn’t so much that Scootaloo was afraid to be thought of as uncool. It was more so that she didn’t want Rainbow Dash to dislike her. Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash like a sister… Like she did her own sister once before. In many ways, Rainbow Dash reminded Scootaloo of her sister and thus felt attatched to her. “I better get out of here before some pony sees me…” She added in her head. The previous sadness she had showed seemed to have disappeared; at least, she showed no signs of it outwardly. “Bye!” She said to her sister’s plaque. “Like I said, I’ll bring the flowers tomorrow!” She ran back to the front of the cemetery and left, quickly taking a right once she’d gone out. She ran through the town, towards the Apple Ranch owned by the Apple family. There was housed the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom didn’t know, but secretly, she’d taken up residency in it; it was far better than how she’d managed before their friendship and club was made.
Chapter Two“…and that, my fellow ponies, concludes this week’s official Rainbow Dash Fan Club meeting!” Scootaloo stopped speaking briefly, and was immediately followed by tens of ponies sheering. Scootaloo waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. “And to end this meeting, would everypony please raise their right hoof and recite our Pledge to be Awesome?” Scootaloo paused again, and everypony stayed silent, raising their right hoof. They all stared at a rainbow-colored flag in the corner of the room. In unison, they all began to recite: “I pledge to be awesome, to set a new pace; I pledge to be loyal, and never disgrace; I pledge to think new, creative, not rash; I pledge to think cool, just like Rainbow Dash!” “Bye everypony! See you all next week!” From behind the stand that Scootaloo stood at, she watched as everypony made their way outside. The ponies all slowly shuffled in mass to the door, where they gunneled in until exiting single-file. Some ponies had conversations over just how fast rainbow Dash could go, and others were recalling some of the ‘awesome’ things that Rainbow Dash had done. It was a short while before all the ponies had left, leaving Scootaloo alone in the room. She sighed to herself, smiling, and took off the rainbow wig she wore, revealing her magenta mane. “That meeting went well.” Scootaloo said to herself. “We covered a lot of stuff.” She stared solemnly at the door, however, sad. “I wish Rainbow dash had made it, though. She was supposed to speak.” She made her way to the corner of the room, where a wooden Chest sat. She opened the trunk, revealing multiple costumes and wigs in it. Some of the costumes were from the Cutie Mark Crusader’s talent show audition, and some were from their attempts at finding their special talents. She placed the wig in the trunk and closed it. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. “Hey there, squirt!” Scootaloo immediately recognized the voice, and a large smile grew on her face. Her wings opened in surprise. She spun around to see her idol standing in the doorway. “Rainbow Dash!” She exclaimed. She ran the short distance to stand in front of Rainbow Dash. “Yep! In the flesh!” Rainbow Dash took a moment to pose, and Scootaloo stared while she did. “Hey, Skitterloo, s—“ “Scootaloo.” Scootaloo cut off and corrected Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo wasn’t at all offended by Rainbow Dash getting her name wrong. She was acknowledged by her! “Scootaloo, right. Anyway, Scoots, sorry I didn’t make it. The Wondebolts were talking to fans after the race, and I got to talk to them!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes grew wide as she remembered talking to her idols. She began describing her talk with them to Scootaloo, but Scootaloo had zoned out in happiness. Rainbow Dash had just called her a nickname! Scoots! She soon returned her attention to Rainbow Dash, to hear the last of her sentence. “…so to make it up, how’d you like to come flying with me for a while?” Scootaloo’s jaw dropped. Did she hear that right? “F-Flying? With you? Yes, yes, yes!” Scootaloo jumped up and down, and her wings were again out. She couldn’t help but show her joy! But suddenly, she stopped bouncing, and stared at her wings. Rainbow Dash didn’t know that she couldn’t quite fly yet. “B-But… Uhh…” “But what?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo sighed, as the truth had to come out sometime. She hoped for the best and that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t dislike her for this. She folded her wings and sat down, staring into Rainbow Dash’s crimson eyes. “U-Uhm, I…” She dropped her head as if in defeat. “I can’t actually fly yet.” She confessed. “You can’t?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo remained silent, and shook her head. “Well, you need somepony to teach you, then! And it just so happens that you’ve got the best flier in all of Ponyville right here!” Scootaloo looked up in surprise. “What? Are you saying… you’ll teach me?” “Yep! I’m gonna train you the same way that I was taught! C’mon, Scoots!’ Scootaloo jumped to her feet, and followed Rainbow Dash as she ran outside. Scootaloo was about to continue running after Rainbow Dash, but she had an idea. “Wait a minute, Rainbow Dash ‘ In an instant, she turned around and ran back towards the Cutie Mark Crusader’s club house. She ran around the tree it sat on, and retrieved her scooter from where in lay. She picked up the helmet and heard Rainbow Dash calling to her, “C’mon!” Scootaloo quickly slipped on the helmet, and hopped on her scooter. She began flapping her wings and then began moving. As she curved around the tree, Rainbow Dash laughed out, “Alright! Now you’re talking!” Scootaloo sped up her wing speed and sped off. In response, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew, following Scootaloo. “Hey Scoots, we’re heading to the fields north of Ponyville!” “Got it! Wanna race there?” “Race? Sure! But do you think you can keep up?” Scootaloo gripped the handles on her scooter tighter. “I can do my best!” Rainbow Dash grinned, and prepared to bullet forward. “Ready… Go!” Rainbow Dash surged her wings down and sped up, quickly leaving Scootaloo behind before she had time to react. Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash’s actions and surged her wings down, flapping them faster than before. She shot forward, and Rainbow Dash was no longer growing smaller in her view. Scootaloo was going just as fast as Rainbow Dash, although she knew her idol wasn’t going as fast as she could. Scootaloo didn’t care, though. She was speeding along with Rainbow Dash! Scootaloo watched the road ahead of her for things she might have to dodge. She saw none for many seconds. She closed her eyes, feeling her wings flapping… She was still at a fairly relaxed pace, only barely straining her wings. “Time to kick it up a notch!” She paused her wing beats for a moment, preparing to surge her wings. She shot forward, picking up her wing speed again. She leaned to her left, dodging a branch in the road and then leaned right to be in the center of the road again. She looked up and watched as Rianbow Dash grew closer and closer. Rainbow Dash looked back to make sure Scootaloo hadn’t been left too far behind. To her surprise, Scootaloo was slowly gaining on her! “Not bad, Scoots! I think it’s time we pick things up a bit!” Rainbow Dash surged her wings quickly, speeding up just enough to travel faster than Scootaloo .In return, Scootaloo surged her own wings once, and then twice. She could feel her wings straining to keep up the speed, but she continued onward. The road in front of her curved, and she followed it, leading into Ponyville. Scootaloo focused her vision directly ahead of her. She could see several ponies walking on the outskirts of Ponyville, and she knew that there would be many more in town. Going around Ponyville would be safer, but directly through town was fastest, and she was in a race after all. She glared up at Rainbow Dash for a moment, to see how far ahead she was. She hadn’t gotten too far… With a gulp, Scootaloo looked back at Ponyville and continued onward.
Chapter Three“Watch out!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned left, narrowly avoiding the Cakes and their babies. As she bent around them and returned to her original path, she had to bend right to avoid Doctor Hooves. She looked up to the sky for less than a second, eyeing Rainbow Dash’s position. She was slowly getting farther and farther… But Scootaloo couldn’t speed up with all of the ponies about. “I’m gonna have to make up for lost time when I get out of Ponyville…” She thought to herself. She then doubted her own thought. “No, I can’t. The fields are right after the edge of town.” Pausing her thought, she curved around two elderly stallions outside of the retirement home. “I need to speed up now, or never!” With that, Scootaloo began flapping her wings faster, rather than surging them. She could feel the wind against her growing stronger as she grew faster, and she could feel her wings growing tired quickly, but she pushed on. She could impress Rainbow Dash by winning this race! Scootaloo began dodging more and more ponies as she grew closer to Ponyville’s marker. She passed carts upon cards, and ponies upon ponies. They all seemed like a blur as Scootaloo zipped by, and she nearly fell once or twice making emergency, dodging turns. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as there seemed to be a pause in the crowd of ponies. She closed her eyes momentarily, but upon opening them, found Fluttershy directly in her path. “Oh no!” In a spring-like motion, Scootaloo bent her legs then bolted up, lifting her scooter off of the ground. She launched herself over Fluttershy, narrowly avoiding the top of her mane. Scootaloo wanted to yell a ‘sorry’, but she was too preoccupied keeping balance from the heavy thud of the landing. She quickly was back in control. Looking forward, she didn’t see anypony within a good fifteen seconds. She took the time to look up for Rainbow Dash. With much surprise, she saw Rainbow Dash directly above her. She was keeping up with her idol! This gave Scootaloo new-found energy. The fatigue in her wings disappeared, and she pressed onward faster. She was confident she could make it through the next part of town with no problem. Scootaloo did, indeed, finished the next part of Ponyville with little trouble. It almost seemed as if she could tell what was going to happen, as she reacted to every incident the second it occurred. As Scootaloo left the more densely populated areas of Ponyville, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash still above her, despite Scootaloo having sped up slightly. Knowing it wasn’t long until the northern fields, Scootaloo decided to give it all she had; She surged her wings once, twice, three times… The surges began quickly stacking up. She soon reached twenty-one, and she stopped there. Her wings had a hard time keeping the speed she’d set, but she simply gritted her teeth and continued onward. She saw no sign of Rainbow Das when she looked up, and she smiled happily, looking back forward. The plains were in sight, and Scootaloo sped past the last buildings of Ponyville. Her scooter began to grow wobbly from both, her speed and the now-dirt road, but she continued on. She was almost there. Just a few more seconds, and she’d win! Suddenly, as if the floor gave out from under her, Scootaloo couldn’t feel her scooter under her anymore. A large root from a nearby shrub was surfaced, and it caused Scootaloo to flip. As Scootaloo tumbled on the ground, the world a big, spinning blur, she could only think of how disappointed Rainbow Dash would be. Scootaloo tumbled for many seconds, scraping her flank and leg, and she came to a halt at what she could see to be blue hooves. She knew they belonged to Rainbow Dash. When Scootaloo looked up to Rainbow Dash’s face, expecting to see sadness, disappointment, disgust, or some other negative emotion, she was surprised to see Rainbow Dash surprised herself. It was a mixed look of surprise and being impressed. “Nice job, kid!” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo groaned as she lifted herself into a sitting position. “Sorry… I didn’t see that root, so that’s why I fell.” “No! I don’t mean nice job on the fall, Scoots.” “Then what do you mean?” “Nice job keeping up with me! Now, you didn’t exactly win, but you sure proved yourself. I watched you the entire time you were going, and your wings never stopped flapping once. You flapped them fast, too!” Scootaloo was very surprised to hear this praise. She was also very confused as to why she was being praised, and her face showed it. “Normally, when Pegasi fly, we flap for a little bit but then let ourselves rest on and ride the wind. We don’t use out wings constantly, normally… You, though, have to always use them of that scooter of yours! You have some crazy endurance… I’d say you’re only twenty percent shy of me, one of Equestria’s best fliers! “R-really?” Scootaloo’s face brightened up, and she beamed at hearing this. “Not kidding! But enough talk. Think you can handle some training after that race?” Despite the tiredness in Scootaloo’s wings, she knew it wasn’t that bad and that she could continue. She nodded excitedly. “Alright, then. Let me fly up to my house, and I’ll grab something real quick. Then we can start!”
Chapter FourScootaloo stared up at the sky, waiting for Rainbow Dash to return. Her heart was racing because of the pure excitement she held in her body. She was going to train with Rainbow Dash! No, Scootaloo wasn’t training with Rainbow Dash… She wasn’t strong enough for that. More specifically, Rainbow Dash was training her! Scootaloo grinned wildly when she saw the familiar-looking Pegasus return from the clouds above. But then, her grin dulled slightly as she attempted to make out what Rainbow Dash was carrying. As Rainbow Dash grew closer, Scootaloo recognized the thing slung across her back as a bag. It looked like a duffel bag… But what could Rainbow Dash have brought down? As Rainbow Dash finished her decent and landed, Scootaloo stepped closer, curiously looking at the bag. Before Scootaloo could ask what was in it, however, Rainbow Dash unzipped the bag, revealing what appeared to be weights. “Uhh, Rainbow Dash? Are those weights?” “Yep! Like I said, Scoots, you have amazing endurance. But one of the reasons you can’t fly,” She paused, walking to Scootaloo. She pulled Scootaloo’s wing out, stretching it, and then flapped it a couple of times. She felt along the wing to Scootaloo’s back, and then pressed behind her shoulder. “Is because you don’t have much strength in your wings,” she finished. Scootaloo turned her head, looking ad her wing, and then at Rainbow Dash’s folded wing. She then noticed the difference in bulk… Rainbow Dash’s wing always seemed larger than Scootaloo’s, but Scootaloo passed it on as just the age and size difference. It wasn’t until now that Scootaloo realized part of this size difference was muscle. “So how am I going to strengthen my wing muscles?” “Easy!” Rainbow Dash replied. She dropped Scootaloo’s wing, which Scootaloo folded against her body again, and walked back to the duffel bag. She pulled out the weights, which read ‘ten’ on either side. She then placed them outside of her body on either side, and pulled out straps from the bag. She attached them to the weights first, and then to the lower-half of her wings. From there, she began rising and lowering her wings slowly, raising and lowering the weights. “You do wing-lifts to start off.” “Seems easy enough… But if you do ten pounds, then—“ “No, no, Scoots. I do much more than ten pounds. I got my old, light set so you could use them, however.” “Really?” “Yep! Now enough of a break.” Rainbow Dash quickly took the straps off of her own wings and held them towards Scootaloo. She smiled, almost too innocently. Scootaloo could detect the slightly off feeling of Rainbow Dash’s smile, but stepped forward without hesitation. She opened her wings, and allowed Rainbow dash to attach the bands to her wings. She let her wings droop as the straps were put on and tightened, and upon Rainbow Dash backing off, let her wings lift to feel the weight she had on. She was surprised to find them almost light. “I’m just lifting these up and down, right Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, skeptical. “Yep! You’re doing that twenty times to start off. But before you start,” Rainbow Dash paused, opening her wings. She spread all of her legs slightly, and bent them, lowering herself ever so slightly. She slowly lifted her wings up and down, keeping them perfectly level with the ground. As she continued her demonstration, she finished, “do you see how I’m doing this? This is how you need to do them. And if you do them wrong, you have to restart.” Scootaloo nodded excitedly. “Got it!” She spread her legs ever so slightly, copying Rainbow Dash to as close to perfect as she could muster, and then bent her legs. “Good. Now start.” Scootaloo began flapping her wings, fairly fast. Within three seconds, she’d been able to complete an entire eight lifts. She found this surprisingly easy. As soon as this thought had come across her mind, however, Rainbow Dash shook her head, interrupting. “No, no, no, Scoots. Stop that.” Scootaloo slowed her wings, and then let them rest, setting the weights on the ground. As Rainbow Dash remained quiet, eyeing Scootaloo, she understood that she had to figure out what flaws she had done. She thought for a moment, and then nearly jump with excitement. “Oh! Right! Gotta keep them level to the ground, right?” Rainbow Dash said nothing as Scootaloo adjusted her wings, staring at each one as she made them become parallel to the ground. When Scootaloo seemed satisfied, Rainbow Dash instructed her, “Again.” Scootaloo began flapping once again. This time, as the last, she’d reached eight flaps by the time Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Stop, Scootaloo. Try again.” Scootaloo looked at her wings, and noticed that they’d stayed parallel to the ground. She wondered what Rainbow Dash was being nitpicky about… As she looked down at the ground in thought, she noticed what was wrong. She’d stopped bending her legs! She let them bend slightly once more, and looked expectantly at Rainbow Dash. “Go ahead and start.” Scootaloo nodded, and taking a moment to check her posture, continued flapping. Her speed dropped, but only ever so slightly. She was still able to manage a complete seven lifts. “C’mon ,Scootaloo! Stop and think for a moment!” Scootaloo was slightly taken back by this. Just a moment ago, she was being praised by the blue Pegasus. She didn’t blame Rainbow Dash, however. Whatever she was doing wrong, this was the third time she’d done it. “I’m going to do this with you this time. I want you to copy me exactly.” Scootaloo nodded, studying Rainbow Dash very closely now. As Rainbow Dash returned to the lifting position, Scootaloo checked everything that might be wrong. Scootaloo studied Rainbow Dash’s tail position, which directions her hooves faced, how far apart her legs were, her wing position and angle they were held at. Scootaloo copied everything to a dime. When Scootaloo nodded to Rainbow Dash, showing that she felt ready for Rainbow Dash to begin, Rainbow Dash gave a small nod back. Rainbow Dash began lifting and raising her wings slowly. Her wings took a full second to rise to the peak of the exercise, and a full second to return down to the ground, which was the resting position. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she watched Rainbow Dash. She realized what she’d been doing wrong. She’d been going too fast! Way too fast! Scootaloo wanted to kick herself for not realizing this, but she understood herself. She’d been too excited at the idea that Rainbow Dash was training her. As thoughts rushed through her mind of how she could, and couldn’t, believe herself, she copied Rainbow Dash’s motions with her wings. Scootaloo let her wings rise and fall slowly, feeling the weight of the weights she’d been carrying. When she went quickly, she hadn’t felt any challenge to her wings’ motions, but now that she slowed down, she could feel the strain of her wing muscles. She could feel them getting exercise. Despite the adrenalin still pumping from the excitement of it all, Scootaloo quickly began feeling the pain of the exercise. As she neared her seventh, eighth, and ninth times rising and lifting, she felt as though her wings could tear off. She gritted her teeth and pressed on, however. She counted her twelfth lift. Her fifteenth. Her seventeenth. She was ready to let her wings drop to the floor by eighteen. Nineteen hit, and she wanted to cry out in joy. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash spoke. “Now Scootaloo, pause mid-lift.” Scootaloo obeyed without thinking. Her wings were only at half-rise of her final, twentieth lift. Her eyes widened as the burn in her wings slowly grew. She looked at Rainbow Dash with a questioning look. “Almost there, Scoots. You did forty seconds of lifting. Now hold it for twenty, make it a minute…” Scootaloo held her breath. She knew that twenty seconds wasn’t long, but it felt agonizing. It felt horrible. It ended. “Aaand, twenty. You’re not allowed to drop them until you finish that rise!” Scootaloo let her breath fly out, and she gasped in, trying to muster the final bits of strength in her wings. Slowly, painfully, they lifted. They went from half-rise to three fourths, where they froze for a moment. They dropped down again to half, and Scootaloo almost panicked. Scootaloo could only imagine what Rainbow Dash might do if she dropped her wings! Above all else, the most threatening thought was Rainbow Dash taking back her word to train her. She let this thought drive her, and her wings surged upwards, finishing the rise. Her wings dropped to the floor, where the weights bounced upon impact. She sat down, unsure on how to help her wings recuperate. At first, she couldn’t feel her wings anymore. And then the fatigue from the exercise kicked in. Despite how painful it was, it felt promising. It felt rewarding. “Good job, Scoots!” Rainbow Dash praised the little Pegasus. She walked forward, and lightly bumped Scootaloo’s shoulder with her hoof. “I didn’t think you’d actually make that!” Rainbow Dash added. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, a smile on her face, and she panted a laugh. “Neither… Did I…” She confessed. “Well,” Rainbow Dash began taking the weights off of Scootaloo’s wings for her, “I’d say that was a good start. There’s a couple other things I wanna get through today, though, before we call it quits.” Scootaloo was silent at this. How could she do more? Her wings felt like stone, and she could hardly move them. But she knew she had to. She wanted to. And so she would.
Chapter FiveA lone, shadowed filly walked along silently down a dirt road. On either side of her, tall trees stood securely and silently. The leaves that covered the branches of the trees gave only slight rustles as they swayed at the will of the breeze. The moon would be shining in the sky, being partly covered only every-so-often by a stray cloud, were it not that this night held a new moon. The sky was scattered with stars like sprinkles on a cupcake; some spots were clusters, while others were sparse. The world under these twinkling beauties was faintly lit, as without the moon’s aid, they could provide only minimal light. Slowly, as the filly continued her way down the dirt road, it opened up to become a sort of clearing. Dead center this was a large tree, a wooden structure adorning its truck and branches. It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, originally built by Apple Jack, and restored by the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. From the door to the clubhouse, a two-part staircase descended to the grassy ground. Half-way of the stairs, it turned at a ninety-degree angle to the side. Scootaloo wearily dragged herself up the stairs and into the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, and looked around inside for the candle she kept near the door. Despite it being pitch black and the dead of night, the gamboge-colored filly could see fairly well. She had been walking for a long while to the clubhouse, and her faded-purple eyes had adjusted fairly well. The white candle was on the floor, sitting next to a box of matches. With some effort, Scootaloo walked to the items and sat down, picking up the matches and pulling one out. She lit the match it against the rough part of the box, and with it, lit the candle. The clubhouse was quickly illuminated, the flickering of the candle creating inconsistence in the light. The posters hung on the walls could be seen, but not recognized, similarly to the other features of the clubhouse. Grabbing the candle holder with her mouth, she stood up and turned towards the chest in the corner. Scootaloo walked to and opened the wooden chest, reaching deep inside with her hooves. She pulled out a blanket and pillow from the bottom, setting them at her side and closing the chest. From the flickering light of the candle, the blanket could be made out to be rainbow-colored. The pillow was a plain white. It had no cover over it. Normally, Scootaloo would make an attempt to make her small set seem more comforting. Tonight, however, she didn’t bother. Her exhaustion made her want one thing, and that was sleep. She set the candle down beside the blanket and pillow, and crawled under the blanket, breathing a sigh of relief. She shuffled and fidgeted under the blanket, using her hooves to spread the blanket around her as best as she could with the little energy she had left. Eventually, deciding that it was good enough, she turned her head and blew out the candle. As darkness again took over the dimly lit room, Scootaloo let her body relax. She no longer held her wings against her body. She let them extend naturally out, relaxed. Her legs lay limply on the floor. Her head rested gratefully on the pillow. She let her mind clear of all thoughts. Quietly and slowly, time went on. Scootaloo lay awake, hoping to fall asleep soon and rest. She couldn’t, however, find herself able to. Many things were beginning to penetrate the empty mind she’d had. The eerie silence made her remember her childhood; the innocent day that started with silence, just as quiet as this night. Her mother and father were nowhere to be found, she remembered. When the thoughts of her sister began to emerge, she squinted her closed eyes. She shook her head, her mane dragging on the pillow. She unconsciously let out a soft groan, the memories bringing some form of pain to Scootaloo. Just as a tear began forming in her eye, she began regaining control of her mind. As her head cleared, she let it fall to the side in relief. The pool of saline that had formed in her eye slid down her cheek, and fell onto the pillow. She attempted a soft, subtle smile. Time went on again, but instead of being relieved and relaxed, her mind was now unsettled. She opened her eyes, and stared where her head faced; to the wall on her left. She stared at the blackened wall for only a moment before deciding that she wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon. With effort, working against her aching muscles, she used her arms to sit up. She threw the blanket off of her and stood up, walking to the door of the clubhouse. She opened the door, and stepped outside, staring up at the moon. She let her eyes trace the pattern of the waxing crescent. She sat down on the outside porch. Her mind was now buzzing with various thoughts; most of them painful memories. She decided to think about the one memory that wasn’t painful, to tire out her mind. Well, really, it wasn’t a memory, Scootaloo decided. She could still feel the pain and exhaustion from it, so it was still here. She began reliving the day: The morning, when she first got to school. The time she’d spent in school, unable to wait for summer. The excitement she’d had when the bell rang, and afterwards the disappointment when Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, told her they’d be gone. She skipped over the event at the cemetery… And then she remembered the fan club’s meeting and Rainbow Dash afterwards. Her confession, Rainbow Dash’s reaction, and the training she’d done. She fixed the last part to add “Brutal” before training. As she thought of the day as a whole, she realized just how big if a day it truly had been. It made her feel even more tired than she was… She was thankful. Hopefully this would make her fall asleep. She took her gaze away from the moon, and walked back inside the clubhouse, shutting the door behind her.
Chapter Six“One, and two, and one, and two!” A rhythmic voice called out. It seemed to echo through the green pasture and engulf any other noise present, despite it being only just louder than ‘talking voice’. The pony making it was Rainbow Dash. Her red eyes moved up and down with the figure they were locked onto, watching every slightest movement it made. “Come on, Scootaloo! Don’t slow down now, you’ve got ten more!” Rainbow Dash seemed to cheer the words. She watched as Scootaloo, who was on the ground, arms folded and her wings keeping her up, nodded. Scootaloo was doing wing pushes, which were push-ups via wings rather than arms. There was a very concentrated look plastered over her face as she continued. “One, and two, and one, and two!” The blue pegasus continued the pattern. After a few moments longer of this chant, she smiled, saying, “Good! All done!” The gamboges filly let her arms out, pressing her hooves against the ground. She held herself up with her arms, and let her wings rest. She pulled them against her side. As she stood up and wiped small traces of sweat off of her forehead, she heard Rainbow Dash begin speaking again. Her ears twitched and were held up as she listened to her mentor. “Alright, Scootaloo. You just finished a consecutive thirty-five wing pushes.” Rainbow Dash began walking around Scootaloo in a circle, slowly, eyeing the young filly. “That’s way past what I thought we’d get you to in a week.” She continued, stopping for a moment behind Scootaloo. From this angle, Rainbow Dash could clearly see Scootaloo’s back. The blue Pegasus took a step toward Scootaloo, looking down at the wing muscles that had quickly developed on the filly. She seemed to nod in satisfaction. She took a step back, continuing to talk. “This is also way past what you need to be able to fly.” Scootaloo’s head shot around, staring at Rainbow Dash with hopeful eyes. Had she heard right? Fly? Way past what was needed? Before Scootaloo could ask, “Really?” Rainbow Dash had already answered with, “That’s right, you heard me.” Scootaloo couldn’t hide her joy; She immediately bounced up and down, cheering “Woohoo!” It didn’t last very long, however. As she noticed the blue Pegasus silently watching her, an indifferent expression on her face, the filly stopped. She stood still again, assuming Rainbow Dash had wanted her to. Without giving a nod of approval, or a shake of disappointment, Rainbow Dash continued her slow venture around Scootaloo—now started over because Scootaloo had turned and faced her. “You’ve got the endurance, and now the strength. We’ve got a decent breeze going, which will keep you in the air when you get there.” Scootaloo’s mind was buzzing with excitement. She became unfocused from Rainbow Dash for the prospect that she’d be flying soon. Her! Flying! She’d been dreaming of this for the longest time, especially considering all the other Pegasus colts and fillies she knew could fly—or at the very least, travel a short distance off the ground. It was her time to shine! Where would she fly first? Who would she tell first? It was all so exciting! “Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash’s voice was suddenly next to Scootaloo’s face, her mouth near the filly’s ear. “You listening?” Scootaloo jumped, her mind being brought back from her imagination. She slowly and nervously shook her head. “N-n-no, s-sorry,” She began, stammering, “I-I was thinking about f-flying and spaced out.” Rainbow Dash smiled in understanding. She nodded her head. “No need to freak out,” she began explaining, her voice having a slight sound of sympathy. “I understand being excited. Heck, when I was told I’d finally be off the ground for the first time, I couldn’t pay attention to my coach, even when he had to bump me across the shoulder to pay attention! I ignored pretty much everything he said—or anyone said, for that matter, until I flew for the first time that day.” Now, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to get lost in thought. She had a look of wonder in her eye, as if she were re-living the day she’d first flown. “When he first told me, I was in total bliss. I was about ready to jump straight off the cloud he’d situated me on, knowing nothing about proper in-flight wing control, aerial balance and maneuvering, the ability to judge wind… Nothing. I just wanted to feel the wind under my wings, as I’d often done before by opening them on windy days… But I always had just stood on the clouds when I did it. But this time, I just wanted to feel the winds under my wings without the ground under my hooves.” Scootaloo’s wings slowly unfolded, and she looked back at them. She knew exactly what Rainbow Dash meant—she often would stand on windy days with her wings open, to hope to feel what it was like to fly. She wanted to know the feeling without ground underneath her. Rainbow Dash continued, “When he finally got my attention for the few seconds he had, he just showed me how to hold my wings when I jumped. Just so that I would hover—not fly and do loops, not make a sonic rainboom… Just hover and slowly float down. Start from square one. I think he realized he needed to satisfy me just a bit before he could get more proper instruction in. When I finally jumped…” She paused. Her own wings opened, and she flapped them softly. The dirt underneath her unsettled, and some dust was tossed about. It wasn’t a bother to her or Scootaloo, however. “It wasn’t at all like I imagined. It was a million times better… The feel of flying, soaring, of… Of defying gravity itself, letting nothing bind you. It’s not really easy to explain…” The rainbow-maned Pegasus let herself stare off for only a moment more, before looking down at Scootaloo. She could tell from the gamboge filly’s eyes that her storytelling hadn’t helped the restlessness in Scootaloo. “But enough talk! Let’s get those wings of yours to get you off the ground!” Scootaloo nodded excitedly. Her wings fidgeted at her sides, and she had a hard time controlling her excitement. She managed, however, using most of her concentration; what little she had left was left on Rainbow Dash. “Now then. You’ve watched plenty of other Pegasi fly, right? Or at least take off?” “Yeah, of course!” Scootaloo turned her head slightly. She obviously did! After all of those times she shared with Rainbow Dash through the ye—oh, yeah. Rainbow Dash didn’t know, she remembered. Scootaloo was following her secretly… But still, there were plenty of other Pegasus in Ponyville. It should be obvious she had. “But have you watched them closely?” “N-not closely, no.” Not except for you, Scootaloo added in her head. “Well then. Let me show you how you actually fly. You see,” Rainbow Dash opened her blue wings, extending them far out. She held them parallel to the ground. “you’ve always done this, because it helps you propel on your scooter.” She began, slowly for demonstration, lifting her wings up and down. They never strained to go further out, nor did they fold in—they stayed at a relaxed length out. “This creates a double-push, in a sense, which is great,” She stood up on her hind legs and began beating her wings faster. She couldn’t sit still while doing this, and began running on her hind legs because of it. “When you’re on the ground, at least.” She dropped to her front legs, again, and trotted back towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo had turned, and watched Rainbow Dash as she made a little way off. “And that won’t work in the sky, right?” Scootaloo asked the rhetorical question—of course it wouldn’t. Otherwise, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be bringing it up. “Exactly. Now, what you need to do is imagine…” Rainbow Dash looked up to the sky in thought. She was searching for a good analogy. “Imagine that you’re swimming.” She decided. The blue Pegasus flapped her wings, and quickly left the ground. She hovered only a few feet above the floor, however. She continued speaking to Scootaloo, while moving forward ever-so-slowly. “Lifting off and flying up is similar to doing a front-stroke.” She began using her arms in mid-air to mimic a swimmer. She extended forward, brought her hoof down until it was extended to her hip and past, and brought it up again. When she brought her hoof forward, however, she didn’t re-trace her steps backwards. She brought it up, right against her body, to simulate creating as little friction as possible. “When you push or propel yourself forward, you’re making a full stroke through. When you’re bringing your wing or arm back up, however, you fold it into your body to make sure there’s as little resistance as possible. It makes sure that you don’t just push yourself right back down.” Scootaloo nodded again. Despite her eagerness being a distraction, she listened to Rainbow Dash’s advice with fierce intensity. She watched as Rainbow Dash lowered herself to the ground again, and walk over to her. “The only difference with swimming and flying, however,” the larger Pegasus again opened her wings. She slowly closed them half-way, and brought them straight up, where she extended fully. She brought her wings down to the floor, where her feathers rested upon it, and then curled her wings back into her body—only halfway, still. She let them again raise to the sky. She repeated this process many times, letting Scootaloo make a note of each movement. And she did—Scootaloo paid attention to each muscle movement, the point when Rainbow Dash’s wings pulled in, and how close to a 90-degree upright her wings created upon finishing the revolution. Eventually, Scootaloo said with an air of confidence, “Alright, I think I’ve got it.” Rainbow Dash folded her wings against her body. “Go for it, kid. Show me the form, slowly.” Scootaloo quickly and skillfully replicated Rainbow Dash’s movements. It took only moments to satisfy the blue Pegasus. “Alright, then. I want you to face the wind,” Rainbow Dash paused so that the gamboge filly could do so. “And begin doing what I told you. But for real this time. Do it hard, do it strong… But don’t go super-blazingly fast, like how you do on your scooter.” Scootaloo could feel her heart pounding, and she almost felt dizzy. It was finally time! She was going to fly! After all this time, all this waiting, all this dreaming… She opened her wings. She took a deep breath. She lifted her wings, slowly, bracing herself to begin the pattern. Suddenly, a thought took over Scootaloo’s mind—what would she do when she got in the air? Rainbow Dash hadn’t told her! Should she try and fly forward, or go straight back to landing, or… It was too late to think these things, however. Her body had begun working against her, and she’d already begun flapping. They were soft flaps—not containing the strength needed to lift the filly. “Harder!” Rainbow Dash half-commanded, half-cheered. Scootaloo surged her wings, and suddenly, the floor was no longer beneath her. As the gamboge Pegasus lifted higher and higher off of the ground, she could feel, faintly, a stronger pull growing. She continued her climb, however. Despite her excitement and fear working together to force her eyes closed, she kept them up. She stared wide-eyed at the ground. Ten feet! Twenty! She had to be somewhere just over that, above the ground! And she was getting higher! She couldn’t stare at Rainbow Dash to look for a sign of joy—she could only watch her rise for a moment longer, before looking up and around at the world she was now entering. “Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash’s piercing voice jolted Scootaloo out of her thought, and the surprise caused Scootaloo to falter. Her left wing froze for a moment, and Scootaloo nearly fell out of the sky—due to some unknown luck, she regained balance. “Scootaloo, hold your wings out perfectly straight, like when you hold out weights and don’t move your wings!” “Perfectly straight, got it!” Scootaloo nearly panted the words. Flying was surprisingly tiring—despite Scootaloo not finding it a strong fatigue, she was definitely feeling slightly winded. From the top of her wing’s climb, she let them fall out to her sides, perfectly straight and perfectly still. She expected herself to falter some way, and so she waited. But nothing happened. More time, and still nothing happened. Scootaloo stared forward. She was hovering in mid-air! The breeze was holding her in place. Her smile grew wide—enough to make even Pinkie Pie gasp in astonishment. Suddenly, she heard Rainbow Dash’s voice again beside her. “Hey, Scoots! You’re flying!” “Y-Yeah…” Scootaloo nearly whispered her response. She expected herself to scream it out with joy—but she was caught in awe at the experience. She looked forward, staring at the open sky. She looked to her left, the side opposite Rainbow Dash. She stared towards the horizon for a few moments. And then she looked toward her right, at Rainbow Dash. A sincere smile was on the pegasus’ face. “How d’you like it, Scoots?” Scootaloo was quiet for a moment, before looking down at the ground underneath her. She was slowly growing closer to the floor. She thought of the feeling of absolute freedom leaving her, of the ground returning to under her hooves. “It’s… It’s unreal, it’s slightly scary, it’s exciting… I really, really love it!” “I thought so! Now, Scootaloo, flap more and get high, if you can! The sky’s the limit for right now! I’ll tell you how to get back down when we get up there!” Without warning, Rainbow Dash shot upwards. Scootaloo watched as Rainbow Dash flew straight-up with minimal effort, her entire body aiding in the climb. It was completely unlike the method that she’d told Scootaloo to fly—body fairly still, wings parallel to the floor, and appearing to basically stand in the air. Scootaloo suddenly had a determined look over her face. “If she can do it…” Scootaloo knew this would end badly. Almost all odds said so… But there’s that one, single shining hope. The one that Scootaloo would herself hope for. Scootaloo thrust her wings down, and attempted to climb vertically as Rainbow Dash had. She could feel herself slowly climbing. A single flap, a double flap, five, six… and suddenly, she could feel the wind against the back of her head. She was falling, and backwards. She plummeted the short fifteen feet she’d been from the ground back to it, landing with a thud. Just before landing, she flapped a single wing, throwing her right-side up. The jolt disoriented her, and her vision became blurry for a moment. By the time she’d closed her eyes, shook her head, and opened them, clearing her vision, she saw Rainbow Dash’s hooves in front of her. As Scootaloo looked up from where she lay, she saw Rainbow Dash peering over her. There was neither disappointment nor approval in her indifferent gaze. “Ambition will get you far, kid,” she began, as if sounding praiseful, “but as far as it might take you, it’ll send you straight back down to where you started if you go too far its path.” Scootaloo let out an audible groan, resting her head on the ground. She followed with a ‘huff’ of self-disappointment. “But enough philosophical moments, here. Get back up! You’re gonna get back in the air for a while longer, yet.” “You’re not… mad at me, for ignoring what you said? To just climb up?” “Of course not! Everypony takes a tumble like that for one reason or another, and everpony gets a little rebellious once or twice. But I’ll sure-as-hay be mad if you don’t pick yourself back up, and work until you’ve got this thing down!” Scootaloo quickly sat up, and stood up. “You got it!”
