The Adventures Continue

Rainbow Falls

Episode 4/10

Prompt: What’s it like to fly?

Word count restriction: 1,000 - 5,000

“What’s it like to fly, Twilight?”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes bugged from her head as she struggled to avoid choking on her water. Gasping, she roughly set the glass back on the table and looked at the filly who had so suddenly approached her.

“Well, Scootaloo, I… Why do you ask?”

“You’re a pony who didn’t use to be able to fly, but now you can,” Scootaloo answered, undaunted. “I want to know what it’s like to fly for the first time.”

Twilight bit her lip. She had heard from Rainbow Dash how sensitive this subject had gotten while Scootaloo and her friends practiced for the flag-carrying performance. Twilight had been there herself when the three young fillies were announced the winners, but she had no idea how much trouble they had gone through to put everything into place. Rainbow had later told her to tread lightly around the subject of flight; “That filly’s tough as nails,” she had said, “but I don’t want anypony to upset her.”

And not only that; how does one discuss something so significant with a filly one hardly knows? Twilight could imagine few conversations more awkward. For this, more than for the sake of Scootaloo’s feelings, she had attempted to avoid the subject altogether. This proved quite easy, as she rarely encountered Scootaloo anyway. In fact, it had been a piece of cake.

That is, until Scootaloo herself brought it up. Avoiding the issue had grown particularly difficult after that.

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck, and avoided the filly’s eyes. “Well, the first time I flew was at my coronation in Canterlot. Princess Luna cast a spell that allowed me to fly even though I had gotten no practice.”

“Was it fun?”

“Er… yes?”

Scootaloo’s upward gaze never faltered as she sat there, silently encouraging Twilight to continue. Sidestepping the issue now would have been quite the test of quick-thinking, wit, and verbal dexterity.

Fortunately, Twilight adored taking tests.

“The weather has been nice this week, don’t you think?”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “The weather?”

“Oh, of course!” affirmed Twilight, nodding madly. “It’s just been so warm and pleasant, with just the right amount of breeze and--”

“Twilight, I want to know what it’s like to fly!”

“Oh, I do so love drinking water,” Twilight said as she levitated the glass to her lips. “It's just about the greatest thing a pony can drink!”

“Twilight…”

“I can't think of anything more enjoyable than a fresh glass of water on a nice, sunny day! What about you, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

Twilight plastered a wide grin onto her face and gestured all around. “Oh, just how much I love love love Ponyville, and nice weather, and water!”

“Can’t you just--”

Twilight’s hooves slammed loudly onto the table. “Sweet Celestia, am I thirsty for some more water!”

“Fine!” shouted Scootaloo. “Never mind. Forget I asked.” She turned around and began trotting away, her ears curled back and her head hung low.

Twilight sighed in relief. With that out of the way, maybe she could enjoy the rest of her afternoon. She didn't need to worry about Scootaloo anyway. Surely, she’d forget about the whole thing soon enough and…

And…

She groaned, stood up, and cantered off after the filly. She rounded a bend and crossed over a small hill, and there Scootaloo sat, alone, under a tree.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” Twilight said.

Scootaloo didn't turn to meet her gaze. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry about that earlier. I was just…” She faltered. “I’m sorry, and I’ll answer any questions you have about flying.”

Scootaloo finally turned. “You will?” she asked, her eyes shining.

Twilight grimaced. “Yes.”

“What’s it like?”

“Well, it’s… I guess it’s a little… fun?”

“Fun?”

“Yes. It’s fun.”

“How is it fun?”

“You like taking jogs?”

“I guess so.”

“It’s like that, only in the air.”

Scootaloo stared off, nodding her head silently. Twilight rubbed her foreleg. “Is that it?”

“I thought it would have been more special,” Scootaloo said.

“More special?”

“Yeah. Like…” She grappled for words. “Like a pony’s first kiss, or graduating from school, or something.”

At the mention of the glorious institution, Twilight automatically thought back to her graduation from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and smiled fondly. Now that she thought of it, flying was kind of special…

She sat down beside Scootaloo. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it is kind of special.”

“What kind of special?”

“Like…” Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. “Do you have anything at home that reminds you of an accomplishment?”

“Like what?”

“Like a picture, or a trophy, or--”

“I have a necklace of flowers from winning the flag-carrying competition.”

“That’s it! Now, when you look at it, what does that necklace make you feel?”

Scootaloo blushed. She hadn’t anticipated this conversation centering around what she felt. “Well, I guess it makes me feel… uh, proud?”

“Yes, and?”

“And good inside. Like when Mom bakes cookies and the smell goes all through the house, except this time the cookie-smell is inside me.”

Twilight stared, and then giggled. “You have quite a way with analogies, Scootaloo.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she replied, blushing more deeply.

“But that’s what I’m talking about. Flying is like that for me.”

“Flying makes you feel proud?”

“It sure does.”

“Why?”

“Well, I had to go through quite a lot to get this pair of wings.”

“Like what?”

Twilight was taken aback. Like what? Why did it seem like nopony else ever remembered? “Well, my friends and I defeated Nightmare Moon and freed Princess Luna.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”

“And after that, we saved Equestria from Discord. I’m sure you remember how he turned Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world.”

“I forgot about that too.”

“Then there was that wedding in Canterlot. We saved the city from an army of magical monsters that feed on love. I’m pretty sure you and your friends were there for that too, although Cadance never told me how you three got recruited to be flower fillies on such short notice…”

“Come to think of it, I do remember that!”

“And just last year, my friends’ cutie marks got switched, and as a result, Ponyville almost fell apart at the seams!”

Scootaloo slapped her face. “I just don’t know how I forgot all of those things!”

“It’s alright,” Twilight said with a smile. “You’ve been so caught up in your crusading for a cutie mark; nopony can blame you for forgetting that our town’s been in mortal peril numerous times in the past four years.”

Scootaloo grinned up at her. “I like crusading, Twilight.”

“I know you do, Scootaloo. I know you do.”

“So your wings remind of you all of those things?”

“They really do. All of those were challenges that I never could have faced alone. My friends have been with me every step of the way, and these wings remind me that no matter what, they’ll always be a part of me.”

“But wait,” Scootaloo said. “When you solved that switched cutie mark problem, your friends were all loopy, doing the things they weren’t supposed to do.”

“So?”

“So didn’t you solve that problem alone? Didn’t you have to do that all by yourself?”

Twilight pursed her lips. “Well, I had Spike.”

The two looked each other in the eyes, and, after a moment, erupted into a fit of giggles.

Elsewhere, in the basement of the Golden Oak Library, Spike stopped dusting. He scratched his head; there, again, was that inexplicable feeling that somewhere, somepony was laughing at him. He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, Spike,” he told himself. “This happens, like, a hundred times every day. It’s nothing.” He turned and strolled up the stairs, humming a tune to himself and pushing aside the creeping doubt, as he was wont to do.