wilight Sparkle wobbled in midair. With another mistimed flap of her wings, she tilted backward and fell down to the top of the grassy hill.
Rainbow winced. “Yeah, hovering in place is pretty tough. Just remember to use your tail to stabilize, and you'll get it.”
Shaking her head, Twilight picked herself up off her rump and dusted herself off.
“Okay, Squirt.” Rainbow turned to me. “Are you all rested up? Ready for another try?”
“Yes ma'am!” I hopped to my feet. Even though I still couldn't fly, my lessons with Rainbow were always the highlight of my week. Even with Twilight joining in, it was still incredible to hang out with and learn from the Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow pointed at the crest of the hill. “Then get up there and show me what you've got! And remember what I said about keeping your eyes on the horizon!”
I nodded as I trotted past her, stepping up to the top of the hill.
“Good luck,” Twilight whispered as she passed me on the way down.
I smiled. Maybe this time, I'd really do it.
Turning back to face Rainbow, I planted all four hooves on the highest point of the hill and breathed deep. I was ready. Starting with a few slow flaps, I worked my wings into a frenzy, beating them as hard and as fast as I could.
It was enough. My hooves lifted from the springy grass, and I rose up into the air.
Too soon, though, before I could even look up at Rainbow, my flight muscles cramped. My wings sputtered, and I plummeted to the ground. My hooves touched down hard, and I stumbled forward down the hill. Just barely managing to stop myself in time before I crashed into Rainbow and Twilight.
“Don't worry, Scootaloo.” Twilight smiled at me, even as the corners of her eyes creased. “I had a hard time in the beginning, too.”
“Not as hard a time as I'm having.” I sat down on the grass and stared up at the cloudless sky. “Those fillies were right. Maybe I'm never going to fly.”
Twilight took a step toward me. “Don't say that. You're going to grow up to be a great flyer.”
I glared at her. “My dad's wings are too small, and my mom's not even a pegasus. She's a unicorn. Flying's just not in my blood.”
“Oh, Scootaloo–” Twilight laughed “–I can fly just fine, and both of my parents are uni–”
“Twi, you're not helping.” Rainbow held up a hoof to hush her friend. “What Twilight means to say is that it doesn't matter. You can still fly.”
Twilight winced and glanced away.
“It does matter,” I insisted. “I should just face it.”
“Hey!” Rainbow darted right in front of me. “Even if it does matter, your dad's a great flyer. You should have seen him at the Wonderbolt Academy – he was tearing up clouds with his teeth!”
“He still failed.” I looked down, staring at the grass under my hooves.
“He's still a great flyer, just to get invited there.”
I said nothing, and just kept staring at the ground.
Rainbow growled and flicked her tail. “Look, I know you were being bullied for not being able to fly. I heard all about that. But those little monsters don't know what they're talking about.” Rainbow ground her hooves together. “Oh, what I'd do if I could get my hooves on those little–”
Twilight cleared her throat.
“But Twilight says I shouldn't go around hurting foals, no matter how evil they are.” Rainbow rolled her eyes before leaning down and whispering to me, “So, I've got a different idea.”
I looked back up at her. “Huh?”
Rainbow hopped over next to Twilight, ignoring the alicorn's pointed glare. “Hey, Twilight,” she whispered, still loud enough for me to hear, “remember that spell you used on Rarity when we went to Cloudsdale? Oh, and make 'em extra strong so we can do some stunts!”
Twilight's glare vanished, replaced by wide eyes and a growing smile. She nodded.
Darting back to me, Rainbow wrapped a hoof around my shoulders. “You ready to show these bullies they were wrong about you never flying?
“Huh?” I looked over at her, craning my neck. “What are you talking about?”
Rainbow shot back over to Twilight, patting her on the back. “Twilight here has a little surprise for you.”
“Just hold still, Scootaloo.” Twilight closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow. “You're going to enjoy this.”
I cringed as the first blue bands of energy wrapped around me, but I kept myself still. I knew I could trust Twilight, and even if I didn't, I doubted I could get away now.
The glowing blue ribbons snaked around me, shutting me in completely. The light surged, and I gasped as huge flash of energy shot through me. A wave of heat washed through me, rushing out from my heart.
A moment later, I collapsed to the ground, and all the lights faded.
“Wow, that was a lot easier than last time. I must be improving.” Twilight's giggle echoed in my head.
“Wha– what happened?” I rose up and tried to blink away the afterimage of that flash.
Rainbow flew up, hovering just in front of me. “How do you feel, kiddo?”
I shook my head. “What was that?”
“Just be careful.” Twilight walked up to me as well. “They're extremely fragile, and they'll only last for three days... and make sure you don't fly too close to the sun.”
I groaned. “What will only last three days?”
Rainbow just pointed to something behind me, giggling quietly.
I turned my head to look, and I finally saw what all the fuss was about. Two beautiful butterfly wings glistened in the sun, just above my real wings.
I couldn't breathe. My mouth just hung open while my eyes went wide.
“Ready to fly now?” Rainbow hovered over to my side.
I gave the new wings an experimental flutter. They responded naturally, as if I'd had them all my life, and my old wings stayed folded against my sides.
I grinned. “Yeah!”
“Well, come on!” Rainbow flitted higher, smiling back at me. “Just follow me!”
Flapping my new wings in earnest now, I lifted up off the sloped ground. For one precious moment, I stayed aloft. I was doing it – I was flying!
“Hey, Twilight, you wanna come?” Rainbow waved her hoof, beckoning the alicorn up.
“Well, I have an appointment to... um...”
Rainbow shook her head. “Always trying to get out of flying practice. Well, suit yourself. Just be ready for a real workout tomorrow!”
Twilight winced. “I didn't mean to–”
“Too late!” Rainbow shouted, laughing as she soared away. “Come on, Squirt!”
I followed Rainbow higher and higher, until we rose far above the hilltop.
“Okay, now we're just going to glide.” Rainbow hovered next to me, gesturing with her hooves. “Just use your wings to push yourself forward and let your speed keep you up.” She dove away without even waiting for a response.
Pumping my wings forward, I rushed after her. The warm breeze curled through my mane, and I reveled in the feeling of my wings holding me aloft through the buffeting air currents. I could feel the air around me; I was finally where I belonged!
Rainbow looped back around and glided alongside. “Not bad, not bad. But how about we try something really good?”
My mind already reeled from the raw sensations of flying, but I could never admit that to Rainbow Dash. “Sure!”
Her answering grin was more than worth any anxiety I felt. “Okay, so first, you're gonna go into a steep dive and build up some speed”– her hooves plunged down, illustrating the movement –“and then, you're gonna pull up as hard as you can. Keep your eye out for the horizon, just like I told you, and level off once it's in front of you again. Got it?”
“Uh, sure.” I glanced down at the surreally distant ground.
“Great!” Rainbow dropped right into a dive. “Follow me!”
Ignoring the tension in my legs, I took a deep breath and let myself drop in Rainbow's wake.
The wind speed around me grew as I followed her down, whipping my mane against my back and making my eyes water. Just as my wings began trembling from the force of the oncoming air, Rainbow finally pulled up. Hard.
My heart caught in my chest, and I whipped my wings into position to follow her. I winced at the shock to my new wing joints, and a sharp surge of panic shot through me as I turned upward and lost all sense of direction.
My legs froze, stretching out as far as they could go. I couldn't move a muscle; all I could do was stare, eyes wide open, as the world turned upside down.
I swooped through the bottom of my loop, watching the horizon sweep by again before I could regain control. I leveled off, finally allowing myself to breathe again.
“Pretty good for a rookie!”
A jolt ran through me. I glanced over to my side, and I found Rainbow flying along beside me. I caught my breath before being able to reply. “Thanks!”
“Ready for the next one?”
I gulped, but I couldn't back down now, not right in front of her. “Sure!” I winced, glancing back at the ground. “Bring it on.”
“Awesome!” She did a little loop in the air, coming back down on the other side of me. “Okay, how about a barrel roll?” She laughed a little. “It's super-easy. First, you just tilt one wing up and spin.” She twirled away from me and leveled off again. “Then, you just combine that with pulling up a little on both sides.” She spun over my head, settling back in place on the other side. “Ready?”
There was no way I was ready for something like that. “Of course!” I shouted back, “Let's do it!” If I was going to keep up with Rainbow, I'd have to be just as fearless as her.
I tilted my left wing and sprung into the roll. I could feel myself wobbling as I fought for control, and I was sure I didn't pull up enough, leaving my barrel roll as more of an off-kilter spin. But at least I didn't freeze up. I kept in control and kept my panic in check.
“I always knew you'd be good,” Rainbow said as I angled back to her, “so how about something that's really going to be a challenge... something dangerous.” She grinned, looking at me through the corners of her eyes.
I bit my lip. “Dangerous?”
“Yeah.” She rubbed her front hooves together. “We're gonna do a Daredevil Dive.”
“Great...” I winced.
“This one's really simple. You don't need technique, you just need guts, and that's what I know you have, kid!”
I looked down at the distant ground again. We were closer to Ponyville now, but not over it yet, still above the grassy plain and scattered cottages surrounding the town. A shiver ran down my back, despite the warm sunshine.
“All you've gotta do is dive down as fast as you can, and then pull up at the last possible moment. It's easy!”
I gave a weak laugh and glanced down again with a wince. “Yeah. Easy.”
“Well, let's go then!” Rainbow dove straight down without any warning.
I dipped down and hurried to follow her, folding my delicate wings as tightly as I could against my back. The rush of air against me grew to a roar, then to a screeching howl, and I caught up with Rainbow.
She shouted something to me; I could see her mouth moving, but the screaming wind drowned it out.
I edged past her, intent on the ground rushing up at me, devoting all of my concentration to my stunt.
Something moving fast caught my peripheral vision. I glanced back and saw a rainbow contrail arcing upward.
It was time to pull up already? Now? Now!
My breath froze in my lungs, and my heart stopped beating, but I managed to whip my wings out. The rushing force of the air snapped them open. I nearly screamed from the pain of overstressed tendons ready to tear. I would have screamed, if I could breathe.
Still, the ground rushed up at me. I cringed, already imagining the crushing pain of impact, unsure if I would even survive.
I curved upward, but not fast enough. I could tell I was on a crash course for a nicely decorated little back yard, no matter how hard I pulled up. Closing my eyes tight, I gritted my teeth and waited for the inevitable. It wouldn't be a long wait.
All I could hear was the roar of the wind. All I could feel was the air beating at me, tugging at my hair and feathers. Any moment now, I would–
Something slapped my leg hard. A dozen more slaps followed before the first even began to sting. I opened my mouth to scream, but caught another sharp strike right in my teeth.
It stopped. I was alone again with the rushing wind.
With a wince, I dared to crack open an eye. I was heading back up! I made it!
I could finally breathe again. I sucked in huge gasps of air, soaring high on the elation of escaping death by a hair's width.
Glancing behind me, I could see the yard's flower garden in disarray. A light blue mare stared up at me with wide open eyes.
Finally, the roar of the wind died down, and I returned to a steady glide.
Rainbow caught up with me in no time. “That... was... awesome! And I love the 'coming back with a rose in your teeth' thing – that's just epic!”
I glanced down. There was a red rose clutched in my teeth.
“Kid, you've got more guts than me, and you've got style. You're a natural!” She angled over to me and gave me a playful hoof bump on the shoulder. “I've gotta step up my game! I'm gonna have some competition around here!”
“You really think I've got guts?” I mumbled through my flower stem.
“Are you kidding?” Rainbow looped, falling back beside me. “There's no way I would dive that low! I've never even seen the Wonderbolts do anything like...” She looked at something in the distance, over my shoulder.
“Huh?” I tilted my head to the side, accidentally dropping my flower. “What's wrong?”
Rainbow groaned and pointed behind me. “There's a bunch of clouds rolling in from the Everfree Forest, and it's supposed to be a totally clear day.” She glanced back to me. “Will you be okay for a while? I should really go bust those up before anypony starts complaining.”
“Sure. It's okay.” I glanced over my shoulder, spotting the clouds. “I'm gonna go show these new wings to the Crusaders.”
“Great! I'll catch up later.” She shot away, leaving a rainbow in her wake and leaving me alone in the big sky.
With a quick look around, I spotted the easily identifiable orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. The Crusader's clubhouse would be on the south side of it.
I turned and swooped down a little to gain some speed, heading for my friends.
The breeze ruffled through my mane and wings as I cruised over the green countryside. I kept my speed up with strong, sure wing beats and watched the scenery below slide by with an easy speed.
I took a deep breath and stretched my legs out, reveling in the feeling of the wind playing against them as I bobbed gently through the air currents. This was flying – this was what I'd been missing out on!
As the rows of apple trees started passing under me, I let myself angle down, trimming off my altitude. When I spotted the clubhouse, I went over everything Rainbow had taught me about landing. It wasn't much, but at least we'd gone over the basics.
I extended my legs out as far as I could without locking them, and I angled my wings back.
It wasn't enough. I could see the clubhouse coming at me much too quickly.
Beating my wings as hard backward as I could, I struggled to slow down. I strained my wings against the oncoming wind and braced for landing.
The ground hit my hooves hard, and I bounced back up a little, only to slam down again. Still moving fast, I stumbled along, my legs struggling to keep up with the speed.
I finally came to a stop just below the clubhouse's balcony, breathing heavy but unhurt. Two faces popped over the railing above me.
“Wow, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle squeaked, “where'd you get wings like that?”
“Twilight made 'em for me.” I grinned. “Cool, huh?”
“Totally!” Apple Bloom came running down the clubhouse's ramp, with Sweetie Belle close behind.
I hopped up and hovered next to the ramp, meeting them halfway.
“Rainbow Dash ain't gonna believe it – you can really fly now!”
“Actually, I was learning tricks with her just a few minutes ago.” I ran a hoof through my hair. “She said I had style and a lot of guts!”
Light flashed from Sweetie Belle's horn as she jumped up and down. “Cool! Can we see one?”
I nodded and shot up into the sky, spiraling away from the treehouse. As I gained altitude and distance, I wondered which trick I should show them. My best friends deserved something special.
They'd get something special all right. I knew just what to do.
Banking back around toward the clubhouse, I dipped into a dive. At the bottom of the dive, I pulled up hard and tilted to the right. I'd do all the tricks I knew, all at one time!
What resulted was basically just a backflip combined with an out of control spin, but when I touched down, still wobbling and dizzy, my friends applauded for me as if I'd just done a Sonic Rainboom.
“Thanks, girls.” I shook my head, trying to clear my spinning vision. “It was nothing, really.”
“Sure looked like somethin' to me!” Apple Bloom ran up to me. “I wish Diamond Tiara could see you like this, after all the heartache she gave you 'bout not bein' able to fly!”
Sweetie Belle tapped her hoof to her chin. “She could, actually.” Pacing over to me, she pointed toward Ponyville. “She was just here, bragging again about how her part in the school play is more important than ours. She's gotta still be on the path back.”
Apple Bloom nudged me. “Go show 'em how wrong they were!”
I let a smirk spread across my face and took off, hovering just above the ground. “I will. See you guys later!”
They both waved as I soared off toward Ponyville, following the dirt path's trail above the trees.
I had completely left Sweet Apple Acres and nearly gotten to the edge of Ponyville when I finally spotted her. Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon trotted along the path together, oblivious to my presence above.
I grinned a savage little grin. Those two fillies deserved something special, too. Pinning my wings at a tight angle behind my back, I let myself fall into a steep dive. All I had to do was remember my timing from last time.
Keeping myself on target with little twitches of my tail, I swooped down. At just the right time, I opened my wings and pulled up hard, perfectly under control this time.
I blew right in between the two fillies, blasting their manes out of place with my wake. As I rose back up and away, I glanced back.
Diamond Tiara stomped her hooves and shouted something at me I couldn't hear, while Silver Spoon just stared up at me with her mouth hanging open.
I laughed. Seeing the two of them like that was just–
“Hey, Squirt!”
I nearly fell out of the air in shock. I spun around. “Oh. Hi Rainbow Dash. You got those clouds cleared up?”
“In ten seconds flat!” She laughed. “So, did you show your new wings to your parents yet?”
“Well, no.” I glanced away.
“Are you kidding? That's the first place I would go if mine lived so close!”
I kept flying steady, even though I felt conflicted inside. “Well, my mom works nights, so she's probably still sleeping, and my dad's busy working at the gym – he's there pretty much every day since the other trainer retired. That's why he isn't out here training me like he wants to.”
Rainbow shot me a deadpan look. “Oh come on, since when does Scootaloo of all ponies give up that easily? We're going!” Without waiting for my reply, she dove away toward Ponyville.
I followed as quickly as I could, dropping in behind her.
She spun around, flying backwards, but still going so fast I could barely keep up. “I know you dad can't take any time from work, but we can at least buzz past there. Then we'll go see if Vinyl is awake.” She spun back around. “Come on!”
It was all I could do to keep up with Rainbow's additional burst of speed.
We banked over the outskirts of Ponyville, angling to the south, across the creek toward where my dad worked. As we drew close, I followed Rainbow down to street level just in time to zoom past the wide windows of the Ponyville Fitness Center.
A deep shout of “YEAAH!” let me know my dad had seen me. I smiled from ear to ear.
As we rose back up above the rooftops, we made a wide, sweeping turn to the left, crossing back over the creek and curving around town hall. From this high, I could already spot my house.
Rainbow didn't slow down in the slightest. She didn't waste a moment. As we drew closer, she held a hoof up to her ear. “Looks like you're in luck, Squirt,” she shouted, falling back next to me, “her music's already going, so she must be awake.”
I listened carefully. I could hear it over the rush of the wind if I tried. “Actually, that's our dishwasher.”
Rainbow's head whipped around to stare at me and she furrowed her eyebrows.
“It's a long story.” I laughed. “But we're almost there, so it'll have to wait.”
We touched down together, just in front of my house, and this time, I managed to land smoothly, earning an appreciative nod from Rainbow.
I trotted up to the door and pushed it open, waving for Rainbow to follow me in. As soon as I was inside, I hurried around the corner into the kitchen and hit the 'pause' button on the dishwasher. “Mom, I'm home!” I yelled into the ensuing quiet.
By the time I made it back to the living room where Rainbow waited, my mom poked her head down the stairs. Even though her eyes looked tired, they opened wide when they saw me. “Scootaloo! What happened to your wings?”
“I got new ones! And now I can fly!” I hopped up and fluttered across the room, just to prove my point.
My mom's jaw dropped.
“Don't worry, Missus Scratch,” Rainbow butted in, “they'll only last three days, and then she'll be back to normal.”
With that, the tension melted away from my mom's shoulders. She sighed and trotted the rest of the way down the stairs. Before I could do anything about it, she reached up and plucked me from the air, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Good for you, Scoots! It's awesome that you're finally getting a chance to check out what flying's like.”
I squirmed and blushed furiously, brushing my mom's blue mane out of my face to see Rainbow watching. “Mom!” No matter how much I struggled, though, I couldn't escape.
Finally, my mom let me go. I darted back and dusted myself off, trying to pretend like nothing mortifyingly embarrassing had just happened.
Rainbow grinned. “Since it's only gonna last three days, I'm sure Scootaloo wants to spend as much time as she can practicing.”
Was she deliberately giving me a way to escape, or was that just her way of telling me not to slack off? Either way, I wasn't going to let it go to waste. “Yeah, I've gotta get out there and learn all I can!” I hopped up and hovered on my wings again, beaming.
“Well come on then, kiddo!” Rainbow turned for the door. “Nice seeing you, Vinyl!” she shouted as she stepped out.
“And you, little Scoots, just make sure you get home for dinner before I leave to go to the club, okay?” My mom looked at me significantly, seeming to stare right through me.
“Okay, okay.” After a quick glance to make sure Rainbow wasn't watching, I gave my mom a quick nuzzle on the cheek. “I'll see you later!”
She just stood and smiled wide as I flew out through the open door.
Rainbow waited just outside. “You've been doing pretty good so far, kid, so let's try some more advanced moves. You ready?”
“Of course!” I couldn't wait.
“Great!” Rainbow hopped up into the air. “Come on, let's get some altitude, and I'll teach you a little something I like to call the Buccaneer Blaze!”
I followed Rainbow upward with a huge smile on my face. My heart seemed to carry me up as much as my sparkling wings did. This was the greatest day of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
The End
Author's Note
I hope this makes up for the Scootabuse in One In A Million.
Thanks for reading!
