Flight for a Friend

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Morning dawned on a clear day in late Spring, warm in the way that promises Summer will be arriving soon. The light from the rising sun crept through the cracks in the window shutters of the base of operations for Ponyville's premier disaster squad, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The inside of the clubhouse slowly filled with the warm light, spilling first over a small fortune in discarded sheets of writing paper filled with crude scribblings of elaborate plans, decipherable only by the three fillies that made up the Ponyville branch of the Crusaders. Continuing its slow crawl across the floor, the light brushed over plates covered with muffin crumbs, a pie tin with bits of apple filling clinging to the edge and a half-eaten bowl of chips shoved roughly beneath a low table. Another pie tin, licked clean to an almost mirror polish, bounced the light upwards across the room onto a calendar on the wall showing the current month. Several days had big red "X" marks while others sported obscure pictorial notations, but one in particular was circled in red and bore the words "Scoot's Bday" in bold strokes. Satisfied with its exploration of the clubhouse, the sunlight peeking in from the window finally made its way over to one of the occupants, landing as all morning sunbeams do right on the eyes of one of the sleeping fillies.

"Ugh, why's the sun gotta be so bright?" Scootaloo complained as the invasive light roused her from her dreams. She rolled over and pulled a pillow over her purple-maned head to block out the offending beams. As luck would have it, she managed to grab the pillow currently in use by Sweetie Belle. The white unicorn soon cracked her eyes open as well, finding her horn unexpectedly digging into the floorboards of the clubhouse instead of being gently cushioned by the feather pillow she had been given to use.

"Apple Bloom, think we can board up the windows for a while?" Sweetie whined as she sat up, rubbing her eyes before pushing her sleep-frazzled purple-and-blonde mane out of her eyes. She directed a disgruntled glare at Scootaloo and the stolen pillow. The yellow-coated earth pony she addressed was lying flat on her back with her red mane pooled around her head on the floor, mouth open and drooling obliviously. Sweetie gave the still-unconscious Apple Bloom a couple pokes, then sighed and pulled her blanket over her head to try to hide from the sun. Much to her delight, it was just enough to let her begin to drift back to sleep.

"We definitely need better shutters," Scootaloo's muffled voice agreed from beneath Sweetie's former pillow. Apple Bloom merely snored briefly and smacked her lips a few times in her sleep.

Now protected from the efforts of the sun to wake them up, the three fillies did their best to catch up on the sleep they had denied themselves the previous night. The plan was as flawless as any filly could hope for, and would have worked, too, if not for the pounding on the clubhouse door that rattled the walls and bounce the forgotten bowl of chips across the floor.

"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" the voice of Apple Bloom's big sister Applejack rang through the clubhouse door. Scootaloo groaned, Sweetie Belle gave an exasperated huff and Apple Bloom woke quickly, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and smoothly rolling over to stand up while absently rubbing her mouth with a fore-leg.

"We're here, Applejack! What's goin' on?" Apple Bloom called back just as loudly, blithely ignoring the groans of complaint from her friends.

"Twilight's supposed to be here fer lunch today, so we're bustin' out all the 'welcome home' recipes!" Applejack shouted back, paused, then said, "Ah'm comin' in!"

True to her word, Applejack waited only a couple seconds before swinging the door open, letting even more sunlight stream into the clubhouse. There wasn't room for the three fillies plus a full-grown mare in the clubhouse, but Applejack still poked her blond-maned head in, taking in the grumpy glare Scootaloo was giving her and the lumpy blanket that was Sweetie Belle's attempt at hiding. Apple Bloom, used to waking up quickly, was already putting a few things away and gathering up a bag of trash to bring back to the farm house.

"Everypony's gonna be there, so y'all are welcome to show up too, Sweetie an' Scootaloo," Applejack said with a tip of the light brown Stetson atop her orange-coated head, "Rainbow Dash'll be there."

That was all she needed to say, as Scootaloo popped up from her grumpy glower and rushed over to grab the bag from Apple Bloom, hurriedly stuffing anything within reach into it. The yellow filly found herself scrambling to keep Scootaloo from throwing away the entire clubhouse. Sweetie Belle popped her head out from under the blanket, blinking a few times to focus on Applejack.

"Really? That's today?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, "I'd better get cleaned up before Rarity gets here or she'll freak."

"That's why I'm here ta get y'all up. Bath’s open and breakfast is waitin', then y'all can do yer crusadin' until lunch time," Applejack finished up, the promise of more time to look for their cutie marks cheering the three fillies significantly. Certain that they were up and active, Applejack left them to their antics and pulled her head out from the doorway, turning to trot back to the main house and prep for the day's impromptu reunion of the extended, honorary, Apple family.

Sweet Apple Acres -- home cooking and cider. Two ingredients for a perfect weekend of relaxation for any number of ponies, but one in particular. The cause of the gathering, the purple princess pony Twilight Sparkle, lay on her side on a plush yet simple cushion sized just right for her that was set in the main room of the Apple family farm house. Her violet eyes were unfocused beneath her dark blue mane, and a blissful expression rested on her muzzle where her pink and purple highlights fluttered over her nose with her breathing. Rainbow Dash was snoring quietly beside her, her cyan form sprawled out in a rare moment of stillness, her mane and tail sporting every color of the rainbow and fanned wildly across the floor. Pinkie Pie, predictably bright pink with a poofy darker pink mane, was outside running around with the younger ponies and generally being twitchier and more energetic than any full-grown earth pony had a right to be. Fluttershy and Rarity were watching Pinkie and the fillies from beneath a tree, the former being a bright (often described as 'buttery') yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and the latter a graceful white unicorn with a violet mane of elegant curls and immaculate styling. Granny Smith was asleep in her rocking chair in the other corner, and Applejack was in the kitchen helping Big Macintosh clean up after lunch. Twilight’s happy sighs floated in through the kitchen door and Applejack smiled.

“We done good, Macintosh,” Applejack drawled, her stetson on a hook by the door and her mane pulled back even more than usual by an apple-patterned bandana, scrubbing a plate until it gleamed bright white in the sunlight before handing it over to her brother to dry. The big, red draft stallion nodded his blond-maned head as he took the plate and wiped it dry, stacking it off to the side with several others.

“Eeyup,” he replied. Big Macintosh was as frugal with words as a merchant with money, preferring to make every word count. Applejack, on the other hoof, was far less shy about chatting, and Macintosh was content to let her talk enough for the both of them.

“This was a great idea, an’ I think we’ll be doin’ it more often, having the girls over for honorary family stuff,” Applejack continued, mostly to herself while Big Macintosh nodded along silently, drying dishes as they were handed over. “Twi was so bent outta shape about bein’ a good princess lately that she really needed some time NOT bein’ a princess. Yer a real genius sometimes, Mac.”

Big Macintosh arched an eyebrow at his sister for a moment, taking a large pot from her to wipe down, and gave a short chuckle.

“Whaddya mean ‘sometimes?’” he asked teasingly. Applejack laughed lightly as her verbal jab got the response she was looking for.

“Humble too, Ah can see,” Applejack drawled sarcastically, then handed Big Macintosh the last plate and started to dry her hooves. The big red draft stallion gave his sister a big cheesy grin and finished up his half of the cleanup, then turned around to head back into the living room. He drew up short when the front door banged open with a sharp clatter. Granny Smith snorted awake briefly and spent a moment grumbling incoherently, while the source of the commotion charged through the door shouting. The commotion drew a deep scowl from Applejack who turned to follow after her brother.

“Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!” the voices of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo chorused just right to somehow rival the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice. Applejack rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to scold them, but she was too late to stop the girls from startling Twilight out of her post-lunch doze.

“I’m awake! What’s going on? Timberwolves? Dragons?” Twilight called out in return, head lifted and forelegs straight. Propping herself up to a half-sitting position, she looked around wildly before settling her eyes on the three fillies that woke her up.

“Girls! Y’all ain’t supposed ta go banging and shoutin’ around the house like that!” Applejack growled, stomping a fore-hoof and drawing the sheepishly apologetic gazes of all three. Keeping her face stern, Applejack walked fully into the living room.

“Oh, it’s just you three,” Twilight spoke up afterwards, frustratingly pulling their attention away from Applejack’s scolding. “I told you girls already, the tiara isn’t on, I’m not a Princess right now. Especially not here.”

“Oh, that’s right. Cuz when you’re here, yer an Apple,” Apple Bloom replied, nodding once as if she hadn’t forgotten. Scootaloo gave her a curious look, and Sweetie Belle seemed to be trying to make sense of the statement.

“What?” Apple Bloom asked them defensively, then trotted up and hugged Twilight around the neck, and Twilight curled her neck over Apple Bloom in return while the youngest Apple added, “See? Just another pony without the Princess getup. It’s like havin’ another big sister!”

“Still,” Scootaloo chimed in after a moment, losing interest in the revelation, “now that you ARE a princess, y’know, normally... Can you help us get our cutie marks? You gotta know some kinda really powerful magic by now!”

Twilight looked up and gave Applejack a warm smile and shook her head, which Applejack took to mean that Twilight was willing to field the question. Rolling her eyes, Applejack nodded and took a seat near Granny Smith to listen to Twilight and be ready to step in, just in case.

“I hate to disappoint you yet again, girls,” Twilight began, and immediately the Crusader’s ears started to droop, “but being a princess doesn’t make any difference. I’m not suddenly any better in magic than I was just because of the wings.” Twilight rustled her wings for emphasis.

“Additionally,” she continued, “not even Princess Celestia knows any magic that would make a cutie mark appear. It’s not a question of magical strength or talent at all. The spell itself, if you want to call it that, is realizing and embracing your special talent and your destiny.”

“But don’t you have magic that can change destinies? Isn’t that what happened to our sisters?” Sweetie Belle asked, peering up at her, oblivious to the sliver of pain that stabbed Twilight in the heart at the memory of that event. Mixing up her friends’ destinies, and the heartache it caused them and all of Ponyville, was one of the worst mistakes of Twilight’s life. Apple Bloom, the only one of the three to have been directly affected by Pinkie Pie’s inability to manage the apple farm, scowled at Sweetie. Apple Bloom was hurt just as badly by that mistake, even though she’d forgiven Twilight.

“Yeah, you could give us all really cool destinies with really cool cutie marks!” Scootaloo added, looking back at her own flank, imagining what she’d want. “Mine could have something to do with lightning! Or flying!”

“Girls, stop right there,” Twilight said quickly, lifting a fore hoof for silence. To their credit, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle clammed up, and Apple Bloom turned her attention from glaring at the backs of her friends’ heads to looking up at Twilight again.

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that simple,” Twilight began, head and neck subconsciously mimicking a posture notable in its resemblance to Princess Celestia's own lecture pose. “First-up, ‘destiny’ is an oversimplification, but we’ll just call it that for now. Your ‘destiny’ and your special talent need to match, or at least complement each other, or you’ll only end up miserable. Case in point: When I mixed up your sisters’ cutie marks, I changed ONLY their motivation for their lives while their special talents remained the same. You ALL know how badly that turned out.”

Twilight paused for a moment and made sure that each filly nodded in understanding before continuing.

“Well, that's part of the lesson of that experience. I suppose, if I were to ignore the ethical implications, I could craft some sort of spell to assign you a so-called ‘destiny’, but if it doesn't properly match up with your special talents then you'd be miserable because you wouldn't be able to fulfil your purpose in life. Even worse, your cutie mark might NEVER appear," Twilight added, letting her voice lift with just a touch of drama. She was rewarded with suitably horrified expressions on each of the three fillies' faces.

"Besides," Twilight lowered her head to be level with her audience, "you're really after your special talents, not your destinies, so you need to work on discovering what you are good at and enjoy before you even get started on what you're going to do with your life. You're better off just having fun and enjoying your time as fillies and friends. Talents and destinies will come around eventually. Now, I certainly wouldn’t mind helping you girls learn new things. We could even set up a time once a week for me to help you! But aside from that, there’s nothing else I can do."

Twilight finished her miniature lecture with a wan smile in the face of the disappointment radiating from the three little ponies arranged in front of her. Apple Bloom was chewing her lower lip, Sweetie Belle was tracing small circles on the floor in front of herself with a fore-hoof and Scootaloo just looked despondent. Fortunately, a rainbow mane attached to the cyan head of an unmistakable pegasus chose that moment to poke her head in through the door that had been left open.

“Hey! What’s with the long faces? No, doesn’t matter. You girls wanna see my new trick?” Rainbow Dash asked roguishly, grinning like a fool and looking rather specifically at Scootaloo. The change in mood was instantaneous as the little orange filly perked up and bounced to her hooves.

“A new trick! You bet! C’mon girls!” she said, dashing out the door past Rainbow without a second’s hesitation. Apple Bloom smirked at Sweetie Belle, who shrugged a bit and then stood up. Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof victoriously once and then darted off after Scootaloo. To their surprize, Twilight also rolled to her hooves and stood up, stretching her wings.

“I suppose I should watch this as well. Knowing Dash, she’s going to want me to try it at some point,” Twilight explained with a good-natured roll of her eyes. Sweetie giggled and trotted out the door with Apple Bloom, while Applejack shook her head and stood up again as well.

“Ya be careful tryin’ to do those crazy Rainbow Dash tricks, Twi. Don’t want ya gettin’ hurt,” Applejack warned as Twilight made her way to the front door. Twilight paused and looked back over her shoulder, then laughed lightly.

“Oh, don't worry about me, Applejack. I’ve gotten used to bumps and bruises from learning to fly. Besides, it makes Dash happy, and that’s worth it to me,” Twilight replied. She tilted her head curiously and asked, “You coming?”

“Not this one. I think I’m gonna take some quiet time while th’ girls are distracted. You go on ahead, Ah’ll see ya later!”

How she ended up actually watching over the three fillies while Rainbow Dash did her best to kill herself with wild aerobatics, Twilight was certain she’d never figure out. As soon as Twilight had shown up with the trio in tow, Rarity grabbed Fluttershy and made noise about a missed spa date, practically begging Twilight with her eyes to play along. A little generosity being one of the pillars of true friendship, Twilight sent them off with a smile and a wave of her hoof. Now, she had her neck craned back a bit, looking up as Rainbow Dash flew loops around in the sky, carrying Scootaloo with and occasionally holding her up with a hoof or just plain tossing her upwards to give the orange filly some air time. Apple Bloom was laying on her back to one side, lazily watching the pair in the air. Sweetie Belle was trying, unsuccessfully, to do some sort of magic to a fallen leaf that had blown over from one of the nearby apple trees. Twilight was sorely tempted to help, but had been told time and again that Sweetie would ask when she wanted help.

“Say, Twilight,” Apple Bloom spoke up suddenly, pulling Twilight’s attention down from the sky to the ground again, “Ah been thinkin’. Ah know you said you can’t do anythin’ for our cutie marks, but maybe you can do somethin’ for Scootaloo’s flying?”

“Oh, yeah!” Sweetie Belle piped up, the faint emerald glow around her horn fizzling out as her fragile attention span shattered, “We’ve been trying to think up things to get Scootaloo for her birthday in a few days, and we have lots of ideas but what we’d REALLY like is to help her fly!”

“Y’see, Scootaloo just can’t fly well at all,” Apple Bloom continued, quietly even though the subject at hoof was far too high in the sky to hear them, “and me and Sweetie were thinkin’-”

“Sweetie and I,” Twilight corrected reflexively, already combing her memory for anything that might help, or books that might lend insight.

“That’s what Ah said, me and Sweetie,” Apple Bloom quipped back impatiently, then forged on to avoid further interruption, “We were thinkin’ maybe you’d know some magic to help her fly. We ain’t supposed to talk about it on account of how sensitive Scoots can be, but yer part of the family and Applejack always says never be shy about asking family for advice.”

Twilight ran her gaze back and forth from Apple Bloom to Sweetie Belle thoughtfully, meeting the unusually intense eyes of the two fillies. Sweetie was leaning attentively towards her, and Apple Bloom had managed to furrow her brow in a mix of concern and hope. After a moment, Twilight nodded slowly to them.

“I see,” the purple pony began slowly, rustling her wings briefly. “Well, I know of several spells that might help, but none of them are permanent and all of them are rather advanced. I could perhaps give one of the easier ones enough strength to last a day or two, but I’m guessing that’s not what you’re after.”

Sweetie Belle already began to look disappointed, but Apple Bloom wasn’t ready to give up yet and rolled over to sit up as she continued to press her case.

“Is there maybe somethin’ you haven’t read yet? Or maybe Zecora knows somethin’? Ah been meaning to ask her but Ah’ve been busy on the farm lately,” Apple Bloom pressed. Twilight began to tap a fore-hoof against her chin lightly, humming a little as she considered the options.

“You know, you could ask her about the Heart’s Desire potion. Though I don’t know how long it would last either,” Twilight thought aloud. Apple Bloom’s eyes widened a little as if the idea had completely slipped her mind, and perhaps it had, while Sweetie Belle gave a little groan.

“Apple Bloom got into all KINDS of trouble with that before, though,” the little white unicorn countered despondently. Twilight gave her an indulgent smile and lifted her head slightly into a lecturing posture.

“True, but she made a few mistakes. Notably, she didn’t follow the recipe and she made the potion for herself with selfish purpose behind it. Those two things combined almost always have disastrous results when it comes to magic,” Twilight stated firmly. A thought occurred to her then, and she added, “I think if you two made the potion, with Zecora advising you as to exactly how to make it, you might just get better results. Then it would be a meaningful gift you made with your own hooves. It’s probably not a permanent solution, but it would be better than nothing and it wouldn’t be me doing all the work.”

“Hey, yeah! And if we learned how to make it right, we could make it again if it don’t stick. Zecora says we gotta be careful with potions, so maybe not all the time but we could at least let Scootaloo fly now and again!” Apple Bloom hopped up to her hooves and grinned at Sweetie Belle, who began to smile back as she warmed up to the idea.

“That… might just work! Wow, thanks, Twilight!” Sweetie chirped happily. Twilight gave the two a proud smile that, once again, would have resembled Princess Celestia if another pony were around to see it.

“Why don’t you talk with Zecora then, girls,” Twilight said quickly, motioning to the sky as Rainbow Dash began to circle broadly towards them with Scootaloo on her back, “and we’ll keep it a secret until you can give Scootaloo the potion. Tell Zecora I think you can do it if she seems reluctant.”

“Thanks a lot, Twi!” Apple Bloom hopped forward and hugged Twilight around the neck, with Sweetie Belle echoing the sentiment and mirroring the hug.

“Not a problem girls. Here they come,” Twilight replied happily, and when the girls released her she stood up to trot towards Rainbow Dash. Now it would be Twilight’s turn to do some flying with the cyan speedster and a wise pony would limber up her wings before trying to keep up with the Rainbow.

“Ugh, pine needles and tree sap? How did this even happen on an apple farm?” Twilight groaned as she trudged across the field towards the Sweet Apple Acres’ farmhouse and a hot bath, her wings twitching and flicking in irritation, trying to dislodge the sticky substance coating her feathers.

“See? It’s not just us!” she heard Scootaloo insist from behind her, causing her to shake her head and then laugh quietly at herself. Not even half a year with her wings and she was trying to do stunts that only a pony who’d spent her entire life in the air, like Rainbow Dash, had any hope of pulling off. It was no wonder she had ended up like a Cutie Mark Crusader at the end of another crazy scheme.

“You sure you’re okay, Twilight? That was a monster of a crash landing there,” Rainbow Dash asked again, floating just above her and slightly in front of her, flying backwards. Twilight briefly admired the control and dexterity required to pull that trick off, and was certain that it would be a long time before she herself could manage something like that.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Dash, I just need a bath and some preening. The gunk in my feathers is driving me crazy but it tastes so nasty I’m loathe to use my teeth,” Twilight replied with a wan smile before adding, “Ugh, I'm so sore, too. A hot bath will be wonderful. Clearly I need more practice, but I’ll get it right someday.”

“Hey, you’re doing great! Not everypony can be as awesome as me, but I’ll stick with you until you’re at least close!” Rainbow Dash boasted, cheered by Twilight’s attitude. While Twilight really did like her new wings and quite enjoyed being in the air when she was using them, she did occasionally want to just use her hooves instead. Spending time with her friends was important though, and Rainbow Dash was so happy to have a friend to fly with, that Twilight just couldn’t bring herself to say ‘no’ if she didn’t have a more pressing responsibility. Fluttershy was always willing to cheer Rainbow Dash on, but preferred to be supportive from the relative safety of the ground and so Twilight found herself more and more often in the air.

“Yeah, you’re way better already!” Scootaloo chimed in, running up alongside her with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle following close behind. The orange filly's wings were buzzing in her excitement.

"Thanks, Scootaloo. Flying is a LOT harder than it looks. I'm really lucky Rainbow Dash is willing to put up with me," Twilight replied, stretching her wings out briefly, wincing as a new muscle in her back complained and almost every muscle across her chest ached dully.

"I wish I could join you," Scootaloo added a moment later, "instead of just watching."

Twilight immediately lowered her head to give Scootaloo a comforting nuzzle as they continued walking, causing the filly to shy away - but not before a barely noticeable lean into the comfort.

“Hey, not in front of Dash!” Scootaloo hissed, dancing sideways out of nuzzle distance, causing both Twilight and Rainbow Dash to break out in laughter. Already embarrassed, Scootaloo glanced back behind her but Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom seemed to be involved in some deep conversation and hadn’t noticed, which at least kept her from downgrading to "mortified." Rainbow Dash drifted over to the other side of her honorary sister and flipped over in mid-air, landing squarely on all four hooves and switching to a matching walk without missing a beat.

“Don’t sweat it, squirt, you’ll get there some day, and I’ll be there when you do,” Rainbow Dash chipped in, giving Scootaloo a much more acceptable mane-ruffling with a wingtip.

“That’s right. You’ve got some good friends on your side, Scootaloo,” Twilight added, “and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that with good friends standing beside you nothing is impossible.”

“You really think so?” Scootaloo asked, hope warring with skepticism in her voice.

“I know so!” Rainbow Dash confirmed before Twilight could even open her mouth, adding, “Trust me! I’ve been at Twilight’s side for a while now, and I’ve seen her do plenty of impossible things!”

Scootaloo nodded eagerly, clearly willing to take Rainbow Dash’s words at face value. After a moment Rainbow Dash seemed to think of something, her ear flicking and her gaze sharpening into something even Twilight would call ‘thoughful.’

“Hey, Scoots, I’m gonna help Twilight get her wings clean. Need to make sure she doesn’t muck it up, y’know,” she said suddenly, giving Twilight’s insulted scowl a playful wink, “so why don’t you go do s’more ‘crusading’ with the other girls and we’ll catch up later.”

“Oh, yeah,” Scootaloo chirped back, coming to a stop to wave at them and whirl around to run back to her friends, “That’s not gonna be fun. Good luck and be careful with your primaries! See ya!”

Twilight shook her head as the three fillies chatted briefly before taking off away from the farm house and into the orchard. It was not long after that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were inside the farmhouse and running a bath for the sapped (in both senses of the word) princess to wash up with. Once Twilight was soaking comfortably and scrubbing herself with a brush levitating in her magical grip, Rainbow Dash leaned back against the washroom door and heaved an uncharacteristically heavy sigh.

“Something on your mind, Dash? I kinda noticed you’re not helping me with my wings,” Twilight asked, already suspecting she knew what Dash wanted to talk about.

“Y-yeah… it’s about Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash finally managed to say, confirming Twilight’s suspicions. Equestria’s fastest flier (and premiere up-and-coming Wonderbolt, if the royal sources were correct) seldom needed any sort of privacy to voice her opinions, and there weren’t many possible subjects that she’d want to bring up today.

“How she can’t seem to fly?” Twilight asked, lifting a wing up out of the hot water to gently run the brush along her feathers, easing out the softened tree sap. The Apple family didn’t have any proper wing-care tools, but once the majority of the gunk was out Twilight could do things the ‘proper pegasus way’ and finish with her lips and teeth.

“Yeah, that’s it exactly,” Dash closed her eyes and hung her head helplessly, “I’ve tried, I really have, but I don’t know what’s wrong. She’s doing everything I’ve taught her, she’s really trying her best, but her best doesn’t even come up to my withers. I’m not gonna give up on her, never. But… I think maybe I need some help with this.”

Twilight paused in her grooming and frowned thoughtfully at this information, though it wasn't as surprising as she felt it should be. Scootaloo's flightlessness was quite well known around Ponyville, but most chalked it up to improper upbringing. There were a lot of pegasus foals in Ponyville though, and a lack of formal pegasus training didn't hold any of them back. At least, not in the same way that a lack of proper unicorn training could slow unicorn development. Twilight had made many mental notes about trying to solve the latter problem before, but she was in a rare position now: She had both resources and social status to champion a cause, and education was foremost in her mind, but that was a concern for another day.

"I'm not entirely sure it's as simple as training, Rainbow Dash," Twilight spoke again after a prolonged moment of pensive silence. "She knows more about flying terms and techniques than I do and I've been studying since I first sprouted wings. There has to be more to it."

"So, is there anything that you can do? You've gotta have something in one of your books that can help!" Rainbow Dash all but demanded, grabbing Twilight with her hooves and shaking her, sloshing the water around in the tub. Twilight's head wobbled back and forth until she stopped Dash by pressing a wet hoof to the pegasus' chest.

"Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have already come to me with the exact same issue, actually," Twilight said, causing Rainbow Dash to sit back again and stare hard at her, chewing her lower lip.

"Well?" Rainbow demanded while Twilight was collecting her thoughts, making her roll her eyes and then switch wings to gently brush the other out, ignoring her friend's impatience.

"I'm getting to that," Twilight grumped in return, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"I suggested the girls try brewing up a Heart's Desire potion for Scootaloo, and then give it to her for her birthday. I told them to talk with Zecora and have her supervise, but that it was important for them to do the whole thing themselves. I figure a little bit of the magic of friendship could be just the thing to help get Scootaloo into the air, and once they know the proper way to do things, Sweetie and Apple Bloom can mix up another potion every now and then on their own," Twilight explained, finishing up brushing out her other wing as she finished her explanation, then ducked her head under the water to scrub vigorously through her mane.

Rainbow Dash fidgeted with her hooves until Twilight came back up and began brushing her mane out. After a moment waiting to see if Twilight would say more, she spoke up again, plaintively.

"But, what can I do?" she asked, emphasizing the personal pronoun, begging for an answer with her eyes.

"There's... not really anything more that you'd need to do. I imagine Scootaloo's friends will have it covered," Twilight replied, though she did pause in her brushing to look curiously back at Rainbow Dash.

"I'm Scoot's big sister, Twi. I gotta do something for her. I can't just... sit around and let others do all the work, not when it comes to this," Rainbow Dash pleaded, looking down at her hooves and stomping one gently against the floorboards. After another moment, she looked back up, meeting Twilight's gaze. Twilight gazed back, wishing she had some idea to suggest to the most loyal friend she had ever known.

"I'm not going to let this go, Dash, but in the interim I think it might be good for you to just help Apple Bloom and Sweetie. They're going to need to go into the Everfree for ingredients, I imagine, and you can escort them. Might not be a bad idea to be there in case a quick hoof is needed to prevent disaster," Twilight suggested, giving her friend a wry smile at the last word.

“Disaster? Heh, yeah. I mean, Apple Bloom does seem to be less disaster-prone than the others, but she still manages some whoppers. And Sweetie Belle… She’s a great kid but, y’know, anything involving her hooves…” Rainbow Dash trailed off and waggled a fore-hoof in front of herself dubiously as her ears laid back slightly against her head, the frown tugging deeper.

Twilight rolled her eyes and nodded in agreement, twisting around to scrub at her tail with the brush instead, bringing a thick-toothed pick over to work out knots that had formed from clumping tree sap.

“That’s why it’d be good to have you there with them. I know you prefer to act, Dash, but in this case just keeping an eye on things might be the best option,” Twilight added a bit of decisiveness into her tone, “While you’re doing that, I’ll start working on research to find a more permanent solution. It could be a long time, though. Let’s focus on the immediate goal: Scootaloo’s birthday.”

“I know you’ll figure something out, Twi. In the meantime, yeah, focus on the now. Maybe I’m finally getting through to you!” Rainbow Dash brightened considerably, fluttering her wings and sitting up straighter.

“No guarantees, Rainbow. But I’ll work on it,” Twilight said as she stood up in the tub and carefully stepped out, levitating towels over to dry off her mane and coat while her wings rose half-unfurled to drip dry.

“Right, right,” Rainbow Dash waved vaguely, then gave Twilight an awkward smile, “Say, do you, uh, want help preening? You’ve got a lot of wing to cover…”

Twilight gave her cyan friend a warm smile, and dropped down onto her haunches, spreading her wings out more fully.

“I’d love that, Rainbow. There’s still gunk everywhere,” Twilight replied. Social preening had been an entirely unheard-of thing for Twilight prior to earning the extra appendages. Accepted as commonplace amongst pegasus ponies, they were still rather quiet on the matter with their earth-bound cousins. Fluttershy had brought it up with Twilight shortly after her coronation, and Twilight had been eager to study the phenomenon until she realized how intimate, for lack of a better term, it really was. A pegasus had to be very comfortable with another pony before letting them touch their wings like that. Fortunately, Twilight considered Rainbow Dash a close enough friend that it wasn't an issue, and the two settled in to grooming her wings back into pristine condition.

“Ick, this stuff is nasty,” Rainbow Dash said after carefully pulling tree sap from one of Twilight’s primaries with her teeth and tongue. Twilight gave a short laugh, carefully spitting out a loose covert feather into a small pile between her fore-hooves.

“Yeah. Thanks for helping me with it,” the purple pony replied.

“No problem. Anything for my friends, and it was my trick that got you into this mess,” Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof, “Anyways, less talk, more preen. We gotta get you to the library so you can do your egghead stuff.”

With a laugh and a roll of her eyes, Twilight twisted to work on her left wing while Rainbow Dash kept up on her right, and soon Twilight was tree sap free and the two were able to rejoin the rest of the Apples for the afternoon.

Chapter 2

The Everfree Forest. Even in the light of the morning sun it was a dark and creepy place, but Rainbow Dash shrugged it off, reminding herself that she was the awesomest thing in the forest. Also, it wouldn’t say much about her if she were afraid when there was a young earth pony filly trotting fearlessly ahead of her into the forest. Gnarled tree trunks twisted up from the ground, reaching for the sky, branches writhing out chaotically to greedily consume every beam of sunlight, leaving almost none for the fungus and ferns dotting the undergrowth below. Every dozen paces or so a small wooden mask festooned with feathers and brightly-colored paint was tied to a tree. Even knowing that they were special zebra magic that kept the path clear of overgrowth and warded off hostile animals didn’t ward off Rainbow Dash's unease at the inequine designs. Sweetie Belle apparently wasn’t feeling any better about it, staying pressed to Rainbow Dash’s legs during the journey. Every time they passed a mask Sweetie would scurry to the other side of Rainbow Dash. Only Apple Bloom’s fearlessness kept the little white unicorn from fleeing back the way they came.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings slightly as she walked, giving Sweetie a measure of shelter that seemed to go well with Apple Bloom’s confident gait. The two things combined to draw Sweetie out a bit and eventually she was walking normally beside Dash. She still didn’t stray far, but by the time they had passed Zecora's home and proceeded deeper into the forest along the path she was straying farther ahead, eyes wide and head turning to look at trees and undergrowth with growing curiosity.

Eventually Apple Bloom came to a stop at one of the small masks along the trail, looked around at the surrounding foliage, then beamed back at Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle.

"This is the place! Just off in the trees from here," she declared brightly. Rainbow Dash couldn't tell what made this spot different from all the others along the path but since Apple Bloom had done this before she resolved to go along. Sweetie Belle hesitated at the edge of the path even as her friend jumped head-first through the overgrowth of two massive ferns. She looked up at Rainbow Dash nervously, who gave an encouraging smile in return.

“Apple Bloom knows her stuff, and she’s done this before. Let’s go,” Rainbow curled her wing down and around behind Sweetie to encourage her, then folded it back up so she could fit. Sweetie Belle nodded and straightened herself up bravely, but the pegasus didn’t miss a visible swallow of trepidation from the little unicorn before they pressed in between the ferns to follow after Apple Bloom.

The other side of the ferns was a very different world. Every time Rainbow Dash followed Twilight Sparkle into the Everfree Forest they had followed some sort of path, even if it could barely be called such and occasionally ended at a river or chasm. She recalled only a few times she had not been following a path, and those times she’d always either been flying or with the rest of the girls. Now, she was the adult responsible for two fillies in the middle of the strangest and most dangerous forest in all of Equestria. The weight of responsibility formed a lump of tension in her throat as her ears and eyes darted back and forth, searching for danger. It was impossible to see more than a pony’s length in the foliage due to a combination of lack of light and density of plant matter, and the noises of distant creatures occasionally disrupted the buzz of nearby insects.

“Right over here!” they heard Apple Bloom call out, and Rainbow Dash pushed on ahead through the dense Everfree undergrowth while keeping Sweetie Belle in sight. This left her following Apple Bloom by sound, and after helping Sweetie up from tripping on a fallen branch they broke out into a small, surprisingly sunny clearing where several brightly-colored flowers grew. Rainbow Dash didn't have the best track record with brightly-colored Everfree flowers, the bold blue Poison Joke coming easily to mind, but Apple Bloom fearlessly trotted about these. The sun and cheery flowers turned Sweetie Belle’s mood around significantly and she leapt from Rainbow’s side to run over to where Apple Bloom was carefully digging in the earth near some of the purple-colored flowers.

Rainbow Dash ran her gaze over the clearing curiously, walking out closer to the middle of the area while somewhat studiously avoiding the flowers themselves despite seeing both of her charges step right through them. The dark of the surrounding forest did little to hinder the rather warm and relaxing feel of the flower patch itself, mostly due to the sun filtering down on the clearing from above through sparse branches. Even lush green grass grew in the clearing, as though the leaves of the trees above just couldn’t be bothered to cover this spot.

The Everfree wildflowers, though not in the neat squares, circles or orderly rows that pony-grown flowers were usually found in, still managed to organize themselves into roughly-circular patches. Each group kept mostly to themselves with only a bit of overlap where the patches touched. It was strange, to a civilized pony like Rainbow Dash, but unlike most of the weird stuff of the Everfree the flowers managed to catch the eye and their various scents combined to soothe the senses.

Apple Bloom was working on a second plant now, apparently trying to dig up the entire thing instead of just plucking the stem or leaves. Sweetie Belle was storing the first one in her saddlebags. Content to let the fillies dig up flowers, Rainbow Dash beat her wings a few times and lifted up off the ground, rising up a bit to circle the clearing just below the thin interwoven branches of the canopy while keeping an eye on the surrounding forest below. Thus far it had been a remarkably uneventful trip into the Everfree, but Zecora was involved so perhaps it wasn’t so remarkable. The zebra shaman certainly knew a thing or two about the wild magic that infested the forest.

A few minutes later, while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were working on collecting samples of the other flowers in the clearing, the clearing darkened noticeably. All three ponies looked up through the gap in the forest canopy to find that gloomy grey clouds had floated overhead to mask the sun. Two pairs of filly eyes looked up at Rainbow Dash for her opinion on the change, and the pegasus shook off the creepy feeling instilled by autonomous weather to smile reassuringly down at her charges.

“Don’t worry girls, those aren’t rain clouds. Even the Everfree obeys SOME rules,” she explained, and the two fillies made relieved sounds before getting back to their work. Rainbow Dash did try to chivvy them along a little, adding, “We should probably finish up though. Without the sun things are going to cool off pretty quickly, plus we won’t be able to keep track of time as easily.”

“All right, Rainbow Dash. Ah just need a couple more a’ these and we can head back,” Apple Bloom called up. Accepting that, the cyan pegasus began to circle the clearing a bit more rapidly to burn off some of her nervous energy. This was the Everfree, after all! There was always something to fight, or something creepy going on. While part of her knew it was dumb to wish for that kind of thing while she was watching over two innocent fillies, she found herself growing impatient with the creeping feeling that something was going to go wrong. Briefly, she found herself wishing it would just happen already.

Which was, of course, when things stopped going so well.

The cloud cover above, previously a gloomy grey but nothing threatening, suddenly began to darken. Without the sun to warm them directly, the air in the glade chilled rapidly, sending a shiver up the spines of the two ponies on the ground. Rainbow Dash barely noticed the chill, her pegasus magic protecting her as naturally near the ground as it would high up in the sky. The darkening clouds overhead warranted her attention, however, and she frowned up at them.

“Okay, that was freaky. Girls, we should finish up. I don’t like the looks of those clouds,” Rainbow Dash called down without taking her eyes off the clouds in the sky. Where before they were merely grumpy, now they looked positively threatening, as if the ponies had overstayed their welcome and were now prime candidates for being drenched. Definitely time to go find shelter.

“Hey, where’d all this fog come from?” Sweetie Belle’s squeaky voice chimed up somewhat muffledly from below. Rainbow glanced down finally and found a thick fog rolling in from the surrounding forest, obscuring not only the ground but the ground-bound fillies as well. Silently cursing the bizarre weather of the Everfree -- as well as herself for inviting trouble -- Rainbow Dash made a swift descent to the ground.

“Hold on girls, I’m here,” she called out, flapping her wings a couple times in preparation. Then, she reared up and with a violent flap sent a powerful gust of wind swirling from her wings through the glearing, carving a path through the fog and revealing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Dashing over to the girls, she held her wings out and let them cluster close to her.

“Stay close girls,” Rainbow advised, though the press of the fillies to her legs made the words seem unnecessary. The fog rolled back in to fill the gap she had carved almost immediately, and now had swelled up to be over Rainbow Dash’s head as well, turning the entire world into a murky dark grey.

“This ain’t never happened before,” Apple Bloom observed, voice trembling a little as she swung her head around in an attempt to see more than just Rainbow Dash’s legs and the ground beneath them, “I can barely see Sweetie Belle and she’s right next ta me.”

“I, uh, got turned around. Do you remember which way is back to the path?” Rainbow Dash asked, gulping audibly as she vainly tried to see through the fog. Regular fog wasn’t supposed to be so thick! The dark forest around them made it worse, as though night had fallen suddenly.

“Maybe I can…” Sweetie Belle offered, then made a curious growling noise. A glance over to her showed her muzzle and eyes screwed up in concentration. A faint glow of magic sparked, fizzled, then popped into existence around the tip of her horn, brightening the immediate area. After a moment she opened her eyes, and gasped.

“I did it! I finally did it!” she cheered, hopping around a moment before curling up to look at her flank, though it remained blank.

“Awww,” Sweetie hung her head as Apple Bloom patted her on the back. The light sputtered as Sweetie’s concentration waned and she wrinkled her nose as she fought to keep it going.

“No, no, that’s good Sweetie! At least we can see now,” Rainbow Dash spoke quickly, encouragingly, “and gives me an idea. I’m going to blow away the fog again. Apple Bloom, I need you to try to tell which way we need to go. Sweetie, keep up that light, it’s the only way we’ll be able to see where we’re going.”

“Ready?” Dash asked the fillies standing beneath her. They nodded as one and she grinned, “Don’t move. Apple Bloom, just find and point the way.”

Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air and, using the bright gleam at the tip of Sweetie Belle’s horn as a center point, flew in a quick, tight circle above the middle of the clearing to form a miniature vortex. An expert weather pegasus, Rainbow Dash knew better than most how to manipulate both the air and the water vapor within it. She knew all about forming whirlwinds, but more importantly she also knew how to shatter them to break up fog like this.

It took mere moments to begin drawing in the fog filling the glade, then she pulled up above it and dove straight down the middle, causing an explosion of pegasus magic to burst outwards. Briefly, illuminated by Sweetie’s magic, the clearing came entirely into view. Apple Bloom immediately squinted, spun around, then oriented herself facing on side of the clearing and pointed a hoof out.

“That-a way!” she declared brightly, though the cheer was short-lived as the fog aggressively swelled back up from the surrounding forest to try to obscure their path. Rainbow Dash had already darted down and sent another rush of wind in the direction Apple Bloom was pointing, beating her wings sharply to force the obstinate fog back.

“Let’s go, then!” Rainbow insisted, and Apple Bloom led Sweetie through the tunnel in the fog with the pegasus bringing up the rear. They made it into the thick undergrowth of the forest proper when Apple Bloom paused and glanced back at her. Nodding, Dash reared up to free her wings and sent another burst of air forward, rattling the trees and ferns violently. Apple Bloom corrected her course and lead the way again, Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash following behind.

Things became a bit trickier once they were in the forest's thick undergrowth. Without more room to spread her wings, Rainbow couldn't properly clear the fog away from their path. Sweetie Belle was holding the light valiantly, but a bead of sweat was forming on her forehead as she did her best to maintain her concentration. Cursing herself for wishing for "excitement" Rainbow Dash pressed on, sheltering the two fillies as Apple Bloom tried to retrace their steps back to the path and the markers that would lead them back to Zecora's hut.

"Ahh!" Sweetie cried out suddenly, tripping on the same fallen branch she stumbled on earlier, and she face-planted in the dirt, the glow of her horn snapping out immediately afterwards.

"Sweetie! Are yah alright?" Apple Bloom exclaimed as she tried to hop forward to where Sweetie fell, only to stumble herself and echo Sweetie Belle's cry of surprise.

"Girls! Stay still!" Rainbow Dash snapped, much more carefully reaching out and feeling for them. Her hoof poked Apple Bloom, earning her a "Hey! It's me!" of protest, at which point, she moved in closer to stand protectively above the two fillies.

"I'll be okay. I just tripped," Sweetie protested. "You didn't need to fall on me."

"Sorry Sweetie. Ah was just worried," Apple Bloom replied apologetically. "Here, lemme help yah up."

"Okay, let's be careful, girls," Rainbow Dash admonished. "Take a breather and get the light going again. Then, we can get moving."

It took a minute or two, but they were able to calm Sweetie enough that she was able to find her magic and cast her light spell again. This time Apple Bloom insisted on going first to make sure there was nothing that would trip Sweetie up, and Rainbow Dash kept close behind her to catch her if she did stumble. They pressed on back towards the path, taking it more slowly, shoving through the increasingly uncooperative undergrowth of the forest. Twice Apple Bloom paused, gave the surrounding fog-enshrouded foliage a suspicious look, then corrected her course and led them onwards, her ears laying further back each time until she stopped and looked back.

"Ah, Ah don't think I know where we are anymore," she admitted with a tremor to her voice, "Ah just can't figure out what way ta go. Ah'm sorry..."

"WHAT!?" Sweetie shrieked, making Rainbow Dash wince and pin her ears back, "You mean we're LOST!? But... but... you're out here all the time!"

"Ah'm SORRY Sweetie! This fog makes it impossible ta tell one gnarly old tree from another! And it's all wet too, so I can't try and smell my way to the river or nothin'," Apple Bloom whimpered, curling up on herself as her eyes begged the other ponies with her for forgiveness.

"Look, it's okay Apple Bloom," Rainbow Dash started, earning an incredulous look from Sweetie Belle prompting her to amend, "Right, the situation isn't okay but we'll get out of this. If we weren't turned around I'd say we go back to the clearing and have me try to break through the branches there but as it is..."

"Maybe we can get to the river and Rainbow can fly us out from there?" Sweetie offered hopefully.

"That'd be good, but Ah just don't know where it is," Apple Bloom said as she hung her head. Sweetie Belle chewed her lip in fret and rubbed her head, while Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and tried to think of a solution. The girls were counting on her, after all, and there was no telling when the strange fog would lift. Silently cursing her luck, Rainbow Dash almost missed a sound in the distance.

"I... I don't think I can keep this light going much longer," Sweetie said suddenly. "I'm feeling kinda woozy and my head's starting to hurt."

"Shhh," Dash hissed quickly, waving a hoof at Sweetie. The little unicorn whimpered but quieted down. Dash's ears pivoted around rapidly, quickly zeroing in on the sound she had heard.

"Girls... I think I hear the river," she said quietly, causing both fillies to perk up at her hopefully. Dash gave them both a broad grin, then ducked her head and tossed them both onto her back.

"Hang on and stay quiet," Rainbow Dash admonished, then began picking her way through the forest, ears focused on the sound of running water. She had to stop every few steps to make sure she was going the right way, but soon even Apple Bloom perked up while Sweetie just focused on keeping her horn alight.

"Ah think Ah hear it," Apple Bloom whispered. Dash gave her a quick grin and a wink, then forged on ahead.

"I don't think I can keep this up," Sweetie Belle moaned miserably from Dash's back, immediately dampening the excitement that had been welling up in the other two ponies. Apple Bloom rather nimbly twisted around and pushed Sweetie between Rainbow Dash's wings, then hugged her supportively.

"C'mon, Sweetie, just a little more," she whispered encouragingly, earning a whimper but also a nod from the unicorn. Rainbow Dash picked up her pace, risking the occasional stumble and some bruises around her fetlocks in order to find the river before they lost their light.

As fate would have it, they just managed to break out from the forest itself as Sweetie let out a quiet groan and the light at the tip of her horn sputtered out. The fog dimmed only slightly, however, as without the forest canopy the sun was able to filter down from above. The rush of the river could be heard very close by now, and Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder at the two fillies.

"Great work, Sweetie Belle. We couldn't have done it without you. Hang on tightly, you two... we're going up," Rainbow Dash cheered, though conservatively as though still under the hush of their earlier prowling. Apple Bloom nodded to Dash and hugged Sweetie Belle down against the pegasus' back. Spreading her wings, Rainbow Dash flapped experimentally a couple times, testing the weight of the fillies on her back, then with a quick warning she sprung into the air and flapped vigorously, drawing them up from the ground and towards the brighter sky above. The fog clung to them desperately, but in the end only tendrils were able to hold on to the pegasus and her passengers as they rose above it all and into the sky. Rainbow Dash paused in a hover and looked around to get her bearings while Apple Bloom peeked down at the forest they'd just left behind.

"Aw, hey, wouldja lookit that," she groaned, pointing down with a hoof. Sweetie Belle was still holding her head, and holding on to Rainbow Dash for dear life, not at all willing to look down from this height, but the pegasus they were riding did.

The fog which had harried them from the clearing to the river was rolling back away with unexpected swiftness, melting away like ice cream in the middle of summer and in barely a minute they could see the river and ground clearly, as though the fog had never been. There was no sign of the clearing from their vantage point, and the sun was much lower in the sky than they'd anticipated.

"I hate this forest," Rainbow Dash muttered, "it never works the way it should and now I'm convinced it has it in for ponies. I can't believe Twilight says that anypony used to live here."

"It ain't usually this ornery," Apple Bloom observed, chewing her lip in concern, "and that was downright strange. We should get back, I bet Zecora's worried about us."

"I just wanna get home and sleep," Sweetie Belle moaned miserably.

"Right, Zecora's first, then home. We'll circle around to the Ponyville edge of the forest and walk back from there. I don't want to get lost again," Rainbow Dash said as she turned and began flying towards Ponyville, doing her best to keep level and smooth for Sweetie's sake.

"Ah hear that!" Apple Bloom agreed, while Sweetie just whimpered and nodded.

The trek back to Zecora's hut was, thankfully, uneventful, but it was nearly dark by the time they arrived. Apple Bloom hoofed over the flowers they had gathered, prancing a bit afterwards after Zecora complimented her skills in gathering the flowers. Judging it too late to do any work on the potion, the trio bid Zecora farewell and Rainbow Dash flew the fillies home. There was a bit of explaining to do, neither Applejack nor Rarity were very pleased with how late they were in returning, but Rainbow Dash had no trouble talking up the adventure. She made sure to exaggerate her part, but gave both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's glowing praise as well. While remaining dubious, the fillies' elder sisters were at least glad they were home and thanked Rainbow Dash for keeping the fillies safe. Boasting took time, however, and it was well past sundown when the cyan pegasus knocked on the front door of the Ponyville library.

"Coming!" Spike's voice chimed out from inside, followed by the soft clattering of dragon claws on hardwood and the click of the door latch. The door swung open and Spike poke his head out from the brightly-lit interior, going from a curious-but-professional expression common to his "customer service" mode to a slightly wider-eyed surprise which gave way to cheerful recognition.

"Rainbow Dash! Come on in," Spike said brightly, opening the door wider and stepping out of the way.

Exhausted from the day's exploits, Rainbow Dash chose to leave her wings folded at her sides and simply walked into the library's main lobby. Twilight was, predictably, resting with her legs folded on a large cushion and reading a massive book with the sort of cover that screamed "boring" to someone like Dash. Twilight wouldn't be Twilight if she didn't have her nose buried in an improbably thick book and while Dash enjoyed adventure novels she'd never get what was so interesting about non-fiction. Earning those wings got Twilight into the air, but that just made it easier for the purple princess to read the book titles on the top shelves.

The guest pillow, broad, stuffed with goose down and colored a deep purple to match the one Twilight sat upon, was just on the other side of a low table stacked with books. Rainbow Dash would be the first to admit that she didn't spend a lot of time paying attention to little details, but she had been in the library often enough to know that a lack of scrolls or sheets of parchment meant that Twilight was reading for pleasure and not seriously studying. She made straight for the guest pillow, then did her best impression of Rarity and flopped onto it with a gusty sigh. She laid still for a moment, watching Twilight read, then got up, inhaled deeply, then threw herself onto her back upon the pillow with a loud groan, looking up at the ceiling.

"Huh? Oh, Rainbow Dash! How'd it go?" Twilight looked up finally, smiling brightly for a moment before her forehead creased beneath her horn and she added, "Wow, you look kinda rough. Did something go wrong?"

"Oh, nothing big," Rainbow Dash swirled a fore-hoof around in the air above her head, "Just the Everfree trying to trap us in the forest with fog!"

"What? Really?" Twilight's magic marked her page in her book and set it aside as Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow Dash. "The Everfree's been really quiet for a while now. Not even timber wolf sightings."

Rainbow Dash shot Twilight a cocky grin, put her fore-hooves behind her head and crossed her hind-legs. Now she had Twilight's attention.

"Yeah, Apple Bloom said she'd never seen anything like it," Rainbow continued. "Freaky weather blocked out the sun with clouds half-way through the flower-picking, and then this strange fog moved in right before we finished up. Good thing I was there! Those two might have been in a lot of trouble. That fog was THICK!"

"Well, I'm glad you three got out all right! I suppose the Everfree is still pretty wild and resistant to pony magic. Tell me about the strange fog," Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin thoughtfully.

"I couldn't do much to it. I'd blast it away and it'd just come right back. Kinda of annoying. It was weird, too... it rolled in and stuck to us as we tried to find our way out. Once we got to the river and I took the girls up into the sky, it cleared up and went away again," Rainbow Dash added, trailing off to add a little mystery to it. Twilight frowned unhappily and nodded.

"We'll have to keep an eye on it. I guess it was too much to hope that the Everfree would stay quiet forever. Did the girls find all the ingredients they needed?"

"Yup!" Rainbow Dash preened, "Thanks to me being awesome we got back to Zecora's with all the stuff, though it was too late to get started tonight."

"Hmmm. That gives them a couple days to get it right, but I know Zecora will help them mix up the potion. Did you come here just to brag?" Twilight added with an arched eyebrow and a wry smile.

"Hey, I'm just proud of my part! Especially since I can't infuse my awesomeness into the potion itself," Rainbow protested petulantly, ears laying back along her skull. Twilight apologetically mirrored the expression and reached out to put a hoof on Dash's shoulder.

"Sorry, Rainbow. I know you wanted to be involved, and it clearly WAS a good thing you went along. Don't worry about it. I'm sure Scootaloo will appreciate you being there at her party, even if she doesn't know about your part in the gift," Twilight reasoned hopefully. It did help, if only a little, and Rainbow Dash relaxed her ears and smiled back a bit.

"Thanks, Twi. I should head home. I'm beat and we have a flight date tomorrow! By the way, any word on the next Daring Do?" Rainbow Dash rolled off the pillow and onto her hooves, standing up as she stretched her wings. Twilight shook her head.

"None yet, though she DID mention in her last letter that it's off to the publisher, so hopefully we'll get a date soon!" Twilight responded, picking her book back up in her magic.

"That's better than nothing, I guess. I'm counting on you to tell me the ABSOLUTE SECOND you find out!" Dash finally said, then lifted herself into the air with her wings and flew right out an open window. Spike, having opened the window just before, pushed it closed again and went back to his shelving tasks and Twilight turned back to her book after allowing herself a small laugh at her friend's exit.

Chapter 3

The next morning dawned brilliantly, complete with singing birds and sun streaming in through windows much like it had the previous day. Unlike the previous day, there was panic in the Apple family home as Apple Bloom's voice screeched out through the otherwise cheerful morning.

"WHAT!? They moved it to TODAY? Why would they DO that!?" she yelped, aghast, at the mare who had come bearing the news. Rainbow Dash reared back a bit in surprise, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof uncomfortably.

"Well, that's why I'm here! Pinkie Pie came by and told me. Scoot's parents decided to surprise her with VIP passes to the Wonderbolts performance in Cloudsdale, but they'll have to leave tomorrow and will be gone all weekend," Dash replied, forelegs spread helplessly. She followed Apple Bloom with her eyes as the yellow filly began scrambling around the house, grabbing a set of saddlebags before stuffing them full of random things. Dash twisted in the air to follow the filly's mad progress around the house.

"Wonderbolts VIP passes are crazy expensive and almost impossible to get, so they can't miss this chance," Dash continued explaining. "They can't have the party ON her birthday, so they moved it to today. We- I mean YOU couldn't make the potion last night so…"

"What're ya waitin’ for?!" Apple Bloom demanded desperately as she zipped past Rainbow Dash going from one room to another, "Go get Sweetie and bring her to Zecora's! I'll meet y'all there!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth for a moment to take offense at Apple Bloom's brusque tone but the filly was gone up the stairs to the second floor. Then again, time was of the essence and speed was what she was good at, so Rainbow spun around and flew out the front door, slamming it closed in her wake as she zipped off towards Ponyville. A moment later, Apple Bloom came pounding down the stairs again, her momentum carrying her into the wall opposite the landing just as Applejack poked her head in from the kitchen to yell about slamming the front door.

"Applejack! Ah'm goin' to Zecora's! Bye!" Apple Bloom called out as she tossed her full saddlebags onto her back and careened past her sister and through the back door of the farmhouse. She ignored whatever it was Applejack called out to her and left the house behind, running headlong through the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. With the single-minded focus of a young filly who absolutely had to be someplace, she expertly dodged around trees, leaped over bushes and scrambled over the odd fence that got in her way as she rushed towards the Everfree Forest.

The path that lead to Zecora's home was clearly marked to anypony who knew what to look for, kept clear of debris despite its winding nature. Apple Bloom had traveled this way so often she didn't think twice about plunging into the forest's borders, scampering along the twisting trail. Her hooves didn't stop pounding the dirt of the path until she planted all four of them to skid to a stop before Zecora's door. The packed dirt almost provided enough stopping power, but she still managed to collide with the door and bounce off, landing back on her rump. She scrambled up to her hooves but before she could even finish standing up again the door swung open and Rainbow Dash poked her head out.

"What kept ya, slowpoke? C'mon in. Zecora's got Sweetie working already," Rainbow Dash quipped, stepping out of the way and ushering Apple Bloom in.

The inside of Zecora's tree, even rearranged to accommodate visitors, was still somewhat crowded with three ponies and a zebra. Rainbow Dash was left perched up and out of the way atop a large chest while Zecora moved quickly around the large, bubbling cauldron in the center of her home to extend a hoof and keep Sweetie Belle from absent-mindedly mixing up some ingredients. Apple Bloom noted with some surprise that Sweetie wasn't actually doing anything with the ingredients for the potion they were making, until she saw the real ingredients organized carefully in bowls at the end of the worktable. They'd agreed that Apple Bloom would do the mixing part of the potion, and that meant that Sweetie was now just doing busy work for Zecora. Apple Bloom felt bad that Sweetie's part was over already, but her friend seemed perfectly happy to continue following Zecora's directions, so she pushed the feeling away. How fast had Rainbow flown if Sweetie had time to do all of the prep work already? Apple Bloom felt quite certain she wasn’t the only one excited about getting this potion done.

"Hi Apple Bloom! We've been waiting for you!" she called out as she finished pulling the petals off a flower and dropped the stem onto a pile and turned to wave.

"It is good to see you, Apple Bloom. I'm told Scootaloo's birthday is unexpectedly soon," Zecora spoke up while scooping the large pile of flower petals into a jar, "Your part is ready for you to begin. Don't forget my book and the recipe within."

"Good!" Apple Bloom replied, hopping up onto a stool and reaching for a roughly-bound notebook Zecora had pointed out. She tugged it close with her hooves, grabbed it lightly in her mouth, then pulled it off the table. She hopped off the stool and opened it up on the floor where Sweetie could also see it. "Ah want this to go perfectly, so we'll do it by the book!"

"Page forty-two has the recipe for you," Zecora advised with a smile, walking away from them and over to where Rainbow was impatiently fidgeting with her hooves.

"Okay! Says here we need to take the four ingredients: prickleberry seeds, bloomberries, heart's desire an' amethyst, then put 'em in a bowl and grind 'em up," Apple Bloom read off, her hoof sliding along the page she was reading to help her keep her place.

"Got them right here!" Sweetie Belle crowed, then scrunched her face up in concentration and levitated four bowls over to Apple Bloom, three small ones and one large one while adding, "Zecora helped me get the amounts right and I already mushed up the seeds and berries."

"Ah, good!” Apple Bloom said as she grabbed each of the bowls in turn, dumping the one with all of the ground ingredients into the large stone bowl, a large and rough-bottomed mortar for just this purpose, before adding the heart's desire and amethyst. She glanced over at the notebook, then back at Sweetie saying, "We need to boil some water."

Sweetie Belle nodded and spun around, twice, looking for a kettle to heat water in. She dashed off a moment later after a helpful pointed hoof from Zecora and set about filling it from a rain barrel outside. Apple Bloom picked up the pestle in her mouth and pushed it down into the mortar that contained all of the other ingredients and began to grind it all into a paste. By the time Sweetie had returned from outside and set the kettle over the cooking fire in the middle of the hut, Apple Bloom had ground all of the ingredients into a pulp.

"Okay! Once the water boils we just need to…" she trailed off as her eyes scanned over the page once. Then twice. Then she looked over her shoulder at Zecora.

"This says we gotta boil it for a candlemark, about half an hour Ah reckon, then let it sit for three more hours?!" she exclaimed unhappily.

"Three hours?! But Scootaloo's party is gonna start in TWO!" Sweetie echoed Apple Bloom's dismay, the unicorn's voice cracking at the end of her exclamation.

"The potency must be carefully balanced or the potion will go bad even with MY talents," Zecora warned from off to the side. Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to try to bargain with the zebra but Apple Bloom stopped her.

"Zecora's right. We're gonna do this by the book, even if we end up late. The last time Ah was impatient everything blew up, and the time before that Ah gave mahself Cutie Pox. Rainbow Dash? Could you, y'know, distract Scootaloo as long as you can? We need time ta let this brew," she cut in, turning at the end to look pleadingly at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus looked surprised at first, then straightened up and saluted.

"You got it, Bloom! I'll give you two all the time you need!" Rainbow Dash replied proudly, though almost immediately after she started chewing on her lip and looking up at the ceiling. She shook her head vigorously to clear it and nodded at Apple Bloom again. “Yeah, I got ideas already.”

"Thanks so much, Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie Belle said, running over to hug the pegasus while Apple Bloom checked the water, "We're counting on you!"

"No sweat, kids. I got this one in the bag. See you two later, and you, Zecora! I got a filly to keep busy!" Rainbow gave them all a grin and a wink, then flew out an open window to head back to Ponyville. Sweetie Belle looked after her with a beaming smile, while Apple Bloom scratched her head.

"Ah hope she doesn't start too soon, 'cuz we got a couple hours before the party still," she said, then shrugged and picked up the mortar and its contents, the water in their kettle finally beginning to boil.

The happy chattering of foals filled Sugarcube Corner as it did many a day, with the pink-on-pink form of the inimitable Pinkie Pie bouncing around to and fro distributing pastries, directing games, starting new ones or encouraging impromptu songs. While Scootaloo was the birthday filly of the day, by this point in a Pinkie Party the revelry became more general. Everypony still enjoying the festivities broke off into their usual social groups or formed new ones, chatting and playing games. This left Scootaloo, after two long hours of almost non-stop party, on her own and gazing out a window, brooding.

"Hey, Thcootaloo," a familiar lisping voice chimed up just behind her as she watched the path leading to Sugarcube Corner's front door, "Why are you looking tho thad?"

Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder reflexively. The voice's owner, a filly about her own age with a light cream coat and distractingly bright strawberry mane and tail, was smiling broadly at her from behind a pair of purple-rimmed glasses almost too big for her face. Twist's pale lavender irises nevertheless gleamed brightly, lit by both the light from the window and the grin that showed nearly every tooth in her mouth. Scootaloo's mind automatically filled in the one detail she couldn't see: Twist's cutie mark of two purple-and-white candy canes forming a heart.

"Oh, hey Twist," Scootaloo replied half-heartedly, returning her gaze to the scenery outside, "I'm fine. You should go back and enjoy the rest of the party."

"Nah, itth YOUR party," Twist said, coming up beside her and pushed a small box into Scootaloo's field of vision, "tho I brought you a prethent to help make you thmile!"

The box was wrapped with a purple ribbon the color of her mane and tail, and the box was an orange matching her coat perfectly. It had a loose-fitting top, and thusly did nothing to hide the smell of the box's contents, a distinct chocolate scent that was unmistakable to the young pegasus. She glanced up at Twist in surprise, who nodded encouragingly to her.

"You didn't look very happy, tho I figured I'd keep it thecret tho you could have them all to yourthelf," Twist added with another smile, nudging her glasses back up her muzzle a little with a hoof.

Scootaloo tugged at the ribbon, pulling at the visible end of it until it unraveled and came loose, dropping off around the box on its own. She hesitated a moment, then nudged the tip of a hoof under the lid of the box and lifted it up slowly, just until light shined in on the chocolaty treasure within. Her nose hadn’t lied, for within were small spheres of chocolate studded with crushed nuts.

"Ch-chocolate-covered caramel nut balls?" Scootaloo asked breathlessly, tearing her eyes from the box of treats to look at Twist for confirmation.

"Yup! Your favorite!" Twist chirped brightly, eyes squinting as her smile deepened when Scootaloo's mouth drew up into a smile of her own.

"Wow, these are… I haven't had these in ages. You made all of these just for me?" Scootaloo snuck one of the chocolates out of the box and quickly stuffed it into her mouth, then snugly replaced the cover while chewing happily, eyes starting to glaze over.

"Thee? I knew thothe would cheer you up!"

"Mm, thanks, Twist. Look, I'm sorry I'm feeling down I-" Scootaloo stopped as Twist's hoof touched her nose.

"It'th okay, I know. You want your friendth here. I don't know where they are, but you three are inthep, inth… you're together all the time. I just know they'll get here with thomething REALLY thpethal," Twist replied firmly, still smiling but with an intensity to her eyes that bespoke unusual seriousness.

"It's not the gifts, those are great, I just miss THEM," Scootaloo said, then looked down at the box of chocolates for a moment before meeting Twist's eyes again. "But you're right. Rainbow Dash says they didn't forget, and I trust her - and them. Thanks."

"It'th my pleathure!" Twist grinned, then hopped up and turned to head back to the party.

"Hey," Scootaloo put a hoof on Twist's withers briefly to stop her, "did you come up with all that yourself?"

Twist looked back at Scootaloo and shook her head a little.

"Pinkie Pie thuggested a lot of it, but I thought up a few thingth on my own," Twist answered honestly. Scootaloo smiled anyway, and Twist's expression grew to match.

"Thanks again. I'll let Pinkie know that it was a great party, say 'good-bye' to everypony else and then Rainbow Dash and I will go find the girls," the pegasus promised, then let Twist prance back into the party proper, where Scootaloo saw her circle around widely before approaching Pinkie Pie. Smiling despite herself, Scootaloo took her chocolates over to the small pile of presents she'd accumulated and hid the box where, hopefully, nopony would find it. Then she took a deep breath, pushed her melancholy to the back of her mind and started towards Pinkie herself to request a wrap-up of the celebration.

The front door to Sugarcube Corner chose that moment to burst inwards, admitting a pair of yellow and white blurs that tumbled to a stop a pony-length or so inside, nearly flattening a filly who was balancing a huge slice of cake atop her head. As if the dramatic, nigh-catastrophic entrance alone wasn't enough, the squeaky voice of the unicorn that ended up on the bottom and the apologetic drawl from the earth pony scrambling to get up off of her was a dead give-away. Somehow, a small box remained undamaged atop the latter's head.

"You girls made it!" Scootaloo exclaimed, rushing over to help Sweetie Belle up as Apple Bloom dusted herself off and checked on the package still atop her head. Sweetie was barely to her hooves when she was drawn into a brief but energetic hug alongside Apple Bloom.

"Y-yeah," Sweetie managed to squeak out, "sorry it took so long."

"We wanted to make sure it was just right," Apple Bloom added, reaching up and taking the box off of her head with her hooves so she could hold it out to Scootaloo. "Here, we made ya something."

Scootaloo took the box in her hooves but instead of opening it right away she paused to savor the situation. Her friends HAD come, and were delayed because they were trying their hardest to make something special for her! Of course Twist and Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were right. For a moment, Scootaloo almost set the package aside to tell her friends that they were more important, not some silly gift. Then that small voice inside every foal spoke up and reminded her that she was holding an unopened gift and had no idea what was in it.

"What is it?" she asked reflexively, holding the box up giving it a little shake to hear the subtle thumping of some solid object within.

"Just open it already!" Sweetie chirped, bouncing once in place, clearly impatient. Scootaloo almost delayed further just to tease her friend, then gave in and grabbed the ribbon in her mouth and tugged. It failed to come loose, and a quick look explained why: Sweetie Belle had been the one to tie the ribbon, and it was a knotted mess. Sweetie was blushing a little and looking apologetic, but Scootaloo just gave her a sympathetic smile and started pulling the ribbon off sideways, nipping at it until the thin material snapped and slid off completely.

Once the ribbon was clear of the box Scootaloo flipped the lid of the box off with her nose. She carefully tilted the small container to slide the contents out onto one of her hooves, then immediately dropped the box and brought her other hoof up to help hold it. The gift was a glass bottle no bigger than one hoof, containing a curious lavender liquid. Obviously, she was supposed to drink it, but it didn't look like juice or cider of any type she'd seen before. She swirled the liquid in the bottle and noticed little sparkles of color glittering in the light.

"What IS it?" she asked again, this time lifting her eyes to look curiously at her friends, who glanced at each other before looking excitedly back at her.

"It's a Heart's Desire potion," Apple Bloom said proudly, holding her head up high. "We made it ourselves!"

"Zecora helped us the whole way," Sweetie Belle added quickly, noticing Scootaloo's suddenly dubious expression. "We did it by the book and everything. No shortcuts, and everything was double-checked!"

Scootaloo relaxed a bit at that, and held the potion up to the light. The sparkles within glittered a bit, winking in and out like fireflies at sunset. After a moment of admiring it she glanced back at her friends, or more specifically Apple Bloom.

"So, how does it work? Do I just drink it?" she asked curiously, excitement and anxiety welling up within her at the thought of getting her heart's desire! What would it be? Did she even know?

"Yup! It's s'pposed to help if you think of what you want, sorta like wishin' when you blow out birthday candles, but it mostly works on what's in your heart," Apple Bloom explained, lifting a hoof to tap Scootaloo on the chest lightly.

"Should I drink it now?" was the next question on Scootaloo's mind, and she voiced it immediately.

"Ah don't see why not!" Apple Bloom answered readily, "Unless ya wanna go outside in case your heart's desire is to turn into a dragon or something."

"That would be AWESOME!" Scootaloo crowed, then looked down at the bottle thoughtfully. This was an incredible gift that her friends had given her, with so much potential. She could have a cutie mark, maybe! Though she dismissed that idea with a readiness that surprised even herself. It wouldn't be fair for her friends to give her a cutie mark and not get one for themselves. She actually had a lot of things already, when she thought about it. Not that she didn't want more things, but there wasn't much that her heart desired. Except maybe…

"I think I know," Scootaloo whispered, her eyes drifting over to Rainbow Dash, who was watching the three of them from over by the punch bowl, poorly pretending to be focused on a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony. Scootaloo’s gaze drifted back to her two best friends in the whole world, who were both beaming at her encouragingly, as if they already knew what she wanted. Sitting back on her haunches for stability, she held the bottle snugly in both fore-hooves and pulled the stopper off with her teeth, spitting it out onto the ground. She set the neck of the bottle to her lips, then tilted her head back and drank the potion in several gulps. She set the now-empty bottle back in the box it came from, and looked up at her friends again.

"What happens now? I don't--whoa," Scootaloo stood up straight and felt her wings tingling suddenly, and she reflexively spread them out and gave them a flutter to try to dispel the sensation, but it persisted. She looked back, the tingling spreading first through her bones and then down through her feathers, making them itch as the sensation spread from her coverts down through her primaries and secondaries. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to start preening at her feathers, doing her best to just let the potion work. The itching grew to be unbearable very quickly, but in just a few heartbeats more it was over and she opened her eyes again.

"Did it work?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously, walking around to look at Scootaloo's wings closely, which caused the pegasus to fold them back to her sides again self-consciously.

"I dunno, but it sure did SOMETHING. Umm, how about we go outside, where there aren't so many others, and see?" she asked nervously, smiling at the other two fillies. Apple Bloom nodded first and Sweetie Belle agreed quickly afterwards. All three of them slipped out the front door quietly to avoid drawing attention, though Rainbow Dash noticed and followed quickly after.

Two quick corners and they were back behind Sugarcube Corner. The afternoon sun still shone brightly down on Ponyville, especially the three fillies, but their peers were all inside the building and the hoof traffic stayed out front, giving them a measure of privacy. Scootaloo stood apart from her friends, spread her wings and gave them a brief, experimental buzz, then took a deep breath. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gave her encouraging nods, and with only a moment's hesitation more the orange pegasus filly closed her eyes and wrinkled her muzzle in concentration then flapped her wings as hard as she could.

She shot straight up into the air.

"Whoa!" she cried out and flailed her legs a moment, bobbing up and down a bit before settling into a comfortable hover. She stared down at the other two girls, who were beaming up at her. Then, they were jumping around each other in excitement.

"Yer flying, Scootaloo! Yer flying!" Apple Bloom cried out, while Sweetie Belle echoed her with a less articulate "Yaaay!"

"I am! I really am!" Scootaloo cheered, flying in a quick circle, then doing two backflips in a row before diving straight for Apple Bloom, tackling her into Sweetie and rolling with them into a tight hug against the wall of the bakery.

"You two did it! You fixed my wings!" Scootaloo cried, actual tears leaking out of her eyes. She sat up then and scrubbed at her eyes with a fore-leg a bit, "Heh, got something in my eyes."

"Well, they ain't FIXED," Apple Bloom warned, though it didn't seem to dampen the mood much, "because the potion will only last a couple days for things like… well, like this. Zecora says it's meant to fix temporary problems, but we tried real hard to give ya a day or two in the air. Now that we know how to do it, though, maybe we can make it again sometime."

"Yeah! Umm, Zecora said something about not overdoing it, I think, but we'll figure out something. Maybe some real flying will help your wings figure out how to do it on your own," Sweetie Belle added brightly, dusting herself off.

"Yeah, that's fine," Scootaloo said, biting her lip a bit and trying to keep her rebellious eyes under control. There was water in them and no wind to blame that on. Eventually she just hopped up into a hover off the ground to add a little distance to make her tears less obvious. "It's just… I can fly! For now, at least. You girls are the best friends EVER."

Unable to resist, Scootaloo zipped backwards again, flung herself upwards into the air and managed to turn a circle into a tight spiral towards the sky that ended in her stalling out, back-flipping and then diving into a loop that skimmed the ground in front of Apple Bloom and Sweetie. They were simple tricks, things she'd seen Rainbow Dash do for fun. Heck, even Twilight Sparkle could do them, but that didn't matter to Scootaloo. She was in the AIR.

She twisted mid-air and dove straight for her friends. Sweetie Belle yelped and dove behind Apple Bloom, who reared up and waved her hooves at Scootaloo in an attempt to ward off the inevitable. The resulting pony-pile found both earth and unicorn fillies being squeezed by the pegasus, Apple Bloom's eyes rolling around in her head dizzily while Sweetie Belle gaped like a fish and slowly started to turn blue.

"Can't… breathe…" Sweetie wheezed out weakly.

"Sorry, sorry!" Scootaloo relaxed her hold suddenly and hopped back, then with further thought buzzed her wings and lifted up into the air again. "I just can't believe it! Thank you girls SO MUCH!"

Unable to contain another burst of energy, Scootaloo spun another three-loop spiral in the air, then dropped back down to plant all four hooves on the ground and grin broadly at her friends, who were no less enthusiastic in their smiles.

"Heey, nice moves, kid," came a rough, cocky mare's voice from the roof of Sugarcube Corner. All three fillies looked up in surprise to see Rainbow Dash waving a hoof down at them from behind one of the chimneys.

"Rainbowdash!" Scootaloo cried out excitedly, flying directly towards and right into the fore-legs of her adoptive older sister. "Rainbow Dash, I can fly now!"

"Heh, heh," Rainbow Dash patted her awkwardly on the back, looking around a bit to see who else was looking. Only spotting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, Rainbow gave Scootaloo a more genuine hug before letting her go and holding her out at leg's length, "You even managed a few tricks. Took me a week to get Twilight doing those without face-planting! Good job, kid."

"D-do you think…?" Scootaloo asked suddenly, glancing out at one of the open fields of a nearby park.

"Sure! That's what wings are for, after all!" Rainbow winked and lifted into a hover beside Scootaloo with a single flap.

"Go ahead, Scoots!" Apple Bloom called up from below, "We're gonna… tell Pinkie! And get some punch. Yeah. We'll meet you two at the park in a bit!"

"Oh, yeah!" Scootaloo said with a grin, making a little room between herself and Rainbow Dash, "Race ya there!"

Scootaloo spun and zipped off as fast as her wings could carry her, which she noted wasn't as fast as she liked. Still, the laughing call of "Not fair!" from Rainbow Dash made her heart soar higher than the clouds, and soon enough they were neck-and-neck on their way to a day of flying at the park.

The last rays of the setting run spilled in through the open window of the Golden Oaks library, sleepy orange and red colors slowly washing over the books filling the shelves of the opposite wall. Two firefly lanterns and a flickering candle provided extra light for Twilight as she continued her reading, books on flight and theoretical studies on pegasus magic piled up around her reading cushion. A quill rested in an ink pot beside a stretched out scroll, but only a few meager lines of writing were visible, and a disappointment wrinkled Twilight's brow.

A soft hum escaped her as the disappointment faded and she opened up a second book to verify an idea she had just had, when the entire world exploded in stars followed by spinning and falling books. Coming to a rest against a wall, Twilight's spinning eyes focused one, then the other on the bright blue nose pressing against her own before flicking up to look into the magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash.

"It worked!" the pegasus cried out excitedly. Twilight opened her mouth to yell at her friend's rude interruption when the world suddenly lurched and began wobbling and swimming around as Rainbow Dash shook her by the shoulders and continued shouting, "It worked! It worked! It worked!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight finally called out, planting her hooves on Rainbow's chest and shoving the pegasus back to stop the wild shaking. She used a little more force than she intended, and Rainbow Dash ended up flopping backwards onto the reading pillow, but the pegasus was undeterred.

"Scoots was FLYING Twilight! Right up into the air as soon as she drank the potion!" Rainbow Dash was back in the air, flapping her wings excitedly. Twilight rolled her eyes and with a gleam of magic around her horn began to retrieve and sort the books that had been knocked around by her friend's explosive entrance.

"Yes, Dash, I know. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stopped by earlier to let me know before joining you and Scootaloo at the park," Twilight huffed, then let her expression relax before putting on a smile. "They were just as excited as you and couldn't stop talking about how happy they were."

Rainbow Dash folded her wings finally and dropped neatly to all fours on the library floor, flicking her tail and twitching her wings a bit. Twilight gave her a good-natured chuckle and returned to her reading pillow, prompting Dash to follow her and look over her shoulder.

"So, whatcha reading?" came the inevitable question. Twilight held up one of the two books that held her focus currently.

"Books on pegasus magic. Literally all of it is theoretical at this point. There hasn't been a single serious study of pegasus magic for centuries, and the few that happened before that were highly unethical attempts by unscrupulous unicorns trying to 'steal' pegasus magic for themselves. There are barely a hoof-full of cases like Scootaloo's that I can find, and all of them just gave up and claimed the subject was 'crippled for life' by the end of the study," Twilight tilted her head and glanced back at Rainbow Dash. Twilight recognized scorn when she saw it, and set the book back down.

"Quitters, all of them!" Dash snapped, somersaulting over Twilight with a twist to land back on her hooves facing the princess. "I won't accept that for Scootaloo. She was flying, and all it took was a little potion!"

"Relax, Rainbow. We're not gonna give up. We've got some advantages this time. First up, I'm a princess now, and have first-hoof experience with pegasus magic while still knowing and being able to use my unicorn magic," Twilight explained. "Princess Celestia never had the time to help with that sort of research during Luna's banishment and prior to that nopony was interested, that I can tell.

"Secondly, all of these studies apparently ignored the fact that there are spells that convert unicorn magic into pegasus magic. Specifically, the wing spell that I used on Rarity, as well as the cloud-walking spell the rest of us used to visit Cloudsdale. Third, we're all interested in this on a personal level, too. I'm sure we can do something for Scootaloo eventually, but it'll take time."

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly the entire time, paying unusual attention to Twilight's words. By then end, she was grinning fiercely again.

"I know you can do it, Twilight!" Rainbow beamed.

"I'm not going to be able to do it alone. I'll need your help, at the very least. But we've got a start," Twilight replied with a smile. She was rewarded with a tight hug from Rainbow, which she returned readily.

"You're the best friend ever, Twilight," Rainbow almost-whispered.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who's a great friend, Rainbow. You make a pretty great big sister too, from what I hear," Twilight patted her friend on the back gently. The hug lasted just long enough, then Rainbow let her go and hopped backwards.

"I'm gonna let you get back to your books, Twi. I need to get to bed anyway. Got another big day of flying with Scoots tomorrow before that potion wears off!"

"Don't let me spend the whole day indoors, in that case, Rainbow. I want to see you two flying as well!"

Rainbow Dash was gone in the next instant, and Twilight closed the window behind her with a brush of her magic. Friendship had once again beaten the odds and chased away sadness with joy. Twilight gave a happy sigh and brought her quill and parchment closer as the last light from the sun faded into night and the moon took its place in the sky. Nothing was solved yet; they all had a lot of work ahead of them, but Twilight knew in her heart they'd find a way. Together.

Author's Note

Edited 2014-06-11 to add the REASON for moving the party date up. Thanks go to EquesTRON for an excellent suggestion that makes perfect sense.