A Dragon in Shining Scales

Thanks to my editor: adanger2all !

"Scootaloo! Scootaloo! SCOOTALOO!!!" Apple Bloom called impatiently up to her friend's cloud. It hung in the sky like a small freeloader. The fluffy white cloud hung in the sky simply letting the air and pegasi do whatever they wished to it. Of course, it was just a cloud; it isn't like it has feelings or anything important to do. Apple Bloom did however, Sweetie Belle had something important planned today.

Today was the day, Sweetie Belle was going to try out teleportation for the first time, (under Princess Twilight's strict watch inside her castle. In a location that can withstand any magical blast, in case anything went too far or was going to go downhill of course). Sweetie Belle felt confident that she could teleport, but Princess Twilight was the only one to say, "No one does it on the first try." and also thought the filly's confidence was at an all time high for somepony training under a princess, speaking from personal experience of course. No pony mastered any spell of any kind without proper training and supervision which was why Princess Twilight was willing to watch her student when she wanted to try.

"What!?" She yelled back down, not moving from her favorite spot in the sky. After finally learning how to fly after two years of hard training, after Rainbow Dash 'adopted' the enthusiastic filly, she just wanted to relax on her cloud. It was hard work, but with plenty of training and drinking enough milk Scootaloo's wings started to show rapid growth, as did her height. In fact, all the fillies looked much more grown up and nearly ready to get their cutie marks. They decided to take their crusading slower so they didn't destroy the town right after the repairs were just done. All in all they were happy and so was the mayor, she could cancel the repair funds sent from Canterlot. Not even Princess Celestia herself could figure out how three fillies could cause two million bits of damages in only two days.

The orange filly was enjoying the early summer day as it was. Up in the clouds, the air was cool, and the summer sun was keeping her warm even though pegasi didn't feel their higher altitude coolness. Evolution had favored pegasi. Giving them not only strong but light bone structures, but a higher tolerance to temperature differentials to deal with the higher altitudes and landing again. When Rainbow Dash explained this to Scootaloo, Twilight was around in the library to make sure that Rainbow Dash was spot on and that there wasn’t any incorrect information. Which was a strange sight for the athlete to be found in. Rainbow Dash hated libraries, and books in general if it wasn't a Daring Doo novel. So, finding out that Rainbow Dash loved to teach not only how to fly, but different and more complex parts of the pegasus was something short of a paradox.

"We need to go see Sweetie Belle! She's goin' to try teleportin’ today!" Apple Bloom wasn't willing to wait for long. She wasn't going to be late because Scootaloo didn't want to leave her place in the sky. It was almost funny when everypony found out that Scootaloo saw Rainbow Dash as her true mother. After her mother died when she was a filly she didn't have anypony to look up to, and it was Rainbow Dash who took her place. "Come on!" Apple Bloom’s voice showed great need for her friend to listen and go with her.

Scootaloo turned over on her cloud and smiled down at her friend. "Why today? I thought it was going to be when we saw Princess Twilight on Tuesday?"

Apple Bloom snorted, stomping her hoof. "Did ya really forget Scoots? Sweetie Belle told us two days ago that she was going to do it on Friday because she won't be here. She's going to be with her big sis' in Canterlot!" Apple Bloom hated how Scootaloo always forgot about important things like this. This was going to be Sweetie Belle's first actual teleportation she wanted to do.

When Apple Bloom told her this Scootaloo did remember, after a little thought, that Sweetie Belle did make that a thing with Princess Twilight's approval. "When do we need to get there? I can fly us there, if you want." She offered kindly in order to arrive there sometime quicker than just walking.

"In ten minutes, and yes, if Ah'm not too heavy..." She said meekly. "Ah've been gaining a bunch from learnin' how to apple buck." Now that Apple Bloom was older, it was time for her to start helping more on the farm. She started with simple chores, but she wasn't quite big enough to apple buck. She could do everything else but apple bucking. Now that she was helping with the more difficult chores, Applejack could focus more on the on coming Zap Apple harvest.

Scootaloo flexed her wings proudly and stood on her back legs. "I'm sure I can! Don't you worry!" She swooped down with an orange and purple trail behind her in a short frenzy. Then with one sharp turn up she held Apple Bloom in her hooves, flying in the direction of the castle.

Sometime later, somewhat closer to the ground encase she dropped Apple Bloom, Scootaloo was finding that she was in over her head. Her friend was in fact heavy, if not heavier than they both thought. Apple Bloom felt sorry for her winged friend, though she figured it's what she gets for not remembering her friend's debut.

The slightly grown filly was about ready to call it quits when she saw Rainbow Dash flying by. Instantly, her energy boosted, and her wings found new strength to go on. Apple Bloom only laughed to herself seeing how she knew well the feeling behind working hard to impress somepony. Her somepony was her big sister Applejack who was one of the best apple buckers in all of Equestria. Her medals didn't lie and neither did the Element of Honesty.

As soon as Scootaloo landed, she nearly dropped her friend. Gasping for air while laying on her back, she found it hard to breath. She held a hoof in the air saying, "I see the light..."

Apple Bloom giggled. "Come on Scoots! We gotta get goin'!"

She struggled to get up, but Scootaloo managed to stay up though her legs wobbled like crazy. Her whole face was flushed from exhaustion as she panted heavily, grabbing as much air as she could in one breath while trying to keep a quick pace to not pass out on. Apple Bloom helped her friend onto her back and made sure she wasn’t going to fall off. Many of the ponies around them saw this act of kindness, and awwed wonderfully at them, some even cheered happily.

"Don't *pant* tell *pant* anypony!" Scootaloo wheezed out nearly turning blue now.

"Keep breathin’ Scoots, yah look kinda blue." Apple Bloom gently scolded Scootaloo, who seemed to take heed of her warning. Her voice taking on almost motherly tone to it. "Besides....A couple dozen saw me do it anyways."

Apple Bloom felt a swell in pride for her admiration. Everypony saw her do it, and all of them cheered for her. She didn't know why they did, but she knew this town loved heroes. She wasn't thinking that she would be thought as a hero. The whole time she made her way into the castle, Apple Bloom thought about how big this was for Sweetie Belle as well.

Her friend has been learning how to teleport for the past seven weeks, she said that today was the day she knew she could do it. The white filly had done it a few feet, but it was still a full teleport. A few inches would have also counted as well, but the filly claimed that she was trying to pick up a falling piece of fine Piena that Rarity loved to death. To have it break would mean for the whole town to suffer Rarity's wrath until she found who ever did it. What Sweetie Belle did was a massive favor for the whole town. What led the Piena falling was still very much a mystery nopony had any need to solve.

Twilight didn't want to believe it at first, but eventually she had thought about how hard Sweetie Belle was trying to teleport things. At first it was a small ball, then it moved to heavier things, then after about four weeks she started to move to small logs as heavy as a newborn filly. It was very possible that the filly had managed to do it by some whim. Princess Twilight had a reasonable theory on how the filly managed it. With a combination of absolute need and being almost ready to do it, there was a good chance it was a simple teleportation to keep the Piena in one piece.

"Ah, girls! Welcome!" Princess Twilight smiled happily at the two incoming fillies. Then she realized Scootaloo was laying on Apple Bloom's back, she giggled for but a moment, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud. She covered her mouth, suppressing her laugh. "Well now, looks like someone is the hero of the day I suppose." It was such a cute sight to see. Twilight had also instantly thought of a lesson to tell her former mentor. What she saw was a perfect friendship between all three races. The CMC was a perfect example of the union of pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns.

Apple Bloom gently placed her friend down on her hooves. "Can ya stand now Scootaloo?" She nodded, and Apple Bloom took a moment to crack her back. "Ahhhhh.....Thanks Princess Twilight, She flew me here from her cloud outside town."

Twilight quickly ran over to Scootaloo, her horn lighting up like a Hearths Warming Eve night in Ponyville. She rapidly doused the filly in medical spells to make sure the filly didn't strain herself too harshly. Twilight also helped restore some lost stamina by putting her in an small adrenaline rush to keep the filly awake. She then moved on to return her heart rate to normal and put pure oxygen into Scoots’ lungs, which made the room smell a lot like ozone.

After a few moments, Twilight got her on her hooves, standing right. She sighed in relief. "Are you okay Scootaloo?" Twilight had a few driblets of sweat running down her face, and her wings looked limp as well. Twilight wasn't a master at healing spells. Her area of practice was Combat and Defensive magics, and she was alright in support magic. Her magical blasts were powerful enough to wipe an entire country side, and her shields put her brother's to shame . Not even Shining Armor could protect against Discord's magic, somehow, Twilight's could.

"Princess are yah goin' to be okay?" There was more than a hint of concern in Apple Bloom's voice. She approached the princess in case she needed help to stay steady.

Twilight nodded slowly, taking in a few deep breaths. "Yes, thank you for asking." She said with a kind smile, hugging the filly with a gentle squeeze. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were such good friends and students, she couldn't think any less of them if they helped out one another. It was wonderful that she could write about what she learned to her former teacher. It was a habit she didn't think of quitting any time soon. They cared about anypony close to them and always made sure that they were fine before doing anything else they wanted to do.

"Where's Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo said at last, finding herself back at a steady breath. Her face was still flushed a bit, but she was glad she wasn't blue anymore.

"She'll be here in a moment. She needed to do something before she started." Twilight explained, catching her own breath. Sweetie Belle had to get Spike so he could write down the results of her teleportation. Because dragons could smell the level of magic within ponies, Spike was the only one who could accurately measure magic used.

"Princess Twilight, we're back!" Sweetie Belle shouted, walking in from the other side of the hall. Spike stood next to her waving his claw with a smile. "Ready Spike?"

"I am!" He gave a stern nod. "You ready girls?!"

"We are, Spike!" Twilight called back with an quill and parchment. "You may start when ready Sweetie Belle! You can do it!"

Spike placed his claw on Sweetie Belle, and smiled softly at her. "You can do it Sweetie Belle. Have faith."

Sweetie Belle looked back at Spike. "You really think I can?"

The drake nodded, throwing a thumbs up. "You got it in you. You just got to find it, y'know?"

She inhaled deeply. I sure hope so... Sweetie Belle thought, taking in another deep breath. She wanted to be as calm as possible. The room was so quiet, she could hear her breathing so clearly. It was a little strange to have the hall so quiet. Normally it was filled with Twilight ordering her around, telling her which spells to use during practice. But now, she was in control, this was her moment.

Sweetie Belle's horn lit up, so did Twilight's as she began using a magic spell to scan Sweetie's. So far, everything was normal. Sweetie Belle imagined herself fifty feet away in front of Twilight and her friends. First time teleportation, when done right with proper calculation, Twilight knew this well. You had to think of yourself there, feeling everything around you like you were already there.

Twilight saw a spike in her magic flow, but this was natural. Once the image is created, you must begin to feel the movement of the teleport. Then~

BBBBUUUURRRRPPPP!!!

Sweetie's eyes grew wide and white as the first wave of magic blasted outwards, but the ponies and dragon were able to keep themselves steady. Twilight tried to put a shield around the filly, but it was too late, she was already in a magical overload.

"GET DOWN!!" Twilight screamed as the sudden noise had caused Sweetie Belle to go into shock. Her magic spiked to dangerous levels. She reacted just like her mentor had when she had misstepped. Twilight quickly placed a tracker on her, shielded them all, and moved Spike over all in the matter of seconds which seemed to be all she had.

Sweetie was screaming in so much pain, the magic had overloaded. The magic was so super heated it started to turn to a semi-liquid form that dropped onto her face as she rose into the air. It was so heated it began to burn the white filly's face. Windows began to break as the scream reached a sickening pitch.

Everything went white for Twilight and the others as she vanished with a loud explosion. They were all pushed back violently as Twilight's shield shattered, they all screamed as they flew back against their wills. Twilight hit a pillar after managing to grab the fillies but not Spike. She knew the drake was as strong as she was when he hit the other pillar next to her.

Twilight woke up a few moments later. Her body finally allowing her to move around. The fillies were out cold and Spike was still down, but he was fine from what her spells showed her. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief before moving on Twilight began to use magic to move the dust out of the way.

"Sweetie Belle!" Twilight cried, not hearing an answer. "SWEETIE BELLE!" The smoke was clear, and in the center of the creator, was a pile of ash. "SSSSWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTIIIIEEEEEE BBBBBEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She fell onto the ground, and began sobbing uncontrollably. The only thing that was passing through her mind was, I'm a failure as a teacher...

The next day Rarity had came to see the destruction, in fact all of Ponyville had. The princesses, all of them, and Discord arrived later. They didn't say a single word, not even Discord had anything to say, but he watched, the only thing that didn't move from his spot.

Spike was sitting right next to the ash pile, tears running down his eyes. "I failed...I....I could've...done something...." He murmured to himself sadly. He sat there in a ball, looking at the ash. "I couldn't even say it....I should have....but..."

Seeing the small dragon so distraught, Rarity of all ponies walked over to him. She hugged him tightly. "You loved her didn't you?"

Spike blushed a little. "Yeah, a little..."

"Is that why you're sitting here, alone?"

He looked away from Rarity, frowning. "I'm sitting here because I told her she could do it..."

"And she did...This isn't your fault Spike." He looked to Celestia who had overheard their conversation. "I don't know whose fault it is, I wouldn't like to think it was somepony's fault...but, maybe she's alive.

Spike curled up into a very tight ball. "I sure hope so..."

Two weeks had passed. There was no sign of Sweetie Belle that could be found within Equestria. Not even four princesses could search the entire world for one pony. Their range was affected by where they ruled, meaning they could only go only five thousand miles from Canterlot in every direction.  They poured their magic into Twilight once again so she could use every bit she could to find the small white filly. The tracer that Twilight had placed on her was magically burned away by the superheated flash. Twilight did every calculation possible, but they all ended up the same: The flash was too hot, it killed her instantly the very moment of the explosion.

When she broke the news to Rarity, she refunded every client, and recommended that they go see Coco Pomel. Rarity closed down her shop the day she found out. Twilight pulled some princess moves, keeping the whole home working fine. Water, heating, electricity, etc. She made it a royal order until Rarity was once able to take care of things herself. Of course Mayor Mare was more than happy to help Twilight and offered to help check on Rarity when she wasn’t busy.

Pinkie Pie convinced the Cakes to help keep Rarity stocked with food. Rainbow Dash got a friend to drop her mail inside her house. Fluttershy stayed with Rarity to make sure that she wasn't going to do anything bad to herself. Rarity was almost killed by her grief, but thanks to Apple Jack and Big Mac they moved everything into their cellar to make sure she was safe. She cried for days. As each day passed she looked worse and worse, not even caring about her make-up or cleaning up in general. Thankfully, Fluttershy was also on top of taking care of every need Rarity had. Food, she cooked it to precise measure, and water, she made cold. Baths were always a nice soothing warm with some herbs to help her relax.

However, unknown to them, Sweetie Belle wasn't dead at all...and not even Discord knew this.