Fly Away
By ZAquanimus
“Yee-Haaaw!”
Scootaloo groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.
“Yeeee-Haw!”
Scootaloo let out a sigh and pushed her pillow aside, turning her head to look out her window. The sun had barely risen over the trees of Sweet Apple Acres. Dawn must’ve been within the last hour.
“Every Morning... Confound those Apples.”
She chuckled and rubbed at her eyes. She really shouldn’t be complaining. Apple Bloom and her family had taken her in and cared for her like she was kin over the years; they had even allowed her to build a cloud house over their property once she was old enough to want the privacy.
Scootaloo rolled out of her bed, stretching her legs after she landed on the “floor” of her bedroom. The Apples were awesome ponies she thought to herself as she walked over to her shower room, and the closest thing she had to a family. Scootaloo walked into her wash room and pressed a small cloud that seemed out of place into the wall. Instantly it began to rain throughout the small room. She stepped forward into the middle of it, sighing as the water ran down her mane and dropped down to the floor where it would cycle back around to the ceiling again. A self-contained shower system that she had designed herself. Normally the water would just wash out of a pegasi’s home and it’d be as if it were raining; But Scootaloo had seen that as a mighty big waste of water and had figured out how to get the clouds to filter out the filth as the water ran through it, ensuring clean, efficient water. She just had to change out the cloud acting as the filter once a week.
Scootaloo went back to the door and pushed another little cloud “button” into the wall, cutting of the flow of the water as she walked back into her bedroom. They called her the Atmospheric Artisan; she could do things with clouds that other pegasi had never even dreamed of. Her cutie mark confirmed that, a conductor’s wand over a cumulus cloud with little lines running along it representing the winds. She went to the back of her bedroom and began climbing up some stairs to the roof where she would dry off. Sure she could make herself a room for blow drying like she had in other cloud homes in Cloudsdale and elsewhere; but she preferred drip-drying in the sun.
She laid down on her roof, Celestia’s sun higher in the sky than before. Giving her a better view of Sweet Apple Acres, seeing that the clouds were running as she left them the night before. Some were beginning to get plump with water and would rain tomorrow as scheduled. That was how she helped the Apples, she wasn’t very good at applebucking, maybe if there were some particularly stubborn apples she’d fly up and grab them. But mostly she was just Sweet Apple Acre’s personal sky-keeper. It was the least she could do for them.
Shaking her mane back and forth, Scootaloo felt it was dry enough and went back downstairs. She wondered how she would be spending her day, she swept her eyes across her room, coming to rest on a weathered pair of goggles, her most prized possession. She walked over and picked them up, looking over them fondly, perhaps she would practice some of her tricks. She sighed as she looked up at her poster of the Wonderbolts hanging over the spot where the goggles went.
“Maybe som...” Scootaloo cut off as she heard a shout from outside.
“Scootaloooooooooo~ Scoootaloooooooooooooooooooooo~”
Walking over to her window she looked out to see Apple Bloom and the frou frou of the trio, Sweetie Belle.
“Scoooootalooooooooooo~” Applebloom called one last time before seeing Scootaloo’s head poking out from the window.
“it’s about time you get up sleepy head! Hurry up and get down here, we got something to show you!”
“It’s absolutely diiiivine~” Sweetie Belle chirped.
“I’ll be down in a sec! Hold your horses!” Scootaloo groaned as she turned back inside, Sweetie Belle was starting to sound more and more like her sister everyday. She liked them and all, but that frou frou lingo of theirs wore on her nerves at times. She placed the goggles back on the shelf as she walked to her door, opening it to see the whole Apple Family and Sweetie Belle standing right below her. Scootaloo was a bit perplexed.
“Hey watcha all doing over here anyway, it’s Applebucking season ain’t it?”
Applejack chuckled “Well shucks sugah’cube, Ah figured it’d be okay to take a small break to see off our favorite little flyer on her big day, isn’t that right Big Macintosh?”
“Eeeyup.”
“Wait, what do you mean my big day?”
“Applejack tilted her head a bit “Well isn’t to...” Apple Bloom cut her off.
“Today’s the Wonderbolts Try outs!”
“Eep..” Scootaloo felt her heart sink like a stone. She had completely forgotten. She rushed back in and grabbed her goggles before galloping back out the door. Throwing herself out of her cloud house and beating her wings as she turned into a spiralling corkscrew to gain altitude.
She could just barely make out her friends and family yelling out their best wishes. Scootaloo somehow heard Sweetie Belle over all the others as she reached cruising altitude and angled off to Cloudsdale.
“Do us proud honey.”
****************************
Scootaloo arrived at Cloudsdale in record time. Rushing as she flew towards the Cloudsdale Arena where she knew the try outs were being held. She saw pegasi all around her, she knew they were probably making a raucous as they made their way to the arena to watch the try outs. But all she could hear was the beat of her heart, pounding in her ears. She should’ve felt tired from flying so far so fast, but all she felt was her heart in her throat and adrenaline coursing through her veins.
She flew into the entryway meant for those trying out and everything faded. She might have started out a bit bumpy today. But now she was ready. Today she would become a Wonderbolt.
****************************
Hours later she stood within the archway leading out to the arena. She had been late, but they still let her into the try outs. But she was the last one, and all the waiting had been wearing on her nerves.
There was a roar of applause as the pegasus currently trying out pulled off their finisher. All try outs were allowed 3 minutes to strut their stuff so to speak. She wouldn’t need that much time. She had practiced her move for months, and she knew it wouldn’t disappoint. The colt, it had been a brown colt with an hourglass for a cuiemark, trotted back through the archway. Scootaloo tried to swallow, gulping air as she walked into the arena. The light blinding her for a second as she stood, waiting for her eyes to adjust.
She didn’t need to wait long, her heart started pounding, hammering in her chest as she heard a voice over the roar of the crowd, her head snapping to look in the direction of the V.I.P. section where the Wonderbolts would be sitting.
“Hey there Squirt, I was hoping you’d show up. To be honest I was beginning to worry that you chickened out.”
Scootaloo saw them, Spitfire the previous Wonderbolts leader one side, Soarin who had been her second in command on the other, and sitting between them with the biggest smirk on her face was the first Wonderbolt out of Ponyville, the leader of the Wonderbolts, and her hero, Rainbow Dash.
“Long time no see, ey Squirt? I see you still got my goggles. How’s Ponyville doing these days? No wait, tell me later. Right now, show us what you got.”
Scootaloo felt the blood rushing to her face as she lowered her goggles over her eyes and flew out into the center of the arena, gaining speed for her routine.
Rainbow Dash sat back with an expression that anyone who didn’t know her would’ve called smug. Turning to Spitfire she said,
“Keep an eye on her, this kid has got the stuff.”
Spitfire rolled her eyes and giggled before turning her attention back to the arena. “Whatever you say Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly and followed Spitfire’s gaze. Whispering to herself.
“Come on, knock us out Squirt...”
Scootaloo’s heart was racing, her breath coming out in short, quick gasps as she gathered up all the clouds within the arena, trying to make it look as smooth and graceful as possible. But she just needed the clouds, nothing more. She pushed the last cloud to the center of the arena, where a rather large round cumulus had developed from her efforts. Satisfied with the mass of the cloud Scootaloo began her climb.
Beating her wings harder as she reached the top of her ascent she did a triple backflip into a dive, heading straight toward the clouds she had gathered. Preparing herself she corkscrewed, picking up speed as her flight through the air began to create static electricity from the friction. Rainbow Dash recognized it as a tweaked start to a maneuver that she had incorporated into the Wonderbolts’ routine when she had taken charge. But she was unsure of what Scootaloo was gonna do with it.
Scootaloo kept picking up speed as she tore into the sphere of clouds, where she unleashed the Buccaneer Blaze. The static buildup threw itself into the clouds, charging them up into powerful thunderheads that immediately began to jostle each other, spitting out lightning in every direction. Scootaloo dove under a particularly close bolt and turned back around as she reached the other side of the sphere. Turning sharply she flew around the outside of the clouds, the mach cone that she had produced during her dive followed her, creating a wall of air around the clouds. Whereas other pegasi like Rainbow Dash could only fight to break the sound barrier, Scootaloo was capable of bending it to her will. The wall of air she was producing was crushing the clouds down into each other, making a smaller sphere before she felt the clouds begin to push back against her.
She veered off away from the sphere as all the clouds within it let out a lightning bolt at the same time. With a booming roar of thunder the sphere ignited into a ball of electricity so bright that it was like a miniature sun. The lightning sphere kept booming, it would’ve drowned out the crowd if they hadn’t all been stunned into a silent stupor. Scootaloo looked on, watching over her creation. Her wings lazily flapping as she kept herself afloat in place. Her move, the one she had been working on in concept for months but never actually tried out had worked. The Scootsplosion was a success.
****************************
Scootaloo was outside of the Wonderbolts’ locker rooms. Rainbow Dash had told her to wait there so that they could catch up. She was nervous, it wouldn’t be until tomorrow that the Wonderbolts publicized their decision, if there was even one. It would be nagging at her all day if she let it, the anxiousness, it would slowly driver her...
There was the sound of clopping, there was someone coming out of the locker room. Scootaloo turned to see Rainbow Dash, her legs crossed, leaning against the door frame, as smug looking as ever.
“Well looks like you did it Squirt, you’re in, you’re a Wonderbolt.”
Scootaloo didn’t even hear the rest of what Rainbow Dash was saying. She felt like her heart had stopped, her mind was numb, a buzzing was in her ears, she could’ve sworn that she had forgotten how to even breath. She looked at Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo could see her lips moving, speaking. Then she could only see a rainbow of colors through a haze as she threw her legs around Rainbow Dash, hugging her tight as the tears of joy flowed freely from her eyes.
“Whoa, whoa Squirt. Don’t start with the girly water works, emotions and all that hay.”
Scootaloo chuckled and withdrew, blushing as she looked to the floor bashfully.
“I’m sorry Dash, I’ve just missed yo... eep.”
Scootaloo stood stunned as she found herself in Rainbow Dash’s legs, being the one hugged this time.
Rainbow Dash blinked away a tear as she hugged Scootaloo tight
“I missed yah too Squirt.”
She let go and put her hoofs back on the ground, turning back into the locker room.
“Now let’s get you suited up. We’re gonna pay Ponyville a visit.
****************************
Scootaloo looked over towards Rainbow Dash, she was flying with her hero. Flying with her new flight leader. She felt another tear well up and get blown away by wind whipping past them. This was the greatest day in her life.
“Hey Squirt,”
Scootaloo turned her head again to see Rainbow Dash lowering her goggles.
“It’s time to tell Ponyville that their Wonderbolts are back in town.”
Scootaloo nodded as she lowered her own goggles. “Yeah, Let’s do this.”
They both pulled into a climb, taking them higher even higher than Dragon Mountain. Scootaloo could see all of Ponyville sprawled out below them, even her house over Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Forest. Beyond that she could just barely make out Canterlot.
“Now!”
Scootaloo was brought back to the task at hand as Rainbow Dash began her dive towards the center of town. Scootaloo raced after her, they had discussed how they would make their entrance on the flight over from Cloudsdale. She angled a bit away from Rainbow Dash, waiting until she saw the mach cone appear before her. Scootaloo then angled back towards Rainbow Dash as she broke the sound barrier and created her Sonic Rainboom. Scootaloo flew around the ensuing rainboom ring, corralling as she had the storm clouds during her try out. She flew around the perimeter of the rainboom, cutting it off with the wall of air as Rainbow Dash circled back around for a loop. The rainboom began to push against her as she finished corralling it, Scootaloo flew away to match her dive with Rainbow Dash’s straight towards town square, where she saw all her and Rainbow Dash’s friends standing in front of Twilight’s office. A congratulations banner hanging over town hall.
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash slowed down for the landing, as an explosion of light flashed from behind them. Everypony looked stunned, their eyes wide and mouths agape as the duo landed beside them. Scootaloo turned to look back at their creation and was dumbfounded.
Hanging over the center of Ponyville was a glowing, tumultuous, orb of color. Every color you could ever imagine, and even some that you couldn’t was pulsating within the orb, and the rainbow produced by Rainbow Dash’s contrail haloed the orb.
It was the first of many miracles that would encompass her career as a Wonderbolt.
