We Will Fly

Chapters

Part 1 Staring at the Sky
Part 2 Leaving the Ground
Part 3 Idols
Part 4 Side by Side
Part 5 Together

Part 1 Staring at the Sky

Spike walked across an open field, boredom overtaking his mind. He’d been working hard for Twilight yesterday and she told him to take the day off. Sounded nice but what was he supposed to do? He just decided to wander around Ponyville hoping some pony would have something he could do. None of his friends had anything they needed his help with and he had no idea what to do to pass the time.

He sighed and sat down on the grass, he stared at the cloudless sky. He watched several pegasai color the sky, zipping around like birds. They looked so … free. Must be nice Spike thought. Then something caught his eye on the ground, an orange pegasus filly wearing her special helmet sat alone next to a lone scooter on the grass, Scootaloo. She was staring intently as the pegasai danced in the sky with a sort of longing. Spike knew that longing all too well.

“Hey Scootaloo,” Spike walked over and greeted the cutie mark crusader who turned around and gave a weak smile greeting, “what’s up?”

“Oh, hey Spike,” she said as he sat down beside her, “what are you doing here?”

“Twilight gave me the day off,” he explained, “and I have no idea what to do. What about you?”

“Oh, I was just,” Scootaloo’s smile faded as she stared at the ground, “you know, coming out here to watch the clouds.”

Spike studied her and raised an eyebrow, “the clouds aren’t usually on the ground.”

Scootaloo’s gaze rose to meet his eyes. He smiled gently and put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke, “look, whatever’s eating you up, you can tell me. Let me help.” Although, Spike had a pretty good idea what was bothering her.

Scootaloo broke away from his gaze to stare at the ground again. Finally, she spoke, “I was just,” she sighed, “wondering why I can’t fly.”

Spike nodded his understanding and lifted his gaze to the sky, “I think I understand,” he said appreciatively, “it’s so hard seeing the rest of them fly, when you’re stuck down here.”

Scootaloo noticed a pensive look on Spike’s face and was beginning to wonder if he was talking to her or himself. She tried to get his attention, “Um, Spike?”

Spike snapped out of his daydream and looked at her with a rushed smile. “You’ll fly eventually,” he said trying to sound certain, “I mean you’ve got the wings and the passion.”

She frowned, “then why haven’t I flied yet? Most pegasai start flying when they’re half my age. Heck, the Cake twins were flying and performing spells a few months after they were born!”

Spike considered both points, “well, the Cake twins are unnaturally gifted, so I wouldn’t worry too much about them. The baby unicorn was performing spells Twilight couldn’t do as a filly. Maybe, you’re doing something wrong. Have you ever asked some pony to teach you how to fly?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo admitted unhappily, “when I ask her to, she tries to teach me, but I never get off the ground. She’s the best flyer in all of Equestria. If she can’t teach me, then … who can?”

Spike sympathized with his unhappy friend. It just didn’t make any sense. If she had the proper training and the best instructor, she should have been flying a long time ago. Unless … a new thought dawned on Spike.

“You know,” Spike spoke with a new confidence, “Rainbow Dash might be the best flyer, but that doesn’t mean she knows everything. I’ll bet if we read a book on flying, we’d learn something she never thought about.”

Scootaloo gave him a skeptical glance, “Rainbow Dash says you can’t learn how to fly from reading a book.”

“She also said Twilight couldn’t learn to run a marathon by reading a book,” Spike grinned, “but that didn’t stop her from placing fifth in the Running of the Leaves.”

Scootaloo had a renewed look of intrigue. Maybe Spike was right. Even she had to admit Rainbow Dash was not very book smart. For all she knew, the instruction she needed was lying in a book.

“Come one,” Spike smiled as he stood up and extended his hand, “I’ll take you to Twilight. She’s sure to have a book on flying from when she became an alicorn.”

Scootaloo mounted her scooter, pulled a spare helmet from her back pack and handed it to Spike, “I know the way. Hop on.”

***

Twilight grimaced as she rummaged through her files. Why had she given Spike the day off? She couldn’t find anything without him. Honestly, she had trouble doing much of anything without him. He organized her documents so she would always know where to find them, made sure she took breaks from work to eat and sleep, and eased her stressful mind. She had really come to depend on him in so many ways. Especially since Tirek destroyed the library, and they had to relocate to a castle she was still not entirely familiar with.

“Hey, Twilight,” she turned around and saw Spike sauntering over to her with Scootaloo beside him.

He stopped in his tracks and scanned her from head to hoof. “Are you alright? You look rather stressed.”

“Oh Spike, I’m so glad you’re back,” she sighed with relief, “do you remember where we put Creatures Capable of Magic: A Study of Lesser and Higher forms of Alternate Magic and Dr. Forrester’s Guide to Magic: An Account of Every Known Unicorn Spell in Equestria?”

Spike thought about it a moment then pointed to the third level of a shelf beside one of the windows, “Dr. Forrester is in the Spells section beside Dr. Facts and Dr. Sombrero.”

Twilight gave him a curious, disbelieving expression at the second name. He shrugged, “I didn’t name him.”

She retrieved the book and then Spike pointed to a shelf on the far corner, “the magic creature book is in the zoology section, next to Creatures of Flight, and Creatures of the Deep, and Anthropology.”

“Anthropology?” Twilight tried to remember how she even acquired that oddly named book.

“I think Lyra gave it to you for your birthday,” Spike suggested, “no idea what it’s about, though. So if you’re done, do you think you could lend Scootaloo and me a book?”

“Sure,” Twilight smiled as she collected the other book, “what do you two need?”

“We were hoping for something on flight,” Scootaloo explained.

“Of course,” Twilight placed the books on a nearby table and turning to a shelf, “it’s right over…”

Her voice trailed off as she uncertainly scanned through the shelves of books. She forgot. Twilight sometimes really did hate herself. She could perform practically any spell, memorize any textbook, but when it came to remembering where she placed one little book, she failed worse than a kindergartener. She supposed even smart ponies did stupid things.

“It’s probably in the section about pegasus history,” Spike suggested helpfully. He knew Twilight thought too much about magic and saving the world to waste time worrying about something as silly as the locations of books. That’s what he was here for.

“Thanks, Spike,” she smiled as she trotted to the shelf and looked for the correct book, “How about The Basics of Flying?” She pulled out a book from the shelf and offered it to Scootaloo

“I think that will do,” Scootaloo said taking the book with excitement.

“You can stay in the castle and read it for as long as you like,” Twilight smiled as she picked up the two books and walked to her desk.

“Are you going to need me for anything, Twilight?” Spike wanted to make sure she would be fine – or at least relaxed.

“I think I’m fine for now,” Twilight replied as she set down her materials and opened Dr. Forrester, “you can help Scootaloo.”

Spike quickly thanked Twilight and followed Scootaloo out of the room.

“Oh, wait, Spike!” Twilight called him back.

Spike turned to Scootaloo and told her to go on ahead and get started. He’d join up with her in a bit. She walked to a nearby table and opened the book. Spike re-entered the room and faced his friend.

“Is something wrong, Twi?” Spike asked.

“I just want you to promise me that you and Scootaloo will take things slow,” Twilight said sternly, “I know she can be a little headstrong like Rainbow Dash, so if she ever tries to do something too dangerous—.“

“I know, I know,” Spike said slightly annoyed, “we’ll be safe.”

Twilight was uncertain Spike would make good on his promise when he left the room. She privately decided to ask Rainbow Dash to keep an eye out for them. Scootaloo would listen to her if no pony else. Then she turned back to her books, hoping she was worrying herself over nothing.

Part 2 Leaving the Ground

“I don’t get it,” Scootaloo finally said putting down the book.

“What don’t you get?” Spike asked, glancing at her.

“All of it,” she groaned exasperated, “I don’t understand all this stuff about ‘lift’, ‘gliding’, or ‘drag force’. And what the hay is an ‘ulna’?!”

Spike patiently took out a piece of paper and grabbed a quill, ready to explain these concepts, as Twilight would do so when he couldn’t understand something.

“Well, lift is an important part of bird flight, along with gliding, flapping, and drag,” he wrote out the names in a vertical row, putting space between each word.

“Do I look like a bird to you?” Scootaloo snorted.

Spike swallowed a sarcastic (and rather brilliant if he might add) retort. He recognized that she wasn’t trying to take out her frustrations on him; she just wanted results. After staring up at the sky for so long, Spike could definitely understand.

“The mechanics behind bird flight and pegasus flight are actually rather similar,” Spike continued, “’lift’ is basically a force that comes from air flowing on differently shaped wings.”

He drew a crude picture of wind blowing over a wing. Scootaloo nodded, still rather irritated.

“’Gliding’ is when you get both vertical and forward force on the wings. It specifically occurs because the force hits the wings at right angles to the air flow.”

Spike scribbled a picture of a bird and put arrows pointing upward and forward on the bird. He then drew a gust of wind and showed it touching the bird’s wing at a 90-degree angle. Scootaloo nodded again. Spike was making a bit more sense than that stuffy old book.

“’Drag force’ refers to things that can make flying harder like weight, friction between the air and the body, and stuff like that. We get around this by making sure our forms don’t provide too much resistance against the wind, allowing it to flow instead.”

Spike touched the quill to his chin in thought, and then he drew a bird trying to fly that was chained to the ground. Scootaloo had to admit she found that particular image slightly disturbing.

“But, it can also be helpful. If your wings has some resistance against the wind, I think it helps you to ride the winds.”

“How do you know all of this?” She asked.

“I read it,” Spike explained pointing to the book, “in this book, just now.”

“And you understood it?” Scootaloo questioned him with wide, incredulous eyes.

“When you hang out with Twilight for as long as I have, some of her traits, such as her intellect, start to rub off on you,” Spike smiled, “and sometimes her stress.”

Scootaloo chuckled and then returned to business, “So if you’ve been understanding all of this so far, do you think you see anything I might be doing wrong?”

Spike’s eyes narrowed in focus. He definitely remembered reading something that caught his attention. He flipped back several pages and pointed to a picture of a wing.

“The book says the wings are the key to flight, and there are three different types of feathers that play a role in flight, but most importantly, the primaries determine how the wind hits the feathers.”

Spike turned the page and grinned as he found a picture displaying different wingspans.

“There are different types of wings and each give a bird, or in this case a pegasus, different flight capabilities. These wing types include elliptical, high speed, high aspect ratio, and soaring with deep spots.”

Scootaloo didn’t follow, “what are you getting at?”

“You said you always asked Rainbow Dash to teach you how to fly?” Spike asked.

Scootaloo nodded.

“Well, no wonder she couldn’t teach you. Her wings and yours are different! They’re different lengths and different shapes. She was teaching you how to fly like her instead of teaching you how to fly like you.”

Scootaloo definitely understood him now, “so what do we do?”

Spike frowned, “um, I guess we could, try to find out your wing type and see what the book suggests.”

Scootaloo’s head plopped down to the table. They still didn’t know what to do, all this reading for nothing. She felt Spike’s hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t sweat it” Spike smiled, “we’re going to figure this out and you’re going to fly.”

She gave a little smile back then remembered something, “hey, Spike, you never told me what an ‘ulna’ is.”

Spike returned her gaze and flatly responded, “That’s because I’m not sure.”

They sat in silence for a while and continued to read. Spike flipped through the pages, hoping for some solution. He opened the book to a chapter on pegasai, and finally managed to find something of interest.

“Scootaloo,” he spoke slowly, “I think I found a way for you to take your first step to flying.”

***

“What’s this all about, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash grumbled angrily.

She was enjoying a nice nap when Twilight teleported up to her home, asking to speak to her. Honestly, she was minding her own business.

“It’s about Scootaloo,” Twilight explain irritated by her friend’s apparent disinterest.

“What about her?” Rainbow Dash sat up instantly alert, “did something happen to her? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight assured her, “at least she should be. Spike brought her to the castle and asked for a book about flying.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash shouted in confusion, “I’ve been teaching her! Why would she need some stinky old book?”

“That’s what I was wondering,” Twilight continued very seriously, “If you’ve been teaching her to fly, why does she suddenly ask for my help? Has she made any progress in your lessons?”

“Well, um, no,” the blue pegasus looked guilty and slightly ashamed. “But it’s not my fault, really,” she insisted, “I’ve tried everything I can think of.”

“I’m not blaming you, Dash,” Twilight explained, to her crestfallen friend, “I’m just a bit worried.”

“What do you mean?” she gave Twilight a quizzical expression.

“If she asked Spike to bring her a book on flying, she could be getting desperate for some sort of result.” Twilight explained, “I’m just worried that she might try something drastic and I was hoping you could just keep an eye out for her and Spike.”

“Why Spike?” Rainbow asked curiously, “he doesn’t have wings.”

“I’m worried he might do something reckless.”

***

“I don’t know about this, Spike,” Scootaloo nervously spoke as she looked down from the elevated diving board that delirious Applejack used to launch Rainbow Dash into Twilight’s house. She was amazed Spike could even find this thing on the outskirts of town in such good shape, but he explained that he always though it would make for an excellent diving board should his friends ever need one, seeing as it was a diving board. She was equally amazed that he could lug six, wide, white mattresses and place them underneath the board. When she asked why Spike even had six mattresses, he explained they weren’t technically all his and changed the subject.

“Don’t worry,” Spike reassured her, “I wouldn’t put you up there and ask you to jump off if I wasn’t sure the mattresses couldn’t protect you if you fell. I tested it and have the bruises to prove it.”

As he rubbed his sores, Scootaloo blinked, briefly reflecting on how odd that sentence might sound out of context. She felt the wind ruffle her wings. Maybe Spike was right. Maybe it could work. He had read it in that book.

The idea was simple. Jump off a high point a catch the wind just right to propel herself forward. It wouldn’t be flying, more like gliding. She would be subject to wind, forced to travel in its direction rather than fly freely. Eventually, she would descend slowly to the ground while moving horizontally. She just wouldn’t have control over the vertical. At least she thought so. She honestly wasn’t sure what gliding was anymore. Spike tried to explain a lot of it but she really didn’t understand. This was all beyond what her school was teaching.

Her school, that reminded her. She agreed to meet Applebloom and Sweetie Belle at school in an hour to work on a group project. Cheerilie would be supervising so she didn’t want to be late.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” Spike waved for her attention, wincing slightly at his bruises, “you ready to give it a try?”

Scootaloo stretched out her wings trying to feel the wind. Gritting her teeth, she raced off the board and leapt into the air. Only to plummet to the ground. Thankfully, the mattresses greatly weakened the impact, but she felt her pride wounded.

Spike raced over to her and helped her back up, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she quickly spoke to hide her frustration, “did I move at all?”

Spike sadly shook his head, “Maybe I picked a bad place? Maybe the wind isn’t strong enough?”

Or maybe I was never meant to fly Scootaloo glumly thought; maybe I’ll always be stuck to the ground.

“When you run out on the board,” Spike continued, “maybe you could try tucking in your legs, make yourself more aerodynamic.”

Scootaloo walked to the board, tried once again, and once again fell. It went on like this for ten minutes. Spike offered her advice he read in the book and advice based on his observations and encouraged her to try again. Scootaloo would try only to fail.

“Spike,” she threw off her helmet in frustration, “this isn’t getting us anywhere! I just look like an idiot!”

Spike picked up her helmet and rubbed it clean. He looked at her with complete sympathy, “You’re going to get this, I know you will.”

“No you don’t,” Scootaloo yelled, “you don’t know anything about flying! You don’t even have wings!”

Spike stopped completely. The helmet fell to the ground, and he just stared at her aghast. Then his eyes fell to the ground and he nervously clenched his fingers together. Scootaloo instantly regretted what she said, realizing how sensitive the little dragon was, particularly about his physical features, but Spike just nodded slowly, said, “okay,” and turned to walk away.

“Spike, wait,” she said running in front of him to stop his departure, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. It was mean and rude. You’re trying to help me and I shouldn’t take my anger out on you.”

“But you’re right,” Spike met her eyes despondently, “I don’t know anything about flying. I’ve just been reading dirty old books. And I certainly don’t have—,” he turned to glance at his back with a wistful look and didn’t bother to finish his sentence. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“No, you haven’t,” Scootaloo insisted, “I’ve learned more about flying in the past few hours than I have in years. I –,“ she glanced at the diving board with new resolve, “I’m going to try again.”

Pausing to scoop up her helmet, she climbed the ladder once more and mounted the board. She felt the wind blow against her shoulder and went over a mental checklist of Spike’s advice. She slowly inhaled and exhaled, focusing on her goal. She felt Spike gaze from below expectantly. This time, it wouldn’t be just for her, it would be for Spike; if she succeeded, it would prove he was being helpful. It would validate his efforts as well as hers. With this in mind, she ran to the edge of a board and leapt into the air once more.

She did not fall. She felt the wind push against her wings, slowing her descent. She had already moved past the mattresses and was feet above the field. Spike looked on in awe and wonder as the orange pegasus gracefully descended from above.

Scootaloo felt exhilaration, fear, freedom, pride, and excitement all at once. She saw the grass beneath her roll by. The clouds, which once seemed to taunt her high above, were all that much closer. She was doing it. Soon, her hooves gently touched the grass as she neared the ground. It was brief but they both had seen it.

Spike ran to congratulate her but found his voice, choked with pride, would not obey him so he settled for a beaming smile and a cheerful embrace.

“Thank you, Spike,” Scootaloo smiled, “I finally did it.”

She broke away from the hug and raced up the board again to replicate her success. Now, the wind seemed to obey her as she gently descended for the second time.

She climbed the board again and repeated her actions, finding if she angled her wings against the wind just right, she would be propelled forward even faster. All the while, Spike stared with prideful tears in his eyes. All of that work, all of that doubt, had finally amounted to something. Even when no pony else seemed to believe in her, she still managed to succeed with the right help. It gave Spike immense personal hope. She had taken the first steps toward the sky.

The wind blew through her purple mane and orange coat, whipped past her ears, and bathed her entire body. She reveled at adjusting her speed with ease, grinned as she commanded the wind to her liking. She could only imagine what greater sensations would come from descending from the sky, dancing through the clouds, and finally ascending to meet them. For now, she was perfectly content, more than content, in ecstasy. Scootaloo was engulfed by these new sensations that Spike’s warning came too late as she dangerously and rapidly approached a tree.

Part 3 Idols

Rainbow Dash had finally found Spike and Scootaloo in the middle of a field with six mattresses and that diving board that Applejack had used to launch her into Twilight’s library soon after Twilight came to Ponyville. She was instantly filled with curiosity and suspicion. Carefully hiding behind a cloud, she spied on the duo. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around what she saw. Why was Scootaloo jumping off that diving board (that she had no idea was still around by the way) onto a pile of mattresses? And what was Spike telling her each time? He wasn’t really trying to teach her to fly, was he?

She must have arrived at Scootaloo’s fifth or sixth jump because the filly appeared somewhat winded and frustrated. If it were any pony else jumping, she might have laughed at the sight, but laughing at Scootaloo of all ponies doing this just didn’t seem right. In fact, it something like that would seem incredibly cruel.

Every time Scootaloo fell, Rainbow Dash winced. The impact probably wasn’t painful with those mattresses but it certainly hurt seeing her number one fan doing this to herself. If Spike put her up to this, I’m going to kill him, Rainbow Dash thought ruefully. He didn’t know anything about flying and what made him think he could teach Scootaloo to do so with a book? This wasn’t helping her; it was just making her upset.

Then she noticed Spike winced just like her every time Scootaloo fell. Now she was truly disappointed in him. He knew this wasn’t helping her and just aggravated little Scootaloo. It pained him to watch her fall. So why was he letting her continue? He should have just stopped and let a real flier show her how to do it. Then again, Rainbow Dash realized with guilt, it’s not like I ever helped her improve.

Finally, she saw Scootaloo throw down her helmet in frustration and decided to sneak in closer. She heard Spike try to reassure her but Scootaloo responded coldly, “You don’t know anything about flying! You don’t even have wings!”

When Rainbow saw Spike’s broken expression, she suddenly had a change of heart and sympathized with him. Why? She wondered. Scootaloo had said exactly what Rainbow Dash had been thinking the whole time, so why did it pain her to see him so broken? Because Scoots said it straight to his face, Rainbow Dash supposed, and she mentioned his lack of wings.

She watched as Scootaloo apologized profusely to Spike, scooped up her helmet, and climbed the board. Now Rainbow Dash was confused. Did Scootaloo want this the whole time? Had Spike just suggested this whole thing and she simply agreed? As Scootaloo stood on the board, Rainbow Dash realized something was different. She couldn’t explain what, just that something in her gut told her something had changed in Scootaloo.

Then she stared, mouth agape, as Scootaloo slowly descended to the ground, propelled forward by the wind. No way. She wanted to feel proud of her but instead found herself slightly upset. She had always hoped she would be the one to get Scoots in the air, but instead Spike, who knows nothing about flying, comes along and magically Scootaloo can now glide through the air? Why? What had she done wrong? Rainbow Dash couldn’t suppress her personal disappointment. She had failed Scootaloo. She had failed her number one fan, no, her sister.

She tried to shove aside her personal disappointment and smile for Scootaloo’s success as she soared through the air for the tenth time. At least, she finally got off the ground, even if it was without Rainbow’s help. Then she heard Spike call out to Scootaloo, and saw the orange pegasus was on a direct and dangerous collision course with a nearby tree. She sprung to her hooves and dived down to intercept.

***

Spike could only watch helplessly as Scootaloo headed face first towards the tree, when a blue blur snatched her from the sky faster than he could blink. Suddenly, a very dumbfounded Scootaloo was sitting on the ground next to Spike, completely unsure what had just happened. Unsure, until a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane flew down in front of her and dropped to the ground with a concerned look.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo excitedly greeted her, “did you see? I was riding the winds!”

“What I saw was you nearly crashing into a tree and getting a concussion,” Rainbow Dash interrupted her, stopping her jubilation, “what were you thinking? That was dangerous.”

“I was wearing a helmet,” Scootaloo tried to reassure her, “I’ll be more careful next time.”

“A helmet isn’t going to protect your head from colliding with a tree at 20 miles per hour!” Rainbow Dash insisted, “and you shouldn’t be flying without some pony to watch you.”

“It’s my fault,” Spike rose his hand, trying to take Rainbow’s focus away from Scootaloo, “I convinced her to do it.”

Rainbow turned angrily to Spike and hissed, “I’ll deal with you in a bit.”

Before she could turn back to Scootaloo, she took notice of all the bruises on his body and frowned, “why are you dinged up?”

“Oh,” Spike had almost forgotten his injuries, “I was testing the mattresses to make sure Scootaloo wouldn’t get hurt if she fell.”

“See?” Scootaloo impatiently spoke, “we are being safe.”

Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her face in exasperation, “you shouldn’t be jumping off diving boards like that in the first place! Look, what is this all about?”

“I just wanted to learn how to fly,” Scootaloo nervously shifted her hooves, worried Rainbow might take offense to this statement, “Spike offered to help me and we read about this practice in a book. And it really worked, I was soaring through the air.”

Rainbow Dash scowled. So Spike was behind this after all. She had to put a stop to this right now, before one of them got hurt. “Scootaloo, I don’t want you to do something like this unless I’m around to make sure you’re safe. Spike,” she gave him a fiercely protective glare, “stay away from Scootaloo. I can help her just fine.”

“Hey, leave him alone!” Scootaloo moved in between Spike and Rainbow Dash, “he was just helping me.”

“If you fall, and I’m not around, do you think he could stop you from falling off a cliff? Could he fly to your rescue?” Rainbow Dash was a bit unnerved by Scootaloo’s defiance but refused to yield. Spike flinched at her harsh words.

“We aren’t jumping off of cliffs,” Scootaloo scowled, “we’ve been doing everything safely so far and we will continue to be safe.”

“For how long?” Rainbow Dash challenged her, “I know what it’s like to start flying. Once you’ve experienced it, there’s nothing like it. You want more. You become more reckless. You won’t be safe forever. And I can’t be there every moment of your life to keep you safe.”

“That’s never stopped you from risking your skin,” Scootaloo challenged her right back, “you do this all the time! You did when you were beginning to fly! Somehow, I doubt you ever made sure your parents would be there to catch you if you fell. You certainly don’t make sure some pony is protecting you today. You’re the last pony who should be lecturing us about safety!”

“That’s because I have experience,” Rainbow Dash groaned trying to make her understand, “I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it forever.”

Scootaloo chuckled bitterly, startling Rainbow Dash and Spike.

“You know what you’re doing,” Scootaloo repeated her coldly, “clearly you do. After all those years of your flying lessons failing to get me anywhere, Spike helps me get off the ground in one day. He read from a book and he knows better than you.”

“Now hold on,” Spike interrupted her trying to come in between the two.

“No,” Scootaloo shoved Spike aside, “I’ve tried everything you’ve ever told me and it never worked. You want to know why? Turns out we have different types of wings! We fly differently! You weren’t teaching me how to fly, you were teaching me to mimic you.”

Rainbow Dash took a step backward, “I didn’t,” she stammered as familiar guilt of failure resurfaced, “I didn’t know.”

Scootaloo pressed forward as she gained the upper hand, “Yeah, you didn’t know. You’ve only devoted your life to flying. Training to become a Wonderbolt. Performing what’s possibly the first Sonic Rainboom. And yet you fail to teach a simple filly how to fly simply because you don’t know about the mechanics behind flying!”

“Cut it out!” Spike moved between the two and stood firmly this time, “Scootaloo, that’s not fair to Rainbow Dash. You can’t expect her to know everything.”

“What? You’re on her side now?” Scootaloo scowled.

“No, Spike,” Rainbow Dash spoke with her head down, “she’s right.”

She fought back her tears as her guilt overwhelmed her, “I’ve been flying forever, I should’ve known.”

She stared at Scootaloo and shed a single tear, “I failed you. I’m sorry.”

Scootaloo instantly regretted everything she had said, but Rainbow Dash quickly turned around and soared off into the clouds. Spike and Scootaloo sat quietly on the grass, processing everything that just transpired. Scootaloo wanted to apologize. Why did she always get so impulsively angry? Now she had driven away her mentor, her sister. She wanted to cry.

Spike stared at Scootaloo who stared vacantly into the sky. He wanted to say something helpful. He wanted to make all their troubles go away. Turning away, he searched for the proper words. He could only think of a moment he had with Twilight.

“You know,” Spike finally said breaking the silence, “ever since I was a hatchling, I always thought of Twilight as my mother.”

Scootaloo turned to him and he continued, “I thought she was the smartest, sweetest, and best unicorn to ever exist. Everyday after school, she would come home and feed me gems from a spoon. But one day, she never came and I just stood there, crying from the hunger. Her parents were out of town and her brother was … I don’t know where.”

Scootaloo stared at Spike in sympathy and asked, “how could you ever forgive her after she abandoned you like that?”

“She didn’t abandon me!” Spike turned to Scootaloo aghast some pony could even suggest such a thing, “turns out she had to stay late at school to perfect a spell for an upcoming test, and then she had to search all over Canterlot when she realized she ran out of gems to feed me.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I was angry with her for the longest time. Wouldn’t speak to her for a week. Then I realized that seeing her hurt at feeling like she failed me wasn’t bringing me any satisfaction. It just hurt me even more. She had always done her best to be there for me and she still does, so it wasn’t fair of me to be so mean. We shouldn’t expect the ponies we admire to be perfect all the time. I mean they are us, just a little older.”

Scootaloo never considered this before. Rainbow Dash was still just a child on the inside, one who had merely grown into a more experienced child? She couldn’t wrap her head around the thought. Still, she had to admit Spike was right. She expected perfection from her idol, Rainbow Dash, but her idol was just as prone to making mistakes as she was, and it wasn’t fair to hold it against her.

“I wish I could take it all back,” Scootaloo said resting her head on Spike’s shoulder, “what I said to Rainbow Dash.”

Spike wrapped his right arm around her, “I wish I could take back that time I was mean to Twilight. But maybe the best we can do is apologize and learn.”

Learn, learn. That reminded her of something—. “Oh no,” Scootaloo jumped up in a dreadful realization knocking over Spike as she ran to her scooter, “I’m supposed to meet up with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle at school! I’m going to be late and Cheerilie’s going to be furious!”

Spike was back on his feet, “I’ll come with you. I’ll explain to them it was my fault you were late.”

Scootaloo didn’t think she had the time to debate so she handed Spike a similar helmet and set off. Spike glanced behind them as he saw the grass rapidly fly past him. They hit a small rock and the scooter bumped, causing Spike to fall flat on the board with his face to the back. He desperately grabbed the edges of the board and managed to hang on for dear life like a cat grabbing a screen door.

“You alright, Spike?” Scootaloo quickly glanced back then returned her gaze to the road.

“Yeah,” Spike said weakly. He wouldn’t dare move from his spot now. As he saw the ground fly by from the bottom of the scooter, he lifted his head and sighed. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and an idea, a crazy idea, like Pinkie Pie level of crazy.

“Scootaloo,” he yelled her name to grab her attention, “I think I have an idea how you could go even faster. Do you trust me?”

“Do whatever you have to do,” Scootaloo belted as they turned a corner.

Carefully positioning his head far above the grass, he let out a steady jet of flames and maintained his fierce grip on the board. The scooter zoomed forward like a rocket, propelled by Spike’s flames. Scootaloo’s eyes grew watery as the wind pulled back her lips from her teeth. She had never gone this fast before. Whatever Spike was doing, she only hoped he could keep it up.

She saw the school approaching rapidly and yelled for Spike to stop. He couldn’t hear her. She kicked his tail and he stopped his flames to swivel around. When he saw the school coming dangerously close, he suddenly wished he thought of a way to brake. Maintaining his death grip on the board with his hands, he stuck out his right foot to touch the ground. It burned his foot as they skidded along, but Spike was a dragon capable of withstanding a dip in a pool of lava. He could manage. Slowly, their speed decreased. By some miracle, they actually managed to stop before they collided with Cheerilie.

“Scootaloo,” she said slightly aghast at their close collision, “and Spike.” She glanced at him as he rolled off the board and cradled his right foot.

“Well, at least you’re on time,” she smiled, “but next time, don’t feel like you have to do something so crazy just to get to school on time. Equestria won’t end if you’re five minutes late.”

“Hey, Spike,” Scootaloo whispered, “Thanks for the help. Think you could do that again?”

Spike was thoroughly winded but nodded all the same.

“Can you meet me tomorrow morning by the hill outside of Ponyville? I think I see a way we can take this flying business to a new level.”

Before Spike could ask her what she was talking about, Cheerilie walked over and inspected Spike’s right leg, “Spike, come inside, I have something for your foot and all those bruises."

***

Twilight paced by the castle entrance nervously. Rainbow Dash had returned and just said Scootaloo didn’t need her terrible advice any more. She seemed incredibly upset, but told Twilight to leave her alone. What had Spike done now?

She heard the door open and turned to see Spike limp through the door. His right leg was bandaged and the rest of his body had similar bandages. Any anger she might have felt towards her assistant vanished as she rushed forward to inspect him.

“Spike,” she looked him over with concern, “what in the world happened to you?”

“I got Scootaloo off the ground,” he smiled trying to hide his injuries with an upbeat attitude, “she was riding the winds.”

“What?” Twilight said with wide eyes, “that’s great, Spike! How did you do it?”

“A diving board, six mattresses, and that book you loaned us,” Spike held out the book to her and she quickly placed it on a nearby table and gave Spike a serious look.

“Did you get those injuries from helping her?”

“Most of them,” Spike stopped and conceded that he did injure his leg while helping Scootaloo, “okay, all of them.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” she frowned, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know,” Spike said, “Scootaloo and I are going to take this slowly.”

“Just like that?” Twilight expected Spike to put up some sort of verbal fight.

“Yeah, we touched the skies. I think we’ll try to play it safe from now on,” Spike smiled. Then he remembered Rainbow Dash and continued, “Twilight, if you see Rainbow Dash, can you tell her that Scootaloo and I are both sorry? She will make mistakes every now and then but she’s always looking out for us, so we don’t mind and we hope she can forgive us for hurting her.”

Twilight blinked and wanted to ask what he was talking about, but decided not to. Spike would tell her what happened when he was ready. She didn’t need to pry.

“Oh, um Twilight?” Spike twiddled his fingers nervously, “ you remember that time when you were in magic school in Canterlot I didn’t speak to you for a week? I’m really sorry that I hurt your feelings.”

Twilight looked at Spike confused, “that was years ago.”

“I know but,” Spike embraced his protector, “I just wanted you to know that I forgive you. I know you’re not always perfect and I’m sorry I expected you to be.”

Twilight smiled as she lost a weight from her mind she was not even aware of and embraced the little dragon. She’d contact Rainbow Dash and pass on Spike’s message. Hopefully, she and Scootaloo could make up face to face.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Spike broke away from the hug and looked at Twilight, “I promised to meet up with Scootaloo tomorrow morning so we could practice some more flying stuff.”

Twilight suddenly lost her smile, “I thought you said you two wouldn’t be doing anything dangerous.”

“I said we were going to be safe not that we would stop,” Spike tried to assure her. She gave him an unconvinced look.

“Look, I’m sure whatever she has planned won’t be too crazy,” he smiled though he had doubts himself, “if you want, you can come along to be sure.”

Twilight considered the proposal but realized that she might not see their real plans if she was there. They might always meet up later in secret to engage in truly dangerous activities. If she caught them doing something dangerous, she could intervene and stop them. If she didn’t see them doing anything dangerous, she could still be there to make sure they were safe. But that would mean spying on Spike and betraying his trust. After that sweet embrace, Twilight felt particularly sick even considering it.

“Just promise me you’ll be safe, Spike,” she said uncertain what course of action she would take, “if you were ever hurt because you did something dangerous, I would never forgive myself.”

“Forgive yourself?” Spike cocked his head perplexed, “don’t you mean forgive me?”

“No,” she said with a smile, “I think I’d find a way to forgive you eventually for most anything you do to me.” Her smile slowly faded, “If you were hurt because I couldn’t protect you or didn’t tell you the right thing to do, I don’t think I could forgive myself knowing I failed you.”

He met Twilight’s gaze and saw true love in her eyes. He swore not to betray that trust, “I promise to be safe.”

“Good,” Twilight nodded, “now come on, let’s get something to eat.”

Spike smiled and licked his lips at the best suggestion he heard all day.

Part 4 Side by Side

After a nice breakfast, Spike proceeded to the hill where he agreed to meet Scootaloo. He had no idea what to expect, but given yesterday’s progress, he could only imagine what they might accomplish today.

Soon the hill came into sight and he saw Scootaloo standing next to Rainbow Dash. They both seemed happy as they waved to him. He hoped they managed to make up.

“Morning, Spike,” Scootaloo smiled, “glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Spike grinned. He looked at Rainbow Dash curiously. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, Twilight passed on your message and Scoots and I just made up,” she explained, “thanks, Spike.”

Spike nodded and hoped there wasn’t any lingering frustration between them, “I’m sorry if I made you feel unwanted, Rainbow Dash.”

“It’s fine,” Rainbow Dash dispelled any tension between them with a beaming smile, “anyways, I’ve decided to hang around and help you two out anyway I can. I figure I can help keep you two safe if something goes wrong.”

Spike suddenly felt a little nervous, “why would anything go wrong?”

Then he glanced behind them and noticed a wooden ramp on the slope of the hill. It was supported by wooden beams and sanded down to reduce friction. The ramp touched the hill and then branched off pointing upward to the sky.

“Um, Scootaloo,” he didn’t like this one bit, “what is all this for?”

“I’m glad you asked,” she trotted over to her knapsack and began rummaging through it, “you remember how yesterday you used your fire breath to make us go really fast?” She didn’t wait for his answer as she pulled out a helmet, strapping it to her head, and some goggles, which she carefully placed over her eyes, and continued searching her knapsack. “It got me thinking. What if we used your breath to launch ourselves into the sky so I could ride the winds all the way at the top?”

“What?” Spike looked at her in wide-eyed disbelief, “that’s insane! We could get seriously injured doing something like that!”

“That’s why Rainbow Dash is here,” Scootaloo said, “besides all we’ve been doing is taking risks.” She tossed him an identical pair of goggles and a helmet and pulled out two parachutes, tossing it to Spike and strapping the other to her back while carefully sticking her wings through the straps. She grabbed her scooter and inspected the wheels.

“I promised Twilight we wouldn’t be doing anything this dangerous,” he frowned, “I’m not about to betray her trust.”

“Spike,” Rainbow Dash walked over to him, “can I speak with you for a moment?”

Spike frowned but nodded. Together they walked out of earshot. Rainbow Dash spoke, “let me ask you a question.”

Spike blinked uncertainly, “Okay.”

“What made you want to help Scootaloo fly in the first place?”

Spike considered the question for a moment and recalled when he first saw her staring longingly at the sky. “I guess when I saw her so unhappy at the prospect of never flying, I just had to help.”

“You know how important this is to her,” Rainbow Dash continued, “you know what this means to her. She wants to fly more than anything in the world and for the longest time, she thought she never would. But then you came along and she made progress. You came along and she finally had hope. I don’t know how you did it but she needs you to keep giving her hope.”

“Yeah,” Spike conceded, “but this all seems so drastic. Twilight’s not going to like this.”

“Let me deal with her,” Rainbow Dash dismissed his concern. “Scootaloo needs this. You know it. You saw it. She’s so unhappy being stuck on the ground when every other pony is soaring through the clouds. She just can’t help but feel that if she doesn’t fly, then she—.”

“Will never be a true pegasus,” Spike finished her thought. “Or fly beside her greatest hero in all of Equestria.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to say.”

Spike sighed, “I think I understand the feeling all too well.”

This meant everything to Scootaloo. She wanted to fly like her hero, Rainbow Dash. She needed this. Spike needed to believe she could. He had to hope she could surpass every pony’s expectations and learn to fly, even though she didn’t have some pony who could teach her properly. Not just for her sake.

“Alright,” he reluctantly said, “I’ll do it. Just promise me you’ll make sure we’re safe.”

“You have my word,” Rainbow Dash beamed.

***

Spike put on the helmet, goggles, and parachute and listened to Scootaloo’s plan. They would descend from the top of the hill and boost their speed with Spike’s fire. With all that momentum, they would bolt off the ramp into the sky. Next, Scootaloo would jump off the scooter and rocket through the clouds catching the wind from up high to replicate her gliding actions. Spike would pull his parachute and Rainbow Dash would catch the scooter and gently set it down on the ground. If something went wrong with their parachutes, Rainbow Dash would intervene.

Scootaloo told Spike she adjusted her board so he could hang on more easily, but Spike was still certain he would be hanging on for dear life. When he asked how Scootaloo acquired two parachutes, she responded by asking where he found the six mattresses. She stated that he didn’t want to know how many answers that question had.

Before they began, Rainbow Dash laid a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder and said, “Let me give you one piece of advice. Don’t think, feel.”

With that, they mounted the scooter and Rainbow Dash hovered readily in the sky. Scootaloo and Spike stood before the drop at the top of the hill.

“Ready, Spike?” Scootaloo glanced over at her friend clinging to the skateboard nervously.

Not for the second time, Spike was having second thoughts but then he remembered why he was doing this and steeled himself, “Yes, let’s do it before we can think about it any longer.”

With that, they descended from the hill. Spike released a powerful jet of flames that combined with their rapidly increasing descent down the hill, propelled the both of them at least ten times faster than they had moved through Ponyville yesterday. Scootaloo felt the wind whipping past her ears and reveled in the sensations. Spike had to admit this was incredible. He never moved this fast before. Unlike yesterday, it wasn’t to help his anxious friend get somewhere on time. It was to help her achieve her dreams. Knowing this made Spike’s flames all the more passionate and powerful.

Soon, they flew from the ramp into the sky. Spike closed his eyes in fear.

“Spike!” Scootaloo called, “don’t close your eyes! Don’t miss this!”

Opening his eyes, he could only stare as the world below them grew increasingly distant and the blue sky overtook them. They touched the clouds and felt the sun, shining brighter on them than ever before. His ears popped and his stomach felt empty and nauseous, but he was free.

They began to lose forward momentum and Scootaloo leapt from the scooter with her wings outstretched. Spike pulled his parachute as he began to fall, slowing his descent. He had maintained his death grip on the scooter, eliminating Rainbow Dash’s job to retrieve it. Feeling the wind on his scales and his feet dangling through the air imbued him with a sense of uncertainty, but good uncertainty. He wasn’t sure where he would land but he was free up here.

He left the kingdom of clouds, and soon touched the ground. Moving out of the parachute, he looked up to see an orange dot glide through the clouds. Quickly extricating himself from the parachute, he decided to remove the cumbersome thing all together and pursue Scootaloo on foot. He grabbed her scooter and followed the dot.

***

Nothing else she had done could prepare Scootaloo for everything she felt now. She felt pride that she had come this far, purpose as she zipped through the clouds with ease, power as she gazed at the world below, excitement as she barreled through the clouds like a torpedo, but above all, she felt peace and freedom. The wind tickled her ears and ruffled her orange fur. It was all too wonderful. All of these sensations melted away and were replaced with pure bliss, when she glanced to her left to see Rainbow Dash flying by her side, matching her speed and flight.

The blue pegasus grinned at her orange protégé. She no longer cared that she wasn’t the one to get Scootaloo in the air. Now she was here, beside Rainbow Dash as they spiraled through the clouds side by side.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow Dash smiled at the wonder blazing through Scootaloo’s eyes.

Scootaloo couldn’t find the words to speak her emotions and joyfully choked on her own words. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help smiling at her blissful face. If I see Spike again, she chuckled to herself, I just might kiss him if she doesn’t. Then she reconsidered that idea when she thought about Rarity’s possible jealous glare. Stop thinking, she chided herself, just feel. She moved closer to Scootaloo, “let’s take this safely for now, okay? We don’t have to do any crazy flips or anything. Let’s just keep doing this for as long as you can.”

Scootaloo nodded her agreement and glided to the left. She anticipated the day she could fly vertically and meet her mentor in the sky as an equal, but for now, for the moment, gliding next to her like this was more than enough.

To any Ponyville citizen looking from below, the blue and orange specks danced through the clouds in beautiful harmony, matching each other in every way. To them, it made them blink uncertain as to what they saw. To one baby dragon, it made him pray for the day that now seemed so much closer. A purple and green dragon would soar through the sky at long last despite all the barriers before him. Perhaps, when he took to the sky, it would be beside a purple alicorn as her equal and her eternal friend.

***

At long last, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash touched the ground together in a vast field. Both were exhilarated but peaceful. And both shared greater kinship than ever before. They stood there side by side in silence. There was no need for words.

“Scootaloo! Rainbow Dash!” Spike excitedly rode up to them on Scootaloo’s scooter, “I saw the whole thing from the ground! That was incredible!”

They both turned and smiled. Wordlessly, they embraced Spike together. Scootaloo said, “Thanks Spike. If it weren’t for you, I’d never have felt so much closer to the sky.”

“I should thank you too,” Rainbow Dash added, “if you hadn’t helped out, I wouldn’t have gotten to fly side by side with my sister.”

Scootaloo stared at Rainbow Dash in awe. She called her a sister! A sister! It was everything she wanted in one day! She got to soar high above the clouds next to Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash recognized her as a sister! This day couldn’t get any better!

A teary, happy smile spread across Scootaloo’s face. She tackled Rainbow Dash in a bear hug and Rainbow Dash rolled over, laughing with glee. Spike just looked on, feeling immeasurably satisfied to have helped any pony, especially his friends. Helping Scootaloo soar beside her idol gave him personal hope.

“There you are!” They all jumped and turned to see an irate Twilight glaring at them as she stomped towards them. “I saw you two flying over Ponyville.” She turned to Spike with a piercing glare that struck his heart, “Spike, you promised you wouldn’t do anything that endangered either of you again! You said you would be safe!”

“Spike had nothing to do with this!” Rainbow Dash stepped between her friends, “I was the one who suggested it and convinced him to help us. I promised him I’d keep both of them safe. I just wanted to fly side by side with Scootaloo.”

Twilight scowled angrily at Rainbow Dash, “I’m not mad with you for wanting that. But I am mad that you made Spike break his promise. And you,” she pushed past Rainbow Dash to stand before Spike reprovingly, “you broke your promise! How am I supposed to trust you ever again?”

“Hey, leave him alone!” Scootaloo interjected, “he was just trying to help me make my dreams come true.”

“At the cost of his own life?” Twilight turned and glared.

“I was there the whole time,” Rainbow Dash insisted, “neither of them got hurt.”

“But what if they had?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash with a look of concern bordering motherly, “something could have gone wrong and they could have been hurt. And now,” she turned to Spike more disappointed than truly angry, “I can’t trust you anymore. I can’t let you go off helping Scootaloo anymore if you’re just going to put yourself in danger whenever she asks.”

Spike stared at the ground ashamed and feeling absolutely sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to betray her trust. He really didn’t. But when he saw Scootaloo’s desperation to get off the ground, he just couldn’t help it. He just wanted to help her. Why couldn’t she understand?

“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash put a hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder, “I think there’s something Spike should tell you.”

“What?” Twilight and Spike said simultaneously. They both glanced at each other confused.

“What you told me when we talked alone,” she looked at Spike. Then she turned to Scootaloo, “this is a little personal for Spike, so maybe you could give us some privacy?”

Scootaloo wanted to protest but realized Rainbow Dash wasn’t asking her. Grumbling, she walked past nearby trees and faded out of eyesight.

Twilight turned to face both Rainbow Dash and Spike, “alright, what do you want to tell me, Spike?”

“I don’t,” Spike stammered as the twiddled his fingers nervously, “I don’t know.”

“Cut it out,” Rainbow Dash sternly said. “I think we both know what needs to be said. Let me ask you a simple question and I want you to answer honestly.”

Spike slowly met her eyes, gentle but firm.

“Why did you want to help Scootaloo so badly?”

Spike scowled confused, “B-because I wanted to make her happy!”

Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow, “Spike be honest. I promise you neither of us is going to think any less of you,” she glanced at Twilight who nodded an agreement, feeling concern for her little assistant. “What did you see when you saw her staring at the sky longing to fly like other pegasai?”

“I-,” Spike looked both of them in the eye, faltered, and found his gaze falling to the ground. “I saw myself.”

Twilight gave a quizzical look while Rainbow Dash gave a reassuring smile.

“I saw myself looking at the sky,” Spike continued with difficulty, “wanting to fly like other dragons. Remembering that I don’t have—,” he looked at his back once more in painful disappointment, “wings. I’ve never seen another dragon without wings so why don’t I have any? I don’t have some dragon to give me the answers and no pony can help me. Even if I did grow wings, they’d be different from either of yours, not feathery and small, but scaly and large, so how would either of you be able to help me learn to fly? I just wanted to believe that if Scootaloo could fly, even though nothing any pony did could help her, even though she had no idea what she was doing, maybe, someday, I could fly too. And maybe, some day, I could fly next to you, Twilight. Because, well, you’re my hero.”

He put his face into his hands, fighting back the tears. Twilight was instantly beside him, lowering his hands and embracing him. She stroked his scaly head and fought back tears of her own.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” she calmly said as her friend trembled, “I should’ve known how much this meant to you. I never knew you were so scared of never flying yourself. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

She began to tear up a bit as she spoke, “I’m sorry I don’t know anything about dragons and I’m sorry that you felt so sad. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time with you so I just try to do the best I can. I’m sorry I failed you. If this really means this much to you, I won’t stand in your way.”

Spike quickly embraced Twilight to keep her from leaving, “you didn’t fail me,” he said as he recognized she was trembling, “you raised me as best you could, you’ve always been there for me Twilight. I don’t expect you to be perfect or to know what you’re doing all the time. We should just figure this out together.”

They both smiled and embraced. Rainbow Dash smiled at how easily the two could make up. It reminded her quite a bit of her and Scootaloo.

“But you’re right,” Spike said with sadness in his voice, “I broke our promise and I’ve been selfish, wanting her to fly in some desperate hope it would help me fly. If you’re angry with me—.”

“What?” Twilight rested a hoof on his shoulder, “how could I be angry with you for trying to help a friend? She will fly. And someday, you will too. On that day, we’ll fly together, okay?”

Spike looked down unconvinced. The fact remained Scootaloo hadn’t truly flown yet and he didn’t have any wings. Neither of them was close to flying. Even if Scootaloo was, that wouldn’t mean that Spike was going to fly as well. It just meant he would be staring at another friend soaring high above him.

Little did any of them realize, an orange pegasus had heard this entire exchange and was filled with a new determination and resolve. Not only did she need this, her friend needed this. She ran away eager to achieve true results no matter the cost.

Part 5 Together

Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Spike walked over to where Scootaloo had trotted out of eyesight to meet up with their friend, only to find no pony waiting for them. Rainbow Dash suggested she may have gone home but Twilight insisted they split up and search for her just to be sure. Rainbow Dash and Twilight flew back to Ponyville to search while Spike stayed behind.

“Scootaloo!” he called her name. No response. After five minutes, Spike was beginning to think she moved on but then he noticed something on the grass. It looked like the area had been displaced by a small hoof print. He kneeled down to examine it more carefully and found three similar hoof prints. Painstakingly, he managed to identify more of these hoof prints leading away from the clearing. It was times like this that he wished for super smelling powers. Oh well.

He glanced up and all his ponderings stopped, replaced with fear. The hoof prints lead to the nearby mountain that overshadowed Ponyville. What was Scootaloo planning now? Spike had an eerie feeling he knew the answer, and hoped he was wrong. He began to race after the hoof prints, running faster than he ever had before.

***

Scootaloo paced up the mountain, searching for the perfect spot. The perfect spot would hopefully be stable ground, a suitable for her to launch herself into the air. No gliding this time, she kept telling herself, this time we fly upward. For Spike.

After hearing how much Spike wanted to fly and doubted his chances of ever doing so, she wanted to prove that even a little filly like her could learn to fly with a little help from her friend. That way Spike would know some day he would fly too.

After ten minutes of searching, however, she just couldn’t seem to find the perfect spot. On the chance she failed and fell, she always had her parachute. Of course, a parachute wouldn’t stop her vertical momentum if she began approaching smaller, nearby mountains with dangerous speed. She began to waver but remembered why she had to do this.

Eventually after another ten minutes, she found a spot that seemed relatively safe. At least compared to everything else. The mountain was a level plain until at this spot where it went into a sharp drop to the valley below. Adjacent to this spot, Scootaloo saw a smaller mountain in the distance, but she could probably avoid it if she made herself glide slowly. If she could fly over it completely, it would pose no problem at all. She hoped the adrenaline would help her do so.

Scootaloo walked to the edge and chunks of rock and dirt fell from the ledge where she stepped. The ground was far from stable. Over the edge she spotted several rock outcroppings, large enough for her to sit on but she doubted there was room to do much else. Below all those, the steep drop continued to a dizzying rocky ledge far below. Honestly, it was probably the best spot she would find all day.

Why was she so worried? She had just glided next to Rainbow Dash from what was a higher point. She could do this easily, and she still had her parachute in case she failed to catch the wind. The problem was she wanted to do more than simply catch the wind; she wanted to control her flight. She had to do this. Spike had to believe.

She took several steps back readying herself to run and leap off the mountain. Rubbing her right hoof against the ground with anticipation, she narrowed her eyes in concentration and hunched her body into a springing position with her front legs tensed and ready like a spring.

“Scootaloo, stop!”

She jumped with surprise as she saw Spike racing towards her, sweating heavily and panting, “what are you doing?”

“Proving I can fly,” Scootaloo replied as Spike drew near, “I heard everything you said to Twilight, and I want to prove you’ll fly too.”

Spike’s eyes widened as he doubled over in exhaustion, wheezing and struggling to catch his breath he coughed, “Just because you’ll fly,” he struggled to stand in front of Scootaloo, “doesn’t mean that I can fly too.”

“But it will prove that with the right help and friends who never give up, you’ll be able to fly just like me,” Scootaloo insisted shifting to the left so Spike was no longer blocking her.

He just moved to block her again, even though he was winded after running up a mountain. “No, it won’t. You have wings, I don’t. You have ponies, who can tell you what to do, I don’t. You have talent, I don’t. Just because you succeed doesn’t mean I will too.”

“But it does mean that anyone can fly if they want to,” Scootaloo said determined to jump, “they just need the right help.”

She feinted moving to the right and dashed past Spike’s left side toward the ledge. As she began to leap, Spike grabbed her hind legs and pulled her back at the edge of the cliff.

“Please,” he gave her a desperate look, “don’t risk yourself for me. I’ve made peace with the fact I will never fly.” He realized Scootaloo was still determined to jump and decided he had to say something to get through her head. His head drooped as he muttered, “maybe you should too.”

Before Scootaloo or Spike could speak, the ledge they sat on rumbled. They exchanged a quick glance. The ledge crumbled and they fell. They tumbled down the drop frantically screaming for help, until Spike managed to land on an outcrop and Scootaloo managed to grab hold of an outlying rock a few feet away.

Rubbing his sore back, Spike saw Scootaloo dangling from the rock and forgot all his aches and exhaustion, “hang on, Scootaloo! I’m coming!”

Carefully, he pressed his body close to the mountainside and began to move across the outcrop towards Scootaloo. Spike’s hands grew sweaty as he delicately crossed onto very smaller outlying rocks to cross the gap. Every step he took sent debris rolling down the mountain. He wanted to rush over to Scootaloo but feared doing so would end in both of them falling. Seeing the rock she held onto tremble made him even more nervous. He quickly leapt to the next rock and almost lost his balance.

“Spike, I’m so sorry,” she whimpered as the stone she held trembled once more, “if I hadn’t been so stupid we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“We can play the blame game later,” Spike tried to suppress his own paralyzing fear as he reached a ledge close to her. Placing his feet near the edge and one hand against the mountainside, he extended his other clawed hand towards her, “take my hand!”

Scootaloo had closed her teary eyes and trembled completely terrified.

“You have a parachute,” Spike reminded her, “you’ll be alright!”

“It won’t work from this height,” she cried tightening her grip, “I’d descend too quickly for it to stop me enough!”

Spike gritted his teeth in frustration. Why hadn’t he thought to call Rainbow Dash or Twilight? He should never have followed those hoof prints without them. Why hadn’t they moved away from the ledge when it began to fell or activated the parachute sooner where it would have helped Most of all, why couldn’t either of them fly? Then, he extended his hand further.

“That’s just your fear talking,” he told her as she opened her eyes to look at him, “take my hand. I promise it will be alright.”

Scootaloo stretched her hoof towards Spike. They couldn’t reach each other. Spike stretched his hand even further, scooting even closer to his shaky ledge. They were closer, but merely inches apart. The ledge beneath Spike trembled beneath his weight. Both of their hearts skipped a beat. It wouldn’t hold him much longer. If he retreated to a more stable area he might be safe, but then she would surely fall. Spike glanced into Scootaloo’s eyes for what he realized might be the last time.

“Scootaloo,” he stretched his arm so far his muscles were screaming, “What I said before, I’m sorry. Don’t accept a life on the ground, fly in the sky some day. For both of us.”

“What are you—?” Scootaloo began until Spike finally grabbed her outstretched hoof. As the adrenaline kicked in, Spike desperately flung Scootaloo to the safety of a nearby ledge. Scootaloo looked up in time to see the ledge give way and her friend plummet down the mountainside.

Without thinking, she jumped off the ledge. Narrowing her body, she soared through the air towards the helpless Spike. With adrenaline now pumping through her body, she intercepted Spike, wrapped her hooves underneath his arms, and spread her wings, turning their rapid fall into a dangerously fast glide.

She almost thought she could feel relief until she and Spike saw they were quickly approaching another mountain and close to become stains on the rocks. They needed to gain altitude quickly. Spike told her to drop him and save herself but she told him to shove it. Desperately thinking, he grabbed Scootaloo’s hooves tightly and let out a steady burst of flames as he had before. Gradually, they did rise.

It wasn’t enough. Scootaloo knew this as the mountain came several meters closer. She racked her brain for anything she could do.

“Remember what Rainbow said,” Spike yelled in between bursts of flames, “feel don’t think!”

So she did try to feel. All she felt was terror and apprehension. If she didn’t do something, they would both bite it. Then she realized both she and Spike would bite it. She felt worry for her friend and realized she had to save them both. All she could do was flap her little wings in desperation. She had to try to fly for the both of them. Fly for both their sakes.

Spike’s steady flames kept them hovering the air and propelled them slowly upwards. Narrowly missing the rocks and the mountainside, they careened across the top of the mountain and tumbled across the ground, rolling head first across the floor towards another ledge. Spike stuck out his legs to slow their approach and Scootaloo followed suit. Limbs burning, they slid across the dirt, coming dangerously close to the ledge. Their efforts were useless as they fell off the ledge towards the rocks below.

Suddenly, they stopped. They opened their eyes to find themselves suspended in the air by purple magic and gradually lifted back to the mountain. They were gently placed at the top where Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed with a magic aura, stopping only to join Rainbow Dash in checking their friends.

“Spike, Scootaloo,” she panicked as she nervously inspected the duo, still clenching each other, “ are you two okay? We saw Spike’s flames from Ponyville and came as quick as we could! Well, we didn’t see the flames right away with the sun in our eyes and even when we did we weren’t sure what we were seeing and we just came here not sure what to expect—!”

Spike ran to embrace Twilight and Scootaloo moved to tackle Rainbow Dash. They were both so scared from their narrow rescue and so relieved this whole ordeal was over.

“It’s my fault,” Scootaloo sniffed, “I came here hoping I could finally fly. Spike came to talk me out of it and fell trying to save me. I put us in danger, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around her, “we saw you two crash into the mountain top and we made it here just in time to save you. You’re both alright.”

“Aren’t you mad at me?” Scootaloo shamefully asked willing to accept any punishment she was given.

“I’m just glad you’re safe,” Rainbow Dash looked Scootaloo in the eyes, “I don’t know what I’d do without my sister.”

Scootaloo gave a shaky smile and squeezed Rainbow Dash even tighter, forcing much of the air from her lungs.

Spike broke away from Twilight and looked at Scootaloo with excitement.

“You did it, Scootaloo,” he said with a beaming smile. She turned and looked at him confused.

“What did I do?” she asked wondering if he was angry.

“You flew.” At this Rainbow Dash and Twilight both turned and looked at Scootaloo with wide eyes. She blinked and tried to process what he just said.

“We were going to crash into the mountain side,” Spike eagerly explained, “but you flapped your wings and we hit the top. You moved us vertically on your own.”

Scootaloo gave him a doubtful glance, “but you were breathing fire. I thought that’s what lifted us.”

Spike shook his head and approached her. “My fire breath may have helped, but if it were alone, we wouldn’t have made it. You flapped your wings and we just made it. You flew.”

Scootaloo blinked again uncertainly. She closed her eyes and flapped her wings once more, trying to relive her sensations. What had she been thinking? No, she hadn’t been thinking. She just felt. She was desperate to save Spike and herself from colliding with the mountain and the adrenaline just took over. She flapped her wings harder, not thinking yet not dreaming.

“Open your eyes,” Rainbow Dash’s voice dripped with pride.

Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes and looked down to see she was exactly five inches off the ground. She flapped her wings harder and moved another five inches, and another, and another, and soon she was high in the sky. Her wings supported her own body, no riding on the winds, just her own strength lifting her body.

“I did it,” she said as the gravity of her achievement finally hit her, “I did it!”

She gleefully zipped through the air in summersaults, spinning in circles and figure eights. She glanced down below and saw Rainbow Dash’s eyes filled with joy, Twilight gazed astounded but equally joyed, and Spike just looked on with a satisfied knowing look, as he knew this would happen. He had no doubt.

She zoomed down and embraced Spike with tears of joy, “Oh, thank you Spike! Thank you!”

“Sure,” Spike grinned as he added mischievously, “if you want, I can jump off a taller mountain.” Twilight him a reproachful and apprehensive look as Spike giggled, “Joking, joking.”

They all laughed, even Twilight eventually gave a small smile. Spike continued, “You don’t have to thank me. You did this yourself. I should be thanking you for saving me.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without you, Spike.” Scootaloo insisted as she gripped him more tightly. “Thank you.”

Spike looked at her quizzically, “you’re the one who flew, I just gave you that book, and fell off a cliff, which by the way,” he looked at Twilight again, “I will not do again.”

“You bet you won’t,” Twilight said with a playful grin, “even if I have to chain you to a tree.”

Spike trembled at the thought, hoping she was joking. Then again, Twilight usually didn’t joke.

“You did something even greater for me,” Scootaloo redirected the subject back to his efforts, “you gave me something I haven’t had in a long time: hope. You made me believe that I could do it, and I did it. All because you didn’t give up on me, when I gave up on myself.”

She gave another joyful aerial twirl and grinned at Spike.

He smiled back. “Then I should thank you too. Because you gave me hope that I might fly too. From now on, whenever I see you in the sky, I’ll remember how you worked so hard and try to work just as hard, so I can join you up there.”

“I’ll help you learn fly like you helped me. When you do,” Scootaloo said happily, “we can fly together.”

“All of us,” Rainbow Dash interjected and stepped forward, “all three of us will fly together.”

“All four,” Twilight added, “I wouldn’t let my number one assistant going flying through Equestria without me.”

Spike smiled as she embraced him again. He could hardly wait for that day when they would all soar together.

“When we all do fly together,” Rainbow Dash smirked playfully and rose into the sky, “I hope you slowpokes can keep up with us! Come on, Scootaloo! I’ve got to teach you my Sonic Rainboom or my Buccaneer Blitz!”

Scootaloo waved one last farewell and flew away with Rainbow Dash, closely chasing after her. Spike and Twilight stood and watched them vanish behind the clouds and fade into the distance. For the first time in a long time, Spike and Scootaloo stared at the sky not with longing but anticipation. For the first time in a lifetime, both felt at peace with themselves.

The End