Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Chapters

Harder
Better
Faster
Stronger
Bonus Chapter: Meeting Missus Steel

Harder

It was a cool but sunny day in Ponyville, as requested by the elected officials -through triplicate forms, no less- and delivered by the local Weather Patrol. And for little Rumble, it was to be a good day, a momentous occasion.

Flight practice with two Wonderbolts reserves. Instead of the usual one, that is.

Up in the air with his brother, heading towards the local obstacle course, the grey pegasus colt enjoyed the gentle breeze under his wings, the cold tickles on the frogs of his hooves, and the calming smell of the winds that blew through his dark grey mane. Donut-scented winds, with a hint of cherry. Sugarcube Corner’s ovens always made the wind smell good, as long as it was an easterly wind. Western winds went over Sweet Apple Acres, and that was usually a toss-up between apple pie and pig dung. But today’s wind was easterly, and it smelled good.

Yes, this day was going to be perfect.

“So, what was it you wanted to practise today?” Thunderlane asked.

“Huh?” Rumble snapped his head around, never missing a beat of his wings.

Thunderlane quirked an eyebrow at his distracted brother. “You wanted to practise, right? Which move are you doing now?”

“The pony glove catch,” Rumble replied. “You know how to do that?”

“Sure do,” Thunderlane replied. “But that’s a pretty advanced one. Are you sure you’re up for a rescue manoeuvre of that level?”

The boy nodded eagerly. “I’m sure. I wanna get a headstart before Flight Camp.”

“But you can already catch just fine. You’re already going to beat any pony when it comes to interception. You know, in about five years, when you can go to the first camp for that kinda stuff.”

Rumble rolled his eyes. “I know, but I want it to be as good as it can be, right now. I want it to be my best. Wonderbolts don’t sit on their laurels.”

The stallion chuckled. “We sure don’t. So you do need to practise, and you’re not just making this up so I’d check on Scootaloo?”

Rumble looked away and blushed. “Umm…”

“That is all you want me to do, right? Check up? No tricks, no pranks? Scootaloo and her friends have a reputation, you know. If they offer me and Dash some punch, I’m out.”

“No, it’s nothing like that. No pranks, no tricks, honest. It’s just for Scootaloo. Apple Bloom asked if I knew anything, and, well, you’d know it better than me. It’s just to make sure Rainbow Dash isn’t missing anything. And I think I do need the practice. Besides, maybe Rainbow Dash can give me some pointers, too. I wanna know what she thinks, see what I still need to work on.”

“Well, I doubt she’s missing anything on Scootaloo, and she’s probably going to tell you what I keep telling you, but if you insist… Speaking of which, there she is.” Thunderlane looked down at the mare below, who was flying low next to the kids who’d tagged along.

Rumble gulped. “She brought a crowd?”

Down below, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were having a discussion of their own, with Rainbow Dash and the two Sugarlump Rumps.

“So you really just want a second pair of expert eyes on you, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying along at a head’s height.

“Don’t look at me: it was Rumble’s idea!” Scootaloo said, keeping up the pace.

“But I’m the one who asked,” Apple Bloom noted. “It’s just to make sure. And besides, you gotta learn more than one style, don’tcha? Thunderlane probably trains different, too.”

“Obviously: he’s a stallion. You can’t expect that to be exactly the same. Plus, he’s less of a showpony and more of a workhorse. A little too uptight, too, if you ask me.” Rainbow grinned knowingly.

“It probably won’t make much of a difference,” Scootaloo said. “After all, you’ve been teaching me, and you’d tell me if there was anything really wrong, right?”

“Of course I would. Buuut... if you want to be sure, like a hundred percent totally sure, then Thunderlane probably is your best bet. Two Wonderbolts are better than one, even if that one happens to be me.”

Sweetie Belle winced and lowered her voice, talking to the two rich kids who’d tagged along. “You think this is going to turn out okay?”

Diamond Tiara winced right back. “Knowing Rumble, probably. Knowing Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, maybe not.”

“Yeah, haven’t you ever seen Thunderlane do the weather?” Silver Spoon asked. “He’s a lot slower than Rainbow Dash is, usually.”

“Really?”

“Sort of,” Diamond Tiara said. “Thunderlane’s more, umm, touchy when it comes to weather.”

“Hey, girls, if you’re gonna gossip about me and Thunderlane behind our backs, you might wanna get your facts straight first,” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Sorry, Miss Rainbow.” Diamond shivered.

“It’s okay, no need to call me a ‘Miss’, I’m just messin’ with ya.” She chuckled. “But, for your information, Thunderlane is not slower when it comes to weather stuff. He can do it pretty fast. Not as fast as me, obviously, but close enough. He just likes to take his time, make sure it’s perfect. That’s why we joke about him being lazy: he always finishes last on the job.”

“Oh, so he always wants to do it perfectly. Is that why he didn’t see a doctor when he was getting sick for tornado duty?” Apple Bloom remarked.

“Err, yeah, speaking of which, probably a good idea not to mention that around him. Or around Rumble. Or Twilight. Or the mayor. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s probably best if you never mention that to anypony, ever.”

The group arrived at the obstacle course. The perfect spot to test the agility of ponies (or their pets), the course had been set up primarily for a circus camp, with a bunch of seesaw ramps, high tubes, it used to have a set of trapezes, too.

Of course, once the ponies in charge of the camp decided to pack up and move to Hoofington, the course had fallen into disuse, but never disrepair. It was still a fine place to hold contests for flying pets, and the junior flyer groups from neighbouring towns liked to practise here, so it wasn’t a complete money drain.

This would do nicely.

Rainbow Dash set down from her light hover, Thunderlane and Rumble landed with all the quiet grace of ninja deer stalking a predator.

“So, umm, we’re sharing the track today, huh?” Rainbow Dash started, looking up at the neatly arranged sky. “Nice day for it.”

“Yup,” Thunderlane replied. “Nice day.”

Awkward silence fell between the two.

Thunderlane, ever the gentlecolt, was the first to break it, clearing his throat. “Okay, look, I know you’re teaching Scootaloo and all, and you’re probably doing an awesome job at it. I don’t think you need any help, but Rumble insisted.”

“I heard. Hey, Rumble,” Rainbow greeted.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash,” he squeaked with that girly voice of his.

Thunderlane continued, undisturbed. “So this is just to make sure everything’s good. I’ve been teaching Rumble some advanced flying, I think he’s doing fine, but maybe having somepony else giving him a little pointer or two might make it even better. Besides, he really has his heart set on joining the Wonderbolts one day, and me and Cloud Chaser aren’t exactly impartial judges to tell him if he’s good enough. But he doesn’t need any serious help, and neither do you, I’m sure. This really isn’t a big deal. Right?”

“Exactly, couldn’t agree more. It’s just to show the kids that everything is fine, give’em some different perspectives, right, Scootaloo?” Rainbow nudged the girl.

Scootaloo nodded. “Right. Hey, Rumble.”

“Hi, Scootaloo, and, umm, everypony. Hi, girls.” He gulped nervously.

“So, why don’t we all get started on our routines, and if anything comes up, we’ll just talk it out.”

Diamond and Silver exchanged a glance. Sweetie Belle noticed, and gulped almost as hard as Rumble had. “This is going to get weird.”

“Alright, Scootaloo, let’s see some trotting! Hut, two, hut, two, hut, two!” Rainbow barked, prompting Scootaloo to set off at a quick pace around the track.

“Uh, do you always yell at her like that?” Thunderlane asked.

“Yelling? That’s not yelling; that’s being a good authority figure. Like they do on Flight Camp.”

The stallion rolled his eyes and turned to his little brother. “If you say so. Okay, Rumble, so you’re gonna want to make sure you can fly backwards first. Go up to those rings, line it up, and fly backwards, hooves all down, tail folded around your haunches, ears folded in. ”

“Do I need to go in blind or turn my head?” The colt asked.

“Turn your head first, then try it blind. Once you can do that, we’ll work on the backstroke and the turns, and then we’ll launch.”

“And do I fold my tail left or right?” He swished his short-cut tail back and forth.

“Tail goes the other way you turn your head,” Thunderlane replied, motioning with his hooves. “You don’t want to accidentally swat at your eyes.”

“I’m not growing my tail out that long, Thunderlane; it wouldn’t reach.”

“Do it anyway; it’s a good habit.”

Rainbow Dash squinted. She waited for Rumble to be out of earshot before saying anything, though. “He has to ask if he can turn his head, and which way to fold his tail? Seriously?”

The dark stallion shrugged. “What? He just wants to be sure he’s practising right. Nothing wrong with that, is there?”

Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to Scootaloo, and forced out a smile. “Of course not. It’s not like you need any help, right?”

“Nope,” Thunderlane replied. “And neither do you.”

On the sidelines, the Sugarlump Rumps and Cutie Mark Crusaders watched, keeping a safe distance.

“Wow. They ain’t even been on the same track for a minute and they’re already arguing,” Apple Bloom said.

“It’s a Weather Patrol thing. Every pony, like, has their own turf, and they can get defensive about it sometimes,” Diamond Tiara explained. “It’s kind of a pegasus pony thing, too.”

“They’re not going to fight, though, are they?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“No, no, I doubt it. Thunderlane’s too much of a gentlecolt to fight.”

Sweetie Belle pondered as she watched the boy practise flying backwards. “Huh. Guess that’s where Rumble got it.”

“Yeah, probably.” Diamond looked away, hoping no one would notice her nervousness.

“Okay, now that you’re warmed up: let’s see some flapping!”

No sooner had Rainbow Dash barked another command, or Scootaloo had gone off the ground, flapping and buzzing her wings like a hummingbird. The girl had her eyes closed, her arms and legs clenched, her face locked in a grimace with the effort.

“Err, Rainbow? Are you sure she’s okay?” Thunderlane started.

Rainbow waved the concern away. “Sure she is, why wouldn’t she be?”

“Umm, her face is turning orange. Well, a redder orange than usual, I mean.”

“She’s fine.”

“Fffffwaaa!” With a cry and a dull thump, Scootaloo dropped like a brick.

“That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash called out. “That’s a whole twelve seconds, two better than before.”

Thunderlane felt his jaw come loose. “Tuh-twelve se- she can’t even…” He swallowed whatever remark he was going to offer. “Rumble? Get ready for launch!”

“Here it comes,” Diamond started.

“Comes what?” Silver Spoon asked. “You’ve seen him do this?”

The pink filly nodded. “Yup. He’s the only kid in town who can do moves likes this. That’s why my mom likes him so much. And that’s why I kinda covered for him for the whole tornado thing, I meant to tell you. His pride was seriously hurt after he came out of the hospital, I didn’t want to hurt it any more.”

“Aww, that’s sweet, Diamond Tiara,” Sweetie Belle said. “So he really is Wonderbolts material?”

“I don’t know. My mom sure thinks so, and a lot of ponies he’s talked to in Canterlot think so. None of them are professional flyers, though, so it’s hard to tell.”

“But can he catch a pony already?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Like, Wonderbolts rescue manoeuvers?”

Diamond whimpered. She cringed and shrunk herself down as much as she could.

“What’s the matter?” Apple Bloom turned to the pink filly.

She gulped and looked down at the ground again. “Just, like, fear of heights, is all. Looking up too long, you know? I get dizzy thinking about it.”

Silver Spoon quirked an eyebrow. “You never told me about that.”

“Hey, I have a whole life you know nothing about.”

“And pull!” With a mighty heave, Thunderlane threw the pink filly-shaped doll towards his brother.

As the exercise demanded, Rumble waited for it to come past its highest point, then dove after it. Down below, the girls were.

He could feel their eyes on him, watching his every move, evaluating him.

Judging him.

“So it’s dash, turn, arms out-whoa!”

The doll bounced off his chest and dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

With a quick dash across the field, Thunderlane fetched the thing and got it ready for another go. “Keep your arms ready for the catch, Rumble, don’t spread them out too far!”

“Got it!” Came the reply.

“Pull!”

Another throw, another fall, another dash and pick-up. “What’s the matter with you? You know how to catch, don’t you? Don’t bunch up your legs like that! You wanna save this pony, not kick her in the head!”

“Sorry! I’m ready for another go!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think maybe you should let him try it on his own a couple of times? You know, just to get the motions down?”

Thunderlane blinked in confusion, much in the same fashion as he had when Discord had turned his side of town into gingerbread houses. “But he’s doing the motions wrong, when he knows how to do them right. You don’t want me to correct him?”

Rainbow held her hooves up defensively. “Hey, it’s none of my business how you train your little brother, but I’m just saying that he’s not going to get the move down right if he keeps overthinking it. And you telling him every little thing he’s doing wrong is going to make him overthink it.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind, thanks. While we are exchanging tips, you mind if I ask Scootaloo something?”

“Go right ahead.”

Thunderlane gulped in a big breath of air to carry his voice. “Hey! Scootaloo! What does your doctor think about your flight practice?”

The call was enough to get the girl to fall down. “My what?”

Thunderlane shook his head, mentally checking if he’d heard her right, before continuing. “Your doctor. Your physician. The medical pony. The one with needles in one hoof and lollipops in the other. What do they think about you trying to fly?”

Scootaloo picked herself up and dusted her arms off, turning towards him. “Umm… they don’t think anything about it. I’m not even sure if any doctor knows me.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Thunderlane, what do you think you’re doing? Medical records are personal, especially for a little girl.”

“But isn’t that why I’m here? For a different perspective? If you want me to tell you what I think, I need to know if there are any medical issues. Are there?”

“W-well, I don’t know.” Rainbow huffed, before turning to the stationary Scootaloo. “Keep flapping, Scootaloo! Try the running leap again!”

As the girl kept on jumping and the boy kept on killing his supposed rescue-ee, Thunderlane grimaced. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“Like I said: I don’t know. If I knew what was wrong with her, I’d have fixed it by now.”

“Well, has she said anything about her doctor’s visits?”

“No. We don’t talk about that.”

Thunderlane dashed off and tossed the pink Earth pony doll up again, catching it again before it even hit the ground. “Mind your tail, Rumble! You’re gonna put somepony’s eye out if you’re not careful!” He shook his head. “But I thought you said you were taking her under your wing?”

“I am.”

“And you went and did the Sisterhooves Social together? Rumble, don’t-” He sighed and dashed off again for another catch. “That’s not a glove catch; that’s a regular catch! Glove catches are below the pony! Spread your body out like a glove!”

“I know!”

“And don’t reach out until you’re below her!” He rolled his eyes and chuckled, before chucking the filly doll again. “Anyway, what was I saying?”

“Don’t listen to him, Rumble, you’re doing fine! You just need to keep at it, you’ll get it!” She turned back to the stallion. “Me and Scootaloo did the Sisterhooves Social together. So what?”

“What did her sister have to say about that?”

Rainbow Dash flinched. “Scootaloo has a sister?”

“You don’t even know if she already has a sister?” Thunderlane’s eyes widened.

“Sure I do. Umm, she doesn’t. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t.”

“Pretty su-? And what about her parents? Were they okay with you teaching her?”

“Err…” Rainbow looked away. “Probably?”

“Do you even know who her parents are?”

“No, do you?”

He pressed a hoof to his forehead. “I’m not the one teaching her how to fly, Rainbow Dash. You know, that thing where you can plummet and hurt yourself if you do it wrong? Do you at least know where she lives?”

“Of course I do, I’m not dumb: Horseshoe Avenue, number 43, the place with the columns.”

The stallion let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, that’s something. But you don’t know who her parents are? You’ve never even met them?”

“Err, not really, no. I was only over there once or twice, and Scootaloo was the only one home then. I kinda figured her family was out, you know, working. So what?”

“So what?! Are you nuts?! Do you have any idea how badly things can go wrong? How much trouble you two could get in?”

“Oh, please, what’s the worst that can happen?” Rainbow let out a hearty laugh.

“What if she has an accident on your watch? Scootaloo could end up in a hospital, and you wouldn’t know if she’s allergic to any medication. You wouldn’t even know what ponies to call. Imagine meeting her parents for the first time, and it’s right outside the emergency ward. If you don’t know who her family is, you could get in serious trouble. More to the point, you don’t know if what you’re doing right now is helping. What if she’s got stunted growth, and you’re forcing her past what she can do? You could be hurting her, right now.”

Rainbow grunckled, which is what Pinkie Pie called the sound somewhere between a chuckle and a grunt. “Oh, look who’s talking. At least Scootaloo’s still having fun. That’s more than I can say for your little brother.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you know what they call Rumble in Cheerilee’s class?”

The stallion’s eyes narrowed into a glare. He turned to face her. “I’m warning you, Rainbow, don’t start. You’re not gonna like where it ends.”

Unabashed, Rainbow faced him and butted her head against his, showing her teeth. “Try me.”

“Err, Thunderlane?”

The two broke away from their headlock and looked down at the little pegasi who, without further instruction, had dropped their practice and listened in on the conversation.

Rumble dropped the doll in front of his brother. “I’m ready for another pull. Am I doing it wrong? Am I supposed to learn it different?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Thunderlane walked off towards the other end of the field. “We’ll try a different approach, focus on the catching. Away from any distractions.”

Scootaloo pouted at Rainbow Dash when the two wandered off. “There’s nothing wrong with me, is there?”

“No, Thunderlane didn’t mean it like that. How are your wings?”

Scootaloo turned her head to inspect the little flappers. “Getting a little tired, but I can keep going. I just have to try harder, right?”

“Right. Ten times harder, you can do it!”

“Twenty or thirty times, if I have to!”

With that, she jumped and soared through the sky, or at least a few inches of sky, and a matter of seconds at that.

Rainbow slowly and reluctantly looked back at Rumble and Thunderlane, their pace-by-pace training, and the calm air of authority that hung over the stallion. Rumble followed Thunderlane’s every word, the colt moved so smoothly, and Thunderlane never had to do more than nod and prod.

As for Rainbow Dash, she was floundering, and she knew it. This wasn’t just about her anymore, not like the Wonderbolts written exam was, or her first Best Young Flyers Competition.

She sighed.

I’m gonna need to get some of that.

While the kids were eating their lunches on the ground, Rainbow Dash went up to Thunderlane. The big lug liked to eat his lunch on a cloud, always had. He seemed to think stuff just tasted better if you ate it in the cold air. Rainbow Dash had never noticed any difference, except when the wind was coming from the western side of town.

“What was that all about?” She asked.

Thunderlane swallowed a bite of his sandwich before replying. “What was what all about?”

“You, giving Scootaloo the third degree about her doctor’s notes. Are you trying to give her nightmares?”

“No. Are you trying to distract my little brother? I know Rumble, I know how he picks up new moves. Why are you trying to get in the way of that?”

“Ugh.” Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof to her forehead, setting down on the cloud. “Look, I’m not trying to get in the way of anything, okay? I’m sure it works great for you two. It’s just really hard for me to see you waste a perfectly good talent like that.”

“Oh, and you’re any different? I thought you were taking Scootaloo under your wing? Acting like a big sister?”

“I am.”

“But you honestly don’t know if she has any medical issues?” He looked down over the edge of the cloud to make sure all the kids were present and accounted for, and not dropping any eaves. “Between you and me?”

Rainbow flicked her ears back and plopped her rump down with a sigh, lowering her voice. “Between you and me? Well, no. She never mentioned it to me, she just told me her wings are too small and she’s scared they’ll never grow.”

Thunderlane’s eyes narrowed to glare at her. “But they’re not, though; they’re just as big as Rumble’s. Not to mention Bulk Biceps has even smaller wings, and more, you know, bulk to carry, and you took him to the Equestria Games and won, so you can pretty much rule that right out. Something else is the matter, something that might be dangerous. You need to know this sort of thing before you end up hurting her. You’re flying blind here, and I don’t mean with special Wonderbolts training, either.”

“What difference does it make?”

“It makes all the difference. Like I said, she might have a stunted growth problem, something in her muscles or her joints, or a growth spurt that unbalanced something, and forcing her to train right now would be making it worse. Or, here’s a thought: she might just need more time. Maybe whatever is keeping Scootaloo from flying is something basic, something simple.”

“If it was that simple, wouldn’t it be fixed already, then? I’m sure she has seen some doctors by now. They get check-ups in school,” Rainbow argued.

That got a groan of frustration out of him. “Oh, come on, you know as well as I do that those check-ups aren’t up to snuff. It’s all Earth pony nurses and unicorn doctors. You need a pegasus doctor to treat a pegasus problem.”

“Yeah, the whole feather flu thing was kinda my fault, I’ll admit.”

“I don’t mean it like that, stop changing the subject! Look, the feather flu outbreak, Scootaloo, it’s the same thing, and it happens all the time, you know it does. Unicorn and Earth pony doctors just forget what makes pegasi different. They treat us like we’re nothing but Earth ponies with wings, and that’s it. We’re not. Don’t you remember when you broke your wing, and they just pushed you out of the hospital, never even considering how you were gonna get back up to your front door? You know, the one that’s up in the clouds? Without using your busted wing?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. Not her finest hour, that hospital trip. “Okay, I see your point. I should have taken her to a pegasus doctor by now. Maybe I can trick her, get her to Rainbow Falls for a Wonderbolts thing. The doctors there would notice.”

“That would be a pretty good place to start, Rainbow Dash. It is sort of their job. And yours,” he argued.

“Sure, rub it in, why don’t you. But it’s not like you’re any better. What kind of big brother are you? You’ve got poor Rumble messing his head up because he’s too worried about his posture to do anything right.”

Thunderlane shook his head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him today; he doesn’t usually have trouble with this sort of thing. I’m telling you: he usually flies like a little Wonderbolt. And besides, that is totally different.”

“Oh, really? That’s not what I heard. Do you know what they call your little brother in school? Crazy. Obsessed. Apple Bloom told me he doesn’t even eat cake anymore. He’s only nine, and he’s afraid of eating cake. Why would you do that to your little brother?”

Thunderlane snorted. “Hey, I’m not the one who did that, alright? He does that to himself.”

“Then why do you let him?”

“Because it works, for pity’s sake! Cheesy Crust, you think I don’t watch my little brother? I keep my eye on him whenever I can. I have to drag him to parties nowadays, make him eat cake and just talk to the other kids there, he won’t even go if I’m not there. It’s like he’s scared I’ll get angry at him for slacking off or something.”

“Does he have any reason to?”

“No! That’s what I don’t get: he asks me for approval, even when I tell him he doesn’t have to ask. He doesn’t even do that with dad.”

Rainbow thought that over for a moment. “That is kinda odd. You’re sure you have nothing to do with it?”

“Of course I’m sure. He’s my little brother. I don’t force him to train, I do the opposite. I always tell him not to overdo it, not to overtrain, to mind his muscles, to stretch, to stop when he has to. I know I can trust him alone; I wouldn’t let him fly at all if I didn’t. He’s never disobeyed me or our parents on the safety stuff, or the health stuff, ever. And no pony is as worried about him as I am. I’d never pressure him, into anything. Even our parents don’t know how hard he pushes himself. But it’s his choice, and it works. He’s probably the best flyer in town, at least his age.”

“And until I can get Scootaloo off the ground. Then he’s gonna get some competition.”

“Obviously. Maybe it’s because I’m a Wonderbolts reserve now. He’s always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, same dreams as me. Now that I made it, kinda, he might just be trying to make sure he copies me as much as he can. But I’m not the one pressuring him, Rainbow. I don’t know if anypony is. He’s not usually this clumsy when he flies, either. He’s happy the way he is, at least he used to be. You should see that goofy little grin of his when he’s talking about his practice. He’s healthy, too; he gets regular check-ups, doctor’s appointments to tell him he’s not overdoing it, that he’s healthy, like any- err, ahem, athlete… would, at his age. Maybe you should consider the same thing for Scootaloo.”

There, she had to admit, he had another point. She hated that about him. “Well, okay, but strict routine only works for strict routine. Rescue work is unpredictable, you can’t overthink it. And if he is pushing himself too hard, he’s going to be overthinking everything all the time.”

“Who knows, maybe it’s just because the girls are watching; he does get a little antsy with crowds. Everything’s gotta be just right when he’s putting on a show. Wouldn’t know how to get him past that; stage fright never bothered me. Neither did obsession. And you’re in the same boat as me: you never had issues like Scootaloo is having. She’s not going to get off the ground unless you find the root cause of her problem. That’s assuming you even want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Nopony else their age can fly, not really. Rumble’s the only one in all of Ponyville who can get up to Flight Camp right now on his own strength. Scootaloo’s wings are fine, she can check with Rumble and Featherweight; they’re just as big as anypony’s. So why is she so uptight about it, I wonder? Do you think maybe you have anything to do with that?”

Rainbow brushed a hoof through her mane and shook her head, thinking. “No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure she’s been like that since before she and I, you know… This isn’t about flying, Thunderlane. It’s about hovering. I think she knows by now other ponies her age can’t fly, and she probably has checked her wings against other ponies.”

“But?”

“But those other ponies can still hover, or glide. They get off the ground, and that’s way more than she can do right now. Pound Cake can get off the ground already, and he’s only a baby. She’s just worried, that’s all. And I don’t blame her. She wants to be like me someday. She idolises me, tries to be everything I am, or was. But as long as she can’t fly, she’s always gonna have that nagging little voice in the back of her head telling her something is wrong, that she was born wrong and there’s nothing she can do about it. So I try to be a good role model, and I don’t ask for medical mumbo-jumbo I know nothing about anyway. All I’d do is make her worry more, make it worse. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to fix it. I just want her to know that she’s growing up fine, that there’s nothing stopping her. I don’t want her to have to listen to that voice anymore.”

Thunderlane nodded solemnly. “No. No sister would. No brother, either.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I guess Rumble was right, huh?”

“Maybe.”

The blue mare nudged him. “You know what I’m gonna ask next.”

He nodded again. “You want me to take over teaching Scootaloo for a while. Get technical on her, see what comes up.”

“Yeah. I mean, you’ve got Rumble, and as much as I hate to say it, you’re right. Physically, I don’t think there’s any kid in Ponyville in better shape than him, if what I keep hearing is true. He’s almost as good as I was at his age.”

“Almost?”

“I didn’t go crazy about getting faster, or mess myself up in the head. Rumble’s not having any fun, he doesn’t have any friends, doesn’t even eat cake. That can’t be healthy. He’s hurting himself, and he’s gonna seriously hurt himself if nothing changes.”

“You have no idea.”

“I wouldn’t mind teaching him, you know. To have fun, I mean. If he just learns to relax, I’m sure he’ll come out of his shell and those rescue moves will get a lot easier for him. Is he really that hardcore just because he wants to be a Wonderbolt?”

“Yes. It’s his dream. Same as you and me.”

“Then maybe I’m a better pony to tell him even Wonderbolts can take it easy sometimes. Give me a couple of hours with him. I know how to deal with stage fright, or with ponies who can’t ease up. It wouldn’t take me that long to figure out what’s really wrong with him; I’ve done this sort of thing before.”

Thunderlane bit his lip. “Fluttershy and Lightning Dust, I know. I’ve told him about that, too, actually. Didn’t seem to sink in. If you think you can talk some sense into him, be my guest. But I don’t think you can.”

“Why not?”

“He started getting obsessed over it after tornado duty. But now, now he’s not even obsessed; it’s like he’s depressed about something. He’s taken down all the posters in his bedroom, I don’t know why. He won’t tell me.”

“And you have no idea why he would be feeling down in the dumps?”

“Nope. For as long as I can remember, Rumble’s wanted to be a Wonderbolt, and be in the Equestria Games. Dreaming about that made him happy. Now it’s almost like it’s become a chore, like he’s forcing himself to do everything the Wonderbolt way. It’s always ‘Wonderbolts do this’, ‘Wonderbolts don’t do that’, it was cute at first but, honestly? Now it’s getting kind of scary. He might just be doing all this to, ah, uphold the family name, so to speak. It’d be a shame if he quit now, but it’s his choice,” Thunderlane explained.

Rainbow nodded. “Oh, so you think he’s not motivated anymore. Maybe he’s just going through the motions. Maybe that’s why he’s trying rescue work now: he wants to be a hero, like me. Maybe he just needs something new to do, something to shake things up, have fun with it again.”

Thunderlane shook his head. “That’s a lot of maybes. He doesn’t talk about that sort of thing, not to me, not to our parents.”

“I’m sure I can talk him out of it. A little slump’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and if he just gets over it he’ll be right back to being his ace flyer self again. He’d be the most popular kid in school if he just opened up a little. Well, second most popular.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe third or fourth. Top ten. You know what I mean.”

“Be my guest,” Thunderlane replied. “I’m not one for the motivational stuff like that.”

“Okay. And Scootaloo?”

He smiled. “I’ll do it. You do your thing with Rumble, see if that helps, I’ll do everything I can to get Scootaloo off the ground.”

“Thanks, Thunderlane.”

“Now, can I finish my sandwich, please?”

Rainbow’s stomach let out a growl. “Yeah. I think I need to eat, too.”

Author's Note

Regarding the title: no, this is not related to the griphon story by the same name, which was a lovely introspective oneshot I can recommend for a quick look into the minds of a predator visiting prey lands.

The title is actually completely based on one scene in one chapter that I wanted to hint at as early as possible. Turns out the Daft Punk song was perfect for that.

Again, for those who are new to the series: this is meant to emulate show look and feel, including the pacing. So some things are done really quick as a result. Also, while this is a sequel, the overall theme in this story is very different than that in the first part, and you don't need to have read the first part to know what's going on in this one. The idea is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders, at some point in Season 6 or 7, start making good on their promise to help other kids understand their cutie marks. That's good, basic one-episode stuff, every Crusader can give special help to one kid, yielding three episodes in a single Season. But what happens when they run into a hard case? Then you'd get episodes where the CMC hive mind can be contrasted with their individual skills a lot better: they still act as a unit, but every girl gets their in-depth interaction with one character. So this wouldn't so much be Season 6 fanfic material as it would be Season 7 or 8.

Of special note is the character of Rumble and Thunderlane. I always tend to model Rumble after Aqualad from Teen Titans (I use him a lot, actually), which makes it nice and consistent throughout different fanfic canons. But Thunderlane? I've only characterised him once, and he was the 'good son caught in the middle' there. In this story, I figured I'd model him after Aquaman a little. But my only experience in that is the review of Aquaman #1 by BobSheaux, so I can't say how much of that shines through.

Better

Rumble sat with the girls for lunch, idly nibbling away while they talked.

“I think Thunderlane might be on to something,” Sweetie Belle said. “If there is something medical going on, you should see a doctor.”

“But Rainbow Dash never made me see a doctor. She’d know if something was wrong with me.” Scootaloo’s wings twitched as she ate.

Apple Bloom winced. For once, though, Diamond Tiara beat her to the punch. “Not if she got scared. If she was worried it’d turn out you really can’t ever fly-”

“Don’t say that!” Scootaloo shouted before taking an angry bite out of her lunch.

Rumble stayed out of it. He had no say in the matter, anyway.

“She didn’t mean it like that, Scootaloo,” Silver Spoon said. “She just meant that maybe there’s a reason Rainbow Dash wouldn’t take you to a doctor. I mean, we do all get check-ups in school.”

Apple Bloom had to concede there. “Good point. But then maybe it’s something else.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Like what? I’m doing everything Rainbow Dash tells me to, how she tells me to do it. Why wouldn’t that work?”

Rumble’s ears twitched. He’d been asking himself that very question for a while now.

“What do you think, Rumble?”

The boy looked up. Both the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Sugarlump Rumps were all staring at him. He didn’t even catch who’d asked the question. “What?”

“I’m asking what you think,” Sweetie Belle said.

“About what?”

“About me not flying. This was your idea,” Scootaloo replied. “Do you think Thunderlane noticed something about me and he’s not telling?”

Rumble looked up to where his brother was. “No. If something was wrong, he’d have told you right away. My big brother doesn’t do sugarcoating.”

“What about you?” Scootaloo asked. “Do you think anything’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “I can’t really say. I was focused on getting my move right, I wasn’t paying attention to you, sorry.”

“Could you maybe show me how it’s done?”

Diamond gulped and quickly finished her meal.

Rumble’s ears did a twitch and a quiver, before he smiled. “Sure.” He put his lunch down and started flapping his wings in place, getting him off the ground by a head’s height. “Just like this.”

Scootaloo stared at him blankly. “And how are you doing that, exactly?”

“I don’t know. I just am: flap wings, lift off, keep flapping to stay up, slow down to land.” He landed and sat down again, continuing to eat.

“Does it have anything to do with your sweet buns, maybe?” Sweetie Belle asked.

He blushed and froze. “My whatnow?”

“Your sweet buns. You know, the stuff you eat.”

“Oh. Umm, it might, but it shouldn’t. Only dedicated athletes really need to watch what they eat. Regular ponies that eat regular ought to be able to fly regular.”

Apple Bloom looked at Diamond Tiara, noting the girl’s growing distress. Was she scared of the boy, somehow?

“So what do you do, then?” Scootaloo asked.

“I just flap my wings and focus,” Rumble replied.

“No, I mean besides that. Ponies never see you around town. What do you do, like, when you’re not flying?”

“Why do you ask?” He got another bite of his lunch.

Apple Bloom looked to Diamond again. The pink filly was shivering at this point. Rumble’s eyes darted to her for a second, and she stopped shivering, almost by force. Definitely something about him that made Diamond uneasy.

Scootaloo smiled nervously at him. “Well, it’s just that, you know, me and the girls have been helping out other ponies, like Diamond Tiara and Dinky Doo. We thought, since you’re trying to help me out, maybe we could return the favour?”

Rumble swallowed the last of his bun. Everypony else had finished by now, too. He took a long swig of his sports drink and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I understand. What would I need your help for, exactly?”

“Come on, Rumble, you must have noticed,” Scootaloo said with a groan. “You know, so you can be like us?”

“Like… you?” He blushed. Sweetie Belle caught the scent of his cold sweat.

Scootaloo winced and looked away. “You know, everypony else here is the same, except you? You really can’t take a guess?”

His ears fell flat against his head, and he looked down at himself. “Oh, yeah, like that. Of course.”

“They mean you’re the only blank flank here,” Diamond Tiara blurted out.

Scootaloo groaned. “I was trying to be delicate, Diamond Tiara.”

“Obviously, Diamond Tiara,” Rumble said. “I’ve been a blank flank for as long as I can remember. What does that have to do with anything?”

“We figured that since you didn’t get your cutie mark after you helped out at that tornado thing-” Scootaloo started.

He cringed like he was being stabbed in the chest.

“And we kinda beat you during that flagbearer competition-”

Diamond Tiara followed suit.

“Maybe your special talent involves flying, but it isn’t flying. So, seriously, what else do you do besides flying?” The little pegasus filly looked him over again, as if hoping to find some clue in the hairs of his shiny, soft-looking coat.

He thought long and hard, and Diamond Tiara’s body stiffened.

“Nothing that I’d get cutie marks in,” he replied.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’m pretty sure you don’t get cutie marks for eating and sleeping, yes.”

“But what about your hobbies?” Scootaloo asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you do for fun?”

“I fly.”

Scootaloo groaned. “What do you do for fun when you’re not flying?”

Rumble shrugged. “If I’m not flying, I’m not having fun.”

She shook her head in confusion. “You don’t ride a scooter?”

“No.”

“You don’t play hoofball?”

He curled his nose in a mix of disgust and embarrassment. “No.”

“You don’t even dance?”

“I am not a dancer,” he said with his jaw clenching.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders exchanged a glance at that.

“Maybe that’s why you don’t have your cutie mark yet,” Sweetie Belle said. “Whatever your special talent is, you haven’t been trying it. You haven’t even given it a chance.”

“I’ve given plenty of things a chance, Sweetie Belle. It hasn’t worked so far. Why would I keep trying something if I know it won’t work?”

“Because a cutie mark is what makes a pony complete,” Apple Bloom said. “It makes you happy.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Rumble retorted. “You’ve got it backwards. You’ve always had it backwards. You don’t get to be happy because you have a cutie mark. You find what makes you happy first, and then you get your cutie mark. It’s not the what, it’s the when that counts. I know that, and I’m pretty sure you’d know that by now, too.”

“Sorry. We’re just trying to be motivational and stuff,” Scootaloo said.

He groaned. “Don’t be sorry. Motivating is a lot harder than it looks.”

“So... what would make you happy?” Sweetie Belle asked. “When do you think you’d get your cutie mark?”

He looked up at the sky again. “When I’m a Wonderbolt stallion. Then I’d get my mark, for sure.”

“Oh. Uh, any other ideas? I think making you a Wonderbolt is kind of a tall order, Rumble, even for us,” Scootaloo noted. “At least this quick.”

“I know. So just let me get there on my own, and you girls can keep helping other foals, ones with smaller orders.”

Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash flew down to the kids once their lunch was done and they’d had some time to discuss.

Rainbow smiled at them, just barely keeping her tail from wagging. “Okay. Scootaloo, Rumble: me and Thunderlane have been talking and-”

“We’ve decided to switch things up a bit,” Thunderlane finished.

“Switch things up?” Rumble asked. “How?”

“Rumble, Rainbow Dash will be taking over coaching you for a little while. Scootaloo, you’re with me,” Thunderlane explained.

“What? Why?” Rumble’s voice squeaked again, his eyes wide with what the girls presumed was boyish embarrassment.

“Because Rainbow Dash is better at rescue stuff and making split-second decisions,” Thunderlane replied. “And she’s better at the showpony side of Wonderbolts stuff. You’ve got the technical stuff down already, she can show you something new.”

“And Thunderlane thinks he’s better at the technical stuff, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said, before thinking it over more carefully. “Well, he is better at it. You need somepony technical, so it’s either gonna be him or Twilight Sparkle.”

Scootaloo gulped. “I’ll take him over Twilight, then.”

The stallion snorted. “Gee, thanks.”

Rumble grumbled. “So, you know how to do a pony glove catch? You can show me?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Of course. I do it all the time.” She leaned in to whisper. “And while we’re at it, I’ll fix your performance issues, too.”

The boy blushed and looked at the ground. “If you say so.”

Diamond Tiara winced at the sight of him. Silver Spoon quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

Thunderlane cocked his head towards the edge of town. “Come on, Scootaloo, let’s get you to the pond. We’re going to want to do some tests first.”

“Tests?” Scootaloo asked.

“And you are coming with me, Rumble,” Rainbow Dash said. “Um, staying, I guess. We’ll start with the catch and get to the showy stuff once that’s done.”

“Where are we going?” Silver Spoon asked.

“I think I’ll stay here and watch Rumble some more,” Sweetie Belle started.

“No, no, bad idea.” Diamond Tiara immediately got behind the girl and started shoving her forward. “Rumble’s, like, a strict and disciplined athlete. You wouldn’t want to break his concentration, would you? Heheh, he might have an accident or something. Can’t have that. No sirree.” She chuckled nervously.

“Oh, right.” Sweetie Belle got up, leaving Diamond to fall over and get a mouthful of grass.

Silver Spoon picked her up, even more confused. “What’s going on with you and Rumble?”

Diamond Tiara looked around furtively. “I just really don’t want to get in his way, that’s all. Bye Rumble, good luck!” With that, she bolted.

Rainbow Dash leaned in to her new charge once they were clear. “That’s pretty impressive, you know. Diamond Tiara doesn’t act like that around just anypony.”

“I know,” he replied flatly. “So, umm, what do we do first for warmups? Corkscrew practice? Falling practice?”

“Is that how Thunderlane teaches you?”

“Yes.”

She leaned back with a smile and a wave. “Well, good news, Rumble, because now you’re taking lessons from me. And I don’t do things halfway: I do it all in one go. So let’s see what you’ve got, and we’ll see if you’re Wonderbolts material yet.”

Rumble’s stomach groaned at that, but he was already in launching position; head low, blank flank high, wings spread, legs relaxed, ears tilted slightly backwards, nose flared ever so slightly.

It was a sight Rainbow Dash was not used to seeing on a pony that young, and outside of competition. She picked up the Earth pony doll and weighed it on a wing. “You use a life-sized doll for practice? This thing weighs about as much as a real filly.”

“So?”

“So, if you’re gonna use something like this, why not go the extra mile?”

“I couldn’t find anything close enough. So, can we start now, please?”

“Okay, show me what you got. Pull!”

When the herd of fillies and one stallion made it to the pond, and after Scootaloo had taken a detour home to get a towel, Thunderlane took position beside the water and cleared his throat.

“He-hem. We’re going to be doing some basic fitness tests first, to make sure we know what works and what doesn’t. Now, I don’t know how Rainbow Dash trains you, but I don’t go around barking orders. You’ll get enough of that at Flight Camp. We’re going to be doing this nice and slow, make sure we don’t miss anything. Today is strictly prep work, laying the foundations. Do you understand so far?”

“Yes, sir!” Scootaloo saluted him.

“Good. Now, that said, I’ll be expecting you to do exactly what I say, when I say it, if you can do it. If you think you can’t do something I tell you to, let me know. Knowing exactly what you can and cannot do is crucial. Likewise, if I tell you to keep going when you’re tired, you’re allowed to quit and take a break anyway. I don’t want to waste your time, I’m sure you don’t want to waste mine, no hard feelings. But keep in mind that if you do decide to stop, the consequences are on you. It’s the same as with any other training: you skip out on anything, it’s your fault you’re not getting stronger. You take responsibility for what you do. Are we clear on the quitting part?”

“Crystal.” She gave him a curt nod.

“Perfect. We’ll start with some swimming. You know how to swim, right?”

“Yup.”

He smiled and nodded towards the pond. “Hop into the water, then, and start flapping your wings. Do some laps.”

Sweetie Belle quirked an eyebrow, taking a seat on the shoreline with the rest of the girls. “Are you sure this will work?”

“We have to make sure her wings are strong enough to push her forward first. Swimming’s a good way to check,” Thunderlane replied.

Right at that moment, a loud buzzing and thumping caught the ponies’ attention. The buzzing sounded something like a motorboat. And much like a motorboat, it splashed them all as it whizzed by.

Thunderlane shook off the water. “Okay, that answers that question. Scootaloo! You can stop now!”

Scootaloo slowed down her buzzing and paddling and swam back to shore. “Was that good?”

He ran a hoof down his mohawk to get his mane dry, before trotting to a nearby tree. “Perfect for a first try. Next, I’m going to need you to swim with just your wings. No paddling with your arms or legs. And no super speedy flapping, either, just calm and strong flaps.” Thunderlane reached into a hole in the tree trunk and pulled out a swimming board. “Here, use this.”

“Why is there a board in a tree?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Pinkie Pie put it there, obviously.” He tossed the board to Scootaloo. “For swimming board emergencies. Now, Scootaloo, just lie down in the water, arms out on the board, legs stretched.”

“Like this?” She took the board and got into position.

“Straighten your back out some more, tense up your belly if you have to. You want this to be as hard as a plank.” Thunderlane patted his own belly to demonstrate, then waded into the water to check her posture up close. “Good, like that. Now flap with your wings, slowly. One, two, one, two.”

Scootaloo did as she was told, but it wasn’t moving her this time. She just bobbed up and down.

“Not like that. Row with your wings, make circles. Fold your wings in when you go up, fold out when you catch the water, push.” Thunderlane did the same motion, right beside her, and kicked up a wave as he did. “Up, catch, push.”

“Up, catch, push,” Scootaloo repeated, going forward. “Up, catch, push.”

“Good, exactly like that. Now do some laps around the pond, work those wings. That’ll tell us if it’s a strength problem or an endurance problem. And don’t kick your legs; you want to put all the weight on your wings, that’s how you fly.”

Scootaloo got into the rhythm of it quickly enough. Her private dance practice in front of the mirror had prepared her well for this sort of teaching. It was nice, too, the water holding her up, her friends standing there, watching.

“Come on, Scootaloo! You can do it!” Sweetie Belle called out.

“Yeah, like, just keep swimming!”

And there was Diamond Tiara’s clumsy attempt to help. It was okay, though. Diamond probably wasn’t used to it, after all, except maybe around Rumble.

Yeah, this isn’t so bad. Maybe Rumble was on to something.

I wonder how he’s doing?

The doll plummeted down.

In one smooth move, Rumble dove behind the falling doll, turned so his belly would face the thing’s back, spread his arms, gently caught the thing underneath the shoulders, then turned upright and pulled up with plenty of airspace to spare.

He flew up to his instructor, ears perked in anticipation. “How was that?”

Rainbow Dash was flabbergasted. “Wow. You really are good. Why did it take you so long to get it right before?”

He smiled nervously. “Umm, I was just trying to do it right so the girls would see. So Scootaloo wouldn’t get the wrong idea, you know? Wonderbolts lead by example, after all.”

“Uhuh. You could have done it the way you did just now, that was fine,” Rainbow Dash argued.

“I don’t want it to be fine; I want it to be Wonderbolts level. You know what that’s like, don’t you?”

“Actually, now that you mention it…”

“Oh, Rumble!”

He froze in mid-air. “Uh oh. Hang on.” He dove back down to the ground, spiralling as he went with the doll in his grip.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash flew down to greet the mare who’d interrupted their practice. “Oh. Hello, Missus Rich. What brings you here?”

The pink snob of a mare curled her nose at the sight of Rainbow Dash. “I was looking for my daughter. She was supposed to be with you.”

Rumble turned his head towards the outskirts of town. “Diamond Tiara left for the pond, Missus Rich.”

“And whyever would she abandon you like that?”

“Thunder-” Rainbow started.

“Thunderlane is taking over training Scootaloo for today,” Rumble interrupted. “Diamond Tiara wanted me to practise with Rainbow Dash, without any of the other girls distracting me. So she kinda herded them away for me. They’re watching that now, so I can have some peace and quiet.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. That almost sounded like he didn’t want the girls there at all.

“I see. More Wonderbolts rescue training, I presume?” Spoiled Rich asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. The glove catch: catching a falling pony from behind, so they don’t get the sudden stop and whiplash. It’s a very advanced move, not something that’s easy to teach, lots of little details that have to be just right. Only the best flyers can pull it off. Right, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow shook her head to snap out of her daze. “Uh, yeah. Very complicated technique, lots of little things to worry about.”

“Ah, well, I suppose that’s all for the greater good, then, I won’t keep you. Still, I shudder to think how those girls have… affected my little Diamond. I hope they don’t rub off on her again.” Spoiled looked in the direction of the pond. At least, she figured she was; she never went to such a mundane place herself.

“She’s not getting too close, Ma’am. She’s just trying to play her cards right. You know how it goes,” Rumble said with a smile. “They might be useful someday. They got me another Wonderbolt to practise with, after all.”

Rainbow Dash would have picked up her jaw, if she could remember where she’d left it.

“Indeed.” Missus Rich smiled, though it was hard to distinguish from a sneer. “Thank you, Rumble. It’s so nice to know my little girl has at least one proper winner in her inner circle. If you see her, tell her to meet us at Daisy’s for tea, would you? We’ll be eating dinner in Canterlot tonight, with Fancy Pants.”

“Will do, Ma’am.” He bowed his head.

“Good day, Rumble, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, good day,” Rainbow barely managed to say.

Once Spoiled Rich was out earshot, Rainbow Dash erupted. “What was that all about?!”

Rumble reflexively held his arms up. “Umm, I told Spoiled Rich where her daughter was?”

“Not that. All that ‘Oh, Diamond’s just playing her cards right’ and ‘Lots of little details to get right’ talk. Where did you get that?”

He tilted his head, confused. “Umm, from Diamond Tiara. We hang out sometimes, remember?”

Oh yeah, Apple Bloom mentioned that. Weird, that doesn’t add up so much it’s easy to forget. “And you’re going to dinner with Fancy Pants in Canterlot?”

“No, Diamond Tiara is. I’m not invited unless she needs a chaperone.”

“Then why would her mom mention it to you?”

“So I’d be reminded her family is important enough to be eating dinner with Fancy Pants in the first place, of course. That’s how high society ponies act. I just hang out with Diamond Tiara, I have for a while now.”

“Since before or after she decided to be nice?”

“Since before. Way before.”

“Uh, okay. Why?”

He shrugged. “Because her mom likes me, obviously. The Riches try to make Diamond hang out with any pony they think is important, or a winner. There aren’t a lot of ponies in Ponyville good enough to walk through their doors. Turns out I happen to be one of them.” He smiled proudly.

“So Diamond picked on you, too, huh?”

“No? She never picked on me. She wouldn’t dare.”

“Huh?”

He stared at her blankly. “You’re not listening to me, Rainbow Dash: Diamond Tiara’s mom likes me. She likes me because of how good I can fly already. She always gives me compliments, and pointers for practice. She says I’m a real winner, Wonderbolts material, even.”

Rainbow cocked her head towards town. “So you didn’t mean that? About the girls just being useful to you, or to her?”

“Of course not; I’m not a monster. But sometimes ponies have to pretend to be something they’re not, to get ahead. That’s just how it works. She taught me that, too.”

“I don’t know, Rumble, I wouldn’t trust her to make that kind of judgements about you. I don’t think it’s all that healthy, listening to a mare like that. She’s the kind of pony that can suck all the fun out of you.”

“At least she notices me,” he muttered under his breath.

“What?”

“What? Are we gonna keep going now?”

“Yeah, let’s keep going. We’ll do some test runs next, see how you measure up against me.”

Rumble smiled. “That sounds fun.”

“Yeah, you would think that.”

“Okay, so your wingpower is fine, endurance isn’t a problem, let’s see how well you can float,” Thunderlane started, taking the board away and pulling the girl to the deeper end. “Can you stand here?”

“I don’t think so. Yeah, barely.” Scootaloo let herself sink. Her hooves touched solid ground, but she had to crane her neck to keep her snout above water.

“That’s good. We’re gonna check your flotation now. Flap your wings up and down, slowly, like before. Try to stay in place, make little circles. Let your arms and legs hang, just like before.”

With a minor grunt, Scootaloo took off and started flapping so her upper neck was above water, too. “Like this?”

Thunderlane flashed her a friendly smile and walked away. “Exactly like that. Now just keep doing that until you sink.”

“Got it. Wait, what?”

“I need to know how long you can stay afloat, and how well you handle the heat being drained from your body.” He got out and shook himself dry again. “It’s okay, I’ve got my eye on you. The water’s too shallow to drown.”

“But won’t that wear out my wings?”

“Yeah. It’s supposed to. Just keep going as long as you can. Call out when you get too tired to move, or too cold.”

Sweetie Belle nudged Diamond Tiara. “Umm, just out of curiosity: what was that with you and Rumble again?”

Diamond chuckled nervously. “Eheh, what? Oh, nothing, nothing.”

“You sounded pretty nervous when we were gonna watch him instead of Scootaloo. Why?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No real reason. I just didn’t want to bother him.”

“You didn’t pick on him, did you?”

“What? Me? No, never!”

“Yeah, we never had any trouble with Rumble,” Silver Spoon said. “Why would we? He’s, like, the single coolest boy in town.”

“Try the only cool boy in town,” Diamond muttered under her breath.

“So why wouldn’t you want us to keep watching?” Sweetie Belle persisted. “Is it because that doll he tosses looks kind of like you?”

“What? No, that’s just a coincidence. It’s umm, because, like, Rumble has… he gets antsy sometimes when ponies watch. Especially me.”

“Didn’t bother him while he was practising with Scootaloo.”

“Me or my mom. It’s a long story,” Diamond said.

“No, it’s not,” Thunderlane interjected. “It’s a very short story. My little brother is a perfectionist when it comes to showing off. The Wonderbolts make everything they do look easy. He wants to be a Wonderbolt, so he tries to make everything he does look easy, too. Sometimes that takes him longer, especially with a crowd watching. Never figured out why, though. It never lasts once he gets the move down. He’s a fast learner when it comes to that stuff, you know.”

“Hey, there’s an idea,” Sweetie Belle said. “Maybe Rumble’s talent really is performing.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe he just has stage fright. If we could get him to dance, he’d get his cutie mark for sure.”

“Wait, you want to what?” Diamond Tiara started.

“Get him to dance, help him get his cutie mark. You know, kinda like we helped you, and Twist, and Dinky Do,” Apple Bloom explained.

“Err, okay, helping is fine, but what makes you think dancing would help?”

Apple Bloom shrugged. “He mentioned to me that he doesn’t dance, ever, and just now he said he doesn’t have any landbound hobbies. Did you see the way he reacted when we suggested it? He must have a really bad case of stage fright.”

“Umm, that wasn’t stage fright. That was just him being a boy who doesn’t want to get dragged into anything embarrassing. You don’t wanna make Rumble dance, trust me. Rumble is not a dancer,” Diamond said.

Thunderlane chuckled. “She’s right. My little brother is a lot of things, but ‘dancer’ is not on that list. Even if you could get him to do it, he wouldn’t get his cutie mark.”

“A little help?!”

“I’ve got you, Scootaloo!” Thunderlane hovered over and pulled the pegasus out of the water. “How are your wings feeling?”

“Stiff, and cold.” She shivered, her wings shook even more than the rest of her did.

“Okay, good. I just need to check your pulse, okay?” Thunderlane reached out with a hoof, waiting for the okay.

Scootaloo nodded, and the prodding began.

“Any stings? Any shots of pain?”

“No,” came the calm reply.

“Here? Here? Here?” He went past the shoulder joint of her wings, the underside, then the soft spot; the tender blind spot on her back.

“No, no, and no.”

He gestured to her sides. “Stretch out your wings, please. Take a deep breath and hold it for me?”

Scootaloo sucked in a big gulp of air and held it, swelling her cheeks. Thunderlane kept a hoof on her throat and leaned in so he could hear. “And breathe out.”

“Phew.” She blew it out with a sigh of relief.

“Keep blowing,” he said, keeping a close watch on her wings. “Until you run out.”

“Haaa…” Scootaloo kept going until her lungs were emptied.

Thunderlane withdrew his hoof and scratched his head. “Huh. No wheezing, no cramping, no obvious blockages. I was sure it had to be that. You can breathe now, Scootaloo.”

The filly needed no more encouragement than that. “Phew. Can I dry off now?”

“Hmm? Yeah, sure. Wrap up, keep warm. I gotta think.”

Scootaloo wrapped herself in her soft towel. It wasn’t long before she was joined by the Cutie Mark Crusader Pony Oven Squad (‘Yay’ optional), leaving her sandwiched in between two warmer fillies. “Thanks, girls. So, what’s wrong with me?”

Thunderlane sighed. “Nothing is wrong with you, Scootaloo, that’s the weird part. You’re not underweight or overweight, your wings are strong as anything, your flotation is fine, your thermoregulation isn’t out of whack, and there’s no signs of respiratory or cardiac problems. Do you know if any issues run in your family, by any chance?”

She shook her head and pouted. “Not really, no. I never asked. Do you think that might be it?”

“Honestly? It’s the only thing left, but no, it’s probably nothing serious, either. If it was, it would show, after all that. You can relax: as far as I can tell, you’re a fit and healthy young pegasus.”

“That’s great news,” Diamond said. “So you are normal after all.”

“Except for not being able to fly,” Scootaloo hissed.

“Right. Sorry.”

“Though there is one more thing we haven’t tried yet,” Thunderlane said. “Your magic. We haven’t tested your magic yet.”

“You can test magic?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Umm, doesn’t she need a horn for that? Or don’t you?”

“No, it’s easy enough to check. Pony magic is a body skill, Sweetie Belle, unicorns just focus it more. Scootaloo, when you dream at night, do you ever remember flying? Can you fly in your dreams yet, I mean?”

“All the time,” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah, she flew when that Tantabus thingie came to Ponyville. And before that, when we all dreamed of princess Luna,” Apple Bloom replied. “You flew like it was nothing, Scoot.”

“Oh, good. Very good,” Thunderlane said, pondering. “Umm, if you’re warmed up again, Scootaloo-”

“I’m ready!” She burst out of the towel and pony-based heating system and bolted to right in front of the stallion, giving him a salute.

“I think I’m starting to see why Rainbow Dash likes you so much,” he joked. “Last thing we’re gonna do today. Breathe in deeply for me. Put one hoof on your chest, here. Breathe in deep, so this hoof doesn’t move. Got that?”

Scootaloo did as she was told. “Okay, doing it.”

“Now move the hoof lower, to your belly. That has to move with your breath. In, and out.”

“In… and out…” Scootaloo nodded.

“Good, just like that. Now, part two: think back to when you flew in your dreams, try to feel out what it’s like to float.”

“Umm, I’m not sure if I can. It was a while ago. And I was asleep.”

“Then try to remember what it was like to float in water just now. Feel it out, your whole body getting lifted up. Spread out your wings and feel out the pressure. Feel the lift.”

Slowly, carefully, Scootaloo spread her wings out. “Like this?”

“Exactly like that. Now close your eyes, take a couple more deep breaths. Feel yourself becoming lighter. You never had any problems pulling your friends with your scooter, right?”

“Right.”

“Same thing, same magic,” Thunderlane explained. “Just relax and let that flow through your body.”

“I think I’ve got it?”

“We’ll know in a bit. Start flapping your wings, slowly, like you’re trying to float in water. I’ll give you the rhythm. One, two, one, two.” He tapped the ground with a hoof, letting the girl get a feel for it.

She flapped her wings slowly and steadily, right along with the rhythm.

“One, two, one, two…”

Sure enough, it worked.

Scootaloo rose up from the sandy shore, slowly floating up to Thunderlane’s chest height, then nose height, past his eyes, his ears. She didn’t see it, she was too focused on the sheer effort of staying relaxed.

“Oh, my gosh, you did it!”

“What?” Her eyes snapped open.

Thump! Like an anvil, she landed on her hooves. “Apple Bloom?! Why did you have to go and distract me?”

“Scootaloo, calm down,” Thunderlane interrupted.

“But she stopped me, I was flying!”

“No, you were channeling, with your eyes closed. That’s not the same thing. If you want to fly blind, we have special schools for that,” he said calmly, but curtly. “But then you’re going to need a seeing eye bat.”

“But, but…” She looked to her left wing, then her right. Neither of them was busted, so she was good to go. “Hnngg! Hnnngg!” Buzzing and revving her wings like crazy, she tried to hop and jump to get airborne again.

“Scootaloo, stop,” Thunderlane said.

“But I’m so close, I’ve almost-”

“Scootaloo,” the stallion commanded, stomping a hoof down. “I am telling you to stop. Don’t make me tell you again. Please? We don’t want to waste each other’s time, do we?”

She shook her head and wiped away a tear. “No, sir. But I was so close.”

“I know. But you need to calm down and listen to me, okay? What you just did wasn’t flying. It was magic practice, unicorns do that too. Flying isn’t something you do when you’re half asleep, you need to be awake and aware for it. If Apple Bloom hadn’t said anything, I’d have called you down myself.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, Scootaloo. Really. You did great. Now we know your magic isn’t the problem, either. You have plenty, more than enough to work it into flight.”

She groaned. “But I still can’t fly?”

“Not yet, no. But we’ve only been at it for under half a day. All the obvious stuff is out of the way now, everything a regular doctor would check you for, even a pegasus doctor. Whatever is keeping you down, it’s something small, a minor detail. You’re a fit and healthy pegasus, and nopony’s going to tell you otherwise.”

She sat down. She felt Apple Bloom’s plodding hooves behind her before she heard them.

“Gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to.” She lay down next to her friend, careful to keep her head lowered so Scootaloo looked down at her.

Scootaloo suppressed a growl. “I… I guess it’s okay, right? I wasn’t supposed to be flying for real yet?”

“Not this soon, no, that’s what I keep trying to tell you,” Thunderlane replied. “We’re just doing prep work today. Laying the foundations is critical and your foundations are good. You did well, honest. Wonderbolts don’t lie about achievements.”

“So what do we do now?” The pegasus filly asked.

“Now? Now I need to really think about what else could be keeping you on the ground. You’re too healthy to not be able to even hover properly. I’m sure once you do take off, at your current level, you’re going to be tearing up the skyline in under a week. That alone should make you feel better.”

“It does. Thanks, Thunderlane.”

He pondered it as the other girls herded around her and offered their own assessments of how high she’d gotten. She was well above the standard for her age, definitely at the level of a little ace, good enough to compete in her age group, if her age group had any competitions to begin with. And yet she was held down. She couldn’t even hover properly, and at her age, that was not normal, not with everything else about her being the way it was.

It just doesn’t add up.

She has magic, too, so it can’t be that. She can channel magic, at least. So why can’t she use it yet?

She is a fit and perfectly healthy young pegasus, she should be able to.

Unless...

Perfectly healthy? Nah, couldn’t be.

Rainbow Dash had to stop herself from chuckling when Rumble came in just behind her after yet another flight around the course. He wasn’t even winded. “Well, your speed’s good, so let’s try something fun and fancy. I’m going to demonstrate a little something called the High Speed Strut,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s a strut. At high speed. It’s not that complicated, technically, but it’s kinda hard to do at the right rhythm, so don’t feel bad if you can’t do it the first time.”

“Okay,” Rumble replied. “How do you do it?”

“Like this.”

Rainbow Dash flew off the track and came in with a swoop, kicking up dust with her wings as she bounced her hooves off the ground, going at a breakneck speed. She skidded to a halt right in front of the colt.

“Don’t worry if you have to slow down; you’re only a little squirt after all.”

Rumble gritted his teeth and bolted. He came in with the same swoop, bounced his hooves off the ground in the same strutting motion, and came to a clean dead stop right in front of the mare. “Like that?”

Rainbow blinked and shook her head. “W-wha…”

Rumble tilted his head. “Was that bad? Should I try again?”

The mare nodded. “You can do that again?”

Without another word, he did just that. He zipped past, strutting like a pro, never missing a beat, never dragging his hooves, never so much as wincing at the strain on his little wings. Again, his stop was technically perfect: one powerful flap of the wings, no drag, hardly any noise, even. The only thing out of place was his face: he looked too normal. A strut like that had to be done with a smile, or a smug expression, even closed eyes if the pony was feeling particularly daring.

“Was that better?” Rumble asked.

“Better? Better? That’s amazing!”

He chuckled bashfully. “Really?”

“Totally! That’s the sort of move that gets you noticed, squirt.”

“Oh.” He winced and looked at his hooves.

“Is something wrong?”

“Umm, no. It’s just that… are you sure that move was good?”

“Of course it is. I mean, aside from your face. When you do that kind of move, you should smile.”

He smiled, but it was obvious he had to force it. “Heh, okay, I’ll err, I’ll keep that in mind. Anything else?”

“No, you’ve pretty much got it. As a matter of fact, I think we might need to check your wingpower next. If you’re that fast already, you might be ready for the more advanced stuff.”

“I thought that move already was advanced?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but more, like, advanced advanced. Not, umm, middle of the road advanced.”

“Okay. What do I do?”

“Get a flying start from the other side of the field, and blow me over.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You want me to whatnow?”

“Blow me over. Make as much wind as you can to push me back. Impress me,” she said petulantly. “You want to be a Wonderbolt, dontcha?”

“Yes,” he said meekly, that high-pitched voice of his almost cracking again. “I want to be a Wonderbolt stallion.”

“I can’t hear you,” she said with a sing-song voice.

“Yes. I want to be a Wonderbolt stallion,” he repeated.

“Good. One thing you gotta remember: Wonderbolts can blow everyone away. So give it your best shot, and try to blow me away. Simple, right?”

“And do I have to smile while I’m doing it?”

“It’s gonna be hard work, so do whatever feels natural. Just make it look cool. Okay, squirt?”

Rumble bit his lip, but nodded. “Got it.”

He flew up to the other side of the field. Revving his wings up, he swung his body into full motion and bolted.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and prepared herself for a gentle breeze. A foal his size, he’d have no trouble blowing the seeds off a dandelion, or cooling her off a bit.

Fwoomp!

She found herself shocked. The wind had been hard enough to blow her tail back, move her mane ever so slightly. That wasn’t what worried her.

She looked down at her hooves. Her right hooves, back and front, had taken a step back.

He was strong enough to knock her back. Not a lot, but enough to knock her over if she didn’t brace herself.

His wingpower was strong enough to knock over a grownup. He could blow the shingles straight off a roof if he wasn’t careful. That wasn’t the sort of thing kids his age were supposed to be able to do. Even Thunderlane hadn’t been pulling stunts like that when he was little.

Thinking back on it, that was the sort of thing she used to do when she was his age.

“How was that?” Rumble asked.

“Umm, that was… good,” Rainbow Dash said, shaken. “Does Thunderlane know you’re that strong?”

He nodded and looked up with a tiny, but genuine, smile on his lips. “Uhuh. He always tells me I’m a champ. But it’s not like he wouldn’t say that even if I wasn’t. What do you think?”

“What do I think? What do I think?! Rumble, you’ve got a crazy high wingpower! Six or seven, easy. Most kids your age are stuck at two or three. That is very cool of you, to get it up like that. You must be maxed out on speed, too, huh? Any higher and that little body of yours might crack.” She chuckled nervously. “Either that or you end up doing a Sonic Rainboom, like I did.”

He blushed. “You really mean that?”

“Of course I mean that. Why haven’t you ever shown that off?”

He gulped. “I don’t know,” he lied. “I guess it never occurred to me.”

That was somewhat confusing to the mare. “Well, why do you want to be a Wonderbolt, then? If you don’t wanna show off, why be a showpony like them? What’s your motivation?”

He smiled. “I want to be a Wonderbolt like you, or Thunderlane. I want to help other ponies, like you do. I don’t want to be a showoff; I want to be an inspiration. I want ponies to look and me go ‘Wow, that stallion’s really awesome, I wonder if I can do that.’ And I want to tell them that they can.”

She chuckled. “Go on. Is that it?”

“I want to be the stallion other ponies look up to, the one they think of when they’re down, the one to make them realise that if I could do it, so can they. It doesn’t have to be much, I just want a little bit of umm, I want to have a voice, you know?” Again, he squeaked as he said it.

She nodded and prodded his chest. “See, that right there is your problem, Rumble. You want to have a voice, but you’ve already got a voice, a good one. You’re just not using it.”

He furrowed his brow at that. “How’s that?”

She withdrew her hoof and flew up, making him look up even higher at her. “You can do stuff no other kid in town can, but you never show it off! And you should! You’re already good enough to be an example. Ponies would look up to you if they knew how good you were. You’d be the most popular pony in class if you just learned to strut your stuff.”

Rainbow Dash was so busy flying around him and throwing her head back and gesticulating that she didn’t notice the little annoyed snort that Rumble had for a reply. “You really think ponies would admire me if they saw me, right now?”

“Yes! You’re an ace flyer, you should start acting like one. Stop hiding it all in your little shell.”

He tensed up at that. “I’m not sure if I really can stop that, Rainbow Dash.”

She landed to face him. “But you do want to be a Wonderbolt some day, right?”

He gulped and nodded, shaking ever so slightly. “Yes. More than anything in the world, I want to be a Wonderbolt stallion.”

“Then you’re going to have to get used to the idea that you already are Wonderbolts material. And that includes not being afraid to show your stuff. You know what they say: Wonderbolts lead by example.”

His stomach knotted at that. “Yeah. They do. But what do you think I should do, then?”

“Have you ever done a routine? Like, a show for ponies to enjoy?”

Again, his stomach knotted. “Maybe once or twice.”

“Think you can remember how that routine went?”

“Yes. It went pretty badly.”

She groaned. “Says you. But can you remember how to do it?”

He nodded. “Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re not used to performing, are you?”

He looked away. “Umm… depends. I can perform just fine, really. And I can smile when I have to.”

“But you don’t think it’s fun to perform, do you?”

He bit his lip. “It is kind of scary, sometimes.”

“Because you’re scared you’ll mess up?”

“Uhuh. Wonderbolts don’t mess up. I can’t afford to mess up, either.”

“There you go. Sounds like stage fright and nerves to me. I’ll do what I can to get you over that, but I can’t do that without getting you on stage. So how about you go rehearse your routine, and be ready to do it in front of the girls, tomorrow.”

“You want me to do my old routine, the bad one? In front of the girls?”

“Yes. If you want to be a Wonderbolt, you have to learn how to get into character. I’ll tell you whatever’s really bad about your routine, what needs changing, but you’ll need to at least try to make it look good. Loosen up a little, show them how much fun you’re having. Show off some of that spunk of yours. You wouldn’t want to finally make it big and have ponies think being a Wonderbolt isn’t any fun, do you?”

He looked away and lowered his voice to a shy mutter. “No.”

“Didn’t think so. So tomorrow, we’ll fix your performance issues. I think you’ve got the thrust of it for now, but you’re done for today. You’re going to want to rest up. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning. For now, class dismissed.”

“Okay. I’ll go tell Diamond Tiara her mom asked for her.”

“You do that. I’ll talk to your brother, see where we can go. He should be doing the afternoon run over Sugarcube Corner by now.”

“Okay. Bye!” With a wave and a flap, he was off.

Good enough dedication, but a little bit of a performance problem. Nothing I can’t fix.

Thunderlane flew past Town Hall and towards Sugarcube Corner. He’d done his usual rounds, Rainbow Dash would probably come looking for him once her own afternoon run of the clouds was done. Scootaloo would most likely be distracted by her friends, and Rumble.

He had plenty of time.

Let’s see, should be right about… there.

He’d seen Scootaloo race across town plenty of times, of course. Most of the time he hadn’t paid much attention to the girl. But he was paying attention now.

And while ponies liked to joke about Thunderlane being lazy, they never joked about him being inattentive. Not like he cared about it, either way; he had an elephant’s skin like that. He set down in front of his target and looked up.

Number 43, on Horseshoe Avenue, the place with the columns. Scootaloo’s place.

He had an elephant’s skin, and an elephant’s memory to boot.

He knocked on the door, finding no doorbell. “Hello? My name is Thunderlane, I’m Scootaloo’s new flight coach. Hello?”

The door opened of its own accord. No telltale glow of magic, no gust of wind blowing in, but that wasn’t saying anything.

Carefully, gingerly, he stepped in, before calling out to whomever might be listening. “Hello?! Is it okay if I come in?”

No response. No neighbours to ask, either.

Well, the door’s open. If anyone asks, I’m investigating a potential domestic problem in my Wonderbolts capacity. I just hope whoever lives here doesn’t outrank me.

He stepped in, still making sure to call out.

“Hello? Is anyone here? I’d like to ask a few questions about Scootaloo. I’m helping her out with her flight problems, but there are a couple of things that I kind of need to know. It’s pretty important, for her sake, I mean.”

Still no response. He went through the hallway and passed what he figured was the girl’s room, judging by the Wonderbolts posters and the small, single-pony bed. He furrowed his brow at the one oddity in the room, though.

Why is that shelf up so high if she can’t fly? Wouldn’t she need something to reach?

He shook his head and kept going. “Hello? Anyone?”

He stopped when he saw.

“Oh, hi there. Err, don’t panic, please, I’m not here to steal anything. I just wanted to ask a few questions about Scootaloo, about her flying. The door was open, and, umm…”

He bit his lip. Awkward silence fell.

“I guess we both have some explaining to do to each other, huh?” he said.

Author's Note

For those who didn't catch the mention in the comments: the conversation between Thunderlane and... whatever it is he saw, will be a bonus chapter later on. Main reason I'm not adding it to the main story is because I think the show wouldn't handle it like that, and within this story there's already some imbalance between the attention given to Rumble and that given to Scootaloo. It's still functional in this story, that imbalance, but if I added any more to Scoots it'd be too obvious.

Probably going to publish that bonus chapter along with the one I promised a long time ago now, for Big Batty Not-Wedding.

The idea that Rumble is actually liked by the Riches was just interesting to me. Again, if you missed it the first time, it's basically a logical consequence of Spoiled Rich thinking of ponies in tiers of importance. What happens if she considers another foal higher in the food chain than her own daughter? And to make it really interesting, what if that foal is actually a decent individual with a good heart? There's a lot of potential for storytelling there.

Faster

Rumble flew by the girls and landed. “How’d it go?”

“Umm, kind of weird,” Scootaloo replied. “I still can’t fly, but Thunderlane just went over a list to check. It might work better tomorrow. Didn’t he pass you by on the way over here?”

“No, he must have taken a detour, maybe to clear some clouds. Diamond Tiara, your mom came looking for you. She said to meet at Daisy’s for tea, and dinner would be in Canterlot tonight.”

Diamond groaned. “I’d better get going, then. Mom will want me to wash up first and put on some clean clothes.”

“You’re not wearing any clothes,” Apple Bloom said.

“What part of ‘put on clean clothes’ do you not understand?”

“Ah, gotcha.”

“I gotta go too,” Silver Spoon said. “I told my daddy I’d be home before teatime.”

“See you later, girls,” Rumble said.

“See you later!” They called out as they left.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders now had Rumble alone.

Perfect opportunity to talk about the important things in life.

“So, have you thought about getting your cutie mark yet?” Scootaloo asked with a smile.

He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “Uh, no. Like I said, I’m more focused on becoming a Wonderbolt stallion now. The cutie mark will come eventually.”

“But you can’t just leave it at that, Rumble; ponies make fun of you if you don’t have a cutie mark. Trust me, we know,” Apple Bloom noted.

“I thought Diamond Tiara was being nice to you now?”

“Well, yes,” Sweetie Belle replied. “But she’s not the only pony who calls out blank flanks, you know that. Don’t you want to find your special talent?”

Rumble inspected his blank flank then. A shiny, well-kept grey coat on his haunches, nothing out of the ordinary there. “Not especially. It’d be nice to know, but… Wonderbolt stallion first, cutie mark later.”

Sweetie Belle’s ears twitched, and her flanks itched for reasons she couldn’t quite place. That cutie mark of hers was weird like that.

“Well, me and the girls have been thinking,” Apple Bloom started.

“And?”

“And we figured that maybe, since you like the idea of puttin’ on a Wonderbolts show and all, if you’d ever do a proper dance, that might let you know what your talent is? We could help you out with that, no problem. Scootaloo’s a great dancer.”

“Why would you want me to dance? I am not a dancer, okay?”

“But dancing’s fun!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “You should try it. Loosen up a bit, get some agility.”

“My agility is fine, Scootaloo; you’re the one who has issues with the whole flight thing. And just because you think dancing is fun, doesn’t mean I do.”

“At the very least, do you think maybe your talent involves performing?” Sweetie Belle asked.

He thought that over for a moment. “I doubt it. But I’ll know tomorrow.”

“How’s that?”

“Rainbow Dash wants me to do a routine in front of an audience tomorrow. She thinks that’ll help me get over my stage fright, or something like that. If my special talent is performing, I’ll know then, won’t I?”

“You have a routine already?” Scootaloo asked.

He rubbed his right cannon, looking down nervously. “Uhuh. It’s not a very good one, though, it’s kind of old. But it’ll do for a demo. So, don’t worry about my flanks, okay? I’ll get my cutie mark eventually. Really. And if you really, really need me to, I’ll dance with you, but I don’t like doing it. So I don’t, not usually. It’s not a big deal. I’d rather do a flight show than dance, anyway.”

“If you say so,” Scootaloo said.

“I’m gonna go home now, if that’s okay. Unless you wanted me to show some more flying?”

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Do you really need to leave right now?”

He grumbled. “Okay, not right now, no, but what do you need?”

“Nothing. I was just…” Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance with her fellow Crusaders. “I was going to say, if you really don’t like dancing, then maybe rescue flying or performance flying is your talent, if you’ve never done that before. Does that sound like it makes sense?”

He shrugged. “It might. I just wanna be a Wonderbolt stallion, you know? Have ponies look up to me, be an inspiration. That’s all.”

“Hmm…” The girls all pondered that.

Rumble winced. “You’re not thinking of trying to trick me into doing a fake rescue, are you?”

Scootaloo chuckled. “Well, that would be the obvious answer.”

He pouted. “Please don’t? I don’t like tricks or surprises like that. Even if you mean well.”

“We won’t do anything like that, we promise,” Sweetie Belle said. “It probably wouldn’t work anyway, if it wasn’t a real rescue. And we wouldn’t want to put anypony at risk trying.”

“Good. Can I go now, or was there something else?”

“No, we’re good,” Apple Bloom said. “See ya tomorrow. I look forward to seeing your routine.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” he said with a chuckle. “Bye, girls.”

A moment later, he was up in the air. Another moment later, he was halfway to Ponyville.

“What do you make of that?” Scootaloo asked.

“You heard him: Rainbow Dash wants him to perform, to loosen up. And he will. That’s what we were planning, right?” Apple Bloom said. “So that’s a good thing.”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’ve got this weird feeling we’re overlooking something.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment. “Like, why would Rumble be able to do a routine at all if he never competed? There aren’t any flight clubs for pegasi our age, so why would he already be prepared?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Maybe it’s just a practice run. He did say it wasn’t very good.”

“I suppose. Yeah, that must be it.”

“Look, I think we can all agree that things are lookin’ up for Rumble, right, Crusaders? If he does do something amazing tomorrow, we make sure he feels appreciated, so he’s not down in the dumps anymore. We all agree?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Agreed!” The girls all slapped their hooves together in a high-one.

“And if it really does turn out to be as bad as he says it is, we won’t laugh, right?” Scootaloo asked.

“Of course not,” Sweetie Belle agreed.

In the distance, a bell rang.

“That’s my cue,” Apple Bloom said. “I’d better get back home.”

“Me too,” Sweetie Belle said. “You want me to walk you home, Scootaloo? You’re not too tired?”

“Nah, you know me: I can keep going all day if I have to.”

Scootaloo was humming a merry tune to herself as she trotted home. No one was watching her, no one had followed her, another day where she wouldn’t have to explain her home situation or why her parents weren’t seen around town very much.

And then she saw Thunderlane come out her front door.

She froze. Panic took over and petrified her body.

“Hey, Scootaloo,” he said, stopping as she reached the porch.

“Y-you went inside?”

“Yup. I needed to know some things you couldn’t tell me, and now I know. No biggie.”

“Buh-but… you saw? And you… you talked? Tell me you didn’t?”

He sighed. “Yes, I talked, and it’s fine. It’s okay, I know the whole story.”

“Please don’t tell anyone? Please? If anypony finds out, they’ll-”

He held up a hoof to quiet her. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell anyone. Wouldn’t be right, or fair. I just needed some background information, that’s all. And now I’ve got it.”

“Not even Rainbow Dash?”

He shook his head. “If you want to keep that from Rainbow Dash, it’s not my place to step in. You do what you think is best. Speaking of Rainbow Dash, are you doing anything tomorrow morning?”

“No?” Scootaloo shook her head. “I mean, Rainbow Dash and Rumble were gonna practise again, I think. She’s planning to make him do some sort of routine in front of the girls, to get him to loosen up.”

“Really? Huh, that’s not a bad idea, actually. Good. We can practise together again, too, if you want. But there are two catches. One: nopony comes see you, not until I give the all clear. You’re going to need all your concentration for this. Understand? No witnesses, no distractions.”

Scootaloo bit her lip, then nodded once her resolve came back. “Okay, fine. I can handle that.”

“Second: no breakfast.”

The orange filly shook her head, ignoring the rattling it produced. “Come again?”

“Don’t eat breakfast before training tomorrow. In fact, it’s probably best if you have a light dinner tonight, too. Avoid solid food if you can, but don’t starve yourself too much. Just skip breakfast tomorrow when you come see me, same spot as today. I’ll be getting you breakfast, for monitoring purposes.”

“Wait, so I can’t eat anything?”

He nodded. “No, not anything, not until I say. Your food is the only thing we haven’t checked yet, and I can’t be sure of what’s keeping you down if you eat anything before practice. Of course, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

Scootaloo sighed and let her head hang.

“Think you can do that?” He asked with a smile. “Or do you want to go practise with Rainbow Dash again? I’m sure Rumble would love the company.”

“No. Not yet, I mean, Rainbow Dash is great and all, but you looked like you knew what you were doing, trying to figure out my problem. Rainbow Dash never did that.”

“Of course not; it’s not her style, and she’s never needed to do it that way. That’s why she asked me in the first place. Same as how I can’t teach Rumble everything he wants. Different ponies, different strengths.”

Scootaloo tensed.

“What’s the matter?”

“N-nothing, Thunderlane. It’s just that me and Rainbow Dash, we, umm…”

“No need to feel guilty, Scootaloo.” He patted her on the back. “Every pony has their limit. Asking another pony for help doesn’t say anything about you and Rainbow Dash. Especially when it’s Rainbow Dash who wanted it in the first place.”

She winced and forced herself to look up. “She’s okay with it?”

“I haven’t talked to her about tomorrow yet, but she was okay with today, I don’t see why tomorrow would be an issue for her. Is it going to be an issue for you?”

“If Rainbow Dash says it’s okay, then… tomorrow morning is fine. And I’ll skip breakfast if you think that’s best. I’ll even skip dinner if I have to.”

He chuckled. “Okay, don’t go too far, now. Just get a light dinner, some sandwiches or a dough wrap or something, and make sure to drink enough water, or fruit juice, or cider, or whatever. No milk, though, starting now, and absolutely no chocolate milk, or ice cream, or anything like that. Cream cheese should be fine, though, just don’t eat too much tonight, nothing to make your stomach feel heavy, that’s what’s important. Light dinner. And leave breakfast to me. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” She bit her lip. “It’s not gonna be anything gross, though, is it?”

“I promise it won’t be anything gross. What would you like?”

“What?”

“What would you like, aside from the special food? I’ll be getting it from Sugarcube Corner.”

“Umm… are cupcakes okay to ask?”

He smiled and nodded. “Yup. What kind?”

“Pineapple and orange. Please.”

“With hot chocolate milk to go with’em?”

“Yes, please, if that’s not bad.”

“No, that tells me everything I need to know.” He stepped past her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and remember: absolutely no breakfast until after I say so.”

“Got it. See you tomorrow, Thunderlane!”

Thunderlane chuckled and took off.

Well, let’s hope it works.

Thunderlane was humming a tune of his own when Rainbow came flying beside him.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo’s doing fine.”

Rainbow would have said something, but she was, for once, beaten to the punch. “Well, duh, of course she is; she’s got me looking out for her. And, err… you too now, I guess. So, can she fly yet?”

“Not yet,” the stallion replied. “But I’ve ruled out all the usual suspects, and I gave her some pointers for tomorrow. I’m gonna need some alone time with her in the morning, though: nopony else can watch.”

“Oh, you wanna pull the old ‘magic feather’ trick, huh?”

“Something like that. How was Rumble?”

“I don’t know. He can fly just fine, he can do the glove catch already, would you believe that?”

“Sure. Like I said, he usually doesn’t have any trouble learning stuff like that.”

“Okay, except he doesn’t seem to like it at all. He can do a High Speed Strut already, too.”

“Really? Huh, I thought he was having trouble with the rhythm, still. Must have figured it out on his own. He’s a fast learner, isn’t he?”

The mare nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not the problem: he flies like he’s being forced to, like he doesn’t know how good he is. Do you think maybe Diamond Tiara and her family could have gotten under his skin?”

“I doubt it. Diamond’s always been nice to Rumble. She’s actually kind of scared of him, what with how her mom acts around him.”

“Well, he’s too uptight. I’m telling you, something’s gotten under his skin. If it’s not Diamond Tiara or her family, something’s throwing him off.”

Thunderlane shrugged. “Maybe Spoiled Rich did say something, but she says lots of things. Rumble’s just hit a little slump, I guess.”

“Does he ever perform? Like, with a crowd? He told me he had a routine ready. Did he ever do it?”

He sighed. “He tried to do a routine, once, but he failed. Kind of spectacularly.”

“What, so now he’s got stage fright because of one failure?”

“Something like that, maybe. We don’t talk about that sort of thing.”

“Would it be okay if I helped him get past that?”

Thunderlane quirked an eyebrow. “You think you can do that?”

“Sure. Look how Fluttershy turned out.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“So it’s okay? You don’t mind if I give Rumble the once-over, give him a little confidence booster? Get him to loosen up a little?”

“He’s all yours. If you think a real performance can make him relax, be my guest. Just don’t hurt his pride: he’s a tough little kid, but his pride is pretty fragile. And don’t make him dance.”

“I promise I won’t make him dance. I just want to see him do one routine in front of a crowd, see if he’s got that part of the Wonderbolt act down.”

“Okay. I look forward to seeing the result, then.”

“Great, I promise you’ll like it. And err, thanks for taking over Scootaloo for me. Are you sure she’s gonna be fine?”

He squinted, thinking. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash, I honestly don’t. I’ve got a hunch I know what it is, but that’s all it is right now: a hunch. I can’t say for sure, and I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Okay.” She nodded solemnly. “Thanks anyway.” She turned to get back to her cloud home.

“Rainbow,” he called out while she was leaving. “If Scootaloo does manage to fly tomorrow, we’ll be right there to tell you. That much, I can promise.”

“Thanks, Thunderlane. You’re the best.”

“No, you are, but thanks for saying it, anyway. See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Thunderlane heaved out a heavy sigh. One more stop to make before he could call it a day. He spotted his target down below and went down in a spiral.

He waited for the mare to turn to face him. “Hey, Thunderlane. What’s up?”

“Hi, Derpy. Err, I kind of need your opinion on something.”

Scootaloo groaned when she finally made it to the pond the next day. Her stomach felt so empty, her head was spinning.

“Good morning, Scootaloo,” Thunderlane greeted. “I see you’ve taken my advice to heart.”

“Heart and stomach. I’m really hungry, Thunderlane.”

“Good. That means you’ll be motivated.” Thunderlane reached back and grabbed the breakfast he’d promised her the other day: three cupcakes and a cup, sitting on a tray. “Have a look at that: freshly baked cupcakes, and a cup of warm chocolate milk. Looks delicious, huh?”

“Y-yeah.” Scootaloo had to stop herself from drooling.

“Okay, then. You want it?” He flew up and set the tray down on a dark grey raincloud, possibly a thundercloud. “Come and get it!”

Scootaloo looked up at the cloud. As far as she could tell, the cloud was ten paces up in the sky. Pitifully close to walk, but a world away if she had to go up. “What?”

He flew down to right below the cloud, motioning for her to come forward. “This is what we’re gonna do. You’re going to walk over here, right to this spot.” He marked the ground with an ‘X.’ “And you’re going to fly, straight up.”

“But I can’t fly,” Scootaloo argued.

“I’ll be the judge of that. You can step up here and try, or you can turn back and ask Rainbow Dash, no hard feelings. Your choice.”

Scootaloo grit her teeth and walked over to the ‘X,’ leaving her directly under the thundercloud. “But I thought I was supposed to eat something special to fly?”

“You did: you ate nothing. You’re hungry now, right?”

Her stomach groaned. Another headrush washed over her. “Starving.”

“Well, that’s my point. Your body is craving food right now, right? All you can think about is eating that delicious breakfast? So close you can almost taste it, feel that empty void in your stomach filling already? That tasty food on your tongue?”

“Yes!" she cried out. "Why are you doing this?”

“To help you,” he replied with a gentle tone. “You can channel your magic just fine, but that won’t help you fly normally. You need to get in touch with your magic with your eyes open, and thinking straight. Right now the only thing you can think about is eating. You will get to eat only if you can manage to fly high enough. That’s your focus, that’s the only thing your body and your magic will be trying to get at. So, look up at that cloud. Keep your eyes on it.”

Scootaloo took in a deep breath and looked up.

“We’re gonna be going up together, slowly, one flap at a time. I’ll give you the rhythm, to keep you focused. And I’ll be flying right in front of you, right here, so you won’t be in any danger. I’m not going to carry you, but I’m not going to let you fall, either, understand?”

Scootaloo gulped, eyes still trained on the cloud. “Got it.”

“Good. Deep breath in, relax, feel out the magic, and… flap. Up, up, up, up…”

Thunderlane never stopped talking, never stopped giving her the rhythm for her wings. She felt her hooves leave the ground and she saw the cloud inching ever closer, but then she failed. Again. She forced herself to keep going, but the cloud stayed just as far as before. She struggled to stay aloft, let alone gain height.

“Up, up, up, up, up…”

She kept going, kept on pushing higher and higher, but the cloud stayed as far as it was. She clenched her teeth together and grimaced, but it was no use. The cloud, and the food she so desperately wanted, was miles off.

All too soon, she reached her limit. Her head spun, her stomach groaned. A tingling in her extremities warned her she was pushing it too far.

“Come on, don’t quit. Up, up, up, up…”

Scootaloo’s eyes watered with the exertion. Her face was locked in a painful grimace, her body shaking as it forced itself as far up as it could. Still the cloud stayed where it was. She couldn’t look down. If she looked down, she was sure she’d fall. Her eyes stayed locked on that cloud, even as she hovered in place.

“You’re not giving up, are ya? Up, up, up, up.”

The filly’s muscles burned, her wings felt like they were going to fall off. Finally, her head felt like it was about to explode. She’d barely gotten off the ground and her body was collapsing under the pressure. She couldn’t give up. Her stomach groaned in protest, she was so hungry. Her vision blurred.

Just… a little… more…

“Okay, stop, Scootaloo. Eyes on the cloud, but no more going up. Do not look down, whatever you do.”

This time, Thunderlane only had to tell her once. “What? Why do I have to stop?”

“Stop going up. You’ve hit your limit, you’re not getting any higher than this.”

She sighed and kept on flapping, desperately trying to stay up. She couldn’t go any higher, even if she wanted to. “Please?”

“How are your wings?”

“They’re fine. But my head hurts. I feel weak, I’m so hungry,” she whimpered.

“Then it’s time to go down.” He held his hooves out, just in case she needed to grab hold. “Don’t grab me unless you really can’t do it yourself. Let yourself fall, gently. Slow down your flaps, and land, before you hurt yourself.”

“But I can do it, Thunderlane. Just a little more,” she pleaded.

“Listen to me, Scootaloo. If you ever want to fly properly, you need to learn your limits. Every second you waste talking to me, you’re wearing yourself out even more. If you were doing this without me here, you could end up hurting yourself, badly. Do you understand the risk you’re taking, if you decide to keep going?”

She sighed. “Yes. I don’t wanna hurt myself.”

“Good girl. So please, just listen and land? Eyes on me, careful now.”

She closed her eyes and let herself go down, slowly, carefully. Her head was so woozy, time and distance seemed to stretch.

When she did feel solid ground under her hooves, it came with a gentle pat on the back.

“You did well, Scootaloo,” Thunderlane said. “Rainbow Dash would be proud.”

“Maybe.” She buried her head in her hooves. “But I still failed. I’m still hungry, and I don’t deserve any food.”

She felt, more than saw, Thunderlane rolling his eyes. “Yup. You’ve definitely been taking lessons from Rainbow Dash.”

Rumble walked up the makeshift stage Rainbow had gotten from Pinkie Pie. In front of him was his audience: two Sugarlump Rumps, two Cutie Mark Crusaders, and one Wonderbolt.

On stage, he had a bunch of apples on a metal plate lying in front of him.

“Okay, so what kind of an act is this gonna be?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Umm, it’s meant to be a figurative motion.”

“A whatnow?” Apple Bloom asked.

“It’s moving to tell a story,” Silver Spoon said.

“Like dancing,” Apple Bloom remarked.

“It’s not dancing, exactly,” Diamond Tiara replied. “It’s more symbolic, some martial arts do this, too. And it doesn’t have to follow any music, which is what real dancing does.”

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “So it’s supposed to tell a story? What’s the story?”

“I-I, umm, it’s a harvest thing,” Rumble blurted out.

“So… a Summer Harvest Celebration dance?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s about as much a dance as a Wonderbolts routine or a Royal Guard demo is a dance,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Okay, then. Let’s see it. And remember: loosen up. Smile, have fun,” Rainbow said.

“A-are you sure?” Rumble asked. “It’s not a very good act.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew up to the stage. She leaned in close to him and whispered. “Look, squirt, if you have stage fright that badly, there’s an easy way to fix that.”

Rumble smiled. “Really? How?”

“Just pretend the girls are all naked.”

Rumble tilted his head to look at the fillies. “They are all naked, Rainbow Dash.”

“Told you it was easy. Now go on, do it.”

Rumble nodded reluctantly and stepped back, before smiling as he went forward. Rainbow sat down and smiled eagerly.

What happened next was, as Rarity would say, poetry in motion.

Rumble mashed down on the metal plate that held his prop apples, sending them all flying. He took a deep breath and waited for them to reach their highest point.

Sweetie Belle’s ears twitched. If this was a real performance, now would be the point where he’d say something to grab the audience’s attention. Instead, he stayed quiet.

Once the apples started falling, he made a scooping motion with his wings, kicking them up higher in a single gust.

“Ooh…” Rainbow Dash was impressed, but it wasn’t until he started flying up in circles to create a miniature tornado that she was wowed.

The winds howled and blew at the audience’s manes, but not enough to make them flinch. As Rumble went up higher, the apples were sucked into the vortex, leaving them in a narrow and straight trajectory down once gravity got hold of them again. He stopped, the apples spiralled up high enough to go clear past his head.

Rumble wasn’t done yet, though. He spun and twirled as the apples fell around him, but more than that, he slashed. With a calm, graceful motion, his sharp wings cut every apple in half as it fell. Once he’d wet his wings enough, he dived down in a flash and grabbed the metal plate, bobbing around on stage to catch every cut apple he’d juggled with his winds.

The last piece fell, he set the plate down, and with a bright (if forced) smile, he bowed.

Silence fell. He rose up and rubbed the back of his head. “Umm, yeah. So, like I said, it wasn’t a very good act.”

“Not very good?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That was amazing! How do you think that’s not a good act?”

“Because it’s not?” Rumble said. “It’s a substandard routine. It’s not Wonderbolts material.”

“Yes, it is, Rumble,” Rainbow Dash said.

Diamond Tiara whimpered. “Umm, Miss Rainbow Dash? There were a couple of things he could have done better with that act.”

“See?” Rumble said. “She knows.”

“Oh, can it, Diamond Tiara,” Rainbow Dash said. “I know you see a lot of high-society stuff in Canterlot, but that was a Wonderbolts-worthy act, and you know it. Rumble, there was nothing wrong with that act. You can compete with an act like that. How did you even get your wings to be that sharp?”

“Hmm? Oh, I got a wingstone last time at the Trader’s Market, from a pegasus blacksmith. Children’s size and everything. I give my wings a shine every morning, after breakfast.”

“Those things come in kid’s sizes? Never mind. Look, that act was good, it was great.”

Diamond bit her lip. “No, it wasn’t! You can’t just say that.”

“Would you please be quiet, Diamond Tiara?” Rainbow said.

Sweetie Belle quirked an eyebrow. “Umm, maybe we should hear her out on this.”

Rumble squinted his eyes. “You really think that act was good enough to compete?”

“Yes!”

“I mean, that’s the best I can do.” He chuckled nervously. “You think that’s good enough?”

“Of course I do.”

“Good enough for the Wonderbolts to notice me? Good enough to beat other ponies with acts like mine?”

“Look, squirt, I don’t know who you’ve been hanging out with, but no other ponies your age do acts like that. That’s exceptional. If you just did that at the next talent show, you’d get noticed. You’d be a great example, ponies would cheer for you just like they cheer for me.”

Rumble’s body shook at that. He looked down and bit his lip. “Okay. Thanks for clearing that up, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow hung in the air, confused. “Huh?”

When he looked back up, it was with dead eyes. Not sadness or anger, just complete and utter defeat. “If you really think that was Wonderbolts level, then I don’t think I have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt stallion.”

She landed, one hoof off the ground, still. “W-why not? I just said you did.”

“Yes. And I know that’s a lie, Rainbow Dash.”

Sweetie Belle gasped. “Wait, that was…”

“I don’t understand,” Rainbow Dash said. “What’s the matter? You’re an ace flyer, this proves it.”

He sniffled. “The only thing this proves is that I’ll never be a Wonderbolt stallion. Thanks for the help, Rainbow Dash. You can go focus on Scootaloo now, I’m done.”

“Rumble, wait, she didn’t mean it like that,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Don’t you start, too. I think I’ve been a pretty good sport about all this so far, but I’m done. I’m never gonna be a Wonderbolt stallion. So I’m done trying. I know my place now. Guess I should thank you for that, too.” He plodded along, head down. He was so caught up in being gloomy he didn’t bother flying, he just hopped off the stage.

Rainbow Dash was stunned. He’s quitting. He’s seriously quitting? Why? “Rumble, wait!”

“Runaway thundercloud! Hit the deck!”

Rainbow Dash ducked as a black mass of thundercloud whizzed over her head. “Girls, keep your head down! What is that thing doing here?”

“I don’t know, it just came out of nowhere,” Apple Bloom said.

Priorities, Rainbow, priorities. “Okay, it’s only a little one. You stay down, I’ll take it up high.”

She dashed up to cut off the cloud’s escape path. She didn’t even need to think about this sort of thing anymore, it happened all the time. Clouds were charged with a burst of speed and programmed to go to the right place in Equestria, but sometimes the weather factories added too much speed, or the programming got muddled in the atmosphere, and then the clouds would rush and bounce all over the place.

Nothing too dangerous, but it was still a safety hazard for pegasi, and clouds of this nature usually had lightning in them, too, which could cause trouble.

Rainbow got right in front of the cloud’s path, ready to intercept.

It dodged her.

“Hey, what-”

“Careful, Rainbow! It’s a slippery one!” A nearby colleague from the Weather Patrol called out.

“No cloud’s getting the better of me!” She dove after it as the cloud made a beeline towards the fillies.

The cloud pulled up, and so did Rainbow Dash. “This thing’s fast. I’m gonna have to bolt at this rate.”

The black mass of rain and thunder ducked left, right, up, down, it gave Rainbow the slip every time she prepared a dash. It settled into a straight line eventually, though, and the mare needed no further cue. She had to catch that thing now, before the magic in it sent it bouncing all over again.

With a burst of speed, she caught hold of the fluffy thing. “Gotcha.”

Then she felt something bop her on the nose.

“Wait a second...”

Rainbow looked back at the pony who’d called out the warning. In all the excitement, she hadn’t realised it was Thunderlane, who had his arms folded in front of his chest, and a smug smirk on his face. Then she looked down at the thing that had bopped her on the nose. It was a hoof, and it was orange.

“Scootaloo?”

Without so much as a grimace or a pant of effort, the filly rose up from the cloud. “Surprise! What do you think?”

Rainbow froze. She forgot to breathe for a second, her heart missed a beat or two. She didn’t forget to flap her wings, though. “You’re… you’re flying? Really flying?”

The girl hung in the air, flapping her wings slowly and calmly, hooves down, back angled slightly upwards. She was flying as easily as Rainbow Dash was, or at least it looked like it. Her smile seemed to indicate as much. “Yup. Isn’t it great?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, completely befuddled. On a hunch, she flew up higher and waved her arms above the girl’s wings. “No strings?”

Scootaloo smiled all the brighter and shook her head. “No strings.”

Rainbow flew down and waved her arms beneath the girl. “No lift? No invisible stilts?”

Again, Scootaloo smiled and shook her head. “No stilts.”

Finally Rainbow patted the girl on the shoulders. “No unicorn magic keeping you up?”

Scootaloo chuckled, and almost cried with joy. “No unicorn magic, just mine. This is all me. I’m flying on my own. Isn’t it great?”

Oddly, Rainbow Dash had never planned what she’d do when this moment would arrive, when her sort-of little sister would fly at last. She’d thought that she’d probably hug the girl, or give her a noogie, or pretend to faint so Scootaloo could ‘catch’ her.

Much to her surprise, the only thing going through Rainbow’s mind at that point was how far down a drop it would be if those little wings were to give out. Oh, how careful she was going to have to be from now on. This would definitely be a good time to refresh her first-aid skills.

“You’re really flying?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Like, no sore wings? No need to catch your breath? No…”

With a bright smile, Scootaloo shook her head, swishing that messy mane of hers. “No nothing. I can fly just fine now. Like any normal pegasus. Better than normal.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo by the arms and spun her around. “This is great! I can’t believe it! You did it! You-” She stopped herself when she caught sight of Thunderlane again. “You really did it.”

Thunderlane floated up to their level. “We did it. Scootaloo did all of the hard work.”

Scootaloo chuckled and backed away from Rainbow Dash, flying on her own strength again. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Thunderlane.”

“But… what? How?”

Scootaloo and Thunderlane exchanged a knowing glance.

“Here,” Thunderlane said, offering her a cupcake and the cup of hot cocoa. “You’ve earned this.”

Scootaloo’s ears perked. “But you said I couldn’t eat until I reached the cloud.”

“No, I said you could eat only if you flew high enough. By my count, you flew high enough.”

Even through the pounding in her head, she caught that that statement didn’t make any sense. “Wait. I flew?”

“You sure did.” He turned towards the cloud up above. “You can come out now!”

Right on cue, a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane and strange eyes popped her head out of the thing. “How was that?”

“Perfect, Derpy. Thanks.”

Scootaloo’s jaw dropped when she realised that cloud was a lot higher now than it had been when she’d started out. She’d been had. “You were pulling the cloud up the whole time; that’s why I couldn’t reach it!”

“Yup,” Thunderlane admitted. “Common trick, really. Good for pranks, too.”

“That’s why I couldn’t look down. And that’s why you kept saying ‘up’ all the time: you were giving her the signal,” Scootaloo pointed a hoof to the mailmare.

“Also true,” Derpy said, hopping down with her own tray. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For flying, silly. You got up pretty high for a first-timer. You must have really wanted it, huh?”

The girl looked down at what she’d been promised was her breakfast. She knew something was off, though, deep down. “I wouldn’t have flown if I’d eaten breakfast. You wanted me to fly on an empty stomach.”

Thunderlane nodded. “Yes. Normally I wouldn’t do it like this, but you’re kind of a special case.”

“Because of my wings?” She winced.

“No, because of your flanks.” He pointed to her cutie mark. “The way I heard it, you and your friends got your cutie marks when you decided you wanted to help other ponies find their true talents. A shield for a cutie mark is a big deal, you know. Captain Shining Armour, the Crystal Prince, has got one of those, too.”

“So?”

Thunderlane tilted his head. “So, is it true? Do you really want to help other ponies find their talents?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yes. I don’t know why, but it just feels right. I don’t like seeing other ponies worry about what they can and can’t do, it’s hard to, you know, explain. But what does that have to do with you tricking me?”

Thunderlane sighed. “First of all: I did not trick you, okay? I told you the truth: your body has an easier time flying on an empty stomach. At least, partially.”

“What he means is: your magic kicks in more,” Derpy explained.

“Exactly. See, normally, you need to watch your breath or focus on an image to get your magic going. You have to meditate, go into trance, the sort of stuff unicorns do, you know?”

“Sweetie Belle never does that sort of thing.”

“Oh, she does, but not where you can see it. But you’ve seen her learn magic, right? All squinty-eyed, concentrating really hard?”

That, Scootaloo had to admit, was a pretty accurate assessment. “Yeah, actually.”

“Well, there you go. That’s channeling your magic. Most unicorns have to stand still and concentrate really hard to do it, and you had to, too, yesterday. Thing is, if you want to fly, you have to get your magic out while you’re awake, while you’re moving. And that’s easier when you’re hungry.”

Derpy nodded. “What he’s trying to say is: normally, you’re thinking of a bajillion and one things at the same time, and if you try to do any kind of magic like that, it’s too scattered to do anything.”

“But how does going hungry help?” The filly asked.

“When you’re hungry, your body starts trying to conserve energy,” Thunderlane explained. “Your mind becomes more focused on the necessities. You just need to know how it feels once, and then it becomes easier to do.”

“Same as Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo concluded. “She doesn’t have to squint as much as she used to.”

“Same thing,” Derpy said. “Magic gets easier the more you do it. And us pegasi are really quick at it once we get going.”

Scootaloo’s stomach growled again. Still, something nagged at the back of her head. “But then why did it take so long for me? What’s wrong with me?”

“Scootaloo, listen to me.” Thunderlane lied down so he’d be at her eye level. “Nothing is wrong with you, and nothing was wrong with you. You learned to hover just like any other pegasus did, and now you can fly, same any other pegasus.”

“That’s not true, you’re just sugarcoating it. If it’s that easy, then there has to be something wrong with me. I’m not a baby, I know that’s not how it works.” Scootaloo argued. “Rumble said he just woke up one day hovering instead of falling. Featherweight said the same thing.”

Thunderlane averted his eyes and grumbled. “Yup, they would say that. And that’s what every pegasus will tell you: that it just happens one day. If you ask them for details, every single one of them will say the same thing: you just get out of bed one day hovering. And it’s true; that’s exactly how it happens. You do, usually, just get out of bed one day and hover. What they won’t tell you is which bed they got out of.”

“Huh?”

Thunderlane looked her right in the eyes then. “A hospital bed, Scootaloo. Or at the very least, a sick bed.”

The girl’s heart skipped a beat. “Whoa. You mean to tell me…”

“Every single pegasus who can fly, at least your age, got their ability of flight after being sick. Seriously sick, to the point that they couldn’t eat solids for a while. Starting to see the pattern here?”

Scootaloo squinted, looking for any telltale signs of a lie. She couldn’t find any, but she kept on looking. “You’re just making this up.”

“‘Fraid not,” Derpy said. “For us pegasus ponies, flight, real flight, starts with an empty stomach. That causes a little head click that gets your magic pumping. Back in the old days, pegasi all huddled closer together, away from the other tribes. You know, up higher, where the other ponies couldn’t reach? Because of how we lived, kids would get sick at the same time, learn to fly at the same time.”

“That’s still how it happens in places like Rainbow Falls,” Thunderlane said. “In towns where you have a lot of pegasus ponies together, if one kid can fly, they all can.”

“But in towns like Manehattan or Ponyville, the pegasus kids are scattered and mixed with Earth ponies and unicorns, so they don’t all catch the same sickness at the same time. Or, you know, they get shots or don’t get sick in the first place, which is probably what happened with you,” Derpy added.

“Oh. So my shots made me artistic and that’s why I couldn’t fly. But then why can’t I sing better?”

Thunderlane’s brain took a moment to restart after that. “Umm… I think you might be misinformed on that? Vaccinations don’t work like that. It’s the fact that you never went hungry that’s important. If you’d kept going normally, they’d have picked you out at Flight Camp and put you on liquids for a couple of days, it’s standard procedure. You’re a perfectly healthy young pegasus pony, Scootaloo. You’re so healthy you never got sick enough to fly.”

“But Rumble and Featherweight?”

He chuckled. “Will never admit to that kind of thing. No pegasus pony will. I mean, seriously, getting magic powers after getting over a stomach flu? We are a proud warrior race. You wouldn’t admit to it, either.”

That, she had to admit, was a fair point. “And Rainbow Dash?”

Thunderlane shook his head. “Rainbow Dash was the same as any other pegasus filly, but she probably wasn’t aware of it, neither are Rumble or Featherweight. Not a lot of pegasus ponies know that’s how it works. It’s just not something we discuss, in public or otherwise; it’s uncouth. But me and Derpy, we, err, we went to school for it, you might say. We know about this sort of thing. Flight Camp instructors, they know, and they keep it quiet, for… well, a lot of reasons that you’re too young to understand right now. But now you know what it is, at least. Pegasus kids always get sick one day. Swollen lips, the trots, vomiting sickness, worms, whatever, something will empty their stomachs, and that triggers their magic. After they sick it out, they know what magic feels like, and it works just fine. For us, it’s a normal part of growing up.”

“Wow.”

“Same thing for baby pegasi, and unicorns,” Derpy said. “They tend to get their magic surges right after a diaper change, or right before a feeding. They don’t remember it, though; their little heads aren’t ripe for learning that kind of thing. But you’re going to want to keep that in mind if you ever get a foalsitting job. Trust me, you’ll have a leg up on the competition if you remember that.”

Silence fell.

Then that aching stomach growled again. “But… if I eat this, can I still fly?”

“Yes,” Thunderlane said. “No reason to think you couldn’t. As long as you use the same technique you were using before, your magic will take care of the rest. No buzzing your wings like you do on your scooter.”

“But… but Bulk Biceps buzzes like that. Aren’t I like him?”

Thunderlane nodded. “No; he’s bulky. And he eats a lot. He had to cut down when he was at the Academy. And while we’re on the subject of cutting down, if you ever have trouble with controlling your magic, or, I don’t know, if you ever run into, say, a unicorn filly who’s having trouble concentrating, who’s too scattered to make anything work? The sort of kid you might want to help, with your cutie mark being what it is, but you don’t know how?” He pointed to her cutie mark again. “Now you know one of the tricks behind it. One of the tricks your friends might not think of. That’s why me and Derpy did it like this. Now, if you ever run into somepony else with that kind of problem, you know what to do.”

“Magic is finnicky like that. That’s why you don’t call it ‘science’,” Derpy said. “But going hungry for a little bit helps. If it’s a long-term thing, switching to liquid food is what you’ll usually see. Hardcore magic, unicorn magic, can make you throw up if you do it too long. You might wanna remember that if one of your friends ever get into it.”

“I will.”

“Now eat up, Scootaloo. You’ve fasted, and you got what you needed out of it,” Thunderlane said. “You need to get your energy back up for practice.”

“Fasted?”

“It’s what you call going hungry for a reason. Us pegasus ponies invented that word. You know, fast-ing, because we’re quicker afterwards.” He winked. “Be careful with it, though. Your magic gets easier, but your body still needs to eat. Advanced flyers like the Wonderbolts learn to eat while flying, so don’t go starving yourself for no reason, okay?”

With that, she finally dug in.

Derpy nudged the stallion as he got up. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Right. One more thing, Scootaloo.”

“Hmm?” She muttered with her mouth full.

“Rainbow Dash will probably show you some moves from here on out, and you’ll learn the basics at Flight Camp, but… in the meantime, there’s something important that you need to learn to start keeping track of.”

She swallowed. “What’s that?”

“The most important thing for any pegasus pony, or any creature that can fly: landing sites.”

“Huh?”

“Flying is like swimming, but the other way around. If you stop swimming, you can still float. If you stop flying, you fall. So when you start getting up there, always remember to keep track of where the clouds are, where the roofs are, so you can set down if you have to. Never fly too high if you don’t have a way of getting down safely. If Rainbow Dash goes up too high for you, and she probably will, because she’s Rainbow Dash, do not follow her. Learn your limits, and be careful. There are worse things than losing face. Think you can remember that?”

She nodded with tears of happiness in her eyes. “I will. Thank you.”

“We just had a good talk over breakfast,” Scootaloo said.

“Okay. You wanna keep the mystery, that’s cool. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

“So, how’s Rumble doing?” Thunderlane asked.

“What?”

“Rumble? How’s the performance issues coming along?”

Rainbow Dash looked down and found a distinct lack of grey pegasus colts.

“Errr… we hit kind of a rough spot. I think. I’m not sure what just happened.”

“Rainbow, tell me you didn’t hurt his pride? He’s awfully touchy about his skills.”

“Heheh, I’m starting to notice. But don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I can fix this, just give me a minute.”

Author's Note

The 'fast'- ing pun was in this chapter all along, the title of the story and chapter were added later. I thought it would be nice and clever.

Why is this sort of thing not broadly known? Well, there's the idea that non-pegasus doctors treat pegasi like Earth ponies with wings, for one thing. For another, fasting is considered a purifying rite in actual occult practices: it clears the mind, makes it easier to go into trance. That stuff, I didn't make up, that's in the literature. But, while we're on that topic, why are there no flight clubs for smaller children? Because of ponies like Spoiled Rich, obviously.

If it is known, confirmed, widely accepted, that pegasus children have their ability of flight linked to episodes of hunger, eventually you'd get individuals who either a) purposely starve their children in the hopes of jumpstarting their development ('make sure they get an early start on that Wonderbolts career, never mind if they like it') or b) parents who purposely stuff their children in the hopes that they are unable to fly ('because it's such a dangerous world out there, it's too soon').

And what about Rumble? I did say there were clues strewn throughout the first story. When Apple Bloom asks him about what sort of training they did, look at how it's phrased when he speaks of 'trotting techniques'. That was a Freudian (or, for ponies, I guess Friesian?) slip on his part. You can take a wild guess which disease he took off with.

So what's the deal with Rumble's issues? One of the comments got very close, actually. What is the mentality Rumble maintains for himself, and what's the one he's been exposed to? What mentality has Diamond Tiara been exposed to her whole life? At a fundamental level, I mean. Meditate on that.

Stronger

Rumble lay on his bed, face down on his pillow. His throat ached, his chest felt empty, his head pounded. He couldn’t think of a reason why, though; he hadn’t hurt himself at all. If anything, he’d stopped himself from getting hurt. Maybe he was getting sick. That’s just what he needed right now.

A noise to his right caught his attention.

“What do you want, Rainbow Dash?”

Scootaloo flinched. “Umm, it’s me.”

Rumble looked up from his bed. With his head no longer buried in his arms, Scootaloo could see the redness around his eyes, and the wetness he tried to hide.

“Is it okay if I come in?” She asked.

He nodded and sat up, and she flew up to sit next to him.

“What happened?” she asked.

He wiped his face and shrugged. “Rainbow Dash wanted to see my routine. I told her it wasn’t very good, but she wanted to see it, anyway. She said it was great. That I’m good enough to compete.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a reason to freak out, Rumble, or give up,” Scootaloo argued. “Kinda sounds like a reason to be happy.”

“You don’t understand. She lied; my routine wasn’t good enough to compete. I’m not good enough to compete. I’m the fastest kid in town, and I’m still not good enough. I’m never gonna be a Wonderbolt stallion.”

“But why would you think that? You’re good. I think you can be a Wonderbolt. Why don’t you?”

He growled. “I have plenty of reasons, okay? She just gave me the last one I needed.”

She bit her lip. “And… what are some of the others?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

She nudged him. “Try me.”

He shrugged. “I’m just done, that’s all. It’s not worth it to keep trying. It’s never going to work out.”

“But why? Who says you can’t be the best anymore?”

He let his head hang, pensive. “What happens when I keep doing what I’m doing, huh? What happens when I’m number one in Ponyville? Suppose after a couple of years, me and you are both flying, but I’m still better? You really think I can be a Wonderbolt if I just work hard enough?”

“Of course you can be a Wonderbolt! Why wouldn’t you?” Rainbow Dash came bursting through the door.

He threw his head back in exasperation. “Why are you in my room? I didn’t invite you here, Rainbow Dash. This is my room. And if I don’t wanna bust my tail off practising anymore, it’s my decision.”

“Well, I’m telling you you could be a Wonderbolt one day, and you’re making the wrong decision,” Rainbow argued. “Why would you want to give up on becoming a Wonderbolt? You’re an ace, you’ve got everything it takes.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t have any of what it takes.”

“Sure you do. You’ve got the heart, the determination, the speed. At your age, you’re a bigshot!”

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t anyone ever say so, huh? If I’m such a bigshot, why can’t I ever win?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Wait, what?”

He whimpered. “I can’t win anything, Rainbow Dash. I’m as good as I can be, and it’s still too little. It’s not good enough. I’m not good enough. If I am like you say I am, why can’t I ever win anything? I try so hard, every day, I eat right and I train right, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing.”

“That’s not true. You’re an ace flyer; you can compete,” Rainbow argued.

“With what? Kids who are five years older than me?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, probably.”

He snorted. “I’m not even allowed in those clubs. And the colts there can fly circles around me. They’re bigger than me. I had to max out everything just to get my wingpower up to seven. Those kids get nine wingpower without even breaking a sweat. You can’t learn size. So why try?”

Rainbow Dash groaned and sat down next to him, leaving the boy flanked. “Come on, Rumble, what’s gotten into you? What makes you think you should quit? I just told you you were good enough. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Why did you want me to do a routine in front of the girls?”

She sighed. “I was trying to boost your confidence. Make you act like a real winner would, have some fun.”

“And did you think it was awesome? That it was Wonderbolts material?”

“Of course it was.”

“Good enough to compete?”

“Yes.”

“With Scootaloo?”

“Well...”

He looked Rainbow in the eyes then. “If I’d done that act for the flagbearer competition, are you saying that I could have won? That I could have beaten Scootaloo and her friends, that I could have carried the Ponyville flag? Was it that good?”

“Umm, sure?”

“Then you’ve answered your own question. That was my act for the flagbearer competition. I did go up against the girls. And it wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t compete. My team mate dropped out, and then I had to drop out, and nopony said anything about it. I thought that maybe I just needed to do a better act, that maybe my wingpower wasn’t up to snuff. But you said all of that was fine. So that just leaves one thing: me. Everything else was good, so it must be me. I’m not good enough, and if I’m not good enough now, then I never will be. No matter how hard I try, I’ll never be good enough.”

“What? That’s not true. Where did you get that idea?”

He pouted. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. I busted my wings back at the reservoir, when every able-bodied pegasus had to do their duty, had to do their best. I beat my records, I listened to you when you told me and everypony else to push it. I passed out when it was done. And you know what I heard when I woke up? ‘Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can really fly!’ She didn’t even practise with us. She wasn’t even there for the first try, she wasn’t even tired like the rest of us.”

“So you’re quitting because you can’t be the centre of attention all the time? That’s nice and mature of you.”

“See?” He shrugged. “You don’t care. Nopony does. I don’t want to be the centre of attention all the time. I want to get a little attention just one time. Just once, I’d want some pony to tell me I did a good job, because I did a good job. I wanted ponies to see me like a real Wonderbolt stallion. That’s all I wanted, all I ever wanted. I tried my best, and I didn’t get it. I did what you asked me to, I did my duty as a Ponyville stallion, and I still didn’t get what I wanted. I did everything right for tornado duty, everything, and everypony just left me. Same with the flagbearer competition. I wanted to win so bad. I tried so hard. I’ve spent all that time and effort trying to get better, trying to up my game, and now it turns out that was pointless? That it was already good enough? That it was never my act, but me that was the problem? I could have quit ages ago, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. You never even noticed me, or Featherweight. All you could think about was Scootaloo and her friends, even when I dropped out. Nothing I could have done would have competed with that.”

“But that’s different: she was gonna quit the most important contest in her life! She tore down her posters and everything.”

“And I did quit the most important contest in my life, coach. Do you see any posters here?” He shook his head. Sure enough, the walls of his room were bare, aside from the occasional strip of sticky tape that once held a Wonderbolts poster. “Face it: the only way I’d ever get noticed, is if I get treated special. Nothing I do to earn it, to get it fair and square, matters. If that’s how things are, I might as well quit while I’m ahead. You were right: I can’t be a Wonderbolt stallion if I can’t act like a Wonderbolt stallion. And I can’t. If my act was fine, then the problem’s not with the act; it’s with me. The problem’s always been me. The problem’s always going to be me. Even if I keep going, for years and years, pushing myself, it’s never going to be good enough.”

As bad as it sounded, Rainbow Dash still saw some chance to reason to with him. “Come on, Rumble, you’re making a big deal out of nothing. Of course you can be good enough. You’ve come so far already, you just got unlucky. Your act was good because you’re good, definitely good enough.”

He grumbled. “Good enough, huh? Good enough, like Soarin?”

“Exactly. You’re Wonderbolts material, just like him, or your brother.”

“If he’s so good, then why did Spitfire and Fleetfoot almost get you to replace him for the Equestria Games?” He asked. “If Wonderbolts are so awesome, why would they allow a mare like Lightning Dust to put a whole squad of recruits in danger, even promote her to lead pony over you?”

It was only then that Rainbow Dash remembered that, yes, Rumble was Thunderlane’s little brother, yes, Thunderlane was about as close to Wonderbolt membership as she was, and yes, that probably meant little Rumble had heard about some of the less savoury behind-the-scenes stuff. “Oh. Well… okay, maybe there have been a couple of times when it may have possibly looked like Wonderbolts are a little uptight, that they can be pretty ruthless when it comes to performance, and maybe even that they tend to be jerks, but that doesn’t mean they are, not all the time. You just got the wrong idea about it, that’s all. And it doesn’t mean you should stop trying.”

“Why?”

“So you can follow your dreams, so you could inspire others,” Rainbow Dash said. “Be the bigger pony. Soarin stayed, even after all that. He’s still a Wonderbolt, and he’s one of the most upstanding ponies you could ever meet. Would you rather be a quitter than a pony like that?”

He sighed. “I tried, Rainbow Dash. But I can’t be the pony I wanna be, not anymore. It’s all lies. One way or another, I can’t be that kind of pony. I can’t measure up to that standard. If real Wonderbolts can’t, how am I supposed to? Even the best Wonderbolts are just lies.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? Are you seriously going to try and tell me that you think the greatest Wonderbolt of all time isn’t just a jerk without any conscience? You want to tell me that, and pretend it’s not a lie?”

Scootaloo frowned. “Wait, I’m confused. Spitfire’s a jerk now?”

Rainbow Dash’ heart sank when she realised her mistake. “No. He’s talking about an older one.”

That only confused the filly more. “So which Wonderbolt is the greatest? Who are you talking about?”

Rainbow let her head hang. “Wind Rider. You were a Wind Rider fan. Of course you were. Gosh, Rumble, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Scootaloo tilted her head, confused. “Who?”

“It’s a long story, squirt. And not a very nice one.”

“It’s not your fault, Rainbow Dash. But you see what I mean? How am I ever going to be an inspiration to anypony? Even if I manage to keep this up, even if I make it big one day, it doesn’t matter. Wonderbolts get replaced, or kicked out, or called lazy, or rewarded for being jerks. I could deal with knowing all that, I could be the bigger pony. I wanted to be the bigger pony. But then Wind Rider tried to get you kicked out.”

“That’s totally different, Rumble,” Rainbow said.

“No, it’s not, it’s exactly the same. I’m not good enough. And even if I was, I don’t want to be a Wonderbolt if it means having to choose between being a doormat no one likes or a complete jerk who doesn’t care about others. I want to be a stallion other ponies look up to, help other ponies be the best they can be. Even if I somehow managed to get that far, the Wonderbolts are not like that, not by a long shot. Everything I’ve tried to be is a lie. And you know it.”

He gulped and caught his breath.

“Wonderbolts don’t give up? You gave up when you couldn’t pass your written exam and the whole town had to pitch in, Thunderlane told me how you were ready to walk out of the Academy because of Lightning Dust. Wonderbolts don’t bail on their own? Soarin almost got replaced for the Equestria Games. They didn’t even visit him in the hospital: me and Thunderlane did, and he was the competition! And Wonderbolts lead by example? Wind Rider was the best example I had, and he tried to frame you? Get you kicked out just so his record would stand a little longer? You want to be that kind of pony? You want me to be that kind of pony?”

“No," Rainbow replied. "I don’t want to be that kind of pony, and I definitely wouldn’t want to turn you into that, either. I was hoping to help turn you into the kind of pony that other ponies look up to, a pony like me. If you want to be an inspiration, you gotta stand tall, so ponies will listen. Your brother makes ponies listen by talking slowly and calmly. That’s how you explain things, but it’s not how you get things mobilised.”

“Nopony listens to me, anyway, Rainbow Dash. I can say the same thing over and over again, and no one notices. I’m an ace flyer, according to the fastest pony alive, and no one ever noticed. Even you never noticed me. And that’s you. So doesn’t that mean there’s something wrong with me?”

She nodded in sympathy. “No, it means sometimes life just gets in the way, and you get pushed into the background for no reason. It happens, and it sucks. I know how that feels, though. Nopony really paid any attention to me first time I did the Sonic Rainboom. They thought I’d cheated somehow. As for Flight School, heh, well… your big brother’s not the only one who got his reputation there. For a long time, nopony told me I was good enough, just like you. Aside from family, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“You’re wrong about not being good enough, Rumble. You are. If you’re really that set on becoming a hero, or an example, if you really want it that bad, if you’ve been pushing so hard, you shouldn’t quit. The Wonderbolts are the best place for a pony like that. If that’s the pony you wanna be, then that’s where you have to go, that’s where you belong. But as much as I hate to say it, I do agree with you on one thing. Sometimes the ponies you look up to turn out to be very different from what you thought.”

“Like Wind Rider.”

She sighed. She still had that Daring Do novel enshrined in her living room. “More like him and every Wonderbolt I’ve ever met, along with a lot of other ponies, even princesses. It’s not what you think, though. Those ponies aren’t all jerks or losers deep down, it’s not their fault they don’t measure up to every little thing we expect them to. It’s just that ponies like us, real fans, the ones who try to be like their heroes, we like to think the ponies we look up to are perfect. That they can do everything, and that maybe, if we try hard enough, we can do everything, too, just like them. But there’s always going to be things a pony can and can’t do.” She cast a glance towards Scootaloo. A day and a half, and Thunderlane had managed to do what she had failed to do in months. She didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Rumble hadn’t suggested their little exchange.

“Meeting your heroes in pony can be scary, because then you learn that they’re real, and not perfect. I’ve had it happen to me, more than once. And believe me, that wasn’t an easy thing to realise. Even for a grownup, it’s a harsh lesson. I understand, Rumble, really. You have no idea. But I didn’t give up when I went through this, and neither should you. The Wonderbolts aren’t a lie; they’re an idea. An idea can be perfect. A pony can’t. Not me, not Spitfire or Soarin, not Wind Rider. And definitely not you.”

He sighed.

“That’s what’s bugging you, isn’t it? That’s why you got so upset when I said you were good enough. You’re worried you’ll end up like him, that you are like him already, deep down. You think if you do make it big, you’ll mess up one day and disappoint the ones that look up to you. You think you’ll hurt ponies the way you’re hurt right now.”

He nodded solemnly. “I don’t want to drop the ponies that look up to me. I don’t want to wake up one day and realise I turned into Wind Rider. But that’s exactly what I wanted, for as long as I can remember. What does that say about me?”

“It says you’re a dedicated fan with a lot of heart. All the more reason not to quit now,” Rainbow said, patting him on the back.

“Why not? I know what they say about me. That I’m crazy, obsessed. They’re right. And I have nothing to show for it.”

“But do you think you’ll be happier if you quit?” Scootaloo asked.

“No. But what else am I supposed to do? Keep training, for no reason? Keep trying for the Wonderbolts, after all that? I don’t have what it takes.”

“Yes, you do, as long as you don’t aim for the ponies,” Rainbow Dash said. “Aim for the idea. That’s what I do. That’s what I’ve taught Scootaloo.”

“Huh?”

Scootaloo patted him on the back. “She means you could try being your own hero.”

“I’m confused.”

“It’s simple,” Rainbow Dash said. “You see…”

~It may not be too humble,
Thinking you’re the best.
But you know does that, Rumble?
The ones who put it to the test~

~So you think that you don’t cut it
And your heroes all fell through
Well as long as you learn to strut it,
Then the real hero is you.~

~Everypony’s awesome in their own way
Everyone can learn to persevere
There aren’t too many who do it
But the ones that do learn through it, all the strength they need is right in heeerrre~

Rainbow Dash put a dramatic hoof on her chest, taking off a short distance over the boy’s bed.

~Everypony’s awesome in their own way
You can be your own hero, if you try~

~It takes a special kind of pony,
To keep going through defeat,
And even if they call you a phony,
You can’t ever drag your feet.~

“We have hooves, not feet,” Scootaloo protested.

“And that’s why Sweetie Belle is the singer of you three, not you,” Rainbow retorted.

~Anyway, it’s a tough gig
Being tough no matter what
But you wanna make it big
Then you’ve got to give it all you’ve got~

~‘Coz everypony’s awesome in their own way
You don’t need to be somepony you’re not~

Scootaloo shrugged. “~I guess what she’s trying to say, is that you need to find your own way, if your heroes can’t do what you... want’em? To? Do? This song’s got a weird rhythm.~”

“Ugh, try not to get distracted, squirt?”

~Look kid, I guess what I’m saying,
Is stop tagging along at the back
You can spend your whole life praying
Or you can get it back on track~

~You don’t need to keep looking up
You’ve got everything right here
And when you win your very first cup, you’ll see
There’s nothing for you to fear.~

~Everypony’s awesome in their own way
Everyone's got something they want to do
Get up, go out and fly
And you can be the guy they look up to~

~Everypony’s awesome in their own way
I learned to be a hero, and so can you~

Rumble pouted and sighed once the singing stopped. Where, exactly, the music had come from, he didn’t know, and as a Ponyville pony he’d stopped questioning it a long time ago. “So, what? You’re saying I shouldn’t care about being ignored all the time?”

“I’m saying you won’t be ignored if you start showing off in front of your class,” Rainbow Dash said. “You’ve obviously got a strong sense of pride and discipline. Maybe a little too strong. Just because Wonderbolts aren’t as perfectly awesome as you’d like them to be doesn’t mean you should stop trying to be. Don’t think about what the Wonderbolts would demand from you; think about what you could offer them one day. And, you know, maybe if you stopped holding other ponies to impossible standards, you might realise you’re holding yourself a little too high, too.”

“But nothing’s changed! I’m still the only pony who flies for real around here. I don’t have anypony to measure up to. I don’t have any standards besides the Wonderbolts! What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Well, there aren’t any race clubs for kids like us. So I guess that means you have to wait. But, you know, I’m gonna have to wait, too, now,” Scootaloo said.

“Just keep going, Rumble,” Rainbow Dash said. “In a couple of years, everything will be better. Once you get into the circuit, once you can perform, I promise you’ll be flying with the best. And the best will understand you, and you’ll understand them.”

He bit his lip. “You really think so?”

“I know so. What do you say? Are you gonna be a champ or a chump?”

He shrugged. “I guess I don’t have a choice, then. I’m a champ.”

“Great! I’ll see you first thing tomorrow for practice.”

“Tonight’s a school night, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo noted.

“You have school?”

Rumble rolled his eyes. “I’ll keep practising, you don’t have to worry. I’ll… try to be my own hero, I guess, see how that works.”

“That’s perfect,” Rainbow Dash said.

Rumble looked left, then right. “So, can you two please get off my bed and out of my room now?”

“Err, of course. See you around, Rumble!” Rainbow dashed out of the room.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” Scootaloo asked.

He nodded. “I’m a champ, remember? Just gotta keep going. Did, umm, did Thunderlane fix your problem?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yup. Thanks a lot for that, by the way. I owe you, big time.”

Rumble tilted his head in confusion. “Why? Thunderlane’s the one who fixed it.”

“And if it hadn’t been for you, he never would have noticed it. Rainbow Dash couldn’t get me to fly. Thunderlane could. But he only did because you knew he could.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Do you mind if I go flying with you tomorrow, on our break? Just to see how I measure up?”

“Sure. It’ll be nice to have another high-flyer around.”

“Rumble!” A female voice called out. “Why did that mare just come flying out of your room with a blush on her face?”

“That’ll be my mom. You’d better go.” He got up and escorted her to the door. “Oh, and Diamond Tiara?”

The girls standing right outside all froze.

“Stop fretting about me. I’m fine, you can tell your mom I’ll be winning stuff soon, or competing, at least. You know, in a couple of years.”

Scootaloo quickly dashed off, flying out. Flying, not trotting or running. It was a comforting thing to see, actually. Her departure was quickly followed by the sound of heavy hoofsteps coming up the stairs, and the sounds of many smaller hoofsteps trying and failing to make their retreat a silent one.

Rumble got back to his bed and flopped on his back, letting his wings spread out and relax against the soft covers.

He sighed.

Wonderbolts don’t give up.

Wonderbolts don’t bail on their friends.

Wonderbolts don’t sit on their laurels.

Another deep breath, and he closed his eyes.

Wonderbolts earn their laurels, and wear them with pride.

I guess.

The End

Author's Note

So, there you have it. Rumble's issues regarding being so uptight with his training are a combination of wanting to be like his role models (the Wonderbolts and Wind Rider in particular) and the simultaneous pressure of knowing that even his role models don't measure up. Even actual Wonderbolts don't lead by example, so he has to become better than them. And he's only nine.

If you're confused about why that would make him freak out when he gets told his act was good, compare to the old Simpsons episode where Bart keeps failing his tests. At some point, he does put in the effort, and the people around him see him put in the effort. He does well. And he still fails. So if doing the work isn't the problem, what's a boy to conclude?

'The problem is with me.'

Same as how Scootaloo was convinced that she couldn't fly because there was something wrong with her. Heck, if you've ever had trouble with a college course that you had to redo the exam on time and time again, you may have had that same feeling of inadequacy. Picture that, and add in the notion that Rumble's been exposed to a mare who will flat-out tell a child not to make a certain face because 'That is not the face of a winner'. Note the distinction between being a winner and doing the winning there. One of the two is an act, that requires making decisions and putting in continuous effort. The other is a matter of status.

And, yes, the song, I'm not entirely sure how well it turned out, especially with all the editing that went through this story as a whole, but it is to be sung to the tune of 'Everyone's a hero in their own way,' as performed by Nathan ~~Fillyon~~ Fillion. I think I captured the nonsense of the lyrics well enough, at least.

So, for part 3: the girls can finally stop worrying about Scootaloo's lack of flight. Apple Bloom understands things better, Scootaloo can now not only fly but has a flying buddy, and Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle just tries to do something nice for the boy, now that they can turn their full attention on him and try to get him his cutie mark.

Bonus Chapter: Meeting Missus Steel

Thunderlane sat at the living room table, stiff as a board, mouth clenched in his best impression of a smile.

“I am so sorry for startling you, really.”

Thunderlane gulped and chuckled. “It’s okay, Ma’am. I, err, my bad, really. It’s just that the door was open and I needed to do a check-up.”

The mare nodded and quickly got a plate of treats and some cups, with a full tea kettle to match. The cups were made of a fine porcelain, the kind Thunderlane usually saw in places like Canterlot, or a fine Manehattan restaurant.

His mind raced to get all the info straight. Here was a light green mare, a pegasus, with deep purple eyes and the same mane cut as Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo, but more importantly: a lean physique and normal-sized, healthy-looking wings. This was a fit pegasus mare, one who wasn’t flying indoors but seemed more than capable of doing so if pressed.

He heard a growl behind him, and he stiffened. Apparently his guard had noticed the staring.

The mare chuckled. “Oh, don’t mind Chomper and Gnasher, they’re just reminding me they’re there. They only bite when they smell foul play, you see.”

“Right, of course.” Thunderlane risked looking behind him. In the corner, there was an orthros; a two-headed dog the size of a bear. Fairly common a sight in Equestria, but relatively rare around Ponyville. The size was not what worried him, either. What worried him was the two heads: a Mustangian shepherd on the left and a Canterlot shepherd on the right. One was a dark reddish brown with a black spot on the nose, and black tufts of fur on its big, almost bat-like ears, as most dog breeds from Mustangia were adapted to mountain climates of some description, and bred for good awareness of their surroundings. The other was a mahogany brown in the face, with black markings all over its muzzle to better show off its pearly whites.

Now, the difference between a Canterlot shepherd and a Mustangian shepherd, as any Equestrian dog breeder would say, was an arm and a leg. That’s not to say one was more expensive than the other, it’s just that Mustangian shepherds were bred to guard flocks of sheep and drive away predators with loud barking and the occasional nip, whereas Canterlot shepherds had been bred out of the dogs that unicorn researchers liked to keep, and as such that particular breed had been bred not so much to keep the predators away, but to chase said predators and collect pieces from whichever ones weren’t fast enough.

Two hundred years after the breed had been introduced, there were still a few dozen arms and legs in the Canterlot archives of which no one really knew what they were supposed to be attached to. According to some rumours, for most of the pieces, it had been Discord.

One head of this orthros was bred for loyalty, awareness, and protection. The other head was designed for dismemberment.

So like any pony with a sense of self-preservation, Thunderlane was very, very careful not to make any sudden moves.

“Now, what was it you wanted to see me about?” the mare asked.

Thunderlane was shaken out of his reverie. “Oh, right. Umm, I’m Scootaloo’s new flight coach. I was told this is where she lives?”

“Oh, of course, where are my manners?” The mare slapped herself and reached out across the table to shake his hoof. “I’m Tempered Steel, Scootaloo’s mother.”

As he reached over, he got a good look at Steel’s flanks. She had an anvil for a cutie mark, which didn’t leave much to the imagination, especially considering the sword she’d been pointing at him when he’d entered, and the whole collection of sharp items stacked up on the cupboard behind her even now.

“I’m Thunderlane. I’m with the Weather Patrol.”

She nodded. “Thunderlane? Ah, name rings a bell. You’re also a Wonderbolts recruit, if I heard right, yes?”

She knew him. At least that reduced the chances of his limbs becoming exhibit-ready. “Exactly.”

“So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about? Is my daughter alright?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, it’s just that…” He glanced behind Steel to all the swords and knives and daggers piled up. “We’ve been doing the basics today, and she’s having trouble keeping up. So I was wondering if maybe there wasn’t something I’m missing.”

“I see.” She took a slow sip of her tea. “Not that I don’t trust your judgment on the matter, but wasn’t Rainbow Dash taking care of that?”

“Yes, but Rainbow asked me to look into it. My background is a little different than hers, so… umm, what can you tell me? Does Scootaloo eat healthy? Does she sleep well?”

Steel looked pensively at him, then shook her head. “My little girl doesn’t eat particularly healthy or unhealthy. She snacks, she eats what I serve her. She gets plenty of vegetables, plenty of fruits, and plenty of exercise, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

He nodded towards the weapons collection behind her. “She’s not in the house much, then, I take it?”

That got another chuckle out of her. “No. I prefer my daughter to be out of the house when she can be. There are an awful lot of sharp objects here, as you can see, and Chomper and Gnasher are here. I usually don’t put my collection up back here, but you caught me in the middle of polishing and dusting week, I usually end up moving most of these things around so I can clean out my cupboards.”

“You’re a collector, then? A weapons collector?”

“Something like that.” She turned and pointed to an ornate dagger lying on the top left corner. “See that black dagger thing there? That’s a replica of the Dragon Dagger, the weapon used by the Green Harmonist in the movie. There are only three copies of it in Equestria: one for the director, one for the actor who used it, and one for me.”

Thunderlane furrowed his brow, thinking.

“And that long silver thing there? That’s a replica of the Master Sword. That hook thing there, on the bottom? That’s the Blade of-”

“Arah,” Thunderlane said. “Huh. I thought those things looked familiar.” He scanned the pile quickly. “They’re not all fantasy swords, though, are they?”

“No. Some of them are, some of them I purchased or traded for. There aren’t a lot of places you can get a fantasy sword, but the ponies who want them will pay top bits for them.”

Realisation dawned on him at last. “You made those. The fantasy swords.”

She smiled brightly. “A girl needs her pocket money, after all.”

Scootaloo’s mom was a blacksmith.

A pegasus weaponsmith, of course.

“So you don’t want your daughter too close by because...”

“I get caught up in my work, and as much as I tell her to be careful around the live blades, you can’t ever have zero risk. And I don’t want her inviting friends over because I can’t expect other ponies to tell their little ones how to handle sharp objects. It’s not my place to force that kind of thing, so I don’t.”

If Scootaloo didn’t spend that much time here, it could mean that whatever was keeping her down, it likely wasn’t anything in the house. Unless it was in her room or her bed, but that had looked and smelled normal, no alarm bells there. She could have had an accident, though. “So she’s never in the forge, then, either?”

“Never. I don’t let her. And her room is up front of the house, so there’s no reason for her friends to ever get far enough inside to see the swords. As for burglars, well-” She nodded towards Chomper and Gnasher again. “Those two have had attack training, they can handle anything from a timberwolf to a unicorn. And if they don’t, I can. Anyone coming in here to steal my collection can have it, one sharpened piece at a time, if you catch my drift.” She winked.

“Drift caught. So she’s never had any accidents, then? Never gotten cut?”

Steel shrugged. “No more than you’d expect. A few nicks here and there on her hooves, but no scars, certainly never hit a nerve or anything, nothing near her wings. She’s been bruised worse on her scooter. Nothing that would impair her flying.”

He probably would have noticed scars when he checked her, anyway. Still, he had to be thorough. “Hmm, strange. And she sleeps well?”

“Definitely. With all the fresh air and exercise she gets, she drops like a brick at night.”

“What about her father?”

Steel tilted her head at him. “You think it’s genetic.”

Thunderlane sighed. “I’ve already ruled out the obvious stuff, so… yeah, genetics would make sense. Do flight problems run in your family?”

The mare shook her head while Thunderlane nibbled on a biscuit. “No, not especially. I don’t fly much, but I can keep up with most. So can my husband; he’s a delivery pony who does the rounds between here and Cloudsdale. You’ve probably seen him around, but you wouldn’t know by his appearance. Scootaloo got her temper from her father, but she got her looks from mine. And neither my parents nor my husband’s had any major defects, so it’s not something that skips a generation.”

“And did you learn to fly normally, if I might ask? Were you a late-bloomer, by any chance?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “I learned at Flight Camp, like most kids do, after I learned to hover. I couldn’t keep up with the little jocks, but no one made a big deal about it.”

Thunderlane’s ears perked as he sipped the tea. “Really, now? Did the teachers say what the issue was?”

“Well, it’s a little embarrassing, but… apparently I was considered somewhat, umm...”

“Considered… what?”

“Obese. For my age, apparently I was too fat. I looked like any other foal, though, but I can only assume it was a breed thing. You don’t start slamming hammers into hot steel when you’re ten, so there wasn’t a lot of physical activity for me to do. I think they said it had something to do with a… global fat thing?”

“A fat globule?”

“Yes, exactly, that. I had a swelling underneath my wings. They put me on a diet for a day or two, and after I lost some baby fat I was fine. Somehow, I doubt my daughter is too fat to fly, and I’d have felt it if she had any swelling.”

Bingo. “No, no, that’s definitely not it. What about diseases? Anything that runs in your family, or her father’s, that might be keeping her grounded?”

“Nothing comes to mind, no. She’s quite a healthy little girl, my daughter. Never gets sick for longer than a day, hardly ever gets a fever, even. I think she might be jealous of her classmates for that.”

He squinted, pondering. Gotta make sure without her noticing. “But surely she’s had the trots, at least? Or stomach flu? Some sort of reaction to her shots? She’s never been, you know, bed-ridden?”

Again, Steel shook her head. “No, never. She walks it off. Probably spreads it around like that, too, but what can you do?”

Thunderlane fell silent.

“Does that answer your question?”

He nodded. “I think it does. I’ve got a few ideas that might work.”

Steel let a silence fall between them. “Mind telling me what they are?”

“Ah, some pegasus ponies run a different kind of magic than most,” he lied. “It takes a minor shift in diet to unlock it. Either you or your husband must have descended from a taigan.”

Steel whistled. “We both are, actually. I’m impressed. How’d you guess that?”

“Pegasi with blood from colder regions don’t learn to fly as easily as the ones from warmer areas: they only used their wings to keep warm, originally. The magic that triggers their first flight has more to do with food for them than it does with practice. I’m guessing what they gave you at Flight Camp was green milkshakes?”

Tempered Steel nodded. “Yes. But they said it was my weight. That I had to lose weight.”

“You probably did, but these things tend to be connected,” he lied again. “What they gave you is a mix of things. They use this universal blend at Flight Camp, kind of a catch-all solution for about thirty different flight problems. I don’t know the exact recipe, but I know where to find the right kinds of moss and herbs. If it is what I think it is, it should be fixed pretty quickly.”

Her ears perked, and her mouth curled up into a petulant smile. The orthros behind Thunderlane whined, though whether that was a cry of joy or disappointment at not getting intruder legs to chew on, it was hard to say. Regardless, Missus Steel didn’t pay any attention to it. “Oh. Oh, that would be perfect. Now that we have that out of the way, would you mind terribly, ah, enlightening me on some matters, as well?”

“Such as?”

Her gaze hardened. “Let’s talk about Rainbow Dash, Mister Thunderlane. Why are you here, and not her?”

“Because I’m taking over for her,” Thunderlane explained.

“And why has she not shown herself earlier? Say, when she first started socialising with my daughter? Or when my daughter nearly fell to her death on a camping trip, right under Rainbow’s nose?”

“I, err, I don’t know, honestly. If I had to guess, it’s because she’s scared.”

Right on cue, the orthros growled from one of its heads. Thunderlane prayed it was the Mustangian one.

Steel shot him a glare that nailed him to his seat. “I mean, you understand my concern, I should hope? Scootaloo idolises Rainbow Dash, worships her. And now she’s started spending time with her. Yet Rainbow Dash has never come here to speak to me. She doesn’t know my name. What if my little girl has an accident on her watch? What is she going to do then?”

He gulped. “I think that’s something you need to discuss with her, Ma’am. And if you have a problem with your daughter spending time with Rainbow Dash, or with me, for that matter, I think that’s between you and your daughter. With all due respect.”

“You, I don’t have a problem with, Thunderlane. You are sitting right here, in front of me, in front of my guard dog.” She nodded to Chomper and Gnasher. “You, I can judge right here and now. Rainbow Dash, I cannot. So, with that in mind, I have to ask: what do you think of her?”

“Of Rainbow Dash? What do you want to know?”

“Is she a danger to my daughter?”

Thunderlane’s eyes immediately darted to the impressive blade collection behind her. Or rather, a part of her blade collection, he realised. There was more in the back.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t sound very convinced.”

Thunderlane took a sip of tea to calm himself. “Look, Rainbow Dash is reckless, brash, and she gets herself into trouble. That much is true. But she’s a good Captain, she does her job, she takes responsibility. And she gets herself into trouble, not anypony else.”

“Yet she let my daughter dive off a waterfall during a road trip.”

Thunderlane saw the doubt in her eyes. This didn’t add up. “I see. So Scootaloo is dead now?”

Steel chuckled. “I think that’s beside the point.”

“No, Ma’am, it’s not. Rainbow Dash is a trained rescue pony.”

“She’s a Flight School dropout.”

Bingo again. Wow, I’m on a roll today. He sat back and smirked. “Oh. So that’s what’s really bothering you. You don’t want your daughter to neglect her education. You think Rainbow Dash is a bad role model.”

Steel scoffed. “Are you implying she’s not?”

“Implying? No. I’m remarking that for all her faults, she still managed to coach all the pegasi in town for hurricane duty. I’m telling you that the Weather Patrol made her leader for a good reason.”

“You trust her, then? After what she pulled with you at tornado duty?”

So she’d heard about that, too. “Yes, I trust her, with my life. And she trusts me with hers. We’re Weather Patrol, and future Wonderbolts. We have our own security protocols, and Rainbow Dash knows them better than anyone.”

“Could have fooled me.”

He shook his head, meeting her steely gaze head on. “Don’t think I can’t put two and two together, Missus Steel. You’re a weaponsmith, and judging from the pile back there, you don't mass produce, either, only custom work. Most of your regular business involves the Royal Guard ceremonies, ponies who are high up in the food chain. Ponies with a sense of leadership. And your daughter never rides a scooter without putting on her helmet, ever. For all the crazy stuff Scootaloo does around town, she never gets injured. You think Rainbow Dash is beneath the ponies you consort with. You think she doesn’t know safety.”

The orthros growled again, from both heads.

“Careful with your tone, Mister Thunderlane. My guard is very sensitive.”

He smiled. “Nice try. But that thing’s not going to bite me, not now. It’s had time to sniff me out. You said it’s had attack training. That means it’ll only attack me if it’s commanded to, or if it smells animosity. It wouldn’t respond to the tone of my voice, only yours.”

Steel chuckled.

“You’re trying to test me, aren’t you? You want to see what I react to.” He took another long, careful sip of the tea.

“I am very careful when it comes to my daughter, Mister Thunderlane. I don’t intend to let her get hurt, and if that means vetting the ponies she consorts with, I will. I know your reputation, I know you are thorough. And my orthros seems to like you. But that doesn’t change the facts, and it doesn’t answer my question. Is Rainbow Dash a threat to my daughter?”

“No. She’d never let a kid get hurt on her watch,” he lied.

“So you trust her, then, not just with your life, but with your little brother’s?”

His ears perked.

“You are Rumble’s big brother, are you not? Little light grey pegasus, athletic, ridiculously strong flyer? And a bit of a… how do I put this...”

“A jock?”

“I was going to say ‘girly boy.' Is he on medication, per chance?”

Thunderlane’s jaw clenched. “What medication would he be on?”

“Well, I’ve seen him around, he doesn’t look like any normal boy. And much like you, I know his reputation.”

He sighed and leaned forward. “Pardon me saying so, Missus Steel, but what you know isn’t a reputation; it’s gossip. My little brother is not on any medication. He’s a regular boy, just like any colt in town.”

“With a seven-ish wingpower.”

“With a… yes, seven. Ish. He doesn’t push it too far, most of the time. And he's not on steroids, if that's what you're thinking.”

“Not the steroids that grow muscle, you mean."

"Not any kind," Thunderlane replied curtly.

This, judging by her expression, came as a surprise to the mare. "So he is perfectly normal, then? No, ah, deviancies, as they say?”

Thunderlane quirked his eyebrow. “Nothing that your daughter might be confused by, or needs to be sheltered from, no.”

“Good to know.”

Thunderlane grumbled. “So what do you plan to do, then?”

“About?”

“Rainbow Dash and your daughter.”

“I fail to see how that’s any of your business.”

“I’m a Weather Patrol official, Ma’am. I have a certificate; I’m qualified to intervene when it comes to young flyers. So is Rainbow Dash, by the way. Are you planning to stop Scootaloo from being around Rainbow Dash?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “What if I did? For the safety of my daughter, do you not think I’d be justified?”

“Justified? Maybe. Right? Definitely not. If Scootaloo wants to learn how to fly, the Weather Patrol is obliged, by law, to provide basic training and oversee her safety. As soon as she takes off from the ground, she’s my responsibility. Our responsibility. And Rainbow Dash doesn’t play around with other ponies’ safety.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“Then you haven’t been talking to anyone on the Weather Patrol. You’ve been talking to ponies who only see her work from afar, who aren’t there when she has to get everypony in line for a big shift. You’ve only talked to ponies on the ground.” He glanced at her wings. “And I think you know that there’s a big difference in perspective for that.”

Steel sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I do apologise, I only want what’s best for my daughter. And the idea that someone who’s been teaching her for a day would think to come see me, when she hasn’t after all this time...”

“If I might offer one tiny little remark on that?”

“What?”

“Suppose Scootaloo didn’t get hurt on her watch? What if she had an accident on yours?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What if you made a mistake, and Scootaloo got hospitalised because of it? A dumb accident, one in a million. Do you think Rainbow Dash wouldn’t react the same way you would?”

There, the mare fell silent.

“Look, Rainbow Dash is my friend, so obviously I’m biased. I don’t expect you to believe me. But I’m pretty sure you know by now Scootaloo and Rainbow are pretty close. They did the Sisterhooves Social together, for crying out loud.”

“Yes,” Steel said with a smile. “I couldn’t say no: she’s an only child.”

“So is Rainbow, I think. My point is: Rainbow Dash is invested in Scootaloo. She cares about what happens to her. And she doesn’t have the easiest time coming to terms with painful truths. Rainbow’s a quick responder, trained to get to a crisis fast and make decisions in a split second. It’s not in her nature to take her time solving problems, because most of the time she can’t afford to waste time thinking at all. That’s why she’d rather avoid talking about Scootaloo’s flying problem. She’s out of her depth on that, that’s why she asked me.”

Tempered Steel’s ears perked.

“But she is a good teacher, for some things,” Thunderlane said. “She’s training my little brother right now. And she’s certainly not a risk. Besides, there are procedures. Rainbow Dash isn’t allowed to be unsafe, not with a child. She’s friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy, the local animal manager, those all know safety. She knows the risks, and she knows not to put anyone in danger if they can’t get out of it. Your daughter is safer, hanging out with Rainbow Dash. She’s not going to get hurt any more than she would be on her own.”

“But she is going to get hurt, you mean?”

“You’re the one with the swords and knives laying about, Ma’am. Zero risk is a myth.”

“That doesn’t excuse her avoiding me,” Steel said.

“Is she, though?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rainbow Dash flies over Ponyville all the time. You said yourself your daughter is spending time with her. If you are that worried, why don’t you ask her to come over?”

“She is the one imposing on my daughter, she should have the decency to come to me,” Steel hissed.

Thunderlane chuckled, before grabbing a treat. “You know, for somepony who listens to the gossip about Rainbow Dash and my brother, you don’t seem to be very aware of what goes on in this town.”

“I have my sources, thank you.”

“Hmm, the flower sisters, I take it? Lily, Daisy, and Rose?”

She snorted.

“I guess your sources leave out the gossip that’s been going around about Scootaloo, huh?”

“What, that she has a crush on your little brother? Please, they’re friends, at best. And Rumble wouldn’t be interested, anyway, from what I hear.”

He gritted his teeth at that. “No, I was referring to Scootaloo being an orphan.”

“But that’s ridiculous. I’m sitting right here.”

“Yes, and no one who keeps their eyes on Scootaloo has seen you. Scootaloo spends a lot of time on Sweet Apple Acres, and around Sugarcube Corner. Yet the consensus in town is that you do not even exist. Applejack doesn’t know about you, Granny Smith doesn't know about you, the Cakes don’t know about you, even Pinkie Pie doesn’t know who you are. And that’s Pinkie Pie.”

“That’s hardly a problem,” she argued.

“Because of the swords, I take it? And the forge? And that massive two-headed death on legs in the corner?”

Right on cue, Chomper and Gnasher raised their heads, expecting a treat, because they were a smart pair like that.

Tempered Steel sighed.

Thunderlane bit his lip. “Look, I know it’s none of my business, but if you ask me, it’s one or the other. You either keep a secret and deal with the difficulties on your own, or you come clean and let everypony know, and then you face whatever ponies have to say about that.”

“What would you know about that?”

What, indeed. “Trust me, you’re not the only pony I’ve met who hides this sort of thing.”

“The other pony being your brother, I take it?”

Thunderlane didn’t reply to that.

“Alright, I won’t pry. But I hope you know that little Rumble does not look as normal as you say he does, not to other ponies. I get a lot of strange ponies asking for complements to their costumes, pieces of armour. My clients come in all shapes and sizes. I’ve met more than a few individuals who were, ah… complicated.”

“Take my word for it, Ma’am. My little brother is surprisingly simple once you get to know him.”

“Am I to assume my daughter will, then? Get to know Rumble?”

He sat back and sighed. “I can only assume she would, once she manages to start flying. Why, do you not trust him, either?”

She snorted. “To tell you the truth, I trust him with my daughter more than I trust Rainbow Dash.”

Thunderlane wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment to his little brother, or a prejudice he should take offence at.

Steel didn’t notice. “The way I hear it, he can catch a filly his own weight in mid-fall without breaking a sweat.”

“That’s true. That’s not just gossip, he does that almost every day.”

“Then I think I can live with the idea of my little girl learning to fly, even if it is from Rainbow Dash. As long as there is another filly around to catch her, it’s fine.”

“Rumble is a colt,” Thunderlane said, trying his best not to let an edge slip into his voice.

“Slip of the tongue. Like I said, some of my clients are, ah, complicated. They get touchy about their pronouns. Speaking of which...” she tilted her head sideways and waved towards the white unicorn coming in. “Dazzle! I just made the final touches on your item this morning.”

“Tempy, hi! Did I come in at a bad time?”

“No, no, I was just about to leave,” Thunderlane said. “Thanks for the tea, Missus Steel. And for the information.”

“Please, call me Tempy. Everypony who’s welcome in my house does.”

“Was there anything else you wanted to know?” Thunderlane asked.

“No, no, I have more than enough to think about.” She got up and waved a hoof towards Dazzle. “Come on, Dazzle, you’re going to love what I did with your armour.”

Thunderlane heard the orthros growl at him when he walked off, but he didn't smell angry enough to make it attack.

Calm down, Thunderlane. She’s just a concerned mother, who listens to gossip. Including about your little brother.

And it’s not like he has any issues. He’s a big boy, he can work it out on his own.

And if he couldn’t, he knows he can talk to you about anything.

No need to worry.

Just focus on Scootaloo, worry about everything else later.

Author's Note

For reference's sake: no, I don't think this is what's going on in the show. I don't particularly care about it, because I need something that works in this story. It's not so much a headcanon as it is an addition to this fanfic. And by the gods, why must the fans of this show confuse it so often?

Anyway, bonus chapter of what Thunderlane saw in Scootaloo's home, done. The added mentions that Steel thinks Rumble is gay or transgendered weren't really intended at first - she was initially more curious than judging - but I figured this line of dialogue suited the rest of what she said better.

Steel is very much a flawed character: a mother who wants her daughter to be safe, but at the same time keeps herself a secret so nopony can see how dangerous things are in her house. And as a result, she relies on gossip for her info. It's not exactly the same mom I used in Empathy, but the overall design matches.

The reason I went with a blacksmith is because of an odd trend I've noticed on the show: any job that can be done by a non-pegasus is not done by a pegasus. You don't see pegasus bakers, pegasus florists, or pegasus engineers that aren't weather related, or pegasus dressmakers. The reason for this is because ~~the show writers are obviously racist~~ the standard pony model is an Earth pony, and wings need to be drawn. The storyboard artists don't draw wings on a background pony if the script doesn't demand it. The only exceptions that come to mind are (debatably) the background stallion doing scene changes for Tender Taps, and the filly who asks for Twilight's autograph at the Trader's Fair. That girl had a specific purpose in her shot, but no reason to be a pegasus, aside from maybe implying Rainbow Falls is the land part of Cloudsdale, which would make sense, since Cloudsdale had no children in it in Sonic Rainboom. The trend may be broken now, I don't know, I binge on episodes after a lot of them have come out.

Anyways, all that to say: with pegasi being a warrior race, it makes sense to introduce a weaponsmith with wings. And given Scootaloo's good habits with her helmet, there's at least room to make such a character her mom.

"This is just another call and response dialogue chapter," I hear the Internet crying out. Yes, it is, and that's why it's a bonus chapter and not an official part of the story; it would have bogged things down too much. If you wish to substitute this scene for anything else, you're welcome to, it doesn't affect the overall outcome. This was written for the sake of completion, and there wasn't much else to do with it. Some people like this style, some do not. I don't hold it against anyone to judge either way.

Consider this Word of Author, and not canon. A deleted scene, if you will.

But still a Wise Cracker scene :twilightsmile: