Smolder loved the feeling of the cool, crisp wind blowing through her scales when she flew. She beat her wings a few times and propelled herself upward. The breeze delicately brushed against her wing skin as she continued to soar. Her flying pattern was practically programmed in her mind by now. Each time she nearly decreased in altitude, she increased the ratio of her wing beats and sent herself miles higher than any rate she could've declined at. She shut her eyes and let out a reflective sigh. Up until now, she could never have flown this high, and at such a fast rate without crashing into a mountain or boulder. Now that she lived in the school, she had almost a thousand times as much freedom as she used to have in the Dragonlands. It was almost like, compared to this, she had no freedom at all. The freedom to choose how high she'd fly. What heights she'd climb to in altitude. "Hey, Smolder!" A similar sounding voice cut her from her concentration. Smolder tried her best to figure out where the voice was coming from and proceeded to swoop down to address whoever was calling her. She landed on the grassy surface with a skid. "Sorry." Scootaloo took her helmet off. She stepped off her scooter and smiled sheepishly at the dragon, who crossed her arms. "I've been kind of following you this entire time."
"Yeah," She replied. "I noticed." Scootaloo nodded, the smile she was wearing still worn on her face, unfaltering. "What do you want, anyway?" The winged pony prodded her hoof on the ground.
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."
"Sure, I guess. I never really have anything else to do, anyway." Smolder smirked at Scootaloo, who was practically bursting from excitement; though she didn't know why.
"Awesome!" She exclaimed.
"Cool. Where do you have in mind?" Smolder asked. Scootaloo prodded a hoof on the ground once more.
"I...I dunno. I didn't really think I'd get this far." She explained, Smolder raising a brow. She flapped her wings a little in attempt to relax her nerves.
"Why?"
"Turns out you're not as unapproachable as you seem..." She winced at her poor choice of words. Very poor choice of words. If Smolder was offended, she sure didn't show it really well. She shrugged and hovered in front of Scootaloo.
"We can always go for a fly." She suggested, currently unaware of Scootaloo's "handicap."
"Actually, I can't." She sighed. Smolder looked quizzically at the pegasus. "I can't fly. My wings don't... work like other pegasi's do."
"Oh," Smolder quit hovering and landed back onto the ground, not wanting to offend Scootaloo. "I thought.." she stopped herself. Scootaloo lifted a hoof and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could,
"Woah! Woah-oah-oah!" Smolder had picked her up off the ground and flew as fast as she could. The wind blew through the filly's hair as she let out a cry of excitement. "Whoo-hoo!" Smolder smirked as she looped, holding Scootaloo close to her chest as she did. She beat her wings a couple times to gain some more air with Scoots flapping her wings. The fluttering feathers tickled her scales. Smolder shivered and decided it would be a good idea to land before Scootaloo derailed her mental flying program. A nearby cliff stood nearby where Smolder landed. Her feet touched the ground, and Scootaloo was practically trembling from adrenaline. Smolder let her go as she pranced upon the soft surface of the cliff. "That. Was. Awesome!!!" Scootaloo bursted, her wings flaring with excitement.
"That was nothing." She mused in reply. Scootaloo smiled.
"You're almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash!" She fluttered her wings some more and hovered off the ground for a few seconds. Smolder chuckled.
"That's saying something." She folded her arms. "Awesome enough to have a fanclub?"
"Totally!" Scootaloo offered Smolder a hoofbump which was quickly accepted. "Sure wish I could fly as awesome as you, though." She flapped her wings somberly, and Smolder watched in concern.
"Who says you can't?" She pointed at the filly with determination, but Scootaloo didn't get it.
"Nopony." She answered. "It's just that.. I can't-"
"No, that's not what I mean!" Smolder threw her arms up for extra emphasis. "It's not that you can't fly, maybe it's just cause you've never learned to. Properly!" Scootaloo plopped down and shifted in her spot. Smolder was caring a lot about her in this moment. Like the big sister she never had; Apart from Rainbow Dash, of course. Come to think of it, Smolder wasn't really any different from Rainbow at all. Just think about it; She had all the determination, and, Scootaloo said it herself, she was almost as awesome as Rainbow. Then, there was that word. almost. As if Smolder were just a second-rate shell of the well-known Rainbow-maned pegasus. Smolder was her own dragon. She needed no comparison, and Scootaloo, if anypony, could see that very well. Smolder took care of herself and anyone else in need, and even if she never showed she liked to, Scootaloo knew, that's what she'd always do to the very end. "Are you even listening to me?" Smolder asked, and Scootaloo jumped.
"O-Oh! Totally!" She lowered her head slightly and raised her hoof timidly. "B-But maybe you could just repeat yourself one more time? J-Just in case it slips my mind!" Smolder let out an exasperated groan, followed by a puff of smoke pluming from her nostrils.
"I said, maybe you should let me teach you how to fly. Sure, you're a horse, and I'm a dragon, but, that's good!" She scooped Scootaloo up and side-hugged her with her arm. Her toned muscles squeezed around the poor pony's neck. Scootaloo, despite her deprivation of air, still smiled up at her friend. "'Cause whatever it takes, I'm gonna get you in the sky!" She continued. Upon hearing this, Scootaloo pushed Smolder away from her and slipped out of her grasp.
"B-But what if... what if I never get up there?" She looked at Smolder, and Smolder looked back at her.
"Huh?" She sat down in front of Scootaloo.
"I...I can't fly. I've never been able to, no matter how I tried." She stood up, trudging dejectedly toward a nearby tree and sitting at the base. Smolder hovered in front of her for a while, arms crossed, and looking at her with a disappointed expression.
"I thought you were better than this, Scoots'." She sat down next to Scootaloo at the base of the tree and draped a wing around her, similar to how Rainbow Dash would. The sun began to set, and the stars glimmered in the darkest sections of the sky. "I thought you were tougher." She added. Scootaloo looked up at her, her eyes shining and glistening as if she were about to cry. "You know I don't mean it like that."
"I don't." Scootaloo replied. "I really don't. And.. about what I said.. about the wings, I meant it!" She paused. "Like, what if I'm never able to fly?"
"You won't be. Not if you keep saying that." She looked down at her pony friend. "You've got serious potential, and you're not gonna get anywhere if you won't see it." Smolder continued. "And... If you ever need help with flying, then.. then you could always call on me!"
"Wow! R-Really?"
"Do I look like an idiot?" She smiled down at Scootaloo, who was beaming excitedly.
"B-But... one more question."
"Yeah?"
"Do you really think I'm tough? That I have potential?"
"Scoots." Smolder urged. "You're tough. Like, dragon tough. Almost as tough as me." Scootaloo chuckled.
"Almost?"
"Maybe. You're nearly there. You know what would make you really tough?" She asked.
"What?" Smolder looked to the skies and gazed at the beautiful stars in the night sky, which was adorned by the light of the moon.
"If you'd be my sister. Honorary dragon."
"Woah! C-Can you do that?" Scootaloo gasped.
"Think." They both laughed.
"Hey, Smolder?" She asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'd love to be your sister."
Author's Note
This one was supposed to be a good one, I guess. Albeit it was short, I still put loads of effort into it(By loads of effort I mean a few hours) and I wanted to take a break from the heavy Smolcellus I've been writing lately. Toodles for now!
