A Flight to Last
By: Radiogenicpony
The train rolled into the station.
I opened the door to Ponyville, only to be meet by dozens of ponies with their jaws on the ground.
“What is everypony doing here?” I asked.
“Scootaloo?!” Twilight said disbelievingly, “we were sending a search party out to find you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sweetie Belle running towards me. Her grin was one of excitement, but it also looked very sheepish.
I looked over the crowd, finding both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy standing near the center. Not being one to miss an opportunity to show off, I jumped from the train, and flew over to them.
That eared me more amazement from the crowd. I could have shown off all day, but there was a more important matter to be dealt with first.
“Appleoosa needs help!” I started,“When I was teleported there it caused a chasm to isolate the town from the rest of Equestria.”
At that, everypony looked in the direction of Sweetie Belle, who was desperately trying to hide behind her own hooves. Apparently, my suspicions were correct.
“The supplies they need are on the train, but I think they might need some unicorn magic as well.” I continued, in an attempt to direct attention from Sweetie Belle.
It didn’t work, as Sweetie Belle jumped up and offered to help.
“Sweetie Belle, you stay here,” Twilight commanded. “Everypony in the search party for Scootaloo, we need to take this train to Appleoosa and help however we can. Rainbow Dash, stay here and cover for the missing pegasi. Applejack, do the same for the earth ponies. And Rarity, for the unicorns. Fluttershy, you’re free to stay here and take care of the animals… and keep an eye on Sweetie Belle. Does everypony know what to do?”
Twilight paused briefly. Everypony nodded or mumbled a “yes.”
“Good.” she continued, “then let’s go.”
With those words, one third of Ponyville got on the train.
Wow, a third of Ponyville formed a search party to find me!
I looked across the remaining two thirds of Ponyville. Most ponies were starting to leave the station, with a few offering congratulations as they passed by.
I looked across the six ponies left at the train station. Applebloom was running towards me with a large grin on her face, Applejack and Rarity wore still slightly amazed looks on their faces, Fluttershy was giving me a confident smile, Rainbow Dash was beaming with pride, and Sweetie Belle somehow managed to look both nervous and relieved at the same time.
“So… I guess you know how to use a teleport spell now,” I chuckled nervously.
“Sort of… I’m really sorry, Scootaloo. I searched for you all over Ponyville. When I didn’t find you I, convinced Twilight to form a search party,” explained Sweetie Belle,“Could you please forgive me?”
“Yeah, no problem. If you didn’t send me to Appleoosa, I would still be trying to get off the ground… probably.”
“Well I should probably go learn how to control my magic. I’m magic on command, I just don’t know what magic will happen until it happens.”
“Huh?” I asked.
“Uh… never mind… bye.”
With that Sweetie Belle galloped away, stumbling on a wooden plank.
“Hiya, Scoots! You’re back! And you can fly!” exclaimed Applebloom, while tackling and hugging me.
“Hi. Applebloom…” I managed to say through the crushing hug I was receiving, “can you stop crushing me please.”
“Sorry, I’m just excited you’re back. And ya can fly.”
“She sure can.” sounded a familiar voice to my right, “how long can you stay up there kid.”
“Just a few seconds,” I responded.
“Well then the next thing you need to work on is endurance. Practice until flying is as easy as walking, then practice a little more.” instructed Rainbow Dash.
“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked.
“Fluttershy and I will coach you… right Fluttershy?”
“Um… oh… ok.” Responded the shy mare, “I’m not sure if I’ll be of any help coaching, but I can provide moral support, just listen. Woo hoo. You rock. Yay.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rainbow Dash facehoof.
“Um… thanks.” I said.
“Fluttershy and I will meet you back here in an hour to start your training.”
“Ok.” I said eagerly.
“Oh, and you should come too, Applebloom… I’m sure Scootaloo would like one of her friends there.” offered Fluttershy.
“Ok.” exclaimed Applebloom.
With that they turned and left.
Flying with Rainbow Dash. I will make this a flight to last.
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I met with Rainbow dash in front of the train station after about an hour.
“Alright, first things first,” ordered Rainbow Dash, “I need to see how long you can fly, how far you can fly, and how fast you can fly. Go!”
I started flapping my wings and focusing on my reason for flight, the feeling of gliding through dreams. I flew eight feet in twelve seconds, which, needless to say, wasn’t very long, far, or fast.
“You rock, woo hoo.” cheered Fluttershy, who was now walking towards Rainbow Dash and me, trailed by Applebloom.
“Well, endurance is definitely something you need to work on,” informed Rainbow Dash. “Try again! Go!”
I tried, but I made no improvement. Though there was still cheering from Fluttershy and Applebloom.
“Again!” commanded Rainbow Dash.
I once again tried for improvement, but found none. Fluttershy and Applebloom were still cheering as if I suddenly soared into the sky, though I had not.
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After two hours of making no progress the cheering had finally died down.
“Perhaps we should call it a day,” suggested Rainbow Dash. “We should meet back here tomorrow.”
“Ya did great, Scoots, I’ll bet you’ll be in the sky by the end of the week,” assured Applebloom.
“I hope so.” I replied.
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The next day I tried again, with little improvement; same thing the next day, but somehow with less improvment than before. Three days had passed but I still made minimal improvement.
___________________________________________________________________
I sat next to Rainbow Dash on a cloud watching a hazy sunset.
Oh, another one of these dreams.
“So what advice do you have for me this time?” I asked Rainbow Dash.
“You are exhausting the very reason for your flight much too quickly.” she responded plainly.
I stared at Rainbow Dash blankly for a moment before replying.
“Huh?”
“Make every flight a flight to last. When you focus on your reason to fly, you use the energy it provides.” informed Rainbow Dash.
“Then how do I fly without using that energy?”
“You don’t,” said Rainbow Dash, “it regenerates quickly. You just need to focus on it less. Make your reason for flight subconscious, and you can fly forever.”
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Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applebloom showed up in front of the train station looking less enthusiastic than ever. I didn’t blame them though, three days of almost no progress is disappointing.
“Alright, you know the drill, ready set go.” sounded Rainbow Dash, almost all excitement and hope gone from her voice.
I flapped my wings almost automatically, and gave very little thought to my reason to fly.
I stayed in the air a good five minutes before landing, and I could have gone much longer.
I gazed across their awestruck faces.
“So, how was that?” I asked with a large smirk on my face.
“How did… when did… what?” Rainbow Dash attempted to say.
“Let’s just say I decided to try a new technique,” I offered.
“Scootaloo! That was amazin’!” exclaimed Applebloom as soon as she was able to speak.
Fluttershy just continued to sit motionlessly, with her jaw hanging open.
“So, what’s next?” I asked eagerly.
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I spent the next three days training, and learning to use less effort in flight. By the end of the week, I was able to stay airborne the whole day. It was truly a flight to last.
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Author’s Note
Even when your methods work, there may still be a better way. Progress and improvements speak for themselves. Stay tuned for the last story in my Scootaloo series ‘Truly Airborne’. Special Thanks to my pre-reader Cormac McCloppy.
