The next morning, Scootaloo jumped out of bed and hummed a light tune as she went through her usual morning routines. When she finished brushing her teeth, she headed for school, still humming.

"You're in a good mood." A southern accented voice called out behind her as she was walking. A grin appeared on Scootaloo's face as she turned and saw her fellow Crusaders.

"Hiya girls!"

"So what's got you so chipper?" Sweetie Belle asked, a smile appearing on her face as well.

"Dunno. Maybe it's just because I got a great night's sleep last night?" The other two laughed and the three quickly got into a discussion about what they were going to do this weekend. "Maybe we could go camping?"

"Pff, no way. Why not have a sleep over at my place?"

"So we can get up early and work? No thanks." Each pony had a small frown of concentration on their faces as they continued towards their school.

"Look, we'll pick this up after school." Apple Bloom said as they walked through the doors.

"Glad to see you aren't late today." The pony behind Scootaloo said. The pegasus turned and smiled.

"Thanks Silver Spoon. It feels kinda weird to actually be here before Burnt Oak."

The earth pony laughed and said, "I'm sure he'll definitely be surprised when he comes in." Scootaloo just nodded. When they were young, she couldn't STAND Silver Spoon, but it was mostly just due to Diamond Tiara's influence. Thankfully, Diamond Tiara had been transferred to a private school, allowing Silver Spoon to show her true colours and it turns out, she wasn't all that bad.

"Well well, decided to join us BEFORE the bell rang Ms. Scootaloo?"

The addressed pegasus turned with a smirk and said, "Figure I'd change it up a little." Burnt Oak rolled his eyes and took his seat at the front of the class.

"Alright, open up your books to page forty-three." Scootaloo sighed and did as she was told and as soon as she was sure Burnt Oak wasn't looking in her direction, her gaze shifted to the window. When the bell rang for lunch, the students filed outside to the picnic area and pulled various meals from their saddlebags. Of course the three Crusaders sat together and were accompanied by Silver Spoon.

As the four mares laughed and talked, a pony walked by towards the school that caught their attention. "Miss Cheerilee!" The earth pony in question stopped and smiled.

"Hello girls. Enjoying lunch?"

They all nodded and Apple Bloom said, "Yea! So what're you doin' here if ya don't mind mah askin'?"

"Oh I just came to talk with Mr. Oak."

"Ooh! What about?" Sweetie Belle asked, curiosity burning her her olive eyes.

"Nothing too serious as I'm sure you're assuming Sweetie." The unicorn fought the light blush that came onto her face and Cheerilee continued. "I just wanted to talk to him about teaching and all and to tell him that his daughter is doing just fine. Well, I'll let you girls get back to your lunch." The girls all waved to their former teacher and went back to their lunches.

About twenty minutes later, the stallion called them back inside to continue their lessons. It didn't take long before the final bell rang and all the ponies ran out the door. Scootaloo walked out alongside her friends, but they didn't make it very far before Burnt Oak called after them. "Excuse me girls, but may I talk to Scootaloo for a moment?"

The other Crusaders looked at their pegasus friend with concern in their eyes, but Scootaloo waved it away and said, "Don't worry, he probably just wants to get on my case about how I keep staring out the window. It won't take long." They nodded and waited as Scootaloo ran back to the schoolhouse. "Yes Burnt Oak?" The stallion looked at her and held up a paper.

"Do you know what this is?" The pegasus took a closer look and saw that it was yesterdays assignment, one that she had apparently gotten a perfect grade on.

"Umm...that's yesterday's writing assignment?"

"Yes. Now, I have a serious question to ask you." He took a breath and lowered the paper. "You're a brilliant student and hardly ever get lower than an A- on anything so I must ask...why don't you apply to finish early? You have the knowledge, so why do you insist on staying and looking out the window when you could actually be out there doing something?" Scootaloo was silent for a moment before laughing.

"I appreciate the concern and I'm flattered you think I'm so smart...but I can't just leave my friends behind, ya know? If I finished early, then I'd feel bad because they'd still be here. Besides, school doesn't bother me TOO much and while I don't learn much from our books anymore, I still learn a lot from you Mr. Oak."

The stallion chuckled and sighed. It was in that moment Scootaloo could see the age on the older pony's face. While he wasn't old enough to have grey hair, time had definitely taken it's toll on him. He had told the class once that he used to live in Hoofington where the children were much more rambunctious than any children he had ever seen.

Eventually he found the love of his life and moved to Ponyville where he begun teaching the ponies after elementary. He looked up and said, "Very well then. But promise me one thing: that you look at the board a little more than out the window?"

Scootaloo smiled and said, "I'll see what I can do." The stallion laughed lightly and said, "Alright, go on. Out with ya." He gestured his hooves into a "shooing" motion and the pegasus headed back out.

"So what'd he want?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I was right. He just complained about my staring out the window." Scootaloo felt a little bad whenever she lied like this. Her friends didn't really know the extent of her intelligence, so it hurt the pegasus whenever her friends struggled in school. However, she knew that if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle actually knew how smart she was, they'd push her to graduate early, just like Burnt Oak.

While they meant well, Scootaloo wanted to spend as much time with her friends as possible. As the trio was arriving in town, a voice called out to Scootaloo. "Hey Scoots!" The orange pegasus turned and grinned.

"Hi Rainbow Dash!"

The cyan pegasus landed in front of the girls and said, "You ready for some serious training this weekend?" Scootaloo frowned and looked back her friends.

"Well...I kinda had plans this weekend..."

Dash frowned and said, "So you DON'T want to learn from the best huh?"

"No! I mean, I do! But don't you sleep until sometime in the afternoon anyways? I could just meet you later in the day right?"

"Nope. Besides, I have to get up on weekends to work so I'll be up and ready by ten when my work is done." Scootaloo sighed and turned to her friends, an apology forming in her eyes. While she could see the unhappiness Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hid behind their eyes, she also saw their smiles.

"Go ahead. Besides, it'll be worth it to see those other pegasus ponies in our class struck speechless by your flying skills." Sweetie Belle just nodded and said,

"What she said!" Scootaloo grinned and hugged her friends.

"Thanks girls. I'll make ya proud!" The earth pony and unicorn continued their walk as Rainbow grinned at the slightly smaller pegasus.

"Ya ready squirt?" Scootaloo nodded and with that, Dash took off with Scootaloo running on the ground behind her. When they arrived at their usual spot, Scootaloo was surprised to find camping supplies.

"What's all this for?"

"We're going to be staying out here all weekend to work on your training." The orange pony's jaw dropped.

"B-but I can't stay out here ALL weekend! I have to work Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon."

Rainbow waved away the concerns and said, "You'll have plenty of time to work for weather management once we get you off the ground. And to make up for it, I'll give you a raise right from the get go. You'll be making as much as the ponies who've been working there for two months!" Scootaloo's frown quickly flipped itself on her face and she nodded.

"Alright then! Let's get started!" The purple maned pony said, pawing at the ground in eager anticipation.

"Slow down there Scoots. We gotta stretch first." Scootaloo nodded and awaited further instruction.

~~~

That night, Scootaloo wished she had never been born a pegasus. Her whole body ached to the sudden rigorous training that she was undergoing, and her wings were no better. By the time Dash had suggested stopping for the night, Scootaloo was surprised that she hadn't dropped from exhaustion before then.

"Gotta say, you're making progress...but not decent progress. Ya gotta step it up a little Scoots or it's going to take even LONGER!" The rainbow maned pony sighed in exasperation and said, "Be ready to rise real early. We've got a lot to get done tomorrow, and I don't wanna see you slackin' just because you're tired."

With that, Rainbow Dash stretched and yawned. "I'm gonna hit the hay now. Don't wait too long." Scootaloo could've swore she saw Dash wink as she headed into the tent. The simple thought of what that wink could mean sent Scootaloo's face from orange to red in ten seconds flat. She shook the thought from her head and thought, 'Though...maybe it IS time I start my advances...'

Scootaloo waited a little longer until she heard the tell-tell signs of the prismatic pony's slumber. "Geez...even though it's been a good six years, she still snores like that?" Scootaloo remembered the last time she had been camping with Rainbow and while the experience was harrowing, she was able to come out on top...for the most part.

Despite the fact that Dash had promised to take Scootaloo under her wings, the orange pony barely saw the older flier after that. Whenever confronted, Rainbow would shrug and say, "I've been busy. Sorry kid." Scootaloo sighed and gave a light stretch, resisting the urge to hiss in pain before joining Rainbow in the tent. However, the sight that greeted her made the younger pony freeze.

Dash had rolled from her side of the tent to being sprawled out in the middle, her legs far apart and slightly twitchy as the cyan pegasus slept. What Scootaloo wouldn't give for Rainbow to be awake and beckoning her to lay down on her muscular pegasine body. 'Maybe...maybe I could just lay on her for a second...see what it feels like.'

Slowly, Scootaloo moved over her crush and stared down at the sleeping pegasus. Then, she began to descend with antagonizingly slow speed. Every small twitch of the face or meager shifting of a hoof made Scootaloo freeze until complete stillness (or at least as close to stillness as Rainbow could be) retook the prismatic pony before she dared move again.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, contact was made. Scootaloo shivered as she lowered herself onto the elder flier; the way Rainbow's coat brushed against her own, the way Scootaloo could practically feel the way Rainbow's body adjusted to accommodate the weight placed on top of it.

Scootaloo sighed in bliss as she laid there on her crush without a care in the world. However, a sudden shift nearly made the orange pony gasp and before she knew it, she was being nuzzled by Rainbow Dash, who had rolled onto her side and pulled Scootaloo into an embrace, much like a filly would with favourite toy and mumbled incoherently.

'WhatdoIdo whatdoIdo whatdoIdo?!' Panic washed over Scootaloo as the worst case scenarios played out in her mind at what would happen when the weather manager would say and do when she woke up with Scootaloo in her hooves.

'Calm down Scoots! This is what you've been dreaming of! Well...kinda. Take this opportunity and just enjoy it.' Scootaloo smiled and closed her eyes, even going so far as to snuggle a little closer to her secret lover and was asleep in minutes.

~~~

When Rainbow Dash woke up, she was surprised to say the least. In her hooves was a content Scootaloo, ready to just sleep the day away in the comfort of the tent and in Rainbow's sleep-induced embrace. 'Huh...she looks pretty happy. Almost blissful....wait...no way. I'm the one she's crushing on, aren't I?' As if to answer, Scootaloo sighed happily and nuzzled Rainbow's chest.

The prismatic pegasus grinned and thought, 'I'm flattered. Maybe I can help her by using this.' While Rainbow felt a little bad about using her fellow pegasus's emotions, she figured that if Scootaloo could come out on top, she'd reward the little pony. "Well well well, what do we have here?" Dash asked in a fake surprised voice.

Scoots jolted awake and began to stammer, "Y-you grabbed me a-and-" Dash burst into laughed and released the orange pony.

"No need to be embarrassed. Tons of ponies want to say they've slept in my hooves and not a whole lot of them were as cute as you Scoots. So get up and get ready, cuz we've got a whole day ahead of us." Rainbow stood and walked out, giving her rump a light swing as she walked out, feeling Scootaloo's gaze burning into her.

When the tent flap closed, it took all the willpower in the orange pony's body not to shout and jump for joy. 'Alright, now I just have to keep this up and soon, Rainbow Dash will be mine!' Scootaloo let out a triumphant puff of air from her nostrils and she rushed outside and saw that Dash was already in the air, pulling off advanced aerial maneuvers that Scootaloo knew were only warm-ups to the flying pegasus.

The orange pegasus lifted her wings away from her side and flapped them a few times to get them ready for the grueling task that was to come. Sure enough, there was much soreness that followed the tough training regime of the weather manager of Ponyville and Scootaloo wondered if this was such a good idea. During several points of the training, Scootaloo honestly thought she was going do die.

However, Rainbow always swooped in and helped, right at the last second. Finally, the duo took a break for lunch. Scootaloo collapsed on the ground and looked for a picnic basket or something to provide nourishment. "How...are we gonna have lunch...if there is none?" The orange pony asked in between deep breaths that felt good at the slight expense that her chest felt like it was on fire every time she took a breath.

"Give it a minute." Sure enough, after a few moments passed, a yellow dot began to approach. "Ahh! There's our meal." Rainbow said, rubbing her stomach as thoughts of food filled her mind. As the dot drew closer, Scootaloo squinted and saw that it was Fluttershy, carrying a small basket no doubt filled with delicious homemade food. Just the thought of Fluttershy's cooking made the young pegasus's stomach growl in anticipation.

Scootaloo had tried some food made by the canary yellow pegasus a few years back and had never forgot the taste. "Hey Flutters! Just in time." Dash said, meeting her friend halfway to snatch the food and quickly dig in after landing beside the youngest of the group.

"Oh, don't eat too fast. You'll get the hiccups and you know as well as I do that flying is much harder with hiccups." Rainbow waved a hoof in acknowledgment while continuing to wolf down the food. Fluttershy then moved her concern from Rainbow to Scootaloo, who had yet to move from her spot to eat. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, helping the orange pegasus to her hooves.

"Yea. Just doing what I gotta do, ya know?" Scoots gave a small smile before heading to the basket to get some food before Dash devoured it all. The three pegasi sat around and enjoyed the lunch that Fluttershy brought, all while Dash moved between eating and bragging about her skills.

Finally, with an abrupt clap of her hooves, Rainbow said, "Alright Scoots, let's get back to work." Scootaloo sighed and stood up, giving herself a light stretch. "Care to see how a pro teaches Flutters?" The pegasus in question chuckled lightly and gave her answer by staying put. "Alright Scootaloo, let's get back to it."

So, Fluttershy watched as her fellow pegasus ponies went through the stretches taught in Cloudsdale Flight Camp. However, at one part, Rainbow Dash smiled and said, "Alright squirt, now for the next test...we're gonna practice on clouds!" Before Scootaloo could say anything, Dash flew up and began to gather clouds for a suitable practice ground.

The orange pegasus swallowed several lumps in her throat as the cloud landing got bigger and bigger. Scoots nearly screamed when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned and saw Fluttershy standing beside her, a warm smile on her face. "It'll be okay." Scootaloo felt immense relief rush through her veins at the words and she relaxed against the hoof on her shoulder.

The relief was short lived. Dash dropped down in front of Fluttershy and Scootaloo and the youngest stiffened as she was suddenly torn away from the comforting hoof and brought into the sky. Of course, she didn't make any motion that she was scared at the prospect of being placed on a cloud. While she knew that it would hold her, it was a whole new experience for her since she'd spent her whole life on the ground. "Ready?"

"Y-yes!" With that, Dash let go and Scootaloo held the scream that was building up in her throat back with sheer willpower. When she hit the cloud, she gave a surprised gasp as all the built-up air was forced from her lungs. 'Wow...clouds are harder than I thought...' she absently thought as she struggled to get her air back.

"Heh, yea. Clouds'll do that to ya the first time ya hit'em that hard." Scootaloo coughed for a moment before standing wearily on her hooves, lightly tapping the clouds as if to make sure it would actually hold her. Dash of course couldn't help but laugh at the younger pegasus's hesitance.

"Don't laugh Rainbow. She's never been on a cloud before." Fluttershy's timid voice called out before she actually appeared over the lip of the cloud.

"Well she's gotta learn somehow and since she can't actually fly yet, this is the next best thing. Besides, she's fine, right Scoots?"

"R-right! I'm not a-afraid!"

"See!" Rainbow asked, her chest puffed up in pride. Though Fluttershy could see otherwise. Even though Scootaloo was smiling and had her chest puffed out as well, Fluttershy could see the quivering knees that Scootaloo stood on.

'Poor girl...' Was all Fluttershy could think. So, once again Fluttershy sat while the other two flier ponies worked on training. Several times, Scootaloo locked up when she thought she was going to plunge through the fluffy mass or when she would've normally went tumbling over the edge.

Dash sighed and said, "Ugh, c'mon Scoots! You're never gonna get anywhere if you aren't afraid to fall."

"Easy for you to say! All you have to do is spread your wings and you'll be fine!"

Rainbow frowned and said, "Yea yea, get back to training." before flying off to practice her own moves. Scootaloo sighed and went back to what she had been learning. Eventually, Fluttershy bid them both a farewell, promising to come back tomorrow and bring lunch.

As she walked by Scootaloo, she whispered, "I believe in you." Scootaloo looked up and into Fluttershy's eyes and saw only truth.

"Really?"

"Mhmm. I know you'll get it soon." With a wink, Fluttershy opened her wings and gently glided down to the plains below before heading for home. It wasn't until another four hours that Dash landed back on the cloud mass and yawned.

"Alright kid, that's enough for today. We'll pick back up on this tomorrow." Scootaloo stood and waited, staring at Rainbow Dash.

"What?"

"Aren't you gonna fly us back down?" The grin that appeared on Rainbow's face scared Scootaloo.

"Nope. Tonight, we're sleepin' up here."

"On the cloud?!"

"Yup! It'll be great conditioning to get you used to using clouds. Trust me, you'll be fine." Then, the seasoned flier plopped down, nuzzled a small patch of cloud, and closed her eyes.

"B-but what about our tent and stuff? Don't you think somepony could steal it?"

"Nope. I took it back to Pinkie earlier today when you were training. Now quit your belly aching and get some sleep." It wasn't even a minute later that Dash was snoring. Scootaloo sighed and moved on the opposite side of the cloudmass and covered her head with cloud.

"Well...at least it cancels out the snoring..." She said with a small smile. It took awhile, but eventually Scootaloo found sleep. Sadly, all night she was plagued by a nightmare of her, endlessly falling to some unknown doom that awaited her. She screamed and screamed until her throat was dry and raw from the air rushing into and out of it as she plummeted.

She tried opening and flapping her wings, but discovered that they were tattered and useless, whipping around behind her as the wind pulled them every which way. 'I'm going to die!' She thought over and over as she continued to fall. Finally, Scootaloo's eyes widened as she saw the ground rushing up to meet her, with jagged rocks acting as a wicked grin with which to impale her on and tear her apart.

"No...NO!" Then, right before she was torn asunder, she woke up. Scootaloo threw herself away from where she had been sleeping, nearly falling over the edge and reenacting the dream. Cold sweat poured down her body as she pushed her wings open and felt them, making sure they were intact and useable. She breathed heavily for awhile and knew that there was no way that she'd be returning to sleep. So, she sat near the edge (but not close enough that she could peer over it) and awaited Celestia's sunrise.

~~~

When Rainbow Dash finally woke up, Scootaloo had nearly drifted back to sleep. "Heh, eager to get started huh?" The sudden noise after not hearing anything for hours caused Scootaloo to cry out and jump. Dash naturally laughed as Scootaloo shivered in both fear and anger.

"I could've fallen to my death!" Scootaloo shouted.

"You would've been fine. I would've swooped in and saved the day like always. Now, let's get to work." Scootaloo was aghast at how easily Rainbow Dash shrugged away her fear and it made the orange pegasus's blood boil. However, instead of acting on her rage, she swallowed it and just glared at Dash whenever the older pony wasn't looking.

Normally, Scootaloo would've let loose with a barrage of insults, even if it was to her idol, but no matter how she looked at it, it would have been a loss. There was nothing Scootaloo could do short of jumping off and hoping she flew if Dash left her there, and that was a scenario that Scoots never wanted to think could or would happen. So, she simply seethed silently as she stretched and went through the hoops Dash had her jump through.

Thankfully, Rainbow ordered a lunch break and Scootaloo dropped, breathing heavily. 'Who knew anger could motivate so well...' The orange pony thought as she awaited the arrival of the third pegasus. As she waited, she watched Dash soar through the air effortlessly and couldn't help but let the rage slip away and be replaced with awe and admiration.

'What was I so angry for? She obviously cares enough to save me. I mean...she'd save anypony in trouble, but still.' She sighed happily as she continued to watch the older pegasus strut her aerial stuff. Finally, a timid voice called out and Scootaloo smiled.

"Umm, hello?"

"We're still up here Fluttershy!" Dash yelled, doing a flip before landing on the cloud beside Scootaloo. Seconds later, the yellow pegasus of Kindness landed with a basket in her mouth and both Scootaloo and Dash wondered what kind of delicious treats were inside. "Thanks 'Shy!" Dash rushed forward and took the basket and just like the day before, dove into the food that lie inside the basket.

"How're you doing today Scootaloo?" Fluttershy asked, sitting down beside the prone pegasus.

"Not too bad. Still really sore, but that was expected. How're you?"

"Oh, I'm not too bad. You may want to get over and get something or else Rainbow Dash might eat it all." Scootaloo chuckled and with a little help from Fluttershy, managed to get onto her hooves and get to the basket. When Dash had finished, she immediately headed into the sky to work off what she had eaten while Scootaloo finished up what was left.

"She isn't being too hard on you, is she?"

"Huh? Oh, nah. I mean, it's rough, but it has to be." Scootaloo said, taking a sip of the juice box she had found.

"True, but it doesn't have to be TOO rough." Fluttershy replied, watching Rainbow fly with her eyes. Scoots simply shrugged and continued eating. It wasn't until she was halfway finished with a sandwich that she realized that Fluttershy was staring rather intensely at her.

"Umm...is there something on my face?"

"Did you get a good night's rest last night?"

"Eh? Where'd that come from?"

"Well...it's just that you have somewhat bloodshot eyes and there are bags starting to form under your eyes." Scootaloo felt under her eyes before she answered.

"Well...It wasn't the greatest night of sleep I've had."

Fluttershy nodded and said, "You should really try to get more rest. It may hurt you later if you don't."

"Kinda hard to go back to sleep when you have a nightmare..." Scootaloo whispered. Before Fluttershy could ask what the nightmare was about, Dash called out to Scootaloo, chastising the young pegasus for sitting around longer than needed. "Guess I better get back to it." Scootaloo walked away to the other side of the cloudmass and began her training anew. As dusk approached, Fluttershy managed to get Rainbow's attention.

"Perhaps I should take her home..." The concerned mare looked over to Scootaloo and saw that the pony could barely stand, let alone keep her eyes open as she forced air into her lungs.

"Huh? Why?"

"She has school tomorrow and she needs her rest. Plus, she may have homework that needs finished."

Dash frowned and said, "But this is WAY more important than that stuff." Fluttershy furrowed her brow and turned to stare at Rainbow.

"No, it isn't." Dash felt a light quiver go through her as her life-long friend turned her angry gaze on her. Rainbow had seen Fluttershy glare at some ponies, and even had seen her use The Stare, but this was entirely different. It was if she were gripping Dash's very soul and twisting it to her will in the most non-painful way possible and making Dash submit, despite Rainbow's competitive nature.

'I'm glad looks alone can't kill a pony.' Dash thought in fear. However, she couldn't allow herself to look afraid, so to save face she nodded and said, "Yea...alright. Scoots! When's your next break from school?"

The pony in question snapped her head up as if she had been napping and said, "Huh? Oh...um...after this coming week, we have Spring Break so we'll have a whole two weeks off."

"Then that's when we'll pick up." With that, Dash flew off, trying to shake the fear that remained from Fluttershy's glare. When Rainbow Dash had disappeared completely from sight, Fluttershy sighed and dropped the angry look and instead turned it to one of concern as she walked over to Scootaloo.

"Poor dear..." Scootaloo looked as if she had flown through several tornadoes at night during a new moon; her mane was dishevled and sticking up everywhere, her whole body shook as her muscles fought to keep her standing, her breathing had lightened somewhat but she was still panting.

"C'mon. Let's get you home." Fluttershy knelt and took Scootaloo onto her back and carefully opened her wings, then began to glide towards Ponyville, occasionally flapping her wings. When she had arrived, Scootaloo had completely passed out on her back. Fluttershy chuckled quietly and thought, 'She's quite adorable when she's sleeping.'

The yellow pony opened the door and carried the younger mare upstairs to where she thought her room was and after opening several doors, Fluttershy managed to find it. With the skill of a mother, Fluttershy tucked in Scootaloo and brushed her lips against the young pony's forehead, drawing a happy sigh from the orange mare. Fluttershy smiled warmly and walked out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Author's Note

I actually managed to get some internet! Huzzah! So that means you get...double the chapters! Enjoy ^^