Lesson

by Joe3562

Rating: everyone
Tags: Scootaloo, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 2231

A lesson from Rainbow Dash does not go exactly as planned for Scootaloo

The day has finally come for Scootaloo. Her first flight lesson from none other than the Rainbow Dash. Little does she know of what is to transpire.

Cover art by GSphere

Published 2013-02-13 00:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-13 00:40:01 UTC

First Flight

The buzzing of small pegasus wings disturbed the calm of the small market place situated in the center of the rustic town of Ponyville. A pale tangerine coated filly stood on her hind legs with her fore ones gripped to the red handle bars of her blue painted wooden scooter. Her fandango colored tail fluttered in the whipping wind as she sped past an orchid coated earth mare with a cutie mark of a strawberry next to a bushel of grapes. The mare stepped to the side and shouted back to the filly, “Watch where you’re going missy!”

The filly stole a glance at the adult scolding her, but quickly brushed it off. She turned back and made a sharp right turn. She was glad she wore her purple helmet with a pair of white stripes down the middle as she hit a small lose rock in the gravel road. One of her red wheels lodged itself in the rock, turning the scooter into a catapult. The filly was flung off her scooter and into the dirt ahead.

Lifting her head from the small mound she had pressed into the earth she coughed the bit of dirt that had invaded her air passages. As she stopped she heard a small laugh coming from behind her.

Standing up on her four hooves, Scootaloo turned around and set her muted purple eyes on a pink coated earth filly with a gray violet mane with a few white streaks running through it and her tail. Her bright blue eyes wore an expression of hatred towards the pegasus. Atop the earth filly’s head sat a small tiara, one to match the cutie on her flank. “What do you want Diamond Tiara,” Scootaloo grumbled.

“Oh, nothing,” the filly responded casually as she walked towards Scootaloo, “I was just amused by your failure. That is all.”

Scootaloo ignored the bully as she walked over to her scooter and began to dislodge it from its location. Diamond Tiara still stood behind the pegasus and it was beginning to get on her nerves to be around the bully for extended periods of time. “Don’t you have anywhere else to be?” Scootaloo asked with a bit on exasperation.

Scootaloo removed her mode of transportation and placed it on the ground. She began to board as Tiara rebutted, “Why yes I do in fact. My daddy is taking me to Canterlot today on a business trip.”

She turned on the spot and began to walk away leaving Scootaloo by herself. Once the bully was gone Scootaloo braced herself and began to flap her wings. She took off with speed towards her destination.

~~~

A cyan pegasus came to an abrupt halt outside of a large tree hollowed out and served the purpose as Ponyville’s library. A rainbow contrail followed the mare with a mane and tail of the same fashion. She landed at the foot of the door and folded her wings to her side. She looked at the open sign on the door to the Golden Oaks Library with her magenta eyes. She walked up and tapped on the door with her hoof.

“Coming,” came a voice from inside. Rainbow Dash stepped back as the door was wrapped in an aura of magenta magic and opened. Beyond the threshold stood a lavender coated unicorn mare with a dark navy blue mane and tail with two highlights of pink and purple running through them. “Hi Rainbow what brings you around?” Twilight Sparkle asked stepping aside to let her friend in.

Rainbow stepped into the tree and answered, “I just wanted to drop this off.”

Using her right wing Rainbow Dash opened up her saddlebag and reached inside. Pulling her head up she held a purple covered book. The book was wrapped in an aura of magenta magic as she let go of it. Twilight floated the book over towards a bookshelf and placed in an open cavity awaiting the taken out book. Twilight turned back to her friend and asked, “Is that all?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow closed her saddlebag, “I have to go back home to meet up with Scoots, she’ll be coming over soon for her first lesson.”

“It’s so good to hear that you are teaching her how to fly.”

“Well,” Rainbow flexed her wings, “Who else but the best to teach her?”

Twilight rolled her eyes in response. Rainbow ignored her friend’s action and began to walk towards the door. She spoke as she walked, “I’m going to go now. I told squirt to be by my house around noon.”

“Ok Rainbow,” Twilight watched as her cyan friend opened the front door and hovered in the threshold, “Good luck.”

“Like I’m going to need it,” she rebutted with a flap of her wings she shot up into the sky and quickly maneuvered outside of Ponyville. Twilight, using her magic, closed the door and returned to her reading.

~~~

Scootaloo soon escaped the buildings of rural Ponyville and now rode along a gravel road crossing rolling green hills. Not that far ahead she could see her destination coming into view. She loved the sight of it, Rainbow’s cloud house. Most pegasi built their own homes, Rainbow’s was no exception. It looked just like the ones from Cloudsdale. Even though the little filly had never been to the floating city she had seen countless pictures of the stunning pegasus architecture.

A rainbow arched across the back of the white cloud house as well as a few rainbow waterfalls cascaded down condensing into small pools of the wondrous spectra before finally falling off the cloud base and dissolving into dew on the grass below.

Scootaloo stopped under the house. She took her helmet off and rested it on the handle bars of her scooter. She stepped off of it and looked to the cloud abode above, “Rainbow Dash! Are you home?!”

She walked from underneath it and looked to the front door. She saw the small landing that served as a porch. How I wish I could fly. Scootaloo looked to her small wings as she flexed them. She looked back to the house and shouted, “Rainbow Dash!”

“Yes?”

Scootaloo jumped up with a slight scream and quickly turned around. She used her wings to flutter to the ground as she looked at who had startled her. Her gaze met a cyan pegasus hovering an inch off the ground. Scootaloo looked to her and asked, “What was that for Rainbow?”

“Nothing,” Rainbow stated casually as she landed and walked towards the pegasus filly. “So are you ready?”

“Am I ever,” Scootaloo responded with gusto.

“Good,” Rainbow commented as she turned around and lowered her back. She ordered the filly, “Get on.”

“Where are we going?” Scootaloo asked as she moved towards the older pegasus.

“I have a special location chosen to test out your abilities.”

“It won’t be that much,” a crestfallen response from the filly now on Rainbow’s back.

Rainbow stood up and arched her wings out. “Well we’ll just have to work on that won’t we?”

Without waiting for a response Rainbow took off and flew over her house and further away from Ponyville. Scootaloo gripped tightly to Rainbow’s neck with her forelegs and buried her head against it as they flew along. Her small wings instinctively extended outwards.

After a minute or so Rainbow Dash slowed down and spoke to Scootaloo, “Here we are squirt.”

Scootaloo unburied her face from Rainbow’s neck. She cast her gaze outwards to see a field of dirt surrounded by a few minuscule rock hills. She saw that Rainbow’s wings were tucked against her side, but they were still in the sky. She looked down to see a small white cloud under her teacher’s hooves. She quickly jumped off and landed on the soft mass of condensation. The filly rarely ever touched clouds; she loved the feeling of the weightless fluff under her hooves. She tested it out by lifted a hoof up and putting it back down. After a few goes Rainbow spoke up, “Ok Scoots.”

The filly turned to the spectrum maned pegasus. Rainbow asked the filly, “Have you ever gone flying before?”

“Not really,” Scootaloo answered looking to the cloud below.

“Hey,” Rainbow rebutted lifting the filly’s head up with her hoof. Scootaloo looked to Rainbow as stated, “We are going to change that today. Now listen up.”

Scootaloo nodded and paid attention as Rainbow took to a hover just off the cloud. “Now every pegasus is able to fly, they just have to learn how, just like a foal learns to walk. It is almost second nature when it comes down to that ok?”

Scootaloo responded with a nod.

“Good. Now,” Rainbow looked to the filly and ordered, “Extend your wings.”

Scootaloo stood up and did just what she was asked to do. Rainbow fluttered over and looked over the appendages. As she did she spoke, “We are defiantly going to need to work out your wings more, wings are very fragile and must be worked out properly to actually achieve flight.”

“Ok,” Scootaloo responded half-heartedly.

“They seem to be in good shape,” Rainbow added as she hovered off of the cloud again. “But to make sure I would like you to step off the cloud and flutter to the ground below.”

Scootaloo took a step forward and looked to the ground below. She wasn’t that high up, but it was still higher than she had ever been up. She looked to Rainbow and asked, “Are you sure?”

“The only question is, are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Scootaloo swallowed deeply and responded weakly, “Yes.”

“Good. I’ll be on the ground just below waiting for you.”

Without a response Rainbow dove to the ground below and landed. With her wings still unfurled she looked up and said, “Whenever you’re ready Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo had watched the spectacle of her teacher flying to the ground below. She slowly stepped away from the edge and closed her eyes. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She spoke aloud to herself, “You can do this.”

“All you have to do is jump off and flap your wings.”

“Slow yourself down to the ground.”

“Rainbow Dash is watching the whole thing, do not worry.”

She let out a long breath and opened her eyes. She saw the edge of the cloud and the horizon far off. She fluttered her small wings at her side. She looked at them and back to the edge of the cloud. “You can do this, I can do this.”

Scootaloo slowly stepped towards the edge of the cloud. She kept her gaze level, and didn’t look down. She closed her eyes and she reached a hoof out, it didn’t touch cloud. She stopped dead in her tracks. She let out another long breath as she pulled her hoof back to the surface of the cloud. On the count of three.

1…

2…

3!

Scootaloo jumped off the edge of the cloud and opened her eyes. She watched as the ground filled her view. Her wings began to flap as she continued to descend and pick up speed. Rainbow Dash watched as the little filly plummeted. She prepared to act just in case. Scootaloo tried to flap her wings harder, to get more air below her to slow herself down, but to no avail. She still continued to fall. She looked back to the encroaching ground. Her wings quickly folded back against her side. She closed her eyes and prepared.

Rainbow spotted this and quickly flew up and grabbed the filly in her legs. She turned back to the ground with the filly in tow. She landed and safety placed Scootaloo back on solid ground. Scootaloo didn’t face Rainbow as she stated, “Good first attempt, we will just have to work you wings out a bit and maybe you can start flying.”

“No I won’t,” Scootaloo countered!

“What,” Rainbow asked dumbfounded. She walked over to face the filly who hung her head low. Rainbow reached a hoof forward and pulled Scootaloo’s head up. The filly opened her eyes and looked at her teacher. Rainbow spied the inklings of tears in the corners of her eyes. “What’s wrong squirt?”

“I won’t ever fly, I froze up out there. I was afraid, I’m too afraid to fly!”

The pegasus filly turned away from her idol. Rainbow Dash quickly flew to Scootaloo’s front. She saw tears beginning to flow down the filly’s cheeks. Rainbow quickly grabbed the filly and embraced her in a hug. Scootaloo was caught off guard and quickly looked to Rainbow. Rainbow looked down to the filly as she brushed her hoof through the filly’s mane. Her other hoof reached up to wipe away the still lingering tears. Dash spoke to the filly, “Scootaloo it doesn’t matter, that was your first attempt, if you work hard at it you will do better.”

“Are,” Scootaloo sniffed away her tears, “are you sure about that?”

“Positive.”

“O-Ok.”

“Now come on,” Rainbow stepped away from the filly, “Let’s get to the rest of your lesson.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo jumped up with her wings buzzing with a bit more vigor.

Author's Note

Was browsing DeviantArt for another picture to choose when I saw the cover picture and just had to write a Scootaloo Rainbow Dash story.