Understanding

by Brony Eagle Scout

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4904

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle learn about Ponyville's incoming Equestrian Scout troop.

Sometimes, first impressions don't show the best in a pony or the things that they represent. When the new Equestrian Scout troop raises the unsuspecting ire from Rainbow Dash, how will Twilight react to claims her friend is making?

Thanks go to Doctor Strangelove for the editing.

Published 2013-02-03 02:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-03 02:10:01 UTC

Explanation

Explanation

Continuation of Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior chapter notes from Psychology 101:

Bystander apathy has been described as the unwillingness of bystanders to offer help during times of emergencies. The failure to help another pony has been the subject of many studies over the past few decades and startling evidence has been found. When more potential helpers are present, the less likely ponies are willing to help. The common answer to this disturbing trend is that everyone always assumes that another pony will help them. The most prevalent case of bystander apathy would be the case of--

A loud pounding on Twilight's bedroom window interrupted her train of thought, as her red feather quill stopped writing in mid-sentence. The purple curtains in front of the window prevented any visible identification, but Twilight could hazard a guess on who could be knocking at this time of day and in this sort of fashion. "No Rainbow Dash, I will not open the window. Please use the front door like a normal pony."

An angry groan confirmed her guess and brought a satisfied smirk in response. Twilight figured that Dash would try dragging her out of the library and talk her into going to some sort of party or plan some kind of elaborate practical joke that Dash wanted to try out on Pinkie again. As much as Twilight liked the occasional party and well designed prank, the new textbook Princess Luna sent her last night was proving to be very interesting.

The front door swung open and smacked against the wall causing Spike to yelp in surprise and fling the broom in his hand into a nearby bookshelf. "Twilight, meet me at town hall! Something happened!" Rainbow Dash yelled out into the library before she slammed the front door closed. Twilight's muscles twitched as weeks of unused adrenaline pumped into her heart. She unceremoniously threw her quill into the nearest inkpot with enough force that it spilled over onto her freshly dried notes from last night’s study session. She gave the mess little thought as she galloped down the stairs.

"Stay here Spike! I'll be back soon." Twilight ordered as she ran past her dumbfounded assistant. She didn't hear a response as she teleported out of the library and onto the street. After her vision cleared, she found the familiar blue body of her friend flying toward Town Hall. She took a deep breath and started running after Rainbow Dash.

In the midst of her running, Twilight tried to find any reason on the sudden change of events. Could it be a new hostile creature from the Everfree terrorizing the town? Diamond Dogs? The Cutie Mark Crusaders trying manticore taming or some other equally asinine plan? Whatever happened, I hope nopony got hurt. She thought while looking for anything out of the ordinary.

However, there were no signs of impending doom. No fierce growling from an unknown animal, no gravelly voices of horribly pronounced equestrian, and no cries of terror and pain. Just Derpy Hooves happily delivering the mail in her usual clumsy fashion, Roseluck watering a couple of flowerpots on the windowsill of her shop, and the strange mint green unicorn playing her lyre to a crowd of foals in the park. Ponies were going about their business on a simple Tuesday while she was galloping like a hydra was chasing after her.

Now embarrassed, Twilight slowed her sprint to a brisk walk up to Rainbow Dash who stood by the town hall door with the look of extreme distaste in her eyes. She waved Twilight over and pointed to the town's bulletin board, specifically to the freshly printed paper that looked recently tacked on.

"Can you believe this Twilight? I mean who would approve of such a thing?" Rainbow said incredulously as Twilight walked up beside her.

Twilight sighed. "Approve of what, Dash? You sounded like an Ursa Major was attacking the town, what is so--"

"Just read the darn thing and then you'll believe me." Dash interrupted.

After rolling her eyes at her hot-headed friend, Twilight walked up and looked at the paper. She first noticed the pictures of a line of colts hiking up a rocky mountain trail, a pair of griffons tying knots over some wooden spars, but what really stood out was the maroon red earth pony in a khaki button up shirt with various patches sewn on. The colt was smiling, looking happy as can be, and he was proudly saluting with his right hoof.

That colt reminds me of Shining Armor during his years as a cadet. Twilight thought happily. She looked past the picture and started reading the content of the flyer.

Ponyville is now the proud home of Equestrian Scout Troop 225

Are your sons looking for an adventure? Do they want to do things that someponies can only dream about?

Then come to the Equestrian Scout informational meeting on next Monday, April 8th, at Town Hall. The scoutmaster, Mr. Eagle, will answer any and all questions that you may have. Feel free to bring your sons for the meeting; they will be able to participate in a special scouting activity.

If you need to contact him beforehoof, he is available for meetings at Eagle's Outdoor Emporium located at 315 Main Street.

Twilight turned back toward Rainbow Dash. "So, this new Equestrian Scout troop in Ponyville has gotten your feathers in a twist?"

The rainbow maned pegasus nodded in the affirmative. "You got that right."

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "I don't see what the problem is, Rainbow Dash. It looks like a fun club for colts to be a part of."

"Wait, you haven't heard of the Equestrian Scouts before?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the slightly hostile tone of her friend. "No I haven't."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew forward and grabbed Twilight's face. If she couldn't tell that Dash was being serious, now she made it crystal clear. "What do you mean you haven't heard of the Equestrian Scouts?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed angrily. "They're one of the leading causes of bigotry in Equestria. How can you think that having a troop here is not a bad idea?"

Several ponies walking around town hall stopped and watched this spectacle with confused looks and whispers of inquirement. This went on unaware by the seething pegasus but not to Twilight. Her eyes widened in shock and she pushed Dash's hooves off of her, much to the chagrin of the small audience they had garnered. "Now you have got to be joking. You're telling me that this club promotes such distasteful ignorance?" She whispered harshly.

"Darn right they do. During my last two years of flight school, I saw scouts bully other colts to tears, cause rouge lightning clouds to chase after ponies for a cheap laugh, Tartarus, they even tried setting one of the abandoned cloud factories on fire. Just imagine stuff like that happening here in Ponyville. Why are you whispering?"

Before visions of mayhem and chaos could fill Twilight’s easily worried head, logic and basic reasoning took control. "Never mind. Have you talked with Mayor Mare about it? She's the only pony in town that can abolish the troop."

The pegasus sighed and face-hoofed. "Don't think you I tried? She was the first pony I talked to after I saw the flyer. She said she would need either more concrete proof to dissolve the troop, which means bad stuff has to happen to somepony, or Eagle has to disband the troop of his own accord."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

Rainbow Dash had an evil look in her eye as she smirked. "I was thinking the easy route."

A gleam seemed to spark from the unicorn’s eyes and an excited smile spread across her face. "Great! If you want, I could find any relevant studies from the Equestrian Psychology Association. Their studies help shape most modern Equestrian laws and will be the best evidence in your argument. "

Dash shook her head and groaned at her friend's proposed action. "I'm just gonna go talk to Eagle."

Twilight blushed, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, you could also do that." She said sheepishly. "What are you gonna do after he says no?"

"After our little talk," Dash confidently said, "he won't." She took off down Main Street without a second thought and left Twilight all to her lonesome.

"Oh...this is NOT going to end well." Twilight muttered as she started running after Rainbow Dash.
++++

Eagle’s Outdoor Emporium, a place chock full of camping supplies that anypony would ever need in a small town like Ponyville. There were stacks of tents that could fit the burliest of stallions and the biggest of families, packs and saddlebags for any occasion, even a small shelf lined with premiere survival guides. A dream store for any self-respecting outdoor enthusiast.

The store had been quiet for most of the morning, except for the ceiling fan that creaked and groaned as the props spun haphazardly. Sounds of pencil on paper emanated from the small office space hidden away behind a white door along the back wall.

“The new two pony tents from North Summit should be coming in from Baltimare by Friday.” Eagle mused to himself as he looked down at his work notes. "I need to replace the four Ranger backpacks that Dr. Whooves purchased earlier today, which means if the message for a new order doesn't get lost in transit...again, they should arrive at the post office by next Tuesday.

"The meeting with Bon-Bon and Lyra has been tentatively set for March 1st. They want to discuss a possible equipment list, who or where should they go to get proper training, and maybe get their hooves on a good map before setting the itinerary of their winter trip on the Eastern Mountain Trail. Depending on how successful that goes, expanding the business to include trek consulting will be a profitable addition." Seeing no other pressing matters from today's events, Eagle closed the notebook and put it to the side.

In a bored daze, he looked at one of the few pictures that decorated his rather tiny office. It showed a white pegasus with an above average built, a very short blue mohawk mane, and ruby red eyes sitting on top of a mountain with a tired grin on his face. Hard to believe that was me five years ago. Eagle thought to himself as he ran a hoof through his now silver mane.

Still kinda wish Dad's genetics didn't go beyond the wings and the good eyesight. Even though I shouldn't complain. The hair helped when I needed to build the connections to start this business, but come on! A little more positive attention from mares would be a welcome sight. Is that too much to ask for? He thought with a bit of spite. The usually wise subconscious didn't give him any epiphanies about his plight. Before he could start sweeping the shop for the fifth time that day, the small door chime ringed and two sets of hooves clip clopped inside. Eagle stopped his pondering with a shake of his head before walking out of his office and greeting the pair with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Eagle. How can I help you?"

Rainbow Dash seemed to be taken aback from the friendliness of the pony in front of her. She opened her mouth to answer, but quickly shut it after Twilight shot her a sideways glance. "Hello, Mr. Eagle. My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Rainbow Dash. We would like to talk to you about the scout troop you plan on leading."

"Pleased to meet you two." He raised his left hoof to shake with Twilight and Dash. Twilight politely shook it while Dash eyed at Eagle suspiciously before reluctantly shaking the hoof.

With the greetings aside, Eagle got down to business. "Is there anything in particular that you would like to know?"

Twilight seemed to not hear the question at first as she proceeded to walk deeper into the store before stopping in front of the shelf with first aid kits. "Can you tell me about the history of the Scouting program?" She asked with curiosity in her voice as she scrutinized the cases in front of her.

Eagle smiled at the question. "I would be happy to. The Equestrian Scouts started about a century ago, somewhere in the streets of Trottingham. An old Royal Army Colonel by the name of Powell got lost in the fog one night while searching for the inn he was staying at. When he stopped by a lamppost, a random colt approached him and guided Powell through the fog to his destination. Powell asked, 'Why did you help me?' and the colt replied, 'Because it was the right thing to do.' Before Powell could ask the colt anything else, he bid Powell farewell and walked back into the fog. Powell was amazed by this act of random kindness and began to think of a way to encourage this kind of behavior."

At this time, Eagle walked back into his office and snatched an old paperback book off of his desk before he continued speaking to the pair. "After returning to his home in Canterlot, he began writing a guide for colts that epitomized twelve characteristics: to be ever trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, thrifty, brave, clean, and clever. These points were inspired by his military training and education from living in the capital." He held the book up above his head, making sure it could be seen. "He titled it Scouting for Colts and it became immensely popular around Equestria." Eagle lowered his hoof and set the book down on the front desk.

"During the next few years, he began organizing the interested colts and their fathers into troops in Canterlot, Trottingham, and Manehatten. A year or so after the creation of those troops, some of those leaders and scouts spread out through Equestria and starting teaching the Scouting way. Since then, a number of scouts have joined the Royal Guard, became productive officials in both a public and royal setting, and some even joined the Wonderbolts."

Rainbow Dash's head whipped around at the mention of the word Wonderbolt. "Wait a second; you're saying that the Wonderbolts have scouts in their ranks?"

Eagle grinned. "Yes ma'am. First one was Iron Wing, head instructor for the academy during its starting years, then there was Cyclone, creator of the infamous smoke trails that they use, and Soarin, the co-captain of today's squad."

Rainbow Dash looked surprised after the statement. "Wow...I didn't expect that." She murmured.

"Despite well known examples like those ponies, scouting teaches good values that stick with its members throughout their lives and I'm proud for the opportunity to do that for the town of Ponyville." He said happily with a gleam in his eye. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Twilight took a step forward with a hungry look in her eyes as she stared back at the front desk. "I don't wish to impose, but would it be okay if I could look at the book you brought out earlier?"

Eagle was hesitant at first as he gave uneasy glances toward the guide and the unicorn. "By all means, just make sure you're careful with it."

After hearing the worried tone, Twilight smiled. "Thank you and I promise to be careful." The book was lifted off the desk in a purple haze and brought slowly in front of Twilight. As the pages started to turn at a gingerly pace, Eagle's previous apprehensiveness started to wane.

Suddenly, the feathers in his wings started to twitch and flutter at his sides, as if begging for him to get out of the way of some invisible danger. Eagle turned around and cursed inwardly. Rainbow Dash was staring at him and it wasn't in the 'I like you' way. "From what I heard, the Equestrian Scouts has been the center of controversy for quite awhile. Can you explain why that is?" Dash asked with a touch of venom in her voice.

"Oh ponyfeathers." Eagle muttered as the mare in front of him continued giving him the evil eye. "Yes, you have heard correctly, Miss Dash." He answered disdainfully. "The Scouts have been marred by many issues like the lack of a co-ed system, the ongoing verbal battle on whether or not dragons should be allowed in Scouts, and the exclusion of gays, but that cannot take away from the good things that the Scout movement have done for the citizens of Equestria. The--"

"What do you think about those issues?" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

Eagle's mouth hung open, "Why do you want to know?"

Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down on the wooden floor, causing Twilight to jump and turn her head toward the pair of pegasi. "Because I have seen some scouts do some dastardly things up in Cloudsdale and I want to make sure those things don't happen here!" She all but yelled, pointing a hoof at his face.

Twilight delicately placed the old guide onto an unfurled sleeping bag on display and walked up to Rainbow Dash. "Calm down Dash. We agreed that we would talk to him, not interrogate him."

"Oh come on, Twi'. It's just a simple question, he should be able to answer it no problem."

Before Twilight could argue against the notion, Eagle whistled sharply, causing both mares to look back toward him. Despite reaching the desired effect, the white pony let out a breath and looked away from the two. "She's right; I figured I'd be asked something like that at the meeting next week." He walked up to the front door, flipping the open sign to closed and turning back to the two. "You'll have to forgive me for these cautionary steps, if the head committee in Canterlot hears anything about my opinion on those matters, I can kiss my business goodbye. Do you understand?" Eagle said quietly.

Both stayed silent and nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. My views have usually favored the Equestrian Scouts in a positive light and I stood by them for most of my life, but these new problems that have come into the picture over the past few years have really started to change some of my steadfast beliefs. Because of the social mindset when the scouting program was first structured, girls were completely out of the question. Today, however, the lack of a co-ed system, that could allow girls to share the same learning experience that the boys get, is a travesty. I could think of so many fillies that could have benefited from that and it makes my stomach sick to think that gender is still that big of an issue. When it comes to the ongoing debate on whether dragons should be allowed in scouting, I prefer to stay out of those."

Twilight's ears perked up, "Why are dragons trying to join the Equestrian Scouts? Judging from what I have seen, dragons have a severe distaste with anything pony related."

Eagle shrugged. "Ma'am, I don't know exactly when this sort of thing started happening. All I heard is that a young dragon in Canterlot got rejected by a troop or two and went to the Scouting HQ for answers. Turns out he lit a powder keg of controversy and my superiors have been arguing about it for the past year. My experience with dragons is practically nonexistent, but judging on how well the Griffins took to the scouting, I don't see any problem by allowing them in."

Twilight brought hoof up to her chin and started to get lost in her thoughts as Eagle continued his explanation. "And regarding my thoughts about the banning of gays in the Equestrian Scouts are...biased to say the least."

Rainbow Dash looked warily at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Eagle sighed, knowing he may have sent the wrong signal, "Sorry about that, I think it would better if I showed you why." He walked back into his office and pulled out a worn black wallet from a drawer. He pulled a small white square from one of the pouches and returned to the seething Rainbow Dash. He hoofed over the picture to her. It showed two young colts, one was a younger version of Eagle and the other a brown unicorn with a maroon mane. Both were side by side with a foreleg around each other's shoulders.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, "What's this supposed to show?"

"My oldest friend, Buck." Eagle said with a glazed look in his eyes and a smile on his lips. "Both of us joined troop 326 in Fillydelphia when we turned eleven and we got stuck in the same patrol. I got voted to be the leader and he was elected as my assistant. Hehehe, I almost didn't like him at first. He was always so eccentric, had a joke for every occasion, and by Celestia, can he talk your ear off. He used to drive me nuts. Thankfully, that changed over the years as we grew closer as friends."

Then, his face darkened and the grin was gone. "Then during our last year in scouts, just after I got back from a two week canoe trip up in small town called Ely, Buck asked me to come over to his place. Didn't say why at first, just saying he needed to tell me something. When I got there, his parents were gone and many of the family photos around his home seemed to have vanished. I found him in his room, his uniform in tatters and bawling his eyes out on the bed. He kept saying 'Please don't hate me, Please don't hate me...' as he rocked himself back and forth. I tried my best to calm him down, asked about what happened, why he was like this."

Rainbow Dash gasped and Twilight was broken out her trance as Eagle slammed his hoof down, "I didn't care that Buck was gay, Tartarus, it was the furthest thing from my mind at that point. What pissed me off was when he said that scouts from our troop caused him to confess. Ponies that I had known for most of my life caused this hurricane of pain. After that, all I could see was red...and I didn't care. I wanted to hurt them back. I wanted make them feel what he was going through. I almost got that chance if Buck didn't stop me with that magic of his. Leave it to him to keep a cool head during a crisis."

Eagle let out a deep sigh. "It took a few weeks to patch up the relationship with his parents and the Scouts in our area basically denied his existence after news spread. Not to mention, the constant badgering in town got to a point where his family moved out to a quiet little village out west."

Eagle turned back toward Rainbow Dash. "So yeah, I think I'm allowed to be biased toward that particular rule."

Silence overtook the room. Rainbow Dash looked shamefully down at floor as Eagle breathed deeply to soothe his emotions. Then, Twilight piped up. "Then why start a troop after all that? It's obvious that you have a problem with how things are run, so why do it?"

Eagle paused and picked the book off the sleeping bag. He looked over it, inspecting for any new markings of damage. "It's simple really. If I have the chance to show the good things I got from the scouting program: the self-reliance, the ability to lead effectively, the joy of being in the outdoors, and to live by the twelve points of the scout law. If I can do that, I know I can make things better for everypony."

He walked back into his office and put the book back on the desk. "Unless you have any more questions, I would like to propose an offer." Hearing nothing, Eagle grabbed two white packets from a desk drawer. "What I have here are assistant scoutmaster applications. I'm looking for ponies in town to help me out with this troop and judging from our little conversation, both of you sound ideal. I only ask that you look these over and come to the meeting if you're interested. If not, can't say I didn't try."

After being hoofed over a packet, Rainbow Dash looked at Eagle in disbelief. "Hold up. I come in here, trying to find a way to sabotage your troop, and now you're offering me a job?"

"I agree with Dash on this. It does seem odd that you want us to help you."

This caused Eagle to laugh for a short while. "If this was your idea of sabotage, I can only imagine what you can think of when its for good intentions.”Rainbow Dash glared at him as his laughter started to subside. “Look, I don't condemn your reasons, heck, that's one of the reasons why I think this is a good idea. I would rather have ponies that think for the cheer of their fellows than ones that would blindly follow orders. And the way I see it, I could get two great ponies that could help turn the Equestrian Scouts for the better."

The room became quiet as both Twilight and Dash looked down at forms in their hooves."I need some time to think about this."

"By all means, take all the time you need. Won't hurt my feelings any if you both say no."

Five gongs from the clock on the wall grabbed Twilight's attention. "Oh, I need to start heading back home. Spike must be worried sick after the way I left him."

“Yeah, sorry for dragging you through this Twilight. Any way I can make it up to you?” Rainbow Dash said as she scratched the back of her head.

The offer caused Twilight to smirk. “I think a new friendship report will be enough.”

Rainbow Dash let out a quiet grumble in defeat. “If that’s what you want, mind if I tag along back to your place? Knowing me, I’d forget about it as soon as I got home.”

“Sure. You can also apologize to Spike while you’re at it.”

“There’s that too.” Rainbow Dash said after rolling her eyes.

The defiant gesture was met with a short disapproving look from the unicorn.With a slight shoulder shrug, Rainbow Dash made her way to the exit. “See you later Eagle.” She called out as the door opened and closed behind her. He gave her a half hearted salute as she walked past the window.

“Thank you for your time. I hope we didn’t cause too much stress with our questions.” Twilight said.

Eagle shook his head, “It’s not a problem. I faced down bigger threats than two concerned citizens. But before you go, one thing got me wondering. What’s a friendship report?”

“Um...to put it briefly, its a letter I send to Princess Celestia describing the life lessons I learn here in Ponyville.”

Before Eagle could blab out a response, Rainbow Dash tapped on the display window.“Twilight! You coming or what?”

Twilight sighed, “Gotta go. I’ll let you know about my answer as soon as possible.”

As soon as the door closed, Eagle’s eyes shrunk to the size of pins and he started to twitch. “She sends letters to Princess Celestia...” His words echoed through the shop, filling his heart with absolute dread. “Oh crap...I may have just caused the downfall of Scouting.”

++++

Three days passed without incident, which gave a great amount relief to Eagle. As the last customer walked out of his shop, leaving it quiet for the first time all morning.With a happy groan, He sat at his desk and began recording the day's events in the same beat up notebook. No clear explanation on how sales have continued to increase by a noticeable rate. I need to send a resupply order for more lanterns and water-proof matches tomorrow. Hopefully none of the packs gets exhausted by the time the next shipment comes next week. On a Scouting note--

The bell chimed and the distinct rhythm of horseshoes approached his desk. Eagle looked up at the pony with a look of surprise. “Speak of the manticore, I honestly didn’t expect to get an answer so soon.” The pony placed a familiar stack of papers onto his desk. Eagle looked skeptically at it and the mare before sliding it in front of him and inspecting each page with a careful eye. After the last page passed satisfactorily, Eagle smiled. “And I figured you would need help with this little burden.” The pony stayed silent, a small smirk gracing her lips. Eagle stood up and walked to the shelf on the wall, pulling out a recently filled red binder. “I’m glad you decided to help, we got a lot of work to do.”

Author's Note

And before anyone asks, no, this was not inspired by the filly scout in last week's episode. This was an idea that had been floating around my head ever since totallynotabrony joked about me writing a scouting-centric story and some of the hate I got from being a Boy Scout.

Feel free to comment and thank you for reading.