//------------------------------// // 4 - Master and Student? // Story: I'll Fly Higher // by PageTurner //------------------------------// Fluttershy knocked at Scootaloo's door, biting the inside of her cheek when Scoot made no effort to reply. At least she had stopped crying. "Scootaloo, you have a visitor. Can she come in?" There still wasn't any reply, but by pressing her ear to the door Fluttershy swore that she could hear the faint sound of hiccups a couple of seconds apart. She took this as a good a sign as any and pushed the door open, ushering Rainbow Dash inside. "Just... please be gentle. Okay?" Rainbow rolled her eyes, focusing on keeping the two steaming bowls of celery and carrot soup on her back from spilling all over her and the floor. She didn't need another trip back to the hospital for soup burns so soon after the incident with her broken wing, Daring Doo, and the crazy guy convinced that she was stealing his slippers. It was highly unlikely that any of the staff had many fond memories of her after that. Waving away Fluttershy with her wing to get her to go somewhere to do whatever it was she did to stop panicking about everything, Dash stepped closer to Scootaloo's bed. A soft click of the door let her know that Flutts was gone. It was probably for the best; from what Fluttershy had told her, it most likely wasn't the greatest of ideas to have more than one pony at a time fussing over the Squirt. Though Dash's version of "fussing" was a little bit different than everypony else's. Putting the two bowls of soup on Scootaloo's desk, which was slightly cluttered but still had defined piles of various types of stuff to keep new spaces clear for other various types of stuff, Dash really looked around the bedroom for the first time. She wasn't sure if all the posters, drawings, and memorabilia of her was flattering or downright creepy. The rainbow wig hanging off of Scoot's closet door definitely fell in the latter category, but otherwise Dash tried to sort it into the former simply because she liked Scoot well enough that it was probably best not to be too weirded out by the things she did. Or collected. One picture that particularly caught her eye was one of a crudely drawn Rainbow Dash flying past a moon that looked more like a cookie, with a smaller orange and purple mass that she assumed had to be the Squirt keeping pace next to her. Dash silently prayed to the Diarchs that this picture was drawn a long time ago, and not, say, last week. Trying, and not doing a very good job at succeeding, to ignore the brightly-hued onslaught of her plastered in every square inch of the bedroom, Dash tried using the most caring voice she could muster. She didn't do a very good job at it, all things considering. "He-ey there, Squirt. How're ya feeling?" She nudged the largest bundle of sheets, which proceeded to shift slightly and then hiccup. That wasn't normal blanket behaviour. She flipped the blankets off Scoot, who was quite the sight to behold. Her mane was slightly matted and tangled from being in her bed all day, her eyes were red and gunky, and a mess of dried tears were splotched around her muzzle. Scootaloo needed many things at the moment, the forefront of them being a bath. "R-rainbow Dash?" Scoot's voice was slightly *hoarse from crying, and Dash could only imagine how hard (and painful) it was for the Squirt to talk because of it. "Shh, it's fine. How's about we get you cleaned up before we get some food in your belly, huh? You look like a train hit you." Dash winced when she said that. She meant well, she really and truly did, but sometimes the words that came out of her mouth... Scoot didn't really register the fact that Rainbow Dash was in her room so much as the fact that Rainbow Dash, the greatest pony and fastest flier in all of Equestria, was in her room. On any other occasion, she would be ecstatic about this. Too bad it wasn't any other occasion. "... You look like a train hit you." This was probably true: Scootaloo hadn't gotten out of bed all day and had spent most of her time crying. A bath would be great right about now. All that crying had left her tired, but she couldn't stand being in bed a second longer. Besides, her wings were cramping up. Oh right, her wings. Those stupid wings, more of a decoration than a tool now, thanks to the fact that something that wasn't even her bucking fault was going to keep her grounded for the rest of her life. She groaned, though Dash took this more as a sign of encouragement that she was awake and ready to get out of bed. She found herself being scooped up in Dash's forelegs and carried off to the bathroom for some major cleaning. Half an hour later, and Scoot's damp mane was air-drying while she ate her soup in a probably-too-fast manner. Thankfully, the soup had cooled down considerably while Scootaloo had bathed, otherwise it might have been wiser to actually use a spoon. "Woah, there Squirt. That soup's not gonna run away from ya if you don't eat it at lightning speed." Dash's hearty cackle snapped Scoot back to the realization that her idol was eating soup with her, in her bedroom. This was both the best and the worst day ever. But mainly the best. But also the worst. As Scoot finished off the last drop of soup, licking bits of celery off of her muzzle, she got an idea. The doctor said that Mr. Snowflake trains so that he can fly. I don't really want to look as scary and bulgy as him, but... "Rainbow Dash, will you give me flying lessons?" The question, though not unanticipated, was still a little startling to Dash, who had been eating her own soup in a comparatively almost civil manner. Flying lessons? She knew Scootaloo couldn't fly yet, but from what Fluttershy had told her, there was very little chance that she would ever be able to. Dash didn't want to be the one to completely crush Scoot's dreams, but she also didn't want to let her number one fan down. It also didn't help that Scootaloo had evidently been taking lessons from Sweetie Belle on the proper form and usage of puppy dog eyes. This was a battle she was going to lose no matter which side she took. What was it that Twilight said? Choosing the lesser evil? Scootaloo's gonna hate me for this... "Sure Squirt. Let me finish this soup and grab Fluttershy from whatever she's been up to downstairs. Then we'll see about some flight lessons." Scootaloo's orange face lit up so brightly with utter glee at the idea, Dash couldn't help but get the mental image of a Nightmare Night pumpkin. She immediately felt terrible, both for thinking about such a thing and for what was about to happen. Celestia give her strength.