//------------------------------// // Everyone Flies, No One Fails // Story: Junior Flight Camp: The Crusader and the Bullhead // by Wise Cracker //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Everyone Flies, No One Fails “Okay, just step on the metal disks, this’ll only take few minutes.” Twilight put the filly back down on the ground and motioned to the four disks. They had little outcroppings around the edges, making them look more like dishes, probably to help her get a grip.   Scootaloo’s heart was pounding. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t warned her, the sheer nerves of getting flight lessons from Twilight Sparkle would have made her pass out, especially at the thought of it all being over in a matter of minutes. As she stepped on the metal things, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves.  All the worrying, all the tension, this would be it.   “Now, Lyra’s going to be keeping an eye on you from the side so we can pinpoint the problem.  Don’t worry about anything, just do your best, okay?” Twilight felt that this was probably about as tense an experience for Scootaloo as the entrance exam to Celestia’s Academy had been for her. Having seen what nerves could do to a pegasus’ ability to fly, she couldn't afford to let the filly be too tense. The purple-maned filly nodded, a little light-headed from the excitement but determined to finally see this through. “Okay, I think I’m ready.” With a little concentration and magic, Twilight raised up the disks so Scootaloo was off the ground, and her front hooves were raised as if she was on her scooter. “First I need to check how much force you can generate, so let’s start with what you know. Flap your wings slowly like you do on your scooter. If your hooves are a little higher or lower than they normally are, adjust your posture. We need to make sure it’s the exact same position.” With another deep breath to calm herself, Scootaloo started slowly flapping her wings, just like she always did on her scooter. She bent down to get the angle, again following her habit, and started waving the little things back and forth in the proper rowing motion she’d seen from every other flying creature in Equestria, save dragons and flying squirrels. She could feel the piercing eyes of the nurse on her as every move was carefully analysed and the disks were turned to push against her forward motion. She couldn’t let embarrassment at being stared at stop her, not this time. Twilight pushed the disks back as the filly went, carefully keeping her in place and feeling out what sort of force she could generate.   “Okay, good. Now speed up a little. I’ll give a counter-push so you don’t fall off.” Twilight had to brace herself as much as Scootaloo did. This would be the deciding moment. The flapping turned to humming, and Scootaloo could feel that familiar woosh of the air going past her wings and pushing her forward with every little motion. This was how much she had to do to pull a cart, or her friends, and still make good speed. “Looking good, Scootaloo. I’m just gonna put a little sand there to make sure.” Lyra levitated a small satchet filled with powder over Scootaloo’s wings. Scootaloo felt a little bit of sparkling dust trailing past her wings, but she was too focused on her task to dare turn around. She sped up some more, pushing into the disks with full power.   “Yep, just like you said, Twilight.” Lyra sounded happy for some reason. “Okay, you can slow down now.” Twilight smiled in triumph.   Carefully, the orange filly slowed down, making sure Twilight didn’t accidentally shove her off the clouds. She stayed put in mid-air, on the disks. Twilight lowered the ones at her front hooves to keep the filly comfortable, supported on all fours. “So what is it? What’s wrong with me?” Lyra just smiled. “Relax, kid, nothing’s wrong. Did you see where the tension is, Twi?” Scootaloo’s gaze went from one aloof grownup to another. “Yes. Scootaloo, I’d like you raise your shoulders, please, and keep your chest level, don’t stick it out.” Twilight showed the proper form. Though confused, Scootaloo assumed the pose. “Just like that. Now straighten your back, don’t make an arch.” Twilight was sounding like miss Cheerilee by now. Again, Scootaloo followed orders. She felt quite silly, posing like that. She must have looked like she was stuck halfway into a shrug or something.   “Good, now close your eyes and start flapping, about the same pace as you’d go when you’re dragging a cart behind you and go at light trotting speed.” Twilight squinted, doing some math in her head or faking it. Scootaloo sighed. She did as she was told, but she knew this old trick. This was what grownups liked to think of as a universal solution to any problem kids had: distraction. They’d be convinced that the foals could do whatever they set their hearts to, and that only a lack of confidence held them back. Even as Scootaloo went up to normal speed in a slightly awkward posture, she felt her heart sink. “Umm, Twilight? I appreciate the effort, but --” “Open your eyes,” Twilight said with a smile. Of course she knew Scoot was smart enough to see through a little diversion. But there were mechanics involved in this, not just petty preconceptions on her part. The filly closing her eyes wasn’t to ensure that she’d be too distracted to keep herself down. It was to make sure she didn’t notice the disks were currently on the ground. “What?" At the back of Scootaloo’s mind, something told her this was a trick, that she was dreaming, that she was standing on an invisible ladder Discord had left with her name on it.   “I’m not holding you up, Scootaloo. You’re flying, on your own,” Twilight solemnly declared. The filly’s heart was throbbing at this point. After all this time, all that wanting, hoping, she was finally doing it. She was aloft, she felt born again borne on the strength of her wings. She didn’t dare move out of fear of falling. If her friends could see her now, if her parents only knew. A force on her back and a rough bellyflop into the ground interrupted that train of thought, her first crash since arriving. Whimper had caught her every time in training, but he wasn’t around now. Lyra gave the little pegasus a sympathetic smile. Did she just knock me out of the sky? “What was that for? I was finally flying!” “I’m sorry, but I had to. If you’re used to living on the ground, your first time flying triggers some new instincts, makes you get scared of the ground. It can get pretty overwhelming, I've seen it happen. You don't want that kind of embarrassment in front of the rest, do you?” “No, but… I flew, but I don’t know how. I mean, can I go up again?” She tried again, pushing out her chest and lowering her shoulders, the same posture she’d seen every pegasus assume when preparing to lift off. She jumped up and down in a frantic pace, but she couldn’t get lift. She’d had a taste of heaven, literally, and she’d lost it already. Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “You can fly, but not like that. Here, feel this?” Scootaloo felt a hoof go right under her wing and press into a very tender nerve spot. The numbing pain shot from the base of her wing right to the muscles over her sternum, making her whole chest sore. “Ow.” “And do you feel this?” Another rough poke, this time right in front of her wingbase, and this one the filly felt right up to just beside her collarbone, like some sort of nerve pinch in her shoulders. “Ow!” Twilight backed off. Her first response of getting clinical wasn’t likely to win her any popularity contests, but she needed this to be clear. “Your wing muscles are a little different from other pegasi’s. Normally the ones that connect your wings to your ribcage, your stabilisers, are quite firm and tight. The ones for upwards and downwards rotation, at the back and front of the wings, are flexible. With you, it’s the other way around.” “What does that mean? That my wings are bad?” Lyra rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with your wings, Scootaloo. You’ve got plenty of power in them, more than enough to carry yourself and fly. Your only problem is that when you move your shoulders and chest to lift off, what you wind up doing is curling your wings downward.” Scootaloo tried to visualise it. Twilight floated two of the disks towards her. “It’s best if I just show you. Extend your wings, put them out straight and horizontal.” She did as she was asked, and the disks were placed on her little chicken-wings. They were light, but balancing them would be tricky with her small wingspan. “You’re sure your wings are straight?” Twilight asked. Scootaloo turned her head. She had to crane her neck to really check it. “They feel straight. I can’t really tell.” “Just wait and see, then.” Twilight released her magic hold on the disks. The disks slid forward.   Lyra picked them up and held them at an angle to explain. “See, your wings aren’t too small to fly, you have innate pegasus magic to make sure of that, but they’re probably too small to keep an eye on while you’re trying to fly. So you only had muscle tension to check your positioning, which is just off in your case. It’s a simple thing, really, but it takes a keen eye to notice with the speeds you flap at. Once you correct that, well, you’re flying just like any other pegasus, really." Twilight nodded. “What you need to know is that for flight, all you’d have to do differently is tilt your wings backwards, not forwards. The way you’ve been going, the wind is pushing you down as you go forward, not up.” “Wait, you mean to tell me that all this time, I couldn’t fly because of a posture problem?” The orange filly was incredulous. Miss Cheerilee would never let her live this down if she caught wind of it. Twilight thought it over for a moment, looking for the right words. “Not quite. You couldn’t fly because you were trained to stay on the ground. All that scooting around, all those stunts across Ponyville? You worked your muscles differently from other pegasus ponies, so you grew differently. Actually, come to think of it, the way your wings are is probably the whole reason you’re good on your scooter. You can get up to high speeds without  taking off because your wings push you down like the fins on racing carts. I’ll bet you even lean back when you jump to stop yourself from falling.” “I-I don’t know what to say.” Scootaloo carefully adjusted her position. It was awkward, to the point of nearly cramping, but she was sure she could get it right. Twilight gave her wing a gentle rub. It would work itself out if she stretched in the right places, but for now awkward flying was better than not flying at all. “Perfect. Just like that.” Twilight beamed like the proud teacher she was right then. ”Feel like trying out your new mobility? I’m sure Rainbow Dash will have the boys sweating from the warm-up by now.” With a little hop and a careful buzz of her wings, Scootaloo took off again. She hovered over the ground just to make sure she could, staying a little above Twilight’s eye level for the sake of it. A wicked grin appeared as the possibilities soared through her mind. “Oh yeah. I’m ready to have those guys eating my dust.” “Please, Scootaloo, don’t let Rainbow Dash hear you say that sort of thing,” Twilight chided her as they took off. ”Lyra, thanks for your help.” Unfazed by the remark, Scootaloo returned to the ground. Better to have it be a surprise. “Yeah, thanks a lot, Lyra. You don’t know how much this means to me.” “No problem, kid, it’s what I’m here for.” Indeed, the thought of having helped a filly with her flight problem was moving, to say the least. It was just this sort of intense experiences that an artist could draw on to keep their creativity going. With a content smile and the pair out to the training grounds, Lyra headed back to her office to work out some steam on her lyre.   When the nurse was out earshot, Twilight finished her reaction to Scootaloo’s unsportscoltlike boast. “At this height, it’s ‘eat my vapour’, not ‘eat my dust’.”  To Obsidian Storm, You were right in warning me as soon as possible. We can't afford to lose precious time if we're to set up an ambush for the monster. I've sent word to the nearest patrols to be on alert, and to keep an eye on the roads for any odd mists that might conceal the thing.   However, if this does turn out to be a case of crying timberwolf, we will have to make sure we're not missing any genuine sightings. Report with more information as soon as you can confirm the creature’s involvement, and leave no detail unchecked. I shall expect a full report of what transpired, naturally including a list of evidence to either confirm or deny the other recent sightings. If this turns out to be yet another ill-conceived prank, you may consider yourself tasked with sifting the reliable information of the other sightings from the dredge. I am certain you are up to it, should the need arise. Captain Shining Armour Rainbow Dash sprang up from her push-up posture as her class finished their last rep. “Okay, everypony’s nice and warmed up, let’s do some rounds on the track.” Skyron grunted when he saw Scootaloo and Twilight head their way. “How come chicken-wing didn’t warm up with the rest of us? Scootacooties need a bug spray?” Whimper glared at the boy, but Scootaloo took the little jab with a flair. She fluttered her eyelashes in an uncharacteristically girlish way. “Oh, I’m warmed up enough, I just needed some private time. Girl things, you know. I could go first if you’re not feeling up to it.” To that, Zephyr scowled. “That’ll be the day. Are we being timed on this?” “Nope, we don't time your first tries, this is just to get used to it. It’s five laps training for speed first. You start here, you finish when you reach the other end of the court over there.” Rainbow Dash pointed to the other side of the track. “You wait your turn after every one, so try and pace yourself a little.” “Pace myself, huh?” the lavender colt started, before dashing off with a blue and yellow streak in his wake. Wings ablaze with sheer energy, he soared over the course, leaning into the curves before giving one final push before the finish line.   “Umm… Rainbow Dash…” Whimper whispered. “I know, I know, you can’t fly too fast. Just wait your turn and when you have to go, do your first lap at quick trot speed. You know, double time, like a fast march. Then speed up for the next lap, then slow down, you’ll get used to it. Trust me, I’ve had slow flyers on my Weather Patrols. It’ll work out,” Dash whispered back. The colt could feel the obvious stares of his peers boring into his back. Asking grownups for help was always a good way of making yourself look bad. Skyron went next, and he bolted as fast around the course as his team mate. Scootaloo kept her eye on her friend, and she figured he was making the same face she was when she was falling the whole time.   “Well, if you’re sure,” Whimper tried. “I’m sure. I’m a pro, remember?” Dash tried to beam some confidence unto him, and his weak smile in reply seemed to indicate success at such.   Skyron came in with a proud swoop, and Rumble took his place at the starting line. He was the slowest of the bunch yet, but he still got a respectable speed. He wasn’t going at full-on sprinting speed, but then at a long court like the one they were on that wasn’t really a surprise for a pony who didn’t spend all his time racing around.   “Okay, Whimper or Scootaloo?” Twilight asked. “You go,” Whimper said. ”You’ve had to wait long enough.” Scootaloo was about to reply something incredibly corny, but given the company she decided against it.   The filly lined up for take-off. Back straight, shoulders in position, wings a little uncomfortable, but straight. She tuned out the little teasing the colts gave her, the only thing she really cared about was the looks that mattered: Rainbow Dash’s anticipation, Twilight’s pride, and Whimper’s worry.   Let’s see what these chicken wings can do now… To Captain Shining Armour, the doctors just gave me clearance to see the colt and filly. They have been struck, no doubt about that. By what, I do not know for certain. Their blood is being drawn for investigation as we speak, but I must confess my first glance has indicated that they, at least, were not pulling a prank.   The colt, named Doldrum Whimper, looked in particularly bad shape. Most of his body, save his wings, appears to have been scrubbed with sand paper, or rubbed against nettles. His skin is awash with irritation, and he's barely breathing. His throat showed claw markings, suggesting something strangled him. The doctors are still treating him, and they are not speaking of any magic used on him, nor his friend, so we’ve had to resort to the standard safety shielding before my initial questioning. Their insistence on quarantine is understandable, of course.   The filly, one Peachy Pie (blood relative to the Element of Laughter), gave off a decidedly confused and distracted impression when I first tried to talk to her. No doubt she is still recovering from the shock, but she’s suffered no physical injuries. The girl doesn’t seem to understand the severity of what’s happened. Her tongue moves faster than even a unicorn can move a quill, and most of the things she’s saying sound like gibberish or make belief. But then, an encounter with something that even remotely resembles Kludde can do that to a pony. Shock aside, she does sound like she fell under the creature’s spell.   I will interview the filly properly once the medical staff gives me the green flag and assures me that she’s lucid. She is out of harm’s way at this point. Of the colt, I am not certain. As far as I know, friction burns or contact poisons are not among Kludde’s arsenal, so we may still be dealing with a prank gone out of hand or a creature of a very different nature. It was the boy's aunt who brought them in, and apparently she fainted after rushing the pair to the hospital. She wasn’t near the attack, she doesn’t know what happened, either way. Neither the filly's nor the colt's parents know what exactly transpired, only they do. But we have confirmed contact, sir. The water devil was here. I’ve already sent my squad towards the scene of the attack, I expect them to report back to me any time now. My next letter will be a full overview of all the facts regarding this matter. In the meantime, readying the special forces to head for Bogsdown is in order. The creature may still be in the area.   Squad Commander Obsidian Storm Scootaloo panted heavily, though exertion had nothing to do with it. She’d crossed the finish line, and while she wasn’t being timed, she was pretty sure she’d beaten the boys. She felt giddy with excitement, finally she could fly just like Rainbow Dash. She was sure she’d almost left a trail, too. Rumble, despite deciding to join the teasing jocks, showed his gallant side with a smile. “Way to go, Scootaloo.” It wasn’t much, but it was the closest the filly would get to receiving praise from her friends back home, at least until camp was over.   So this was what flying fast felt like. The laws of inertia blocking you every step of the way, the defiance of a silly filly against the laws of physics. It felt like staring gravity itself in the eye and telling it to take its business elsewhere. To think she’d spent all that time moping, pondering, worrying about the thing that set pegasi apart, the one skill they needed to use their magic, even.   All those little verbal jabs of the high-flyers, those little pangs of loneliness and feeling useless, all those bad memories met  with one response now.   Totally worth it.  Rainbow Dash gave the filly a proud look and a nod, which only made her feel even giddier. It had finally happened.  She’d finally gotten the approval she’d longed for.   This was turning out to be the best day ever. She walked over as Whimper took off. He wasn’t going fast at all, barely a quick march. His wings beat a steady pace, same as when they warmed up to run. He leaned into the turns alright, but he never got any real speed. Scootaloo’s sense of victory faded at the sight, but she couldn’t really think of a reason why. He was going to get better, he would be faster soon, why should she feel bad about him? Maybe because she couldn’t watch his back, nor he hers, when she was soaring in the distance in front of him. Scootaloo had an epiphany then; Rainbow Dash was faster than anypony else in Equestria. If there was ever any trouble with her friends, she would be the first to respond. But if anything ever happened to her? If nopony can keep up with you, that means there’s no other pony where you are. It means that unless you slow down, you wind up alone. Rainbow Dash read the filly like an open book. “Don’t worry about Whimper, really. He’s just not used to it, that’s all. He’ll catch up. He’s not gonna get left behind, not on my watch.” Eventually, the colt made it to the finish line. He breathed in deep through his nose, but a little faster than before. He breathed in through his mouth a few times, taking a few quick gulps despite his lower speed. “Okay, next lap,” Rainbow Dash announced as Twilight moved over to Whimper. “Are you alright? Remember, in through the nose, right down to the belly, out through the mouth.” Twilight checked his breath.   “Oh, don’t worry about little W-” “Don’t say it, Skyron,” Whimper flat-out threatened. ”Unless you want me to tell everypony in school that our bad apple captain got beaten by a girl.” Twilight was going to say something at the colt’s tone, but the white jock went wide-eyed just as his classmate got back and her response got caught up in the moment. His confidence was looking better, at least. Better to leave him be for a bit and let him give some rebuttal to his bullies.   Skyron scowled. “Not like anyone would believe you.” “They will if the girl shows up and beats him again.” Scootaloo joined in as Skyron went off for his second lap. The colts remained quiet, including Rumble. They just lined up for their laps, one by one. When Whimper’s turn came again, Dash offered her standard training advice. “Your first lap wasn’t bad, but now you need to beat faster. Faster pace, shallow wingbeats. Got it?” “Got it.” Whimper looked determined to get his reputation as a slowpoke out of the way at last.   Twilight pondered Dash’s choice of training. Interval training was a good way of increasing speed, switching slow and strong beats with fast and more shallow wing movements, then of course combining the two for top speed. As the dark blue pegasus burst out of the starting line, Twilight kept her eye on those wings. She couldn’t quite figure out why he’d be slower than other pegasi, aside from his bulk. Actually, even his bulk might not make that much of a difference. Snow Flake had proportions that were a lot more out of whack than Whimper’s, and even he got up to respectable speeds compared to Rainbow Dash. In fact, he was one of the faster ones on Hurricane Day.   It didn’t make any sense. When Whimper tried to fly with quick flaps like Scootaloo did, he got to a good speed, just like her. The only reason he’d really be slower than anypony else was because he didn’t want to go fast. Then again, given how he’d acted before, it might just have been his personality. He came in panting a little, but Rumble was panting as well. You were supposed to pant from exercise, that was the whole point. There was, as far as she could tell, nothing wrong with him. Whimper did get a few glares from the other colts, though, probably from the attention the mares were giving him. She averted her gaze from him to stop it from getting worse.   Scootaloo kept it to herself, but she’d figured out by now what the other thing was they called Whimper, namely ‘teacher’s pet’. That was a lot worse than ‘Wimpie’, at least for macho colts like he seemed to be stuck with. Still, Scootaloo was sure he’d be feeling better at the end of camp. All the kids in her class were pretty much teacher’s pets, including Rumble.   “All right, nopony else need help with keeping up?” Rainbow Dash had a knack for reading the faces of the little ones. No one dared admit that they needed help like Whimper and Scootaloo had, which was enough reason to keep the issue to themselves for lap number 3.   “Good job, Whimper. Told you you could do it.” Scootaloo patted his neck as he panted and sighed. “Uh huh.” Whimper smiled back, his wings kept up high as he caught his breath again. ”I’m nowhere near as fast as you, though.” “Don’t worry about it, you’ll catch up.” The filly beamed as she went for her third lap. He was almost as fast as she was, actually, but if he didn’t feel that way, she wasn’t about to stop him from wanting to improve. Rainbow Dash leaned in to whisper. “Save your strength for the last lap, okay? You’re doing great, you just need to show these guys you’re as fast as they are. Last lap, you go at top speed, full and fast beats. Slow and deep now, fast and shallow next, top speed last. Think you can do it?” Whimper was breathing a little heavily through his mouth. Rainbow Dash figured it was just from holding back for so long. He didn’t let any doubt show, though, much to her delight. “Yes. I can do this.” And just as Scootaloo came in again, Whimper got back into the good form of steady and deliberate flaps of the wing pushing him forward, steady breaths, he was looking good.   Zephyr chuckled when the bullhead finished. “Well, you’re lasting longer than usual. Normally you only get one --” “I’m warning you, don’t say it, Zephyr.” Whimper glared at his classmate as he spoke. ”Not this time.” “Fine.” The lavender pegasus flashed him a cocky grin as he lined up to the starting line for lap 4. ”Suit yourself.” “Am I missing something here?” Rumble asked Skyron. The bullhead wriggled his shoulders awkwardly, like he had an itchy back but didn’t want to show it, but the glare in his eyes hadn’t faded. Skyron wasn’t about to dare him in front of the teachers, not to mention the crazy filly. Everyone raced across the track, everyone caught their breaths again, it was turning to routine. The only thing that seemed to change was Whimper. When he finished his fourth lap, he was breathing through his mouth again, and he insisted on keeping his wings up stiff for some reason. More worryingly, his belly didn’t move when he breathed, only his chest did. Twilight called him out on the bad habit. “Come on, Whimper, like we told you, breathe in through the nose, let it go deep, out through the mouth.” Twilight demonstrated the good form again, which brought a little cough from the young colt as he tried to mimic it. It sounded dry. No surprise there, really, since low fat percentage means low water reserves, and being quick to get a dry throat. It did worry her a little, though, but Scootaloo was keeping closer track of him than Twilight was. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Scootaloo asked. Her last lap was coming up.   “Just getting my bearings. I’ve never gone this fast for this long before.” He smiled shyly, his head bobbing up and down as he breathed. Twilight bit her lip. “Maybe you should lie down?” Whimper’s head snapped up. “What? No, I’m fine. I don’t need to lie down. Not in front of them.” Twilight looked at the smirking boys, who seemed intent on keeping their distance from the two who needed help. Hold on. Are they waiting for something? Rainbow Dash interrupted her train of thought. “Let him go, Twilight. Of course he’s out of breath, he’s never done this before. I’ll bet his gym teacher never bothered to give him proper training, either, right?” Whimper looked up at Twilight. “That’s right. I’ve never done this sort of thing before, and I’m getting faster already. Can I please keep going?” Rainbow nodded. “You can keep going, you’ll be fine. Scootaloo, you’re up.” Scootaloo took her position at the starting line again and looked at her friend with a mix of sympathy and regret. Somehow, this wasn’t how she’d pictured her first flight. It felt like he was falling behind, no matter what he tried. He was as fast as anyone, but it took him more effort. Her problem had been fixed in a matter of minutes. His problem persisted, and getting help only made him look worse.   She realised what it was that really bothered her. Scootaloo considered Whimper a friend, even if they’d only met so recently. So far, all her friends were the ones she shared her problems with. She thought she’d shared one problem with Whimper, but now that was gone.  Now she wanted to share a joy, the joy of flying, and she couldn’t. She was enjoying herself with her problem fixed, and he couldn’t because his problem was still there. It just rubbed her the wrong way. “Well, go on. Don’t let me hold you up.” Whimper’s breathing got back to more or less normal pace.   She bolted off once again, top speed. If anyone back home saw her, they’d think she’d gotten a pinch of some of Rainbow Dash’s awesome. It certainly felt that way, the track blurring beneath her hooves as she went. She was sure she was making a trail as she went now, and it was awesome. And yet, it felt off.   She didn’t feel like this would get her a cutie mark, she realised. It was fun, it was the achievement she’d dreamed of for years, but it didn’t feel natural. She’d always assumed she’d get her cutie mark the same way Rainbow Dash had: going at top speed, sticking up for a friend. This, though, wasn’t what she’d expected.   As she finished her last lap with a sigh of relief, Scootaloo turned to her muscular friend. Zephyr and Skyron were still looking at him funny, like they were expecting something. The mares paid it little heed. They’d made it clear he had to fight his own fights, and the teasing wasn’t keeping him down anymore. Twilight had made a mental note of his minor difficulties, and she'd remember to tell him to bring a drink next time. But she also had to admit that with his build, Whimper probably did have a good idea of what his limit was. It just wasn't possible to get his physique without learning that sort of thing. Besides that, Twilight had to make sure the other colts weren’t getting any problems as well, so her attention was divided somewhat. Rumble was wriggling his wings a little awkwardly, no doubt a little lactic acid building up there. Whimper had kept his wings up since the first lap, and he was visibly struggling to steady his breath. He kept it up, though, much to Scootaloo’s delight. At least she was helping him get over it, like he’d helped her.   Rainbow Dash stood next to Whimper on the starting line. “Right, last lap. Give it all you’ve got now. That burning in your lungs is normal, your heart beating faster is all natural. Anything you're feeling now is supposed to happen. If you've never gone this far before, this is how it feels. Don’t worry about it. You just give it all you’ve got.” A chuckle came from the jocks at that. Twilight raised an eyebrow at their reaction, Scootaloo grunted in anger. The filly's train of thought and the revenge plots it entailed were cut short when Whimper burst out like the wind. She smiled as he went at the same pace she had, using that fine technique to lean into the curves like a pro.   He was making trails, finally.   He’d caught up.   “Two jelly cubes says Wheezy doesn’t make it to the finish line.” Zephyr leaned in to his classmate so the mares wouldn’t hear, one hoof extended for the offer. “You’re on.” Skyron slapped his hoof on Zephyr’s. Scootaloo scowled. So now Whimper had proven he wasn’t a wimp, they were going to laugh at him for being out of breath sooner than everyone else? It wouldn’t matter. Whimper dashed over the finish line and skidded to a halt, his speed more than up to par with the rest of them now. Scootaloo started hopping over to him, but stopped in her tracks when she saw him lower his head to hang in between his forelegs. Her smile faded and things slowed down around her.   The sound was the first thing she noticed; a weak wheeze, something in between a bagpipe that’s sprung a leak and a hissing cat. The second thing was his eyes; half-lidded, like he was exhausted. But it was just five laps on the track. Scootaloo got that distance almost every day, easy, usually with weight behind her. Sure, flying was different from scooting, but still. His expression was slowly turning to one of sheer agony. That couldn't be normal. The thing that really hammered it home, though, was his belly. It wasn’t moving. He was gasping for air through the mouth, but the only thing moving was his chest.   Up in the air, finally able to fly, Scootaloo realised the gravity of the situation. “It’s not the worst thing they call me, but it still kinda stings.” Wheezy. They called him Wheezy.  They’d always called him Wheezy.  For a moment, the slowing surroundings turned to a full stop. Her heart skipped a beat, she barely realised she was breathing, a mix of outrage and unadulterated terror swept over and paralysed her. She couldn’t move. She could see it happening right in front of her and she couldn’t move. Whimper panted and wheezed, and he slowly lowered himself down, first sitting, then lying down, then curling up on his side. His body just couldn’t seem to keep up its own weight, even with those tree-trunk legs of his. He didn’t speak, he didn’t pass out, he just lay there, desperately gulping for oxygen. The air tried to go in with a short breath, then came out with a long wheeze.   Rainbow Dash and Twilight ran over to him when he went down, but slowed a bit when they noticed he hadn’t passed out. Rainbow Dash nudged him. She’d seen this before. Lazy ponies would take short inhales and long exhales to make a wheeze like they were sick. This was just what he was doing. “Come on, Whimper, get up. You're stronger than this. I know it hurts, but it’ll only hurt more if you don’t get moving again.” Whimper’s mouth moved, but all he managed was the pathetic whistle of a tea kettle as he exhaled. “Get up.” Rainbow Dash gave him another nudge. ”Come on, you knew this wasn't going to be easy. You were doing so well, just get up and walk it off. You’re not doing yourself any favours here, you know. Just get up. You’ll be fine, I promise.” Twilight was looking him over worriedly. She bent down and folded his wings back. Whimper’s face contorted in shame as she did. When she realised what was happening, Twilight pressed her ear against his chest. “What is it? Is that... is that a rash?” Dash came a little closer to check. The hairs on his back, right in between his wings, were standing on end like pins. Little flecks of white and red skin irritation were falling off, almost dandruff. Twilight pulled her friend closer and pressed her ear against his chest so she could hear his breathing. All they could hear was a faint whistle, or a wheeze. And the sound wasn’t coming from where it should be. From the sound of it, the air got stuck halfway up his throat. His lungs were barely inflating, the long exhales a sign of the lost struggle to keep oxygen in.   Rainbow Dash shook her head in confusion as she and Twilight withdrew. Twilight looked distraught, which didn’t help Dash’s composure one bit. She turned to Rainbow and looked her in the eye. Suffice to say, it looked like bad news.   “I don’t understand.” Twilight sighed. “It’s Eagle’s Grasp, Rainbow.” “What?” ”He can’t get up. He can barely even breathe.”