//------------------------------// // How Does A Filly Learn To Fly? // Story: One Bolt, Moving Forward // by Boltsinger //------------------------------// On a private, secluded part of Sweet Apple Acres stood a clubhouse with hearts decorating the windowsills situated on one of the many apple trees. Boltsinger stood before the entrance to the building. From inside, he heard the voices of a certain three fillies he knew talking about their various activities they had planned. He brought his wings forward, slapping his muzzle on either side and taking a deep breath. He reached a hoof forward, quickly rapping on the door. It opened wide, revealing the fillies in question. One was a yellow Earth Pony with a bright poofy red mane and tail and bright orange eyes, a pink hair bow placed neatly on the back of her head. The next was a darker orange Pegasus with a wild dark pink mane and tail and purple eyes. The last of the three was a white Unicorn with a pink and purple mane and tail that curled at every possible end with bright green eyes. Their Cutie Marks all featured a shield emblem of three colors ranging from hot pink to a lighter pink to a violet, with each individual mark featuring a personal emblem in purple and pink. The Earth Pony’s emblem was an apple with a heart inside of it, while the Pegasus had a feather with a lightning bolt inside, and the Unicorn displayed a star with a music note inside of it. The fillies looked up at the orange stallion at their door, smiling. “Howdy, Bolt!” the Earth Pony greeted, trotting up to him. “Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse!” “Hello, Apple Bloom!” he responded, turning to the other fillies. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, how do you do?” Sweetie Belle, the Unicorn, performed a welcoming bow. “Just fine, thank you.” she said, floating the clipboard in front of her over to the side of the clubhouse. Scootaloo raised a hoof. “I’m alright. What brings you over here?” Boltsinger looked confidently at the little ponies gathered around. “So, Twilight and I have come to a bit of a lull in the research on my Cutie Mark.” he began. “We talked it over, and we decided we’re going to need some help to further things along. In particular, we need the help of some… Cutie Mark experts.” the fillies’ faces lit up, Scootaloo’s wings abuzz. “So, we agreed to go to the most knowledgeable ponies we know on the subject! I guess the best way to put it is like this…” he cleared his throat, flaring his wings and standing as regally as he could. “Cutie Mark Crusaders! We need your help!” He belted out, nearly shaking the clubhouse with his volume. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle jumped into the air, screaming with delight. The Pegasus filly’s wings fluttered the entire time, keeping her airborne for several seconds before she hit the floor, catching the attention of the older pony. Apple Bloom sped over to Boltsinger, her eyes wide and shining. “So, when do we start?” The stallion’s Princely facade fell away as he chuckled. “Twilight told me to tell you that we’ll be doing this three days a week, after you’ve taken care of other clients. My Cutie Mark isn’t really an issue, so be sure to keep putting those blank flanks and troubled ponies first! Got it?” The Crusaders each raised their right forelegs in salute. “Yes, sir!” they simultaneously exclaimed, quickly loosening up into excited laughter. The next day, Boltsinger and Twilight waited at the front door to the Castle, Soarin hovering above them. The two stallions were deeply engaged in a conversation. It had started with how he might loosen up when approaching a certain blue-coated Wonderbolt they all knew, but the topic had shifted to something more in line with what they were about to do. “So, that’s my idea.” Boltsinger finished, seeing Soarin rub his muzzle in contemplation. “What do you think? Can you help me out?” Soarin looked at the arriving fillies, pondering a little more. “I think I see what you’re getting at. Let’s see what we’re working with!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood before the adult ponies at the castle, different looks of excitement all around. Apple Bloom was the first to speak up. “Okay, we’re here as requested!” Scootaloo stepped forward next. “What’s up first?” Twilight floated a book over to the fillies that showed an image of Boltsinger’s Cutie Mark on the cover. “Well, now that we have more eyes and hooves involved, we’ll be doing two things at once today!” She directed her attention to Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle, I’m going to need your help in the library.” the smaller Unicorn nodded in understanding. Boltsinger stepped in front of the younger Pegasus. “Scootaloo, you’re gonna be coming with Soarin and I. We’ll be conducting a controlled experiment, and I need another set of eyes to observe how my Cutie Mark reacts under the conditions we set up. And there’s one facet of the experiment you may enjoy, what with how much of a kick you get out of going fast. Although I can’t go quite as fast as Rainbow can.” Scootaloo smiled, buzzing her wings some more. “You can count on me!” The couple turned to Apple Bloom, the Princess speaking up once more. “And Apple Bloom, until we all get together again, I need you to be the intermediary between the two groups.” Apple Bloom looked between them all, looking confused. “I can do that, but, why not have Scootaloo do that job? I reckon she can do it a sight better ‘n I ever could, seein' as she’s got that scooter o’ hers!” “You make a good point, Apple Bloom,” Boltsinger affirmed. “But I need somepony with me who can handle really high speeds. Scootaloo is already used to going fast for the exact reason you just mentioned, so she’s the most likely to keep her cool and observe what she needs to when the time comes.” The young farm pony took a look at her winged friend, then back at the older Pegasus. “I get the idea! Okay! Y’all have a good experiment, ‘kay?” Scootaloo jumped up again, hovering for a few moments. “We sure will!” “Okay, then, let’s get started!” Twilight decreed, rearing up excitedly with her wings spread. She turned to enter the castle, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle following close behind. Boltsinger turned towards town, readying his wings for takeoff with Soarin beside him. The two looked back at Scootaloo, who was standing on her scooter, her helmet on and her face determined. She began flapping her wings rapidly, reminding Boltsinger of how he used to propel himself when he was younger. “We’re headed pretty far. You sure you can keep up, Scoot?” “Just watch me!” she replied. With that, she kicked her hind leg on the ground, increasing the speed of her wings as she took off down the street, leaving clouds of dust behind her. Soarin looked at the little Pegasus as she went, showing a hint of surprise in his eyes. “I told you she’s good.” the orange stallion said, hunching over. “Come on! Unless the elite Wonderbolt wants to get outrun by a filly!” He flapped his wings hard enough to create a small gale, taking off after the young pony. Soarin’s head recoiled, thinking on what his friend had just said. He lifted off effortlessly, taking mere seconds to overtake the other two. He kept a close eye on Scootaloo as she sped through the streets, performing a number of tricks at every opportunity. “Pretty good for a filly who can’t fly…” he whispered to himself, putting a hoof to his muzzle. The filly’s maneuvers grew more advanced the farther they all went, despite the bustle and obstacles of the town growing farther away. Eventually, they reached a cliff that looked high over Ponyville, the Castle of Friendship beginning to be obstructed by the horizon. Soarin landed first, looking at the view in awe as Boltsinger and Scootaloo caught up. “Wow… Ponyville sure is pretty!” “You’re only just now realizing that?” Boltsinger queried, landing next to him. “Haven’t you been coming here for a long time?” Soarin shook his head. “No, I’ve never really been in town for very long.” “So, you’ve only ever seen Rainbow at the compound?” “And some other places. But never really in Ponyville until… Well, you were there when that happened.” Boltsinger snickered. “Yeah, that certainly was interesting.” He looked out at the town with a smile, the wind gently blowing through the stallions’ manes. “Well, I’m glad you like it here, ‘cause chances are that if you succeed in your endeavors with my flight coach, you’ll be living in this town before too long.” Scootaloo blew a raspberry behind them, causing Soarin to jump and turn around. “Bor-ing!” she started, taking off her helmet. “Since when do even full-grown stallions get all sappy like that?” Boltsinger laughed, turning around and approaching the filly. “Since this one had some of the most touchy-feely mares in all of Equestria show him what friendship was.” he informed her. “So, you ready to do this?” “Of course! What do you need me to do?” she replied, taking a look around. “I don’t see any equipment or anything. What’s my job?” The blue-maned pony smirked, motioning to his back with his wing. “You need to hop on, hold on, and pay close attention to my Cutie Mark relative to how my wings behave.” He made a twinkling motion with his feathers. “I have a trick that lets me ‘activate’ my wings based on the fact that I now have somepony, namely Twilight, that always has need of me. It’s something I still need a little practice with, but if I can get it down, I can get home from any of my ‘flights’ with no trouble at all!” Scootaloo nodded with only an inkling of understanding. “Okay, but how does this relate to your Cutie Mark?” “Well, when my wings ‘activate’ and I go on a flight, as well as the entirety of the time that I’m actually doing the job I came to do, my Cutie Mark is doing the crackling thing, according to the ponies that have seen me in that state.” he continued. “So, what you’re going to be doing is seeing just how quickly it responds when I induce the effect to get back to the castle.” He pulled a stopwatch out of his mane, handing it to her. “You’ll need this.” Soarin trotted up next to the young pony, putting a wing on her shoulder. “Now, this is gonna be a pretty big test of endurance for you. I’ve heard that when he does this thing with his wings, he’s just about as fast as Rainbow Dash. I’m gonna be following you two just to be sure you’re safe, but I wanna make sure you’re ready for this. Can you do it?” Scootaloo’s face became brighter than Brightling’s Cutie Mark, taking the stopwatch greedily and hopping onto Boltsinger’s back. “Flying as fast as Rainbow Dash? That’s living the dream! I can do it, easy!” Soarin’s face grew serious. “You sure? I don’t want you biting off more than you can chew.” Boltsinger made a thumbs-up gesture with his wing. “Don’t worry, Soarin. Scootaloo’s a tough little pony. She’s been Rainbow’s honorary little sister for a few years now, and she doesn’t give titles like that lightly.” “Okay, fine.” the Wonderbolt said, relenting. “I guess you’re right… But I’m still gonna be paying close attention!” “I wouldn’t expect any less from the Wonderbolts’ second-in-command!” Boltsinger exclaimed. He turned his head just enough to catch Scootaloo in his peripheral vision. “So, your signal to start the clock is when my wings get all rigid. You might feel a teensey… possibly more than teensey… shock, since my wings tend to get a bit on the electrical side when this happens, but since I need your help with what I’m doing, you shouldn’t be harmed. It just means you won’t be able to let go until we land. Make sure you stop the clock right when you see my Cutie Mark start to move, okay?” “You got it!” Scootaloo responded, securing herself into a position where she could look at the stallion’s Cutie mark. “Okay… Let’s do this!” Boltsinger declared, flapping his wings dramatically in place. He hunched over, keeping his feathered appendages flared out at his sides so as to provide the filly with the best possible reference for when the change takes effect. He closed his eyes, breathing with a slow intent that seemed to resonate in the ears of the nearby ponies. After several moments, his wings went from their place at his sides to a completely upright position, a spark of electricity arcing between them as Scootaloo started the clock. A mere two seconds later, another click was heard from the stopwatch as Boltsinger took off towards the castle, Soarin following close behind. During the flight, Scootaloo kept a close eye on Boltsinger’s crackling Cutie Mark, noting how it behaved. However, her full attention wasn’t on the mark in question. The feeling of speed had begun to overwhelm her in a way she knew she could easily become addicted to. The clouds rushing by, the wind in her mane, the sheer G forces of moving faster than most ponies could dream… This was something her favorite pony in the world experienced all the time! Scootaloo could see why she enjoyed it so much. Too bad she couldn’t get off the ground on her own, though. She would have loved to feel this a lot more often. With a loud thunderclap, Boltsinger landed in front of the Castle, his wings and Cutie Mark returning to normal. He turned to look back at Scootaloo, who had a mixture of glee and lamentation on her face as Soarin landed behind them. “So, what did you think?” Scootaloo hopped off of his back, turning and looking at him excitedly. “That… was… AMAZING! Can we do it again?!” Boltsinger laughed, shaking his head. “Sorry, Scootaloo, but doing that tends to take a lot out of me. I generally need at least a meal before I can do it again, or more, based on what all I’ve done. I’m glad you enjoyed it. And I’m even more glad that the speed didn’t freak you out.” Soarin trotted over, a big smile on his muzzle. “You sure looked happy up there!” He stated, tussling the filly’s mane. “Well, Bolt, I think you’re right about her!” Scootaloo looked puzzlingly at the white stallion. “Right about what?” “We’ll tell you and the other Crusaders after the research is done for today, okay?” Boltsinger replied. “Plus, we still have a few more ponies to talk to about our idea before we can move forward with it.” He directed his gaze to Soarin. “Can you be a kind of intermediary between us and Rainbow Dash for the time being? I don’t know if she really wants to talk to me right now, given her current funk.” Soarin thought for a moment, his own goofy grin sliding onto his muzzle. “Sure! Whatever you need!” Boltsinger gave another thumbs-up with his wing. “Awesome.” He faced the filly once more. “Now, let’s get your findings to the Princess, Crusader!” Scootaloo stood at attention, saluting with her foreleg. “Right!” with that, she galloped into the castle as fast as her legs could take her. The research for the day was complete, and the books closed. The fillies in the room resting their heads on the tomes in front of them, having been reading until their eyes hurt. They were more tired than bored, but the hours of research still took its toll. Twilight sat back with a satisfied smile, the help and input of the Crusaders allowing her to make more headway than she ever thought possible. Her stomach gave off a telltale rumble as she turned to the Crusaders. “That was one of the best research sessions I’ve ever had!” She flared her wings happily, trotting over to the door. “So, what do you say we have dinner? All Crusaders are invited!” Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle perked up, springing out of their chairs. Boltsinger was the last to rise, slapping his muzzle with his wings and finally clearing his throat. “Before we eat, I wanna let everypony in on something that’s been on my mind.” He trotted over to the Crusaders, looking at Scootaloo in particular. “So, while I did come to your clubhouse with the top priority of talking to you all about needing your help with research, there’s something else I’ve been wondering for a while, now, and it’s made me a little curious.” He put a wing on the younger Pegasus’ head. “Scootaloo, I can’t help but notice I’ve never seen you flying. Is there any particular reason for that?” Scootaloo’s face turned slightly sour, the lamentation from earlier on full display. “It’s because I can’t fly… My wings just aren’t strong enough for it.” Boltsinger gave an understanding nod. “I thought that might have been the case, honestly.” he told her. “It reminds me of another young Pegasus I once knew. One who had wings that were too weak to really be useful for the longest time.” Scootaloo looked hopefully up at Boltsinger. “Who was that?” she wondered. Twilight looked at the two orange ponies and snickered, getting the idea her husband was trying to convey. Boltsinger spread his wings wide. “Me! Back when I was a little older than you are now, my wings still couldn’t keep me off of the ground for more than a few seconds. I could hover a bit, but it took me a long time to build my wings up to the state they’re in now. And part of that wasn’t of my own volition.” He returned his wings to their resting position. “While we were out, I asked Soarin to keep an eye on you. Not just for safety, but also for his professional opinion of you as a Wonderbolt.” Scootaloo looked over at the Wonderbolt in question, looking hopeful. “So what did you think of me?” Soarin sat next to her, putting on his work face and looking her in the eye. “You’ve got speed, and you’ve definitely got endurance!” He proudly said. “If you can just build up your strength to keep yourself in the air, I think you’ve got what it takes to be a great flyer!” “Are you serious?” the filly questioned, buzzing her wings. “So, you’re gonna help me fly?” Boltsinger cleared his throat again. “Actually, the one that would be doing the teaching is me.” he stated. “Soarin is a great flyer, and good at teaching the advanced techniques, but even he admits that helping to learn something so basic as taking off and staying in the air is something he’s not used to.” Soarin nodded in confirmation. “But I spent a lot of my foalhood learning how to build up wing strength, and those are details of my life that I remember pretty clearly. So, with your aunts' permission, and Rainbow’s approval, too, of course, I’d like to become your official beginning flight coach!” He finished, flaring his wings with a wide grin. Scootaloo reared up, cheering and hollering with excitement. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran up to their winged friend, each catching one of her forelegs, where the three began holding each other up on their hind legs as they danced around in celebration. The impromptu dance was cut short as several stomachs slowly and sternly sounded off. Everypony in the room let out a faint blush as they started towards the kitchen. As they trekked through the halls, the Cutie Mark Crusaders talked amongst themselves, while Soarin took off at full speed to the dining room. He had smelled the aroma of dinner after a while and could no longer contain himself. Twilight cast her husband a warm look, trotting beside him. “So, what made you decide to do this for Scootaloo?” she asked. “It seems pretty bold… Ambitious, even. I wouldn’t peg you for the flight coach type.” Boltsinger smiled weakly, looking upon the excited orange filly. “To be honest, it’s just as much for me as it is for her.” He admitted, pulling Twilight close with his wing. “It’s also for…” he moved the feathers closest to her stomach, patting softly. “... this little one.” Twilight smiled in return, putting her wing on the one he had extended. “I see… But how does this help you? Or the baby, for that matter?” “I read in the library that a foal's first teachers are their parents.” He explained. “And then it hit me… What if our foal has wings? Even scarier, what if our foal has wings like mine?! That’s a fate no Pegasus, or any other winged creature, should suffer!” “What, you mean the lightning?” The Princess inquired. “But that helps you do so much good for everypony!” “Not the lightning.” He corrected. “the kind of wings I had before the lightning. You’ve seen the memory. It took me way too long to just fly with my parents, let alone muster up the kind of strength that it took to get my Cutie Mark.” Twilight relented with an understanding nod. “It breaks my heart just to see Scootaloo having trouble like that. If our foal has wings, I want to make sure that little pony doesn’t have to worry for one second about flying!” Twilight put her hoof around Boltsinger, squeezing him tightly and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Well, I’m certain Scootaloo is in good hooves!” After a couple minutes of silence, she spoke up again. “So… what if our foal has a horn, instead?” Boltsinger’s goofy grin made its appearance as he opened his mouth. “If we had a Unicorn filly, I’d be ecstatic!” Twilight tilted her head, just a bit befuddled. “Why a Unicorn filly?” “Because Equestria would be that much brighter with another pony like you in it!" he said with a slight squee in his voice. "Especially if she was purple, and had purple hair with an adorable pink stripe like a mare I know!" Twilight giggled, thinking for a second. “And what if it’s an orange Pegasus colt with a blue mane?” “Then I feel sorry for the foal.” He responded, sounding half-serious. Twilight looked taken aback at the statement, unsure of how to reply. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my life. But I wouldn’t want anypony to end up like the nervous wreck I became.” The Alicorn calmed down upon hearing the explanation, still looking unsure. “Well, at least I know one feature the baby is gonna have, regardless!” Twilight turned her head to look into Boltsinger’s eyes, seeing a slight shine in the color she saw. “Purple eyes?” “Purple eyes.” He confirmed. The couple laughed out loud, catching up to the conversing Crusaders as they turned their way into the dining room.