“One…” Scootaloo started, giving a hard flap of her wings. In that moment, a portion of fog was sent flying away, dissipating into nothing. “Two…” Another flap, and a larger portion of the heavy cloud was sent away. “Three…!” The process continued, this portion of the fog smaller than the ones before. “Four…!” Another flap came, some cloud falling away again, the filly in the thick of it panting. From an outside perspective, roughly a quarter of the cloud remained, and it looked daunting.
“You don’t have to push yourself too hard, Scootaloo!” Rumble called from the sidelines. “I’m sure you’ll get it next time! Just keep at it!”
Scootaloo snorted, rearing up. “And this… is…” she flapped her wings one more time, sending a massive gust of wind through the area, blowing back the manes of Boltsinger, Soarin, and Rumble as the last chunk of cloud near the ground was completely dispersed. “FIVE!!!” She stood on her hind legs, her forelegs flared out at her sides, and her wings spread wide. She was hyperventilating, quickly beginning to lose her balance.
Boltsinger rushed to her side, catching her as she fell backwards. “You okay?” he asked her, feeling the rising and falling of her breathing. “That last flap was pretty impressive. I understand if you’re tired.”
Scootaloo grinned, sitting up. “No, I’m fine. That was just a hard flap.” she told him, standing on her own. “So… Did I do it?”
“I think you know.” he stated, motioning to the empty field with his foreleg. He looked over at Soarin. “Okay, Soarin, tell Pinkie to get everything ready!” He turned to Rumble. “And Rumble, can you go tell everypony else? We meet at Sugar Cube Corner in an hour!”
Soarin and Rumble simultaneously nodded, each taking off in a different direction as Scootaloo cast a confused look at Boltsinger. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we have to celebrate somehow.” he informed her, heading in the direction of Ponyville at a leisurely pace. “I mean, it’s not every day you pass the first stage of your training!” The Pegasus filly’s eyes lit up, a squee coming from her that reminded him of a teapot coming to a boil. “I suggest you take it easy for a few days, because when we come out here again, you’re getting a brand new lesson!” he declared, spreading his wings excitedly. “So, have a good time, tonight. ‘Cause it’s only getting harder from here!”
Scootaloo jumped in place, letting her wings hold her up as she remained in the air a few feet above Boltsinger. “YES!” she shouted, the stallion stepping into position for her to land on his back. “I’ll do my best!” She hopped off of him, rushing over to the confectionery shop as fast as her legs would take her.
“And so will I…” he told himself, scratching his mane with his wings as he continued his walk. “Just as soon as I figure out what to teach you next…”
Twilight poked her head into the library, where a pile of books was stacked in a corner of the room. She trotted inside the room proper, looking at as many spines as she could. There was a slightly more noticeable bulge in her belly than there was before, but the Alicorn paid it little mind as she made her way. “Boltsinger?” she started, floating a book in front of her and skimming through it. “Are you doing research?”
The pony in question popped up from a pile of pages, looking around. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I am.” He buried his face in the books again. “No… this won’t work… How do I even do that?!” He put the book aside, picking up another one and starting again.
“What are you researching?” the Alicorn asked, fluttering next to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you hit the books this hard!”
Boltsinger raised his head, facing her with a nervous grin. “Have you seen how well Scootaloo has been doing in her flight training?”
“Of course. We just had a party to celebrate!” she confirmed. “She’s progressed remarkably fast!”
“Eeyup.” he agreed, burying his nose in the book again. “A little too fast. I have no idea what to do next!”
“But aren’t you working with Soarin and Rumble?” the Princess wondered, looking over her husband’s shoulder at the pages. “I love research as much as the next bookworm, but I’m not sure how much these books will help when you’ve got experienced flyers to talk to.” She floated another book in front of her. “But, if you still want to do research, I’d be happy to join you!” She leaned into him slightly, opening the book. “New teaching techniques are always a good thing to learn! And I haven’t had any chance to do any teaching since you ‘graduated’ from my lessons!”
Boltsinger spurted out a nervous laugh, wrapping his wing around the Princess and pulling her close. “I suppose you have a point. But, yeah, let’s keep going! Should be useful no matter what!” He turned another page, looking intently at the words before him.
After what became a thoroughly enjoyable research session, Boltsinger trotted through Ponyville. Talking with Soarin would have been great, but he had a better idea for who might help to bring up Scootaloo’s confidence, while also getting a thorough lesson across. He looked up, a house situated on clouds floating overhead and seeming to loom over him. He flapped his wings, jumping up and ascending to the front door where he reached out and knocked a number of times.
The door opened, revealing a tired-looking Rainbow Dash. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, getting a good look at her guest. “Bolt? What are you doing here?” she asked. “Something you need?”
“That’s part of it.” he affirmed. “Also, it’s been a while since you and I have done anything together. I thought this was a good time to fix that.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Okay… What do you wanna do?”
“I figured I’d leave that up to you.” he told her, taking off again.
Rainbow smirked, rising into the air with him. “Fine! Race you to the Castle of the Two Sisters!” Boltsinger’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “READYSETGO!!” She shot off into the distance, leaving a rainbow streak behind her.
The stallion smiled, flapping his wings harder in a revving motion. “Oh, it’s on!” He sped off after her, a streak of orange and blue following the rainbow one.
Rainbow Dash flew in a relaxed position, her forelegs behind her head as she lazily looked back at her former flight student. “You’re doin’ pretty good, Bolt!” she called, waving her foreleg. He smiled in the distance, slowly but surely gaining on her. Her face turned infinitely more smug, twisting around into her normal flying position as she accelerated, the distance between them increasing in a mere instant. She continued on, quickly reaching her top speed as their goal came into view. She chuckled to herself, going into a dive that looped her around the bridge over the chasm and creating what looked like a rainbow tube around the bridge. Boltsinger made his approach as the mare showed off, shooting straight up into the sky. The stallion hovered above the trees, watching his friend’s ascent shatter the light spectrum in a bright rainbow flash.
“Heh… Always the show-off…” he said, making a beeline for the castle as the Wonderbolt banked her way down to the same destination. He landed in the throne room, panting heavily as he looked around. “Did I win? I have to have won! She spent the whole race showing off!”
“And I still beat ya by a mile!” came a raspy tone from the seat of a throne. “You’re not a bad flyer, Bolt. But, maybe next time you should tap into that lightning of yours! You’re too slow without it.”
“Believe me, Dash, if I could use the lightning like that, I would have.” he fluttered up to the thrones, where Rainbow Dash was lounging in the one that once belonged to Celestia. “And I would’ve smoked you in the process!” He gave her his best attempt at a cocky grin, not quite sure if he believed his words.
“You say that, but has your lightning ever made one of those before?” she inquired, pointing up at the circular rainbow lighting up the sky.
“Um… Maybe?” he lied, the corners of his mouth falling flat. “Fuzzy foalhood memory, remember?” his nervous laugh started up, causing Rainbow to sit up and smile confidently.
“Yup. ‘Cause you totally have all the skills and speed needed to pull one off.” she teased, rising to her hooves and walking up next to him. She placed a hoof on his wing, making a mock-flapping motion with it. “It’s not like you needed special training from Equestria’s number one flyer just to get as good as you are, right?”
Boltsinger put a wing to his muzzle, stroking his chin slightly. “Oh? And who would Equestria’s number one flyer be? Soarin?”
The cyan mare stifled a laugh. “He’s a great flyer, but I dunno about ‘number one’! Guess again.”
Boltsinger smiled. “How about Twilight? She’s pretty good in the sky.”
“And it’s for the same reason you are!” Rainbow reminded him, walking past him entirely and turning around. “Ya got one more guess!”
“Okay then…” Boltsinger replied, accepting the challenge. He turned around to face her, sitting down and puzzling as best he could. His face lit up as he raised his forelegs, pounding one hoof into the other. “I’ve got it!”
“Oh? So who is Equestria’s number one flyer?” she asked, giving him a cocky smile with a side-eyed look.
“Scootaloo!” he declared, proudly spreading his wings with a smile.
A loud thud reverberated through the throne room. Rainbow Dash’s face had hit the floor from her fellow flyer’s statement. She raised her head up and began laughing. “Really? That’s your last guess? Scootaloo’s doing great with your little ‘lessons’, yeah. But she’s nowhere near being Equestria’s number one flyer!”
“Not yet, at least.” he agreed, standing up and offering Rainbow Dash a hoof to do the same. “Care to help me make that a reality?”
The laughter ceased entirely. “Wait, what?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” he continued. “You’ve seen for yourself how well she’s done. And, frankly, I’ve… pardon the phrasing… hit a wall on what I’m gonna teach her. I was hoping Equestria’s number one flyer, and my personal flight coach, could help me to help her.”
“Huh…” she started, a little surprised at what she was hearing. She accepted the hoof and stood up. “You really think she can get up to my level?”
“She’s Boltsinger-tested, Soarin-approved for incredible flying potential!” he affirmed. “And now, I think she’s ready to… well… take off!”
Rainbow Dash stewed for a moment of her own. “Maybe that should be the next step?” she suggested, pointing her hoof at him. “Of course, with how hopeless you can be, sometimes, it might be a good idea to have at least one more expert along. Just to be safe.”
“Are you volunteering to join in on this?” he queried. “Are you sure? It means you’ll be spending more time with the pony that’s supposedly responsible for that change you’re not so fond of.”
“So? That’s my issue.” Rainbow retorted, a slight scowl trying to form on her face. “This isn’t about you or me, right?” Boltsinger smiled and nodded. “This is about Scootaloo. And I’m sorry it took me this long to join in this thing!” She started to walk to the door. “Besides, it’s fun to kick your butt in a race every now and then!” She flapped her wings again, taking off into the air, the stallion letting out a chortle as he followed suit.
Finally, the next training session had come. Scootaloo put her helmet on, grabbing her scooter. She gave a determined look forward, kicking the ground below her as she sped off down the road. She made a beeline for the Carousel Boutique, where Sweetie Belle stepped out of the door. She tied a rope to the scooter, putting on a helmet of her own as the Pegasus accelerated in the direction of the farm. Sweetie Belle squeaked as they reached top speed, the velocity having increased since the last time she went along with her extreme friend like this. It took only a couple of minutes, they were at Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom standing at the ready.
Thanks for coming with me to this lesson, you two.” Scootaloo began. “I can’t imagine not having you there when the next lesson starts!”
“No problem, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom replied, putting her helmet on. “I know you’d do the same fer us!”
“Can you just… take it a little slower, this time?” Sweetie Belle asked. “You were going way faster than you used to!”
“I know! Wasn’t it great?!” the fledgeling flyer responded, extending her wings out. Sweetie Belle’s expression went flat as she expressed her disagreement. “I mean… uh… sorry about that. I’ll dial it down for you ponies.” Apple Bloom set herself up for her friend to tow her along, giving an affirming hoof. Scootaloo smiled once more, buzzing her wings, softer this time, and zooming off into Ponyville.
“So, Rumble get his Cutie Mark yet?” Apple Bloom wondered.
“Not yet. He’s been pretty busy helping me with my flying.” Scootaloo answered. “He’s been really focused on it. Almost as much as he focuses on his own.”
“I hear he was pretty worried when he caught you out of the sky that day.” Sweetie Belle mused. “Almost like he liked you…” She looked at her with a sly grin, a sparkle in her eye reminiscent of her older sister.
“Come on, now, Sweetie Belle, it’s not like that.” Apple Bloom interjected. She looked over at her friend’s face, seeing a small tinge of red showing up on her cheek. She tilted her head, trying to get a better understanding. “Is it?”
“It’s not like that at all!” the Pegasus nervously blurted. “He’s just interested in helping me fly! It’s nothing beyond that…!” Her face flushed some more as she hunched over. “Enough about that! Let’s get to the training field!” Her wings picked up their pace again, going full bore to the place where she was to have her lesson with her fellow Crusaders letting out a yelp and a squeak at the sudden increase in speed.
Reaching the field, Scootaloo skidded to a stop, her friends sliding forward in a daze. She heard a clapping noise, prompting her to look around. Rumble, Boltsinger and Soarin sat there, each waving a foreleg in her direction, but the clapping continued. “Pretty good entrance, squirt!” a fondly familiar rasp said.
“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo guessed, looking up. There, Rainbow Dash was sitting on a small cloud, clapping her hooves with a smirk. “You’re actually here?!”
“You bet I am!” she replied, jumping off of the cloud to land in front of her honorary sister. “Like I’d be able to stay away from this for long! You’re learning to fly! I gotta be there for you!” She brought Scootaloo into a hug, tussling her mane. “So, you ready to take off?”
“Take off? But, aren’t we doing stuff right here?” the filly wondered.
“Not that kind of ‘take off’.” Boltsinger corrected, trotting up to the two. “She means that you’re going to be ‘taking off’ quite literally!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook themselves free of their daze, seeing that their fellow Crusader had already begun her new lesson. They opted to sit next to Rumble, observing the goings on. “So, what’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom inquired, watching Scootaloo jump up excitedly.
“Looks like those two are gonna teach Scootaloo how to take off into the air.” he replied, keeping his focus on the other young flyer. “I just hope it goes well this time!”
“What do you mean by that?” Sweetie Belle wondered. “She’s taken off before?”
“Just watch. They’ll explain it.” the grey colt instructed.
“So, how do you think taking off works?” Boltsinger inquired, moving behind the filly.
“Every time I’ve tried taking off, I just flapped my wings.” she told the older Pegasi. “It never really gets me more than a few inches off the ground, though.”
"I can think of one time you took off splendidly.” the stallion mused, looking over at Rumble. “At least that’s what Rumble said.”
Scootaloo’s thoughts went back a ways, pondering on past events.“You mean that hover thing I did? All I did was jump!”
“And you got up pretty high!” Rainbow stated. “There’s a reason for that. Watch me! Bolt, you explain!”
Boltsinger nodded as the cyan Wonderbolt hunched over. “So, one misconception I’ve noticed from various wing-less sources is that all you need to fly well is a pair of wings, and the rest just works. But that can’t be further from the truth. Wings add to how much lift you get, and maintain it while you’re hovering or accelerating, but in order to really fly, or even take off, for that matter, you need to put your whole body into it!” Scootaloo looked closely at her idol. She was hunched over with her front half low and her wings spread wide. Her gaze was fixed on the sky above, and her tail twitched with anticipation. “When you did that jump back then, you made it pretty high up. Now, watch what happens when you combine a jump like that with the power of your wings!” Rainbow Dash took the cue, springing into the air and flapping her wings. In a tenth of a second, she was high in the sky, hovering next to a cloud. “You already had the basics of taking off down. You just didn’t know how to apply it!”
“Ya see, Scoot? It’s easy!” Rainbow called, lowering herself to a more manageable height. “Now, you try!”
Scootaloo recoiled at the suggestion, remembering how badly it went with her first attempt. “What?! You want me to try right now?”
“Eeyup!” Boltsinger affirmed, putting a hoof on her back. “It’s simple. Jump and flap, and then keep flapping.” He jumped up into the air and hovered next to Rainbow Dash. “This is what we did all that strength training for! I know you can do this!”
“Okay…” she started, bringing the front half of her body low. “Just jump… and flap… jump… and flap…” She raised her forelegs high as her hind legs snapped into a straight position, her head facing the beautiful blue sky above. She felt the wind rushing against her face and blowing through her mane, bringing a big smile to her muzzle. As she reached the top of the jump, she looked around, the ponies beneath her looking tiny in comparison as she lingered. “Wow! I’m so high up! And I did it with just one jump! But…” the wind picked up again, this time coming from beneath her. “... I feel like I’m forgetting something…”
“Come on, Scootaloo! Flap those wings!” Rainbow Dash cried out, snapping the falling filly out of her awe.
Scootaloo looked around again. She was still above everypony, but the distance between them was getting shorter by the second. She squealed in fright, defensively raising her forelegs. “Jump and flap! Jump and flap! Jump and flap!” With a whine at the end of the last word, she began furiously flapping her wings, her descent beginning to slow dramatically.
Rumble immediately shot into the air, making a beeline to catch her only to be stopped by Boltsinger’s hoof. “Give her a chance, Rumble. She’s come a long way in the last two months.
She finally came to a stop in the air next to the other airborne ponies, opening her eyes. “Did I land?”
“Nnope!” Boltsinger said, a wide smile on his muzzle. He pointed at the ground, then at her wings.
Scootaloo followed the stallion’s hoof with her eyes, seeing the buzzing wings behind her, holding her up with far less effort than she thought she would need. “You mean…” she began, her smile growing wider as the excitement boiled over.
“You did it, squirt!” Rainbow Dash announced. “You are officially flying!”
Scootaloo turned around in the air, shaking a little bit as she twisted. She looked at Rainbow Dash, who had a tear-stricken smile on her face. The cyan Pegasus was very clearly overwhelmed with pride, and Scootaloo was overjoyed to be the reason. “I’M FLYING!!!” She cried out, diving into Rainbow Dash for the biggest hug she had ever given.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud!” Rainbow continued, catching the filly’s embrace and descending to the ground. “Just think about it! Once you’re ready for it, we can fly together all the time, just you and me!”
“That’s gonna be amazing!” Scootaloo replied, jumping up only slightly. She turned over to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, running over to them to be tackled by group hug. “Did you see?! I finally flew! For real!”
“I saw! I saw!” Apple Bloom said, squeezing tightly. “I can’t believe you finally did it!”
Sweetie Belle let out a squeal of her own. “Think of how many more ways you’ll be able to help ponies with their Cutie Marks!”
Rumble came in for a landing next to the fillies. “I don’t think you’re quite there, yet. But you’re definitely on your way.”
Boltsinger landed next to Rainbow Dash, looking at the ecstatic young ponies with a smile. “So this is what a teacher’s pride feels like, huh?” He looked over at his rainbow companion. “I’m glad you could be here for this.”
“Bolt, I could never have missed this.” she told him. “I wasn’t even sure it would ever happen! And now…” She breathed a satisfied sigh. “I’ve always been a strong flyer. I didn’t even know the first thing about building up wingpower like that. I’ve never really trained anypony whose wings can’t actually reach out to build up their wingpower. Well, except Bulk biceps, but he can’t do much beyond pure power. What I mean to say is... “ She stomped her hoof, shaking her head and looking honestly at him. “It means a lot that you’re doing all of this for Scootaloo… Even while I was so mad at you. So… thanks.”
Boltsinger smiled, offering a wing. “You said it yourself. It’s not about either of us. It’s about Scoot.” he told her.
Rainbow smiled, slapping his wing with her own. “You’re right.” She looked back over at the fillies, nodding solemnly. “Whatever issues I might have, they don’t matter. This is what’s important.”