//------------------------------// // Assumptions // Story: Junior Flight Camp: The Crusader and the Bullhead // by Wise Cracker //------------------------------// “It’s bird!” “It’s a blimp!” Scootaloo groaned. “It’s Rainbow Dash.”   “Since when does Rainbow Dash have eight legs?” one of the foals asked. “Err… it’s a perspective thing?” The filly gave an awkward smile.   Cloud Kicker gave the new cloud sculpting student’s work a brief look. The cloud looked like a pony, vaguely, with an immense bulk at the torso, an expression that spoke of animalistic urges, and eight legs. It wouldn’t have looked bad in an exhibit on Norse myths, but it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece of anatomical accuracy. “Well, at least you’ve got the sculpting down, Scootaloo. How’s your boyfriend coming along?” She moaned, much to the delight of the teens present.  “For the third time, he is not my boyfriend.” Whimper was working meticulously on some detail in the claws of what looked like a dragon, albeit a small, wingless one. He stopped when the mare’s eyes fell on him. “Umm… it’s a dragon?” Cloud Kicker nodded, impressed. The detail work on the claws made the sharp stuff really stand out, not an easy feat on matter that tends to look fluffy no matter what. “That’s a pretty good one. Feel like trying a speedy sculpt this time?” Scootaloo nodded eagerly.   “Okay, everypony, smooth out your clouds. This’ll be good practice if you ever need to quickly stabilise a tornado.” All the foals had a standard nimbus at the ready.   “Right, at my mark, everypony sculpt a swan. And I do mean a swan, not a pair of lovebirds, lovebirds.” A couple of foals turned their heads with an adoring smile, since there was only one couple on camp they knew of.   Scootaloo muttered under her teeth. “Again, not… a… couple.” “On your marks, get set, go!” The foals disappeared in their usual zip lines as they scurried to manipulate the cloud matter into their subject matter. In a matter of moments, the teen foals under Cloud Kicker’s tutelage had created their swans. One looked like it was sitting on a lake, another looked like it was about to take off.   Whimper was still going after the teens were done. He circled the cloud slower than the rest, but even a speed sculpt wouldn’t make him lose breath too quickly.   “Okay, stop now.”   The colt stopped with a grimace. His swan looked a bit plump, and the neck was too thick to be considered that of a swan, more like a serpent’s. He simply didn’t have enough time to cut into the stuff properly.   “Um, not bad for a first attempt, Whimper.” The colt gave a nervous squee.   Cloud Kicker looked at Scootaloo’s work. Then she looked at the filly. “That’s supposed to be a swan?” Scootaloo nodded. “And you’re sure you didn’t mean to make a hydra?” The beak of Scootaloo’s swan was flat, the paws had claws instead of flippers, and the thing had four heads.   “I swear I didn’t mean for it to come out looking like that.” Cloud Kicker planted her hoof on her forehead. “Maybe you should try thinking about how many heads and legs you give something before you actually sculpt. Think before you act?” The filly rubbed the back of her head with a nervous smile. That was a recurring problem, actually.   Oh well, if at first you don’t succeed… “Well, you didn’t get a sculpting cutie mark,” Whimper tried as they headed to training.   “I don’t think sculpting’s a talent I’d like anyway. I’m surprised you didn’t get it, either. You were pretty good with that stuff.”   Whimper grimaced and lowered his eyes. “Yeah, about that, I don’t think you should worry about getting me a cutie mark. I doubt I’ll get it on Flight Camp.” “Way ahead of ya, Whimper. After class, you and me are gonna take a cloudwrestling ring for ourselves, and then we’ll really get to your talent.” Scootaloo smiled broadly as she said it. “Wait, what?” “I did say I’d teach you how to dance if you taught me how to fight. We’ve been a little busy, but we could give it a shot, right? Besides, all of camp seems to think we’re a couple now for some reason, might as well give ‘em something to look at.” “Umm… sure.  I don’t understand where they got that, though. Everyone seemed to leave me alone after that cloudwrestling thing.” “Must be the campfire last night. It’s probably my fault.” The filly grimaced along with him. She had to wonder if that was really just from leaning in so close and whispering to him. Was there a rule that colts and fillies didn’t do that for each other if they were just friends? The colt shrugged. “Look on the bright side. At least neither of us has to worry about anypony else getting a crush on us now.” Truth be told, that was kind of a relief.   “Okay, which one of you spread the rumour Whimper and Scootaloo are a couple?” Rainbow Dash glared at the two unicorns before her. Lyra and Twilight were just wrapping up their discussion on the stochastic nature of channelling and its implications to extradimensional communication.   Twilight lowered her ears in shame. “Well… they looked so cute sleeping together Whimper clutching Scootaloo’s tail like that, it’s just so sweet. And I may have let Flitter on to it, but she was already convinced they were in love with each other. Word travels fast up here, I guess.” Dash facehoofed. “Honestly, Twilight, I thought you knew better than to spread rumours.” Lyra scowled. “Please, it’s not a rumour. All of camp is accepting it as a fact, and neither of them is doing anything to deny it. Well, except denying it, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like they’re getting teased. Whimper’s still pretty respected. It’s harmless, and adorable.” “Yeah, besides, what does it matter? Whimper’s a good kid, and he’s actually turning out to be a good influence on Scootaloo. She hasn’t complained about her cutie mark once, that’s a new personal record. They’ll probably get a crush for each other in a day or two anyway.” Twilight rolled her eyes dismissively.   “Uh huh.” Rainbow wasn’t buying it. ”So you don’t mind it one bit?” “I think I can get away with it, especially after making sure Zephyr and Skyron would be too scared to even talk to either of them for the rest of camp, and making sure they’d never call anyone a fillyfooler or a coltcuddler ever again.” Twilight beamed.   Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “What could you possibly threaten them with for that to happen?” “You remember that love potion the Cutie Mark Crusaders made? Turns out a pegasus who can fly can collect all the ingredients on her own. I just pointed that out to the boys, and told them in front of a whole camp fire while you were putting Whimper and Scootaloo to sleep.” The unicorn smiled as she recalled the moment. They’d dared her to do it, really, they were saying how him flying didn’t change anything, since every sport involved running to warm up, which Whimper still couldn’t do and probably never would.   Rainbow Dash thought it over. Publicly saying what harsh language they used, threatening with a love potion in front of a few Ponyvillians who know it’s true… not bad, not bad. “But neither Zephyr nor Skyron would be scared of being forced to fall in love with Scootaloo, right?” “That’s true, and they pointed that out to me. They’re quite observant, actually. But then I explained that this particular love potion doesn’t make one pony fall in love with another. It makes two ponies fall in love with each other.” Twilight waved her hoof back and forth, just like she’d done in front of the boys.   Dash recoiled in horror. “Wow. How did they react to that?” “Oh, they’ll think twice before calling anyone a coltcuddler now.” Twilight grinned evilly.   “Touché. I still think you should have kept the couple thing to yourself. Suppose somepony really likes Whimper, or Scootaloo?” Dash wasn’t the romantic type, but she was practical, and she did have some experience with admirers, obviously. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Rainbow Dash. If anyone really liked one or the other, they’d have started talking by now, or they’d listen to the denial. Aside from that, need I remind you that we have the youngest group of the bunch? None of the older foals would get a crush on either of them.” “I guess you’re right. I’m sure you’d do the same for any cute pair you see.” “Exactly.” Twilight got up. ”Why, if Whimper was mine -- uh oh.” Hoping no one had heard her slip, Twilight turned to a grinning Lyra and Rainbow Dash. She'd fallen right into that little trap.   “Guess that explains it.” Rainbow Dash mentally evened the score for ‘embarrassing revelations’. ”Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s star student, spent half her life in books, but it takes less than a week on Flight Camp to get her mother instincts going.” Twilight held a hoof in front of her mouth while Lyra chuckled to herself, nearly rolling over the floor laughing. “Well, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about, is it?” Twilight turned to the other unicorn. Dash casually smiled. “Nah, I’m just messing with you.” Lyra wiped away a tear and caught her breath. “But you might want to take that as a sign of something, Twi.”   Twilight considered it. She really did like caring for kids, helping out with little problems. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the most dangerous bunch of fillies since the colonial era. She could never bring herself to simply refuse them something. Maybe this was her mother instinct kicking in.   Nevertheless, these weren’t her kids, and they’d have to go home at some point. The best she could hope for was that she’d contributed in some constructive way.   And having everypony on camp thinking Scootaloo and Whimper were a couple was constructive, in its own way.   “Well, it’s not like I can do anything about it now, anyway.” Twilight pondered. ”Unless I just cut out the middle pony and slip a love potion in their drinks.” Rainbow Dash’s expression hardened into a glare. “Don’t… even… think it.” Training had come and gone, with no incident worthy of mention. At least, none that Scootaloo would ever admit to. Why anyone would put a warning sign on a perfectly good iced-over landing strip was beyond her. Why anyone wouldn’t want to practise landing on ice was also a mystery. There was such a thing as winter, after all, and there was such a thing as emergency landings. How the hay anyone could even leave ice up this high was a magical feat she’d never understand. She left those little mysteries to another day as she and Whimper went off to a cloudwrestling ring of their own. “Okay, so how about we start with your usual warm-up?” Whimper shrugged and let his wings unfurl, before stretching them out. “Um, that’s just stretching, really.”   Scootaloo shrugged and got into her stretches as the colt followed suit. “Okay, then what? Do I just push into you and you show me how it’s done?” Whimper bit his lower lip. “Scootaloo, I don’t think this is a good idea.” “Why not? We can go easy to start. I won’t let you run out of breath.” “It’s not that. It’s… I can’t show you how I fight.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Oh, is this some ‘warrior code’ thing?”   “No.  It’s a ‘no medal’ thing.” He avoided her gaze as he admitted it.   “Really? You can’t show me how you fight because of what happened in a fight? Why?” She came closer when she noticed Whimper’s breath quickening.   Whimper barely managed to look at her. “It’s not what you think.” ”Are you sure? Because I think it’s something that hurt a lot, and I think it might help if you finally talked about it." Reluctantly, Whimper nodded. “Maybe. I just don’t know how to explain it.” Scootaloo sat down, her face inches away from his and her voice lowered to a whisper, not unlike Whimper’s own tone of voice. “Why don’t you start from the beginning. What happened when you fought that demon thing?” With a deep sigh, Whimper nodded again. “All right, I’ll tell you. It didn’t happen the way you think. He cast this spell on me, I went down, and then I was dangling in that thing’s grip. He grabbed me by the throat. I was burning up inside just as bad as I was when I pushed myself here, and he strangled me. I blacked out.” “Well, you survived, right? I don’t see what that has to do with you fighting now, if you failed before.” She tried to sound comforting.   “I ripped his head off.” Scootaloo blinked. “You did what?” “I blacked out, and things got hazy, but somehow I got a grip on the thing’s head and then I twisted it straight off. A legendary demon, the last water devil in Equestria, and I opened him up like a piñata.” He looked down, almost ashamed as he said it, which made little to no sense.   “But... you told me you got lucky. You told me you didn’t want to be a runt anymore, and that’s why you didn’t want the credit.” Scootaloo bent her head to look him in the eye again.   He panted and gritted his teeth. “I lied. But I did get lucky.” Lots of things ran through the filly’s mind at that point. The fact that he had a breathing problem, that he didn’t have a lot of friends, that he didn’t like to fight for some reason. This eventually brought Twilight’s lecture to mind. What’ll happen if he snaps on you? She put a hoof to his chin to force him to look at her. She could tell he was scared beyond his wits, like no one could ever understand and just saying it would cut into his heart. Maybe he never gave anyone the right answer because nopony ever thought of the right question. “Lucky because you beat a monster, or lucky because the thing you beat turned out to be a monster?” He shook his head as he suppressed his tears, not wanting to be seen crying in public. No one was paying any attention to them, but it wouldn’t do to have this out in the open. “I blacked out. I didn’t know what I was doing, it wasn’t even like a dream. One minute I'm being strangled, the next I'm in the hospital and ponies are telling me I've been walking and talking for a while without me remembering. I don't know what I did, it's all vague until I get angry again.” He sighed in resignation, looking for the right words. ”I’ve been in one real fight my entire life, and it ended with me twisting the other guy’s head off. What if it turned out to be a prank? What if it was just Zephyr or anypony else in a costume?” Scootaloo considered it.  That’s what’s really been bothering him all this time. He’s already snapped once.   “But... come on, that’s no reason to be scared, is it?” She smiled, hoping it’d help. “No, if it was just one time, but it’s not. I’ve been blacking out ever since. The Captain of the Royal Guard sent me a letter, he explained it.” “And?” Whimper could relate that letter all too well. He’d read it a dozen times, the words were engraved on his memory.   Dear Doldrum Whimper, My name is Shining Armour, I am Captain of the Royal Guard, stationed in Canterlot. I’d like to congratulate you on defeating Kludde. I fought the beast myself, what you did took great strength of heart and character. Not a lot of ponies could have done the same in that situation, and even less at your age. “Basically, I beat a monster. And since I wasn’t supposed to beat it, that makes me a monster, too.” “Come on, that’s not how it works.” My scout tells me that you’re refusing to take credit for your feat. I’m not sure why, but I suppose perhaps you think your breathing problem somehow gave you an edge that a normal pony wouldn’t have had. Maybe you think this tarnishes your victory. You could not be farther from the truth. Our special forces have a greenhouse with highly allergenic plants to prepare and train for these sorts of encounters. The best that any of us have ever managed to do is stand up while under the spell and survive, not fight. The only tactics that worked against Kludde were ambushes, the Royal Guard would simply open fire before the spell was cast. Eventually, an entire patrol would fall and have to see that thing walk or limp off to fight another day while we are powerless to stop it. The only reason it hasn't taken more lives is because we know to unload everything we have on sight.   Believe me when I say that we all know what sort of pain you endured, and that suffering it regularly by no means provides any sort of advantage. If anything, you fought with a worse handicap than any of us.   “You don’t understand. The breathing thing is what I could hide behind. It makes me look weak, harmless. I don’t like how ponies look at me, but I don’t want them to look at me like I’m monster, either.” “Whimper, you’re not a monster. Your friend was down, you were scared, anyone would have snapped. The fact that you were still lucid enough to actually win is something you should be proud of.” On the other hoof, there’s the question of your blacking out. If what you say is true, then I can only assume the panic caused a primal response from your body. It’s quite rare, but it’s been known to happen. Intense emotions cloud the rational mind, and the body reacts without the mind’s intervention. According to legend, this causes the true self to emerge. Limitations are pushed aside, pain doesn’t register, and a singularity of purpose sets in. You stop thinking, and act on feeling. It can be very unsettling to know what lies underneath the masks we put on for society, but it’s quite natural.   “Except I wasn’t lucid. I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. This thing inside me, this monster took over. Something deep, the real me.” “What are you talking about?” The filly shook her head. Rest assured, when we present somepony with a medal, it’s because they earned it. You faced a superior opponent, and pushed through a primal panic response to save a friend in need. You did this on your own strength, we have confirmed as much. You are not possessed, you’re not the next coming of some ancient hero, and nothing in your blood would suggest that the strength you displayed should be brushed away as something trivial.   “I hoped maybe I had something else, that I was possessed, but there’s nothing. All I really remember is fear and anger, and it was all me. It’s the real me, and the real me doesn’t think.” “I don’t get it.” Scootaloo got Whimper to rise up on his hooves again. ”So you beat that thing, but you’re not proud of it because you were angry when you did it?” You are a hero, Whimper, all signs point to that. You have a true warrior’s heart, a talent for protecting those around you. A sigh answered her. “No. Because I didn’t want to do it. I keep telling you I blacked out. I wasn’t in control of myself. This, me talking? That’s not the same Whimper who fought that thing. The guy you’re talking to right now isn’t the real Whimper. And to make it even worse, I found out my talent, and I hate it.” But, all that said, I cannot force you to accept the medal. So I’ll tell you what we’ll do. The Royal Guard will hang on to it for now, and your name and picture will be posted discretely at the Phoenix Garden. It’s a remote part of the Palace, only the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard pass by. It’s tradition, and it won’t affect your anonymity.   I’ve notified Princess Luna of your case, and she was very eager to meet you in pony. She told me she understands what you're going through, and that she can help. If you do have doubts of whether or not you are a hero, she can test you to make sure. There is a test to distinguish those with a warrior’s heart, and I’m confident you are one the rare ponies who can pass it. I should warn you, though, do not attempt it before your recent traumas are healed. It demands you face a similar terror to what you experienced. I took the test myself four times now, failed every time. Should you pass it, that alone would demand the respect of any pony you encounter, regardless of what handicaps you think you should be ashamed of. It is a rare honour, and one that you can earn, if you so wish.   Whatever you decide to do, contact Luna or accept the medal, the best way of going about it is heading over to Ponyville and visiting the library. Take a letter with your request and ask for Spike, he’s a small purple dragon who lives there. Ask him nicely to send your letter and tell him it’s at Shining Armour’s request. He will burn it for you, and your letter will arrive with the Princesses in a matter of seconds. You should get a swift reply then.   Even if you think you’re not a hero, the other heroes of Equestria know you walk among them. I can only hope that offers some solace. My regards and respect, Captain Shining Armour “My talent is freaking out and destroying whatever annoys me. They told me to contact princess Luna because princess Luna's in charge of all the nightmares and monsters in Equestria. The only reason they’re offering a medal is because they think that if I’m called a hero enough, I’ll start acting like one. And then I wouldn’t freak out or hurt anypony. Thing is, I don’t have a say in that.” He sobbed. ”They don’t want me to embarrass them, but I will anyway, it’s just a matter of time. I know I’ll be a blank-flanked runt forever if I don’t get over it, but… my body doesn’t listen to what my mind is telling it to do. So a runt is pretty much the safest thing for me to be. It's the only thing I can be without turning into a monster.” Scootaloo winced in sympathy as her previous experiences came to her. “So every time you caught me, those fights at the cloudwrestling, tackling Zephyr, you weren’t awake then.” “It’s not always as bad. But no, I’m never fully awake when I do those things. Sometimes it’s like falling asleep and moving in a dream, other times I just wake up afterwards and shake my head like I’m sorry, even if I don’t really know what for. When I kept catching you, I could feel how scared you were, and I couldn't stop myself from diving after you. The cloudwrestling was just weird. I was awake enough to know that I couldn’t hurt anyone, so I only moved to get away or drive the other guy away. I kept getting jolted in and out of it, like waking up from a nightmare every five seconds. It keeps getting worse, too. I can’t be around crowds and it’s not safe when I’m being backed into a corner. I can take a lot, but I never know when I’m going to completely black out again or what’ll happen when I do. That’s why I want to learn to fly fast. I just want to get away and not let it get to that.” “But what about the baby? Don’t you wanna look out for a brother or sister?” “That’s exactly why I need to get my Flyer’s Certificate now. If I have that, if I’m allowed to handle clouds, then I can set up a cloud bed out of the house, maybe build a little tent, sleep far away from the baby. With a certificate, that's allowed, no one can tell me I can't do that. I can sneak out at night, even bust the cloud in the morning so my parents don’t have to know what I’m doing." He seemed to be getting even more scared at the thought.   “You don’t want to be around a baby? That’s kinda harsh, Whimper.” He gritted his teeth in frustration. “You think that’s bad? Suppose I’m lying in bed, and the baby’s crying? What if I haven’t gotten any sleep in days, what if I’m stressed out to the point of snapping?” Even as he voiced his fear, she felt her heart sink. “Oh.” “I don’t wanna wake up next to the crib and find out I’ve been sleepwalking, to find the baby… I know it can happen. I'm losing control. I'm already snapping at Zephyr, and at home I've caught myself taking stuff from the fridge and not even remembering that I felt hungry. I know I can hurt the baby and I can’t risk it, I just can't.” “Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I mean, you’re lucky I don’t have to go to the bathroom at night. I’ve seen trees that are more likely to get up and walk in their sleep.” She flashed him a broad smile to cheer him up. He didn’t return it. “So your solution to the blacking out is running away as soon as you get annoyed or angry, right?” Whimper hung his head in shame. “Uhuh.” “What about getting excited? You had a headache from the singing last night.” “That’s not as bad, but it’s not a risk I want to take.” He shook his head. “Umm… I hate to tell you, but that’s not going to work all the time. Eventually that sort of thing will backfire.” She grimaced as the situation sank in. “How?” “Suppose you meet a filly with long wavy hair, fluttery eyes, somepony you just can’t seem to shake.” She recalled some of the descriptions from Hearts and Hooves Day, the only day she ever let her girly side out. ”A pony who likes you, a lot, as more than just a friend. You know, someone who’s happy when she’s around you and unhappy when she’s not. Can you picture that?” “Vaguely, why?” He furrowed his brow, oblivious. “You wouldn’t want to make a girl like that cry, would you?” She looked away at the skies, just casually setting him up.   “Of course not, you know that.” Whimper sounded outraged at the thought. “So what are you going to do when a filly like that tries to kiss you?” She leaned in for the big one.   A resigned grunt answered her. “Whimper, I know it must be scary, and that it’s painful, but running away isn’t going to work. If you meet a girl who really likes you, and you run away because you’re scared, you’ll be making that girl cry,” Scootaloo explained matter-of-factly. “That’s not a big worry, actually. I don’t think any filly would like me that much.” “Oh gimme a break, Whimper!” Scoot nearly shouted. ”You look like a superhero, you’re quiet and sensitive, and you’re scared of hurting the ones you care for. That’s exactly the sort of sappy romantic thing all the fillies go crazy over! You might as well just cover yourself in glitter and call yourself a vampire!” “Why would vampires need glitter?” He narrowed his eyes.   “I don’t know! I don’t read those stupid romance novels, ask Twilight! My point is, you shouldn’t be scared of something that’s a part of you and that’s actually turned out to be a good thing. You’re forgetting that every time you black out, you win. You’re doing great stuff with this, and you’re too scared to even admit it. If you try to ignore it, won’t it be more likely to sneak up on you?” “So what am I supposed to do, then? I can’t just take over or wake up when I black out, that’s the whole problem.” “Maybe you don’t need to.” Scootaloo danced around a bit to warm up. ”Maybe you just need to control when you black out. That’s probably what Rainbow Dash has been trying to get you to do.” “How? How can I possibly control when my body goes into a state of complete terror?” “The same way you get into the Wonderbolts.” Scootaloo cheerfully moved in closer. She placed one hoof squarely on his throat, pushing it up lightly.  She was careful not to try and spook him or choke him. “Practice.” He looked down at the hoof on his throat. “You realise that if this works, I’ll wind up hurting you?” She smiled and shrugged. “Just don’t pin me down.” “Huh?” “When you get me floored, don’t put your weight on me. You can throw me all you want, but don’t keep me down for too long. As long as I can get up, I’m fine. I only get scared when I can’t get up, I promise. I’ve gotten banged up on my scooter before. You can’t hurt me, Whimper, I know you can’t.” She smiled confidently.   “Well, if you’re sure…” He slowly started to push back that arm and try to unbalance her.   He moved awkwardly, though, and it didn’t take her long to correct her posture and push him back again. Granted, he had a few pounds on her, so the pushing didn’t do much, but at least she was trying. With an annoyed grunt, she tried to shove him off balance. He didn’t budge at all, didn’t even try to block her. Scootaloo grunted. “Come on, do something already.”   “I am doing something. What would you like?” Whimper tried. “Try some of those awesome moves you used before. What’s keeping you?” The girl pounded the ground in frustration. “I don’t know those moves, Scootaloo. I can try, but I doubt it’ll work.” She sighed. This was supposed to be something he was good at. She might actually get to see a pony gain their cutie mark right in front of her eyes. How was she supposed to get him to fight right? More importantly, if he wouldn’t teach her how he did it, how was she ever going to top ripping the head off a demon? “Look, maybe you need to do like you did at the tornado making, pump yourself up first. You wouldn’t have to overdo it, just enough to maybe not think as much. You need to let go to do it, right?” “I dunno…” He slowly backed away, nerves playing up at the idea.   “At least try? I just wanna see how you do it. You were too fast the first few times. Besides, ponies are starting to look at us. They’re gonna start thinking we’re up to something if you don’t show your stuff,” Scootaloo half-threatened, half-observed.   Whimper took a few quick deep breaths and started shaking slightly. “Stretch your forelegs first. Try to get your hooves to touch behind your back, then go at my throat. I think I know what I did when I got grabbed.” “You remember now?” She stretched accordingly. “No, I don’t. But my body does, if that makes any sense. It’ll be quick, but I’ll try not to jerk you too much.” Scootaloo braced herself. The moment of truth. With a little dash, she moved in for his throat with her left.   She made contact, pushed lightly, then all of a sudden his left front leg was pushing down on her arm, forcing her elbow to bend and pushing her out of balance. In a smooth motion, that arm curled around and forced her elbow to point upward.   Scootaloo had said Whimper couldn’t hurt her. She realised just then that wasn’t completely true. She felt her body being forced into an awkward position, elbow pointing up and the rest of her being dragged closer to the hard-muscled colt. Then, just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, he spun. That one limb was twisted and dragged, and she could only try to follow with the rest of her body as she was immobilised and dragged to the ground.   She landed and rolled away, shaking her now sore arm. The gravity of her friend’s situation sunk in. He blacked out when he did these things. He wasn’t fully awake when he’d grabbed her.   If he’d completely let go and did just that move at full speed, he could have snapped a few bones, just like that.   “Cool.” “Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” “You did, but only a little. Nothing I’d be scared of. That was good. So it’s push down, curl up, then spin, right?” Whimper shook his head. He really didn’t know what he did, exactly. “Umm… yes, I think?” “Good. Now let me try.” She went to him and tapped her neck invitingly.   He slowly, gingerly, pressed a hoof against that point. Scootaloo tried to repeat the motion of pushing him off balance. He went along first, then bent his arm as she got him in the lock. “Does that hurt?” Whimper shook his head. “No, not really. I think I can just roll out of it if you do it slowly.” Scootaloo smiled and twisted to make the colt fall on his back. Whimper looked up at her and perked his ears in surprise. His wings spread, and they seemed reluctant to fold back to his sides. “I guess that’s how you do that. I think that’s how you get out of a stranglehold.” “Looks like.” Scootaloo pulled him up. ”Mind if I try again?” He got up and poked her throat again. “Just don’t go too fast.  I’ll be needing that foreleg, still.” Rainbow Dash looked down at the pair. A couple of ponies were giving the two some odd looks, but no one was about to step in and disturb them. She was surprised at Scootaloo, actually. Most girls wouldn’t stand for a colt twice as strong as her being such a pushover. Most girls wouldn’t have gone for second helpings when they realised their arms could get torn clean off.   But then, Scootaloo wasn’t your average filly. She’d been president of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, and she was the fastest thing on wheels in Ponyville. She pushed herself to be better, and even now, she was trying to glean what exactly made her friend so awesome.   It was good to see them practising, but they didn’t know what they were doing.   After a few tries, Rainbow Dash noticed Whimper was shaking again. Scootaloo was getting him hyped up for a different move.   Too hyped up.  “Okay, let’s try another one. This time I’m aiming for your ribs, okay?” Whimper shook, but nodded. He looked out of it, but still mostly lucid. “I’m ready for you.” Rainbow Dash landed right in between them before Scootaloo got another word in. “Okay, I’m going to have to stop you right there. You’re doing it wrong.” Whimper backed away from Scootaloo. “Umm, sorry? How are we supposed to do it?” Rainbow Dash patted Scootaloo’s mane. “If you’re going to practise like this, you’re going to have to do it right. So take a break for now, I’m stepping in as a sparring partner.” “Oh, okay.” Scootaloo walked to the side of the cloud, disappointment barely hidden in her voice. She was just starting to have fun, too. “Not you.” Rainbow nodded towards the colt. “Whimper.” Scootaloo looked up at her idol.  Did I just hear that right? “Whimper, you sit down and watch. And pay attention, so you know what you’re doing next time. Scootaloo, you and I are going to have some fun together.”