//------------------------------//
// Flurry Heart's Letter 
// Story: Bad Genies 
// by Kodiologist 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo finished the story with a wink. Flurry Heart tried to wink back, but winking had never been her forte.

"Is that story true?" said Flurry.

"What?" said Scootaloo. "Of course it's true. A hundred percent."

"So then how'd you ride your scooter through the desert?"

"Desert pavement, duh."

"You mean a street? All the way to this cave nopony was in for a thousand years?"

"No, that's not what I mean." said Scootaloo, irritated. "How'd you get so—oh, wait, she's starting!"

To the cheering of the small audience—none of it more enthusiastic than Scootaloo's—Rainbow Dash began her routine. Rainbow zipped through wild, irregular assortments of rings, and she flew through series of side-by-side tunnels with incredibly sharp turns. It was her most ambitious work yet. Scootaloo always loved to see that Rainbow, even after years of being a Wonderbolt, never got complacent.

Then came the main event. A tall, narrow, funny-looking tower, festooned with rings and banners, had been set up in the center of the field. Rainbow swooped down one side, grabbed a banner near the bottom in her teeth, climbed up another side, and deftly planted the banner in a socket up top, all in a single continuous motion. Then she did it again, with a more complex series of rings and banners. But just as she was diving for a third pass, she bumped her right wing against the tower, hard.

Rainbow yelped and plummeted. Below her was a safety net. But above her, the tower creaked, and one of the big rings came loose. It fell towards Rainbow, and with how high it had been, it was going to pick up quite a bit of speed.

Flurry Heart suddenly realized that there were only two pegasi in the stadium: Rainbow Dash, who was falling, and Scootaloo, who had just told her a long story about her own flightlessness.

Flurry didn't have time to think about much else. She launched herself into the air, zoomed across the field, and slammed her forehooves into the side of the falling ring. It flew aside and embedded itself several inches deep in the turf.

Flurry Heart descended next to Rainbow Dash as the audience and the guards gathered around her.

"Rainbow, are you okay?" said Scootaloo.

"I'm awesome." said Rainbow, standing up and flapping her wings. "Just bumped the tower." She looked at the ring embedded in dirt and then at the little alicorn hovering beside her. "Pretty smooth flying, kid. I think I owe you one. Have you thought about the Wonderbolt Academy when you're older?"

"You saved Rainbow Dash!" said Scootaloo, squeezing Flurry Heart in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome." said Flurry Heart sheepishly, wriggling free.

"Holy cow!" said Scootaloo. "Rainbow, look! Still got it!"

Scootaloo was pointing at Flurry Heart's flank, and there was a brand-new cutie mark of a falcon, flying fast and true.





Dear Aunt Twilight,

Today started out hard. I learned that I have a bad genie, and it's taking my magic away. It's from Mom, and I know it's not her fault, but I was so scared and mad when the doctor told me I had it.

Then I made a new friend, Scootaloo. Scootaloo had to deal with a bad genie, too. She's a pegasus who can't fly. But she showed me that bad genies, or not being able to do stuff, even stuff you really want to do, doesn't mean you can't do anything. You have to do what you can do, and not give up hope just because of what you can't do. If you do your best, true friends will always appreciate it.

Your faithful niece,
Flurry Heart