Chapter 7: "Orange Sky"
"Are you sure about this, Spike?" Scootaloo asked as she was looking at Spike in front of her, seated with his wings spread out wide.
"Sure I'm sure," the dragon replied confidently.
The orange pony was still skeptical, "Umm, how do I….hold on?" she reasonably asked.
"Just fling your hooves around my neck. Then cross them to lock them in place! This will work, I'm sure of it!" Spike seemed to be sure of his method.
Scootaloo was still worried, "Have you ever flown with anypony on your back before?"
"No, but I've head some really heavy saddlebags on me a few times last week. It wasn't that bad!" the dragon gave a warm smile to Scootaloo, who blushed a little.
"O-Okay, Spike," the pegasus replied a bit flustered from his smile.
Doing as she was told, she wrapped her hooves around his long neck and locked them, holding herself closely to her dragon. Spike flapped his wings at a quick pace, to which he began to hover slightly off the ground. Worried, Scootaloo closed her eyes and gripped herself closely to Spike. She would never admit it, but she was scared. Not because she didn't trust Spike flying with her on her back or that they would crash, but she was worried about Spike pushing himself too far. Spike continued flapping his reptilian wings at a swift pace, allowing the two to hover higher above the ground. Spike then adjusted himself to allow himself to glide at a downwards angle.
"There we go, and now to shift just a bit…." the dragon spoke to himself as he glided carefully down into the ravine.
Scootaloo opened her eyes to see that Spike was gliding into the ravine. This frightened the orange pegasus, thinking Spike had pushed himself too much and caused the two to soar into the rocky ravine. She clutched tightly to Spike as she expected for both of them to crash.
However, the dragon was in complete control of his actions. Making a sharp turn upwards, Spike was able to climb up into the air quickly and gain speed, "And there we go!" the purple dragon chimed as he flapped his wings to gain more altitude.
Opening one eye slowly, Scootaloo saw that they had not crashed, but were high above the ground. She looked down and saw Ponyville below. A few ponies were looking up at the two soaring in the sky. Scootaloo could not believe it. She was finally in the air.
"So, what do ya think, Scoots?" Spike asked as he adjusted his wing beats to minimal to allow for an easy glide among the clouds.
"It's….breathtaking…." Scootaloo managed to say as she looked in every direction. Below her was the earth to which she was once grounded on. Next to her were the clouds she dreamed of being next to since she was a filly. And in the distance, Celestia's sun was beginning to disappear in the horizon, causing the sky to be painted a bold and beautiful orange.
Spike smiled happily to himself as Scootaloo gazed around at the sights from such great heights, an experience she had never enjoyed.
Still holding to Spike, the pegasus gradually opened her wings. The feathers on her wings tingled greatly against the air. It was a bizarre and alien feeling to Scootaloo, but she instantly fell in love with that feeling, just as she had fallen in love with the dragon that was carrying her.
With her wings still spread out, she held on to Spike the way she had previously when they had taken off. Closing her eyes, she gently planted a kiss on his neck and nuzzled against him, "Thank you, Spike, thank you."
Spike smiled lovingly and replied softly, "Of course."
As the air flowed through her mane, Scootaloo added, "I truly love you, Spike. So very much."
Unknown to the two lovers, something was happening just outside of their sight. On the back of the orange pegasus, there was a faint yet radiant flash near her tail. Without either of them knowing immediately, Scootaloo had finally gained her long awaited cutie mark.
END