//------------------------------// // How to Train Your Chicken Part 2 - To Be a Pegasus 101 // Story: The Love of a Family // by Asterid //------------------------------// Chapter 9 – How to Train Your Chicken Part 2 – To Be a Pegasus 101 Twilight, Rainbow and Scootaloo made themselves comfortable in the large library of the Castle of Friendship. Lifting a quill in her magic, Twilight wrote a quick note to the matrons of the orphanage stating that Scootaloo would be spending the night. Ringing a small bell on the table signaled to Spike that his assistance was needed.  “What’s up, Mom?” Spike asked, peaking his head in the doorway. “I need you to send this off before you rush off to spend time with Applebloom,” Twilight replied before hoofing over the scroll, “Scootaloo is going to be spending the night and we don’t want them to get worried.” Holding the scroll gently in his claws. Spike blew a thin stream of green fire to send the message on its way. Giving first Twilight, then a surprised Rainbow Dash a hug, the little dragon rushed out of the castle, off to meet his fillyfriend.  “So squirt, first things first,” Rainbow said, reaching her wing into her saddle bag, “This is for you.” “A book?” Scootaloo said, accepting the gift in her outstretched hooves before reading the title, “The Code of the Air. Is this gonna be self-study cause Ms Cherilee tried that once before, it didn’t work out the well.” “Oh no,” Rainbow replied with a laugh, “I’m going to be teaching you myself. It’s a tradition though that when a Pegasus is old enough, they are given their family’s copy of the Code, Mother to Daughter, Father to Son.” “This…this is your family’s copy…” Scootaloo whimpered, a tear sliding along her muzzle. “Yes it is,” Dash said, ruffling the filly’s mane, “It may not be official yet, but your my daughter now. And I’m going to help you be the best Pegasus you can be.” Wiping the tears from her eyes, Scootaloo straightened up and fluttered her wings, a fierce determination lighting her eyes. “So, where should we start Mama Dash,” She asked, using her wings to open the ancient book. “First thing you need to know is that Pegasus culture started off being very military based,” Rainbow began, “I mean, you remember the Hearth’s Warming play when I played Commander Hurricane, right? For the first couple hundred years, his family was the strongest Pegasus warriors in Equestria and held the throne of Cloudsdale. After the Princess’s came to power, Cloudsdale’s ruler became more of a military advisor. Around that time, it was decided that the ruler would be decided based on a challenge called the Thunderhead Marathon.” “Does that mean anyone can run the race?” Twilight asked, “How are you not in charge of all of Cloudsdale at this point.” “I’m not eligible,” Dash said matter-of-factly, “My grandfather, Spectral Blaze, was the leader for almost 30 years. The Code won’t allow someone within two generations from the same family to compete. But there’s nothing stopping the squirt here from competing.” “Oh, I am so doing that!” Scootaloo shouted, her tiny wings launching her temporarily into the air, “I’m gonna make the official sport of Cloudsdale scooter riding. Oh, and every Thursday will be free ice cream day!” “That’s ambitious,” Twilight said with a grin, “Gonna take a lot of work though.” “I’m not afraid of hard work,” Scootaloo growled. “Good, because there’s gonna be a lot of long days with hard workouts,” Dash said, “Mama Twilight will take care of your meds and the Ambrosia while I handle building up those wing muscles.” “Thanks Moms,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “Anytime, squirt. So, you already know that Parents teach their kids how to fly, so that’s already covered.” Rainbow said before Twilight cut her off. “I have a question on that one,” Twilight asked, “Who’s going to teach Pound Cake. His parents are both Earth ponies.” “That’s…kind of a touchy subject,” Rainbow said, scratching the back of her neck, “Pinkie and Cup Cake actually let me in on the situation. Apparently, Mr Cake isn’t able to have foals so they used donated material from two donors, a Unicorn and a Pegasus. So, Pound Cake’s biological dad already signed off on allowing a flight instructor.” “What did they donate?” Scootaloo asked. “Hasn’t Cherilee gone over reproduction yet?” Twilight asked, slight panic in her voice. “Oh, that’s next month,” Scootaloo replied, “We had to wait for Rumble to be 13 before we could have that class.” “Cherilee will go over that.” Twilight quickly said.  “Moving on,” Rainbow giggled, “Next is a very important part of Pegasus Culture, Challenges. Any time a challenge is made it has to be met.” “Any time?” Scootaloo asked, “That sounds kind of one sided.” “Oh, there’s all sorts of rules on how the challenges are made,” Twilight replied with a smirk, “They have to be in writing, they have to be fair to both parties and there has to be at least three witnesses.” “Is that why you always get so wound up when someone questions your abilities?” Scootaloo snarked at Rainbow. “No that’s just what makes your mom the special pony she is.” Twilight joked. “Really? Just really?” Rainbow asked, “Anyway, challenges are also how relationships are formalized.” “What?!” Scootaloo shouted, “I’m gonna need to challenge Sweetie Belle! That’s so unfair.” “How?’ Rainbow asked, “Like Twi said, challenges need to be fair to both participants. Once your ready to write that letter, we’ll help you come up with something fair.” “What was your challenge?” Scootaloo asked, reading from the ancient book in front of her. “I…I haven’t gotten around to challenging Twilight yet…” Rainbow said, fluttering her wings a little. “Might want to get on that,” Twilight said with a grin, “Can’t have it said that the royal consort was ignoring the traditions of her people. Or the traditions of the princess for that matter.” “Whatchootalkinbout, Twiley?” Dash asked. “Oh my turn to teach,” Twilight replied, clapping her hooves together and grabbing a much thinner book in her magic, “So, this is called the Sages Wisdom. It is the basis for Unicorn culture that was written by Closer the Clever. Most of it details the rules for magical research but there are rules for when a Unicorn is seeking a prospective mate.” “And those are?” Scootaloo asked, twirling her hoof. “The interested party needs to meet with the most magically capable member of the prospective mate’s family and perform a magical test as outlined by that member.” Twilight said, quoting the passage from memory, “As detailed in the Unification Act of 25 AU, should the interested party be from a non-Unicorn race, the challenge will need to be in a field of magic pertinent to that race.” “Magic?!” Scootaloo screeched, “Pegasus don’t use magic. I’m never gonna be able to impress Sweetie Belle’s family. I’m going to be alone forever. Who’s going to want a Pegasus that can’t fly. I’m doomed!” “That…was an impressive freak out Scoots,” Dash said, shooting a grin at Twilight, “Geez, she is definitely our daughter.” “Oh, hush you,” Twilight replied, a blush dusting her muzzle, “There’s nothing to worry about silly filly. While Unicorns have easier access to magic because of their horns, all Ponies have magic. Earth ponies have a strong bond with nature. That’s why they are so strong and are able to grow crops quicker than they would normally grow. Pegasi are even more special. You have the magic of the skies. Flight, weather control, and most importantly Aeromancy.” Hearing the word Aeromancy, Rainbow Dash’s normally bright blue coloring paled to a near white as her knees began knocking. Letting out a loud “Eeep”, the Pegasus mare flipped on her back, her hind leg twitching. “Mama Dash!” Scootaloo shouted, rushing over and shaking the older mare. “Meep.” Dash said, repeating the word over and over again. Getting up slowly, Twilight went to a small bathroom off of the library and retrieved a glass of water. Carrying it over in her magic, she returned to her marefriend before dumping the liquid over Dash’s head. Coughing and sputtering, Rainbow rolled to her feet and glared at Twilight. “Better?” The princess asked. “Yeah,” Dash replied, running a hoof through her wet mane, “Just had a flashback to flight school. I was never very good in Aeromancy class.” “What!” Said a shocked Scootaloo, “Something Rainbow Dash isn’t awesome at?!” “Laugh all you want to little missy,” Dash replied, “It just means its something that we will both be learning together. I’m guessing that I need to talk to you parents then, Twi.” “No such luck, Dashie,” Twilight said with a grimace, “See, since I’m a princess, I’m part of the Royal family. That includes Cadence, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.” “Ok, not going to pretend that’s not a little intimidating,” Dash said, her eyes wide as saucers, “Please tell me its Cadence.” “Nope.” Twilight replied. “Shining Armor?” Dash guessed. “Try again.” Twilight answered. “Princess Celestia?” Dash whimpered. “Getting warmer.” Twilight giggled. “I’m doomed.” Dash sighed, collapsing onto her stomach.