//------------------------------// // We're Gonna Need a Montage Part 1 // Story: The Love of a Family // by Asterid //------------------------------// Chapter 13 – We’re Gonna Need a Montage Part 1 Day 1 After Test Acceptance (ATA), 13 days remaining until deadline. Rainbow Dash awoke with the sun, a determined look etched on her face as she rushed into the library. Combing the shelves, she eventually found several books on beginner and advanced Aeromancy as well as an ancient tome detailing the magical process to create crystalized rainbow. This…looks complicated, Dash thought, carefully flicking through the aged book with her wing tips, And I have to teach Scootaloo while learning to do it myself. Luna and Rarity wouldn’t have asked for this if it was impossible though. Setting all of the books to the side on a small table, Dash went to the kitchen first to collect an assortment of healthy foods before walking back to Scootaloo’s room. Knocking gently on the door, Dash expected to hear some sounds of movement from the room. When no answer came, Dash knocked again, louder this time. When she found silence to be the only reply, Dash poked her head in the room and saw the orange filly snuggled deep into the covers of her bed, a wide smile stretched across her face, her hooves wrapped tightly around a large stuffed bear. “Mmmm, I like cuddling with you, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo mumbled, sleep still holding a firm grasp on her tiny form as her wings extended with a light ‘fumph’. Oh wow, Dash thought, a blush staining her cheeks, I was soooo not ready for that. “Scoots, come on,” Dash said sternly, a blush on her face, “It’s time to get up, we’ve got learning to do.” “Huh…wha…” Scootaloo said, looking around with bleary eyes, “It’s summertime, I shouldn’t have to learn…” “Your right, it is summer,” Dash said, dragging the filly out of bed by her scruff, “Which means I have two weeks to complete my ‘test’ and you have three. And that’s including all of the time we need to teach both of us Aeromancy.” Rubbing a hoof over her eyes to clear the crust away, Scootaloo blinked a few times as she started to fully wake up. “Breakfast at Sugar Cube Corner?” She asked, her eyes shining. “Yeah, no,” Dash mumbled around the filly held gently in her mouth, “Healthy food only until further notice. Now, you head down to the Library while I grab our snacks again.” Setting the orange filly down, Dash retrieved the small bags of healthy treats she had collected before following Scootaloo down the hall and into the library. Seeing the shocked look on the younger Pegasus’s face, Dash couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve got to learn all of this!?” Scootaloo asked, staring wide eyed at the large pile of books waiting for them. “Both of us do, Squirt,” Rainbow replied, ruffling the filly’s mane with her wing, “We’ll start with the beginner books for today and tomorrow we will try to do some practical exercises.” For hours the two Pegasi sat in comfortable silence, pouring through the books detailing their tribe’s innate magic. Snacks were eaten periodically, but the entire time Dash and Scootaloo sat in quiet contemplation of what they were reading. Eventually, Twilight wandered into the library on her own looking for her two favorite girls. Seeing them, heads bent over ponderous tomes of magical knowledge, brought a smile to her face. Until she got nearer and heard the unmistakable sound of two ponies snoring.  “Hey, wake up you two,” Twilight said, raising her voice slightly, “Its nearly sundown. Have you been at this all day?” “Hey Mama Twilight,” Scootaloo said, shaking her head to clear away the cobwebs, “Yeah, we’ve been studying all day. We’ve gotta learn this stuff or else Momma Dash can’t be with you and I won’t get to be with my squishy marshmallow pony.” “Yeah, don’t make me think about you and Sweetie Belle,” Dash said, yawning loudly, “Walking in on your snuggle dream this morning was bad enough.” “You WHAT?!” Scootaloo squeaked, her face turning a darker shade of reddish orange. “Well, you didn’t answer when I knocked.” Dash answered. “New family rule,” Twilight said, trying to stop a family argument, “Three knocks before going into the kid’s rooms. Agreed?” “Sounds fair,” Dash answered, before turning to her marefriend, “So, what’s for dinner?” Day 2 ATA, 12 days remaining until deadline The early morning light shone down upon the open field surrounding the Palace of Friendship. Several buckets of water littered the grounds, ready for the first hands on lesson in Aeromancy.  “Alright Scoots,” Dash said, shifting into Coach Mode, “From what we read yesterday, what’s the most form of Aeromancy?” “Um…ok yeah, Weather control is an offshoot of Aeromancy, but the most basic form of Pegasi magic is being able to make clouds.” “Awesome,” Dash said with a grin, “Glad one of us was paying attention. So, how does a Pegasus create a cloud?” “That’s easy,” Scootaloo said, bouncing slightly, “By touching a source of water, they force it from a liquid to a gas and form it into fluffy piles of awesome.” “Well then, lead on,” Rainbow said, motioning towards the nearest bucket, “Let’s see who can make the most clouds.” Breaking into a run, both Pegasi began moving between the buckets laid out on the castle grounds. Being larger and quicker than her daughter, Dash reached the first bucket and dipped her hoof into it cautiously, focusing intently on drawing the liquid out and forming into cloud vapor. Her first attempt was shaky, only a few thin strands winding around her hoof. Gritting her teeth and growling lightly, she thrust her entire foreleg into the bucket before pulling it back out, now covered in a dense layer of fluff. Wiping her other foreleg along the cloud covered one, Dash collected the cottony goodness into a ball the size of a small melon. Looking over her shoulder, Dash began to brag before the words died on her lips. Scootaloo had reached her own bucket and gently tapped the surface of the water, focusing her magic like the book had said. When there wasn’t an immediate response, Scootaloo squeezed her eyes tightly shut and forced every ounce of magic in her tiny body into her hoof. With a massive ‘whoosh’, all of the water in the bucket rocketed skywards as it solidified into a column of shimmering, crystalline ice. Tapping a hoof against the frigid surface, Scootaloo was shocked by what she had accomplished. “Um, Mama Dash, I think I did something wrong.” Scootaloo shrieked, panic radiating through her words. “Not wrong, just different,” Dash replied, in awe of what the squirt had done, “Looks like you skipped step one and moved into step two.” “Is that a good thing?” Scootaloo asked. “Its impressive, that’s for sure.” Rainbow replied, “Lets try again, remember, think fluffy cloudy goodness.” And so, it continued throughout the day. Dash slowly, but surely began to get a better handle on creating clouds from water. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was still having issues. She would either produce singular wisps of nearly invisible vapor or the entire bucket would erupt into subarctic geysers of ice. Finally giving into her frustration as the sun began to set, Scootaloo kicked over her latest failure, sending the frozen pillar falling to the ground where it shattered into razor sharp shards. “Why can’t I get this!” She screamed, tears falling from her rose-colored eyes, “I’m either getting nothing or I’m overshooting, there’s no middle ground.” “Give it time weein’,” Dash said, wrapping a wing around the sobbing filly, “Only reason I’m able to do this at all is because I was trained how to do it when I was little, as much as I avoided it. Today’s only been your first day of practice.” “But I’ve only got 19 days left!” Scootaloo shouted, stamping her hoof, “I should have asked Rarity for more time.” “I can tell you why you didn’t,” Dash said with a smile, “I may not have given birth to you, but I’m your mom in every way that matters. And you are definitely your mother’s daughter. Second best is not an option. Quitting is for lesser Ponies. You are a Dash. We never say die, we never give up, we practice until we fall down then we get back up and do it again until we get it right. Now, who are you.” “I’m…I’m Scootaloo…” The filly replied with a sniffle. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.” Rainbow teased. “I’m Scootaloo.” She answered, more forcefully. “One more time?” Rainbow asked, trying to hype up her little pony. “I AM SCOOTALOO SPARKLE-DASH!” She shouted, leaping out from under Rainbow’s wing and glaring at the nearest bucket of water, “AND I WILL NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL I AM THE BEST AEROMANCER EVER!” “Yes, you are,” Dash replied, “But for now, you need to rest. You can practice again all day tomorrow while I’m picking up supplies form the weather factory.” “If I have to,” Scootaloo said, the fire still burning behind her eyes, “Doesn’t mean I can’t stay up tonight and keep reading.” “That’s my girl.” Dash shouted, scooping the filly up into her forelegs.