//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Let Me Fly // Story: Service for Wings // by warpd //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash knew someday, somehow, calling Twilight an egghead might come back to bite her in the rump. She wasn’t sure how, but that thought was there whenever she teased her. Scootaloo having a presentation at the library with a chalkboard and ruler in wing reminded her of her teasing. Her daughter. An egghead. What was this world coming to? Twilight sat next to Dash, seemingly unaware of her friend’s thoughts. The unicorn had the grin of a proud teacher. Seeds of knowledge had come home to roost, and the results spoke for themselves. Hard work that was going to yield brilliance. It truly brought her no greater joy. Rarity dressed sharply like she would for all professional occasions. She meticulously watched the three fillies set everything up. Given everything she knew about the monstrous alicorn, Rarity wanted to see what all this hard work was about. The anxious parents wordlessly told her that they had little idea. “What’s goin’ on again?” Applejack sat next to Rarity with the most raised of eyebrows. “I feel out of the loop.” Some were more hopeless than others, Rarity thought as she threw her head back with a groan. “Really, did you not have a clue what your Applebloom was doing?” “She did her chores and was hangn’ out with her friends. Why would I expect anything like this?” Applejack paused when she realized she was talking about these three fillies. “On the other hoof, this is downright benign compared to chasing around monsters for cutie marks.” Rarity whispered under her breath to the farmer. “It might be related to a monstrous alicorn that attacked Canterlot when Nightmare Moon came back” “Never mind. Clearly, nothing has changed.” Applejack huffed as she accepted a bag of popcorn from Pinkie Pie. “At least we’re getting a heads up this time.” “Pinkie Pie?” Alex Roberts looked down at the bran muffin provided to him on a pink platter. “How did you get involved in this?” “I was asked to provide refreshments!” She answered with a sing-song tone as she bounced between folks. “I just had to. I saw just how busy these fillies were, so I decided to help them out in my own little way.” “Tea. To help calm me down. Please.” Alex asked as he once again caught his hand tightening up. He had a strong urge to grab the handle of his knife, a source of comfort in the bad old days “Feeling a little anxious.” “Make that two,” Dash said as she accepted a rainbow-themed cupcake. “Okie dokie loki.” Pinkie Pie said cheerily as she bounced away to prep the beverages. “What would you like,  Applejack? Apple juice?” “Lemonade is fine.” Applejack tapped her chin as she thought. “Should we get the Elements of Harmony? Been awhile since we fought an alicorn.” “I seriously doubt that we need to do any of that today. I think it would be, what’s the phrase,  frowned upon coming to the Gala to make it explode.” Dash chuckled at the idea. “Would be really funny though.” “Assuming this presentation persuades us to go,” Alex grumbled as he readjusted himself in his pony-sized seat. “Spike and I are going regardless. It’ll make for an interesting topic to discuss with Princess Celestia.” Twilight’s chipper smile was the brightest in the room. “Is everypony here? We aren’t forgetting anypony, right?” — In her warm cozy home, Fluttershy sighs happily as she knits another sock sweater for a mouse. — Dash waved off the question, “Naw, everypony that wants to be here is here.”  “Hello, everypony!” The crisp crystal voice of Sweetie Belle rang out. “Thank you all for coming for this presentation. Thank you, Pinkie Pie, for helping the adults be comfortable.” “Love to help!” Pinkie sang out from the back, wearing a shirt saying “Scootaloo is #1!”. “Now, normally, we would do a song and dance number to make this more fun,” Applebloom explained as they rolled in a chalkboard covered by a drape. “Doesn’t work in the medium very well.” Pinkie Pie shrugged. “The syntax just fell flat.” “Well, I could've.” Twilight countered with a raised hoof. “One of the things I loved doing in school to make studying a fourth time more interesting was turning it into a song that I could sing while I danced around the room. I tried to get my classmates into the idea, but it really only happened one time.” Most of the ponies around her rolled their eyes while Alex carefully kept a neutral expression. After a few moments of waiting for more interruptions, Applebloom continued, “So we’re sort of doing this the old-fashioned way. Like Ms. Cheerilee does.” Alex Roberts double-checked to see if Rainbow Dash hadn’t fallen asleep. For his diligence, his wife smacked him softly with her wing when she noticed what he was doing. Scootaloo put on a pair of fake reading glasses and threw back the curtain. A diagram of magic equations, pony profiles, and a timeline of important events. A large red ring centered around a stallion and an unknown batpony. “Over five hundred years ago, Equestria was under threat of a mad ram,” she made a small pause for dramatic effect, “The Alchemist.” They were an understudy of Grogar the Necromancer. The pegasus controlled the skies and easily thwarted his airships.” “Using his dark arts in profane potions, unlike a certain zebra we all know and love, The Alchemist devised a magical disease to steal the feathers from all the pegasi. Thus, with his superior authority in the sky, a shadow dropped over Canterlot.” Behind Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle reenact the story with hastily made miniatures they got from the Ponyville game store. Applebloom had knocked the airship into Canterlot to display dominance. “Our brave hero, Tower Shield, refused to yield. He petitioned Princess Celestia to undergo a ritual with the mysterious thestral duchess, Whetu. This foreign magic changed the ordinary earth pony into a pony like the duchess, a bat pony. As shown in the sources of Pegasus and Winged Heroes, Tower Shield earned his wings in glorious fashion by routing the evil ram. His name is still honored in the hall of heroes in Canterlot and Cloudsdale.” Rainbow Dash blinked a few times as she processed what her daughter just explained. She then raised her hoof, “Wait.” “Dash! Let her finish the presentation.” Twilight scolded her. “No.” She responded simply. “Scootaloo, are you telling me what I think you’re telling me? That you can get-” “Wings!” Scootaloo cheered out with a whoop. “Working wings! The Pomaline family has the power to grant wings to others.” She slapped the picture of Whetu with her ruler. “The Pomaline family is a royal branch from the Kiri nation. Each generation, one pony in that family has special powers that are passed down in their bloodline.” Most of the adults had open jaws. They quickly skimmed the information on the board to double-check if they heard correctly. Applejack recovered the fastest from the others. “Well shucks, Scoots. That sounds like fantastic news. Who’s the special pony that can do that now?” Sweetie Belle threw a picture in front of Whetu with a quick pinup. “This albino mare, Erebus. She hasn’t inherited the duchess title from her mother yet, but she’s the pony to ask. The sign that she is the one is the cutie mark. All the ones from history had a variant of a half moon half sun.” Scootaloo pointed to a small picture of her own wings. “So my disability is a combination of my nervous system and starswirl glands failing to make a connection which in turn leads to poor wing bone growth. I can’t process pegasus magic correctly. I can’t say the medical word very well.” “Osteoswirlclerosis.” Twilight helpfully added. “That's it.” Scootaloo nodded. “So you all may be wondering how I got this idea.” Alex Roberts and Rainbow Dash nod their heads ‘yes’ deliberately. Scootaloo took that as encouragement. “Well, Nightmare Night, when Princess Luna returned, had me thinking. We were celebrating a pony that was real. Not some storybook character or nursery rhyme. A real mare. The candy as an offering was just a symbol of ancient earth pony tribes making autumn offerings for a good harvest. It had nothing to do with Nightmare Moon, but it did get co-opted into the myth. I remember this song…” Scootaloo pointed to Sweetie Belle. The young unicorn took a deep breath and started, “Beware tarrying in the night, for it might take you away on moonlit wings. She’ll take you away into the calm and quiet. Shadows grow in this garden of enchantment.” She sang out the quicker version of the old song, “They shall fear me for as long as the moon endures, come join the Nightmare Night parade.” “That old song, is that where all this comes from?” Applejack started to hum the rest of the song to herself. “Makes one wonder what other old mare’s tales have a seed of truth hiding. You know that song was about Nightmare Moon, Scoots. Not exactly the nicest of mares.” “That’s been on my mind too.” Alex crossed his arms. “You want to meet this mare at the Gala in the hopes she will give you wings. Someone associated with Nightmare Moon.” Scootaloo withered under her father’s gaze. She looked between her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom could only shrug. Trying to think of any other options, she glanced at her mom, Rainbow Dash. Looked at the adults waiting for an answer. Rarity. She made a Gala dress for her mom. “Well, Dad. You went to Canterlot right? I know how protective you are, so when you visited the Pomaline family, what did you think?” Scootaloo challenged back. “I never said I went to see them.” Alex raised an eyebrow. “Did you?” Scootaloo pressed her question. “I know you had the opportunity to do it when Blueblood sent you a request to meet with him. Why wouldn’t you?” “You meet with Prince Blueblood?” Rarity spoke up, directing her question to Alex with a slight hint of curiosity. “You have been busy.” “He gave me an invitation so he can deliver the tickets. He wanted to ask why we needed the Gala tickets.” Alex admitted. “And!” Scootaloo added. “You thought you could catch two birds in your wing. After all, you knew what I was doing. Right?” Alex sighed as he relented. “Yes. I did know.” Scootaloo nodded with excitement, her dad continued with a sharp exclamation. “However, I never met with any of them. Just their guard and butler.” “I’m impressed, squirt.” Dash grinned as she nudged him. “She’s a smart one. Figured us out pretty quick.” “Maybe, but what I learned doesn’t quite fill me with confidence.” Alex leaned forward. “So what I’ve gathered, they’re a strange sort. Blueblood didn’t have anything bad to say about them, and the paladin was very friendly. Even mentioned that they would enjoy talking to me.” Remembering that, Alex dragged his hand over his hair. “Aw, man. This might happen anyway. I made them aware that I wanted to meet them. If not at the Gala, sometime in the future.” “So what’s got you so worked up then?” Applejack asked her favorite human. “I talked to Dr. Emerald as well. He told me that during the changeling invasion in Canterlot that Erebus had killed some of the changelings that had taken the family hostage.” Alex hesitated a moment, wondering just how graphic he should be. “The survivor was scarred from the experience.” He felt a change in the room, the adults stiffened. Rarity cleared her throat as she looked away. “Alex. I’m pretty sure I killed a changeling during the Canterlot invasion. Probably more.” Dash whispered to him. “Like the whole thing was a big ol’ mess.” “Not really something we like to talk about. Given how we’re trying to have peace with them.” Twilight shook her head. “Alex, I would be angry if my family was taken hostage.” Pinkie Pie slinked up to Alex and started to lean on him. “Dashie, is right about it being one big mess. Dr. Emerald still suffers from empathy trauma, being one of the few doctors they had.” Feeling like a heel, Alex started to rub Pinkie and Dash’s scalp. “The fact you have worked hard to bring peace with them despite how traumatic that day must have been. You ponies are incredible.” “You know it, stud.” Dash flicked his tail around his arm and pulled him forward to Scootaloo. “Hey, you’ve done really good figuring this all out. Your dad and I want what’s best for you. More than anything in the world, I would love to fly with you. Do you have any doubts about this?” Scootaloo looked between her parents before looking up to the board. “Well, this all hinges on her. Erebus. Nightmare Moon is gone. She might not have that power anymore.” “I say it’s worth a shot.” Dash smiled then glanced over to Alex. “How are you feeling big guy?” Placing his hand on his daughter’s back. “I will protect you with everything I am. We can go.” At that moment, the front door slammed open as Summer Blossom whined in annoyance. “Cheaters! Cheaters. I said no spying.” In one of the upper windows of the library tree, a few pegasus crowded the window. Summer threw the curtain over it. Only for several patrons to herd their way into the library. “I knew she was up to something. Scootaloo, you're going to the Gala for wings?!” One of her classmates, Berry Pinch, pushed their way through the herd. “Here I thought Lyra was doing something weird behind my back.” Bon Bons' voice could be heard somewhere in the group. “Didn’t think it would turn out like this.” “Scootaloo! Scootaloo! Is it true you have found a way to fly?” A colt by the name of Featherweight took a picture of Scootaloo with all her work on the chalkboard behind her. Most likely to be part of the published story in the newspaper tomorrow. “Whoa, whoa, folks.” Alex Roberts stood up in front of the crowd. “What’s all this about?” “It’s a small town, Alex. Kind of hard to keep a secret.” Applejack bounced up next to him. “Hang on ya’ll, this was a family occasion. No need to rump your way in here.” “Come on, AJ!” Cloudchaser made it a point to yell from outside the window. “We’ve all known her her entire life. We want in on this!” “Wings! Wings! Wings!” Excitement was already high in the crowd, but the joy didn’t subsist. Stallions, mares, colts, and fillies turned into a town celebration. Pinkie Pie couldn’t contain herself anymore. An explosion of confetti outside the library lured all the ponies outside. The chanting turned into something more musical. The town was now in on it, and Scootaloo was at the center of it. Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash trotted to an ever-present beat and joined the commotion. Alex Roberts, the confused human, just watched in slight bewilderment as a musical number started. He had no idea how long this would go or where it would end up. His other daughter sat down next to him on her haunches. “Sorry. Father, I tried.” “Summer, I don’t think we could have prevented this. Scootaloo wasn’t exactly quiet about what she’s been doing.” Alex Roberts sighed as he mentally played out just how things could go wrong. “How do you feel about this?” The diamond dog pup stayed silent as the musical number played out across town. “I want to protect sister. I want her happy. I worry if she get wings, I can’t protect.” “That will be something we’ll have to learn how to figure out.” Alex sat down on the step to the library and leaned against the door. “Hope for harmony right?” “Mr. Roberts, Summer Blossom.” The voice of a friend made them look aside from the song and dance number to their changeling friend, Dr. Emerald. “I see the town has learned about your daughter’s hopes and dreams.” “You’re not joining the musical number?” Alex scooched over to let Emerald sit next to him. “No.” He promptly said. “Though the harmonious magic basically told me the gist of the song. Wings.” “Doctor. I worry. Nightmare is an old demon legend.” Summer tapped her paws together. “Sister, hopes for best, but I worry.” “Which is why I’m coming.” Emerald looked up to his human friend. “Mr. Roberts I’m terrified, but I’ve had time to think.” “You don’t have to do that, bud.” Alex patted him on the back. “No, I insist. Not just so I can confront my own fears, but to help you feel this situation out.” Emerald continued. “Going through with this, we need to watch each other’s back. I can read their emotions, and you can do that human thing that allows you to see right through us all.” “You mean intuition.” Alex smiled with a chuckle. “I’ll sniff them out. Good dog knows what evil lurks in hearts.” Summer thumped her chest with a powerful paw. “We do this. Protect family. Protect friends.” “It's not the first time the girls have gone to the Gala, and it ended in disaster. Let’s try to avoid a second incursion.” Alex Roberts shrugged as he rubbed the back of his neck. “If they do turn out to be goofy silly ponies with not an evil bone in their body, I’ll have to apologize. That will make it so much easier than if they’re actually part of some kind of moon cult.” “Do you have your suit yet?” Emerald spied a singing tailor. “How about I go in my shiny Lunar magic armor. That’ll make a good impression.” Alex threw his hands out, pretending to throw magic blasts. “Can you? That’ll make me feel so much better.” Emerald whined, hoping that superior firepower would be brought to the table. “I’ll see if I can get away with it.” — Princess Celestia and Princess Luna look over new requests. Celestia sips some orange juice before breaking the silence. “They’re coming.” “Who, dear sister?” Luna rereads the request from her paladin. “Twilight and her friends.They’re coming to the Gala.” Princess Celestia checked the calendar, just to make sure it was the right date. “I’d make fun of you for just desserts, but it seems my paladin, Alex Roberts, is requesting to bring his armor.” Luna pressed her lips. “Are they related? In fact, what did our nephew tell you? Blueblood talked with Alex recently.” “Scootaloo wanted to meet the Pomeline family.” Celestia watched her sister's confused expression. “Yes, that’s it. Beyond that, I do not know.” “The Pomeline family? You mean the bat pony family?” Luna’s nose scrunched. “Why?” The two princesses sat in silence, worried about the upcoming storm. “Well if the Gala is destroyed, no real loss.” “Luna!”