//------------------------------// // A Cold Winter Night // Story: The Purple Coat // by MyLittleLucius //------------------------------// A dark fog was set over a snowy Ponyville, all was still, save for an orange pegasus filly. She was shivering in the cold, glancing around nervously. She heard hoofsteps behind her; they were soft, but audible in the still night. The pegasus, Scootaloo, turned, her pink mane catching the wind and blowing into her face. She couldn’t get a clear view of the pony who’d joined her, but she felt a rush of warmth, the newcomer had wrapped Scootaloo in her hooves. “I knew you’d come, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo smiled, looking upwards. She was shocked to find that it was not Rainbow Dash who’d warmed her, but Twilight Sparkle. Scootaloo blushed, “Oh, hey Twilight!” The lavender unicorn blinked her purple eyes, “What are you doing out here in the cold, Scootaloo? You’ll freeze out here!” Scootaloo looked at the ground, “It isn’t much better in the clubhouse.” She often slept in the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ club house when it wasn’t warm enough to sleep in the grass. Twilight levitated Scootaloo into the air, placing her gently onto Twilight’s back. “Come on, Scoots, you can stay with us until it gets warm.” Scootaloo smiled with glee, “Could I?!” She quickly reclaimed her cool, “I mean…if that’s what I have to do…” “I could just leave you here.” Twilight shrugged, knowing she would never do that to the poor orphan filly. “No!” Scootaloo whimpered, not trying to act tough this time. She was so sleepy, sleeping in a snow drift isn’t very easy. She curled up between the librarian’s shoulder blades and fell quickly asleep. *** When Scootaloo awoke, she smelled pancakes in the air. “Mmm, that smells delicious!” She stretched out, her wings stretching out away from her back, she fluttered them a little. She left the guest bedroom and trotted down to Twilight’s kitchen. Spike was flipping pancakes while Twilight read a book about flight. Scootaloo took an interest in the book, “Hey, Twi! Could I see that book?” Twilight jumped, not expecting Scootaloo to be up so early, “Of course you can!” She levitated a chair next to her and pushed the book so that it was visible from both seats. Scootaloo eagerly hopped up on the chair, glancing at bright diagrams of wings and turning to see if hers looked the same. It looked just a bit smaller than the one in the picture. Suddenly, she felt a force pulling her wing out as far as it could go, she jumped, “Hey!” “Hold on a second, Scootaloo. Stay still.” Twilight wondered if Scootaloo could be capable of flight soon; perhaps even right this very second! Her wings seemed developed enough, perhaps they could try a takeoff from a high area, safely of course. Scootaloo was growing impatient, she didn’t like having her wing held out like it was. She squirmed slightly, wishing Twilight could just hurry up already. Twilight released Scootaloo’s wing, “Scootaloo, I think you might be ready to fly.” She said calmy, smiling. Scootaloo leapt in the air, fluttering her wings, “Really!” She noted that she did stay in the air for about twenty seconds before slowly fluttering back into the chair. Twilight nodded, “After that, there’s no doubt! Let’s look for somewhere we can practice your takeoff.” She slid out of her chair and left her tree, Scootaloo followed briskly, leaping every now and again. "So, Twilight, where are we gonna practice?" Scootaloo was giddy with excitement, she couldn't believe that she was about to learn how to fly! She would have preferred if Rainbow Dash had been teaching her, but Twilight was alright. Twilight smiled, "Woah, calm down there, we're just practicing takeoffs for today. I think we should start on that hill over there." She angled her ears towards a small, snowy hill near Fluttershy's cottage. She picked up her pace, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" With that, she galloped off. "Oh no you don't!" Scootaloo called, laughing as she chased after the studious mare, determined not to be a 'rotten egg.' Twilight reached the top of the hill first, she grinned down at Scootaloo as the pegasus slowed to a trot, "I guess you're the rotten egg!" she giggled, "But we can have a rematch later." "I'll beat you then!" Scootaloo smiled deviously, her competitiveness making her lose focus slightly. She trotted in place, "So, where to?!" "Woah there, slow down! Don't you want to fly?" Twilight raised her eyebrows, a question swimming in her eyes. "Oh yeah! Of course!" She stopped trotting and spread her wings, getting into the takeoff position that she'd seen Rainbow Dash do a thousand times, "Ready?" "Set...Go!" Twilight encouraged Scootaloo as the filly fluttered her wings furiously, raising slightly higher every second, "Come on, Scoots! You can do it!" She was jumping around, excited for the little Crusader. Scootaloo rose about seven feet into the air, then collapsed into the snow, "Did you see how high I was, Twilight?!" She bounced around gleefully, she never thought she could do that! Twilight looked just as happy as Scootaloo, "Yeah! And if you keep practicing, you'll be able to fly in no time!" She was about to suggest another try, when she realized how tired the young mare's wings must be, "How about we head back and eat some of those pancakes?" "You don't have to ask me twice!" Scootaloo began trotting off towards the library, there was a slight ache in her wings, but she didn't mind one bit. She reached Twilight's tree and pushed open the door. "Guys, the pancakes were ready a while ago! Why didn't you eat before you left?" Spike growled sourly, he was wearing a pink apron with a slightly darker pink heart on it. "Oh calm your scales, Spike. We're here now." Twilight soothed the baby dragon, putting a hoof on his green spikes. The purple dragon flinched away and threw down the apron, "I'm going to take a nap." He declared, trudging to his little basket. Twilight rolled her eyes and dished out the pancakes, "What do you like on your pancakes, Scootaloo?" "Apple slices!" Scootaloo's eyes were shining, she only ever ate pancakes with nothing on them, but she really loved apple slices. She thought the two of them together would taste perfect. "Of course!" Twilight smiled, placing the slices in a circle on a large pancake, then setting the plate down in front of Scootaloo. She placed her plate, which had banana slices on it, in front of where she'd sit. "So, Scootaloo, I was thinking after you got taking off down, we could work on your landing. THat'd have to be from a higher elevation of course." "Like the mountain?" Scootaloo asked inquisitively, chewing loudly. "Exactly. On the mountain, in the cave where we'd found that dragon. You could jump from there, and flutter yourself down. We'll need help from a pegasus in case things go wrong, though." Twilight said, swallowing a mouthful of pancake. "Like Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo's eyes shone with hope, she squeed when Twilight nodded her approval. "This is going to be great!" The orange filly declared, taking another, victorious bite of her apple pancakes.