//------------------------------// // Flying Lesson Redux // Story: Families // by Darth Link 22 //------------------------------// The rest of the days passed without much incident, as most rainy days in Equestria did. Many bosses gave their employees off time for a storm so big, so not much else happened. The next morning, Pinkie was up at the crack of dawn to begin her shift at the bakery, making donuts for the early morning rush. She was giving her employers a chance to sleep in, something they hadn't gotten much of a chance to do since the twins’ birth. She was surprised when, thirty minutes before opening, Rarity came in, using her spare key. Shaking the grass from her designer boots, she trotted up to the counter. "Rarity? What are you doing here so early? Usually you're all about beauty sleep! Ooh! Maybe you're not really Rarity! Are you a changeling? Can you do..." "Pinkie," the unicorn said tensely. "Really, it's too early in the morning for those antics." "Only you talk that much like Rarity. So what do you need?" "It's not about what I need, Pinkie, it's what you need," she sighed. "Yesterday, before Twilight came back in, you were starting to tell us something. Is everything alright?" At that point, Pinkie lost her smile. It was surreal to Rarity to see her friend this way. The earth pony was a pony of extremes; she giggled heavily, cried loudly, and sulked somberly. Seeing an intermediate response actually worried her far more. "...No," Pinkie said quietly. "I've been wanting to tell you all something. I was waiting for everything with Spike to be over...” Rarity shook her head. “Pinkie, it’s unhealthy to keep those kind of emotions bottled up...” “I wasn’t doing it on purpose! Honest! I just didn't think it would take this long..." Rarity shook her head sadly. "Well, I'm here now, and Spike's okay. Would you like to talk about it?" Pinkie was silent again. "We're all getting together tonight, aren't we? I was going to tell you all then." The unicorn arched an eyebrow. “Pinkie...” “I’m not putting it off, honest. But... I just don’t want to have to tell the story twice.” There was silence. “Pinkie... have you told the Cakes?” “The day we got back from Canterlot. I... I never even told them about it before now. Please, please Rarity, wait until tonight.” Rarity gaped at her friend’s reaction. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded. "Very well. Until then, if there's anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to ask." Pinkie shifted a bit. "Well, there is something..." Rainbow Dash was rarely up before noon on days when she didn't have to work, but today was an exception. After the storm it was sunny skies for the next two days, meaning the pegasus had time to give her number one fan another training session. Meeting in front of the Cutie Mark Crusader treehouse seemed to be a strange choice on the filly's part, but the elder mare nonetheless agreed to it. She arrived to see Scootaloo doing her wing strokes, clearly excited to start the days activities. "Hey there, squirt, ready to get started?" The filly jumped a foot in the air in sheer excitement. "You bet! I did all the exercises you told me everyday!" "And did you always do more than you did before!" "Uh-huh! I pushed myself, just like you said!" Smiling, Rainbow pulled the filly into a one legged hug, gently trussing her mane with her other hoof. "Knew you had it in you," she smiled warmly. "So, did that dragon die?" Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash was confused for a moment, then remembrance came back. "Oh, no he didn't. He won't be flying straight anytime soon, but he'll live. I don't think those three will bother us again, though, not after what Twilight did to that red one. Spike's going to be okay too, Fluttershy told me so when she stopped by last night." At that, Scootaloo looked apathetic. "That's... great," she muttered. Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Are you mad at Spike? Rarity told me that when she explained what had happened to you three, you seemed mad." "Spike's an idiot!" she yelled, catching her mentor off guard. "Twilight was practically his mom already, and he wanted to throw everything away! That's stupid! Why would he do that!" Rainbow placed a stern hoof on her shoulder. "Kid... yeah, Spike was acting stupid. But after the wedding... well, I wasn't really myself either. Ponies... and dragons, apparently... can do stupid things when they're like that." "...I guess," the filly grunted. "Well, we better get started. Let's do a warm-up. Some push-ups would be a good place to start..." Twilight awoke to the warm sensation of her child resting on her. Her sleep for the first time since the wedding had been completely peaceful, no nightmares of changelings or vague cryptic visions from mischievous spirits. And Spike was still smiling even in his sleep, finally at peaceafter days of self inflicted torment. Carefully she maneuvered her way out of her son's grip. Once on her hooves, she gently tucked the covers around him as if he was something incredibly fragile. Giving him one last kiss on the forehead, she trotted downstairs. Her stomach growling reminded her she had barely eaten the day before. After Spike had fallen asleep the previous day, she had excused herself to do several things, including writing a report to the Princess about what she had learned, finding out how to apply for adoption papers, finding out if she even could legally adopt Spike given that many members of the Canterlot elite absolutely hated the idea of a dragon getting any rights like a pony, seeing if the Princess would be willing to give her an extension on her work so she could spend time with her child, reporting that the three teenage dragons were in Equestria, and other things. Her mind was still a tangled mess of things she wanted to do, but she was excited to do them all. She had tried making checklist after checklist of what to do next, though whenever she had thought she had a plan, a new complication occurred to her. At some point she returned to bed, allowing Spike to sleep with her. He hadn't woken once during the night, clearly he hadn't slept well the last few days either. She was heading for the kitchen when a glimpse at the front door stopped her. There were letters dropped through the mail slot, unusually neglected in all the chaos of the previous day. She also noticed a package sitting among them, one with the Royal Seal on it. Her stipend, she guessed, must have been brought in by Derpy, whom she had given permission to do so when it came to packages. She levitated her package up, noting it seemed heavier than usual. Tearing off the wrappings, she saw the usual wooden box, which she was required to mail back, that contained her bits. Unusually, however, there was a letter attached to it. Dear Twilight Sparkle, Due to your recent contributions to the Kingdom of Equestria, we have seen fit to increase your weekly stipend by a full thousand bits..." Twilight gaped. Opening her box, she was frozen still by the several bits that practically overflowed from the container, including several fifty pieces where there had once been ten pieces. She had been expecting a raise in the wake of the Changeling Invasion, but not to this degree. Defeating NightMare Moon and Discord had netted her only half of that pay increase. She sighed. Celestia was still feeling guilt, it seemed. Another problem in the wake of the wedding, it seemed, though the Princess of the Sun was more than capable of handling herself. Still, with the extra money, her research could be improved considerably. And with the Princess more compliant, perhaps she'd be more willing to deal with any complications with Spike's adoption... or was that a reason to hold off on anything right now? With the extra pressure being put on Celestia at the moment, getting caught bending more rules for her could be a disaster... Her stomach growling reminded her of a more immediate concern. Setting the box on a table, she trotted to the kitchen to cook up a meal. An extra big one, she remembered. After all, Spike hadn't eaten much the last few days either. "Alright kid, you've done good. Now we're going to try something a bit more intense." Scootaloo beamed. "Alright! What is it?" "We're going to try flying for distance," Rainbow Dash explained. She scooped the filly up in her forelegs and flew up into the sky. There was a cloud, a single cloud she had borrowed from work, still drifting just above Sweet Apple Acres. She deposited the filly on her cloud. "This is going to really work you. Now, how far do you think you can make it on your wings?" Scootaloo looked around. They were still near the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, she noted. It seemed a good distance away... "Probably to the clubhouse..." "Probably? There's no probability. That's a mindset I want you out of. You will make it to the clubhouse. I know you will." "...You really think I can make it?" "No, I know you can make it. You need to have that attitude. The only difference between a champ and a chump is the mindset. Are you a champ?" "Yeah!" "Then stretch your wings. Come on..." She instructed. Scootaloo obeyed, getting ready to fly. "I'll be right below you to catch you. You'll keep going until you land on the clubhouse, land on the grass, or until your wings give out and I have to catch you. Now, don't look down at all. You hear me? You look down once, and that's it for training today." "What? How am I supposed to see when I've made it?" "I'll tell you. Now come on, go! Go! Go!" Jumping a bit at her mentor's sudden yelling, the filly nonetheless obeyed, leaping off her cloud. Her wings moved in rhythm, occasionally flapping too fast, causing her to descend. After a bit, the flaps started putting a strain on her muscles, but she kept going at Rainbow's insistence. "Come on, come on! Go! Go! You're doing great, go! Go!" Scootaloo was sweating. She was feeling the burn. She had to be at least halfway there by now... "Go! Go! Come on, no pain, no gain!" The encouragements continued as she kept herself going forward. Every second it was becoming more difficult, but she persisted. Another flap, then another, then another. She wished she could see her progress. The treehouse below her would give a good indication of how far she had gotten. Still, she had to be almost there by now... "Come on, come on, halfway point! You're doing great... don't stop! Don't stop! Go! Go!" Scootaloo's near halt was brought on by a revelation. Only halfway? She thought for sure she'd be there by now. She was so tired, but she had to keep going. She couldn't let Rainbow Dash down. She pushed through her aches. "Go! Go! Go!" She continued obeying, flapping, pushing. She felt like crying. She couldn't even make it five feet without getting this tired. But she hid it. She couldn't let Rainbow Dash think she was a wimp. She had to keep it up... "Go! Go! Come on, almost there! Almost there!" Her wings were beginning to buckle. Crying in desperation, she kept forward. "You're almost there! Go, come on! Just flap your wings five more times! Five... four... three... two... one! You made it! Good job!" Scootaloo fell on the grass, and almost immediately started crying. "Hey squirt, what's wrong? Did you bump something?" "I... I couldn't even make it five feet! I..." She trailed off when she noticed something. She was looking straight ahead... but she still couldn't see the clubhouse. "...What?" she turned around. There, a good ten feet away, sat the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse. "You were losing a lot more altitude near the end, we need to work on that. But that was good." "H... how did I make it that far?" "Because you couldn't see your limit," Rainbow Dash explained. "The point of this was to teach you that limits exist in your head. They're when your brain is telling you to stop. You need to learn to ignore that. See, because you made it farther than your brain told you you could." Scootaloo looked in awe. He mentor's forelegs wrapped around her, pulling her into a hug. "Come on, I think it's time for something else," she said, lifting the happy filly up. She carried her charge up to the same cloud she had launched herself off of earlier. "So what are we doing now?" Scootaloo asked as her hooves touched cloud. The younger filly was surprised when her idol flopped down on her back. "Now, we nap." Scootaloo blinked. "Nap?" Rainbow Dash responded by draping a foreleg around the filly and pulling her close. "Even a champion needs her shut-eye." Spike awoke to the smell of breakfast, an unusual wake up call, seeing as how cooking was one of his tasks. His eyes shot open. The aroma of pancakes with syrup and fresh squeezed orange juice filled his nose. Excitedly he rose up, only to be rudely reminded of the beating he had taken the day before. Groaning, he sat on the bed, trying to work his way through the pain. It was a few seconds later when he remembered. Twilight was his mother now. She didn't hate him. All his worries about her not loving him the way she wanted him to were childish overreactions. He was overjoyed. Suddenly, the pain meant nothing. He had to get downstairs. He rose again, wincing at the pain but mostly trying to ignore it. He set his feet on the floor as he stood, his body feeling twice as heavy as it usually should. Slowly he began making his way downstairs. His heart beat faster with each step, both with excitement as to who he was going to see and in response to the effort his body was putting up. Owlowiscious, watching from a perch, stayed silent, torn between two conflicting desires. One was to obey his mistress and alert her if Spike tried to walk on his own, the other was a belief that Spike needed to do this. He sighed. He could always tell her he had fallen asleep a little too early. Twilight had just finished setting out breakfast, and upon hearing the dragon's footsteps, she turned to meet her son's gaze. She smiled warmly, and he smiled back, his heart beating faster... then her eyes bulged out. "Spike!" Spike jumped. "What? What's wrong?" Instantly Twilight's magic surrounded him, lifting him into the air. "You shouldn't be walking around just yet! You're still sore from yesterday!" She placed Spike in a chair, as carefully as she could. "Aw, Twilight, I feel fine," he moaned. The unicorn stopped, lifting an eyebrow. "Twilight? You're not going to call me Mom?" Spike scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I... I don't know. I really wanted you to be my mom, but... actually calling you Mom just sounds weird. You’ve taken care of me all this time, but I’ve always called you Twilight, so..." Twilight silenced him by kissing his forehead. "That's okay, I understand. You don’t have to call me anything new now. I'm still your mother... which means you listen when I tell you to take it easy, okay?" He blushed. "Okay." "Good. Now come on, after yesterday I think we both deserve a big breakfast," she said soothingly, tucking a napkin into his lap. Spike licked his lips as he looked at the pallet laid out for him. Pancakes and orange juice, wheat toast with butter, slices of grapefruit, and some tea for Twilight. “You made all this? What’s the occasion?” “I just wanted to take a day to spend with you. With what’s been going on we both deserve some time off,” she answered as she sat in her own chair, levitating her knife and fork to cut her first. “Are we going anywhere?” he asked excitedly. “Oh no,” she scolded, looking right at him. “I don’t want you moving around much today. We’re going to stay home and rest. We’ll think of something fun to do. Maybe I can read to you like I used to...” Spike drooped a little, though he had to admit, even going back to his early days sounded appealing. “...Can we read some of the Daring Do books?” She smiled. “Of course. And before that, are you up for sending a few letters to the Princess?” Spike swallowed his mouthful. “Why? I thought you wanted me to take it easy.” “I do... but I need to tell Celestia that those three dragons were here. Even if they’re leaving for good, it wouldn’t be right of me not to alert the authorities. I wouldn’t ask it of you if it weren’t important.” Spike nodded. “I’m sure I’ll be able to do it.” He was silent for a moment. “Are you sure they’re gone?” Twilight smiled. “Relax, I scared them good. They’re gone, and after you're healed we’ll probably barely talk about it again.” Applejack wiped the sweat off her forehead as she looked over her work. It would be harvest time soon, and the trees were needing constant tending. Saplings replacing the trees Flim and Flam had dug up needed special attention in the first few years. Smiling at a job well done, she pushed the baskets of weeds she had pulled up towards the barn, glad to be done with her work for the day. As she was imagining what to do next, Carrot Top trotted up to her looking quite frazzled. "Applejack! Applejack! Is it true?" The cowpony blinked. "Is what true?" "It's been spreading all over town. You and the other Bearers fought off three dragons that were on their way here!" "Yeah... they were comin' here because they had a run-in with Spike a few months back. Where'd you hear that from?" "Pinkie and Rarity have been telling everypony who'll listen," her fellow farmpony revealed. "Is it true Twilight killed one of them?" That got Applejack's eyes to pop out of her head. "What? Nah... she roughed up one of 'em real bad, weren't happy he was tryin' to hurt Spike, but last I checked all three of 'em were still up and about." Carrot Top gulped. "Could... could they come back here?" "Doubt it. Twi really shook 'em up. Doubt they'll think beatin' on Spike is worth the effort of havin' to mess with her again." At this, Carrot Top breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess you’re right... hearing about those dragons just made me a bit hysterical." "You afraid of them?" "Are you kidding? We've had a dragon rampage through town before, and we should be thanking Celestia nopony got hurt. And the year before that, a dragon nearly suffocated us all, and he wasn't even trying." Applejack rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess life's been kinda hectic ever since we got the Elements." "You mean, ever since Twilight moved into town?" Despite herself, Applejack felt her eyes narrow. "Just what'd you mean by that?" Carrot Top flinched, realizing her misstep. Still, she decided to be honest with her friend. "Well...ever since Twilight moved into town, weird things have been happening. I mean, do you really think Discord would have come here if Twilight wasn't..." "I think he would have come here anyway before too long," Applejack said through gritted teeth, "'sides, to all of you it was like wakin' up from a bad dream. You ain't got nothin' to complain about." The orange haired pony nodded. “I know... I know. I wasn’t saying anything was her fault, really. I guess a lot of it would have come with or without Twilight. It’s just... honestly, there are times she just seems like a disaster magnet.” Applejack fumed a bit, but her anger melted. “I’d be lyin’ if I didn’t say I got that impression sometimes. Still,Twi’s helped this town more than she’s hurt it.” Carrot Top shook her head. "I know, believe me, I like Twilight,” she shifted uncomfortably. “Are you coming to market today?" "Granny Smith's runnin' the stands with Apple Bloom," the cowpony said, relieved to be changing the subject. "We're lookin' to..." As Applejack kept rambling, she failed to notice another pony, a unicorn stallion, standing behind one of her trees. Smiling, he levitated his pencil to write. It was just like his boss said, the story was already spreading. Rainbow Dash had spent hours with Scootaloo, training the little filly and teaching her everything she knew. It was nearing sunset and, once again, the orange pegasus was exhausted. "You did very good today, squirt," the elder mare congratulated, wiping her brow, "but we're going to have to call it quits now. We're having dinner to celebrate what happened yesterday." "Alright," Scootaloo answered. "I'm about ready for a rest anyway." Rainbow Dash ruffled her hair affectionately. They were back to resting on the cloud she had borrowed, enjoying a final piece of quality relaxation time. "You earned it, kiddo." For a few minutes, the pair just quietly sat, watching the world turn. It was a peaceful, if not slightly wet, summer day. "...Rainbow Dash?" "Yeah?" "Did you really mean it when you said I could do anything?" Grinning, the rainbow maned pegasus poked her student in the ribs, tickling her. "You calling me a liar, squirt?" Scootaloo giggled, wiggling out of her grasp, for a few moments at least. Rainbow Dash tackled her, digging her hooves into her sides and tickling her for all she was worth. "I don't lie, squirt, you should know better!" The young filly shrieked and squirmed, but that brought no relief from her mentor's assault. After a few moments she relented, collecting Scootaloo in her forelegs and pulling her close. A wing draped itself over her, keeping her close. A wing wrapped around her. "You can do anything at all, squirt, as long as it doesn't hurt anypony." "...What if somepony tells you you can't?" "Are you talking about that Diamond Tiara again? I told you, don't..." "No, no... I mean, what if a big pony tells me I can't?" Rainbow looked at her student for half a minute. Scootaloo gulped, feeling she had said too much. "Well, big or small, I told you not to let anypony tell you you can't do something," Rainbow Dash said simply. "Don't let them get to you." Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically, believing the suspicion was off of her. "You got it. I'll tell any big pony just that." “...Like who, exactly?” Inwardly, the younger pegasus kicked herself. “Oh, just... somepony.” It was a lame response, and the filly knew it even before the response left her mouth. “You know what, Rainbow Dash? Nevermind. It’s really nothing...” “Kid...” Rainbow Dash said softly, though the single syllable carried a force that rendered Scootaloo speechless, “is everything alright for you at home?” Scootaloo froze, chills running down her spine. “Of course, everything’s great. You know, I think I’ve had enough training for today. I think I’ll just scoot on...” She trailed off. She was on a cloud, several feet above the air. There was no place to run. “You ran from me at the wedding when I started questioning you about your dad. I’m not letting you this time. What’s wrong?” “...Nothing.” “Scoots, you’re a worse liar than Applejack.” “I... I...” “Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said slowly, placing her hooves on the small filly’s shoulders, “I’m trying to help you. I can sense something’s wrong. Soarin’ could too. Please tell me...” “It’s none of your business!” the filly snapped angrily. Rainbow Dash widened her eyes at her number one fan’s unexpected aggressiveness. A slight tinge of hurt entered her features. Seeing this, Scootaloo moped. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. I... I didn’t mean...” The elder mare scooped her up in a hug. “It’s okay, squirt. I didn’t mean to pry,” she said soothingly. Scootaloo gave no verbal response. She simply nuzzled her face into the crook of her mentor's neck. "...Kid... you know I care about you, right?" "Mm-hmm," the filly mumbled. "And you know you can tell me anything, right?" "...Yeah," Scootaloo said quietly. The older pegasus pulled them apart. She looked into her eyes with a look that she hoped was firm, but loving. "Then I want you to promise me something." "...What?" Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "If something ever is wrong... you'll tell me. I don't want you keeping anything from me that would hurt you." "I promise." "Pinkie promise?" Scootaloo went through the motion, although without the usual enthusiasm. "Pinkie promise." Rainbow Dash scooped her up in another hug, which was returned almost instantly. The two stayed that way for a long while. The older mare could have sworn she felt her coat getting slightly moist. Tears? She didn't know. She felt like she was holding the most precious thing in the world, and to her, she might as well have been. She wanted to help this filly, wanted to be let in. She was beginning to understand Twilight's pain. Should she press harder? Ease up and let her open up naturally? Go confront her parents? Would Scootaloo try to run as Spike had? She felt helpless. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She would go consult the others on this tonight. Right now, it was the best she could do. "Alright kid, it's getting late. I have plans, and you better get home. You going to be okay?" "Yeah... don't worry, Rainbow Dash. I'll be just fine."