//------------------------------// // Parallel Priorities // Story: The Do Dilemma // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Parallel Priorities Scootaloo slowly got to her feet, standing up on the cloud she just crashed into and shaking herself. As she got her bearings, she noticed the two griffons closing in. She tried to run away, only to find herself at the edge of the cloud. She looked at her tiny wings and swallowed. There was no way they could save her from this altitude. She looked back at the griffons, who were getting closer and closer by the second. She then looked down at the sea of clouds below her hooves. Her heart began to pound. M-maybe this is just a dream, she thought, although she didn't fully believe herself. I bet if I jump off of this cloud, I'll wake up before I hit the ground. That's how it always works. It's at least worth a try, right? If not, I can land on one of those other clouds down there, no biggie. Okay, here goes. One, two... "Incoming!" Before she could leap off of the cloud, Tailspin rushed in and scooped her up, carrying her into the wild blue yonder. "You alright, mate?" she asked. Okay, so much for my dream theory, Scootaloo thought. Her eyes then went wide as she saw the two griffons giving chase. "Um, Tailspin?!" "I see 'em, I see 'em!" Tailspin shouted back. "Don't worry, mate! I know how to get them off our tail! Hold on tight!" With that, she began to fly around this way and that with the randomness of a hummingbird. Scootaloo's stomach lurched with every sharp turn and dive Tailspin made. Soon enough, her face started turning green. "Wh-what is the *mmph* matter with you?" she moaned. "C-can't you *ooh* fly straight?" "Only if I want them to catch us," Tailspin retorted. "Now just keep it together, alright? I know what I'm doing." I'm having a hard time believing that, thought Scootaloo, who was too sick to speak her mind. The chase continued for a while until Tailspin flew into a thick bank of clouds, disappearing from sight. She sat inside the bank, holding Scootaloo's mouth shut with her foreleg as she looked outside at the two confused griffons. They circled around and around, trying to find their lost prey. "I think we lost them, Dorsal," said one of the griffons. "They couldn't have gotten far, Ventral," snarled the other. "Not with the way they were flying. Keep looking." "Hmm. Maybe we should split up and cover more ground," suggested Ventral. "Ah, a flanking maneuver. Excellent idea," said Dorsal. "Great," said Ventral. "You go that way, and I'll go home." Ventral was about to fly off when Dorsal grabbed his partner by the tail. "Alright, wise guy. What's the big idea?" he growled. "Well, we've been gone for a while, Dorsal," said Ventral nervously. "And you know how much the Commander hates waiting." "In case you forgot, the Commander's orders were to dispose of the pegasi and get the map," Dorsal said tersely. "We haven't done either." "But if we don't report back soon, the Commander will get furious," said Ventral. "She'll be more furious if we come back empty-handed," Dorsal argued. Ventral tilted his head. "Are you sure? I always thought she got more mad when she was delayed." "No, it's failure that sets her off!" insisted Dorsal. "I assure you, it's delay," said Ventral. "No, it's failure!" Dorsal roared back. "Delay." "Failure!" "Delay." "Failure!" "Fine," said Ventral with a shrug. "But I once kept the Commander waiting for an hour, and she tied me to the airship's mizzenmast for a whole week." "Ha! That's nothing compared to what she'll do when she knows we failed!" said Dorsal. "And, how would you know that?" inquired Ventral. "We've never failed her before." Dorsal opened his beak to respond, but stopped himself as Ventral's words sank in. "Hmm. You have a point." He does? Tailspin thought. "Right then. We'll report back to the Commander," said Dorsal. "But if she punishes us, I'm telling her it was your idea." "You do that, and I'll tell her that you let the brats escape," Ventral shot back. "Hey, I didn't let them escape!" "Oh, so you think it was my fault?" The two griffons continued to bicker and argue as they flew away. When Tailspin could no longer hear them, she breathed a sigh of relief. "See, mate? I told you I'd lose those morons," she said, giving Scootaloo a playful punch in the foreleg. "Mmm," Scootaloo moaned, still feeling sick. "Ah, suck it up, mate. You'll be fine," said Tailspin, taking out the map. "Now, let's see. Where does this say we should go?" Scootaloo looked over at Tailspin. "Huh? What do you mean 'we?'" "Well, I'm not planning on leaving you here, mate," said Tailspin, still looking at the map. "That just wouldn't be right." "But I just wanna go home," said Scootaloo. "I don't really belong here. In fact, I don't even know how I got here." Tailspin peered over the map, giving Scootaloo a curious look. "Hmm? What do you mean by that, mate?" Scootaloo took a deep breath before explaining. "Well, I was just reading this book with Rainbow Dash about you and Daring Do, and then there was this weird part where the book said what I told Rainbow Dash a few seconds before. Then there was this bright flash, and my body felt all weird. The next thing I knew, I was in that temple." Tailspin blinked. "Eh, sorry mate. A lot of that went over my head. What's this about a book?" "Just what I told you," said Scootaloo. "Rainbow Dash was reading me this new Daring Do book, and..." She trailed off as her pupils dilated in horror. "Omigosh! I must've been sucked into the book!" "Sucked into the what now?" asked Tailspin, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You sure you didn't hit your head or something?" "Oh, what am I going to do?!" Scootaloo wailed, completely ignoring Tailspin. "How am I going to get back home?! Can I get back home?! Wh-what if I'm stuck here forever?!" "For goodness's sake, mate! Pull yourself together!" Tailspin gripped Scootaloo firmly by the shoulder and gave her a sharp look. "Professor Daring says that if you lose your head figuratively, you're gonna lose it literally," she said sternly. "Right, and you had everything under control back there," said Scootaloo sardonically. "Th-that just further proves my point," said Tailspin. "Look, don't change the subject, mate. The fact of the matter is you're stuck with me whether you like it or not. Once we find Daring, she'll know what to do. In the meantime, we should probably translate this map for her." "Fine," said Scootaloo with a pout. Tailspin sighed. "Look, I wish I could help you, mate. But I don't exactly know where you live." "I'm from Ponyville," said Scootaloo grumpily. "Okay, correction: I don't know where that is," said Tailspin. "Besides, I really don't get this 'sucked into a book' mumbo jumbo. Let's just look for Daring, and see what she has to say. Assuming she's gotten her bearings, she should be back in Hoofington with our contact. Now c'mon, let's fly." Scootaloo sighed, causing her tiny wings to buzz. "There's a bit of a problem with that, Tailspin. I'm, not a good flyer." Tailspin groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "You really aren't making this easy, you know that, mate?" "And another thing," said Scootaloo. "Stop calling me that. I told you, my name's Scootaloo." "Right, Scootaloo. Sure, whatever," said Tailspin, not really caring. "Alright, hop on. I'll do the flying." "No crazy stunts this time," said Scootaloo as she climbed onto Tailspin's back. "Right, right. I promise," said Tailspin, rolling her eyes. "Sheesh, picky picky." With that, she flew out of the cloud bank, Scootaloo wrapping her forelegs around the older pegasus's neck as she went into a gentle dive, leaving the ancient city of Argoats far behind.