//------------------------------//
// A Child at Heart 
// Story: The Do Dilemma 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 16:
A Child at Heart


"Tailspin?"

"What, mate?"

"Do you have a plan yet?"

Tailspin sighed. "Mate, that's the fifth time you asked me that since they locked us in here.  What do you think the answer's gonna be?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yes?" she asked hopefully.

Tailspin gave Scootaloo a bemused look, and the young filly's expression drooped.  She turned back to the corner of their cell, poking at the steel floor with her hoof.

"Don't worry, I'll come up with something," said Tailspin. "Now just be quiet and let me think."

"I wish Rainbow Dash were here," Scootaloo muttered. "She'd know what to do."

"Sure, mate.  Whatever," said Tailspin, rolling her eyes. "Now will you please shut up?"

"What do you think they're gonna do to us?" asked Scootaloo timidly, turning back to the older pegasus.

"I'm trying not to think about it," said Tailspin. "You shouldn't, either."

"I know, but I can't help it," said Scootaloo, making her way over to Tailspin. "I'm scared."

"Yes, mate.  I'm painfully aware of that," Tailspin growled through gritted teeth. "Now please stop talking.  Just, think about something else."

Scootaloo complied, sitting herself in the center of the cell and casting her eyes downward.  All was silent for a time before she looked up at Tailspin again.

"Tailspin?"

Tailspin gave an exasperated groan. "What now?"

"I'm thinking about it again."

Tailspin's body tensed up all over.  She felt like a firecracker ready to explode. "I told you not to," she said in a strained tone.

"And I told you that I can't help it," said Scootaloo, tears in her eyes. "Wh-what if they hurt us?  What if I'm never heard from again?  I-I wanna be heard from.  I wanna be with Rainbow Dash again.  I wanna go..."

Ka-boom.

"Alright, that is it!" Tailspin screamed, turning savagely to Scootaloo. "You just broke the camel's back, mate!"

Scootaloo's mane and wings stood up on end as she was startled out of her wits. "Wh-what?" she squeaked. "Wh-what did I do?"

Tailspin made a beeline to the younger pony and got right in her face. "You keep saying you're scared.  Well, guess what?  I'm terrified!  You keep asking me what we're gonna do.  Well, guess what?  I have no flipping idea!  You keep saying that you miss your precious Rainbow Dash.  Well, guess what?  I would give my right wing just to see Professor Daring again!"

Scootaloo started to feel very uncomfortable and confused.  She opened her mouth to ask, but Tailspin cut across her.

"No!  No more!  I don't want to hear another word out of you!" she snapped. "I have enough problems without your whining!  Here I am, trying to keep a cool head, and you just keep making that nigh-on impossible!"

"H-how is that my fault?" Scootaloo whimpered.

Tailspin groaned. "Do I really have to spell it out for you, mate?  Alright, fine.  My special talent is stunt flying and dangerous aviation.  I put my life on the line constantly.  I should not be crying.  I should not be panicking.  I should not be acting like you!  I'm a grown mare!  You, on the other hoof, are nothing but a sniveling little Blank Flank!  Am I getting through to you at all?!"

Scootaloo tried to back away from the angry mare, but Tailspin continued to loom over her.  She gulped as she felt her back press up against the cell wall.

"I-I don't understand..." Scootaloo said, her voice barely a whisper as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Then let me make it crystal clear for you," Tailspin spat, venom dripping from her voice. "Ever since you showed up in Argoats, you've turned my dream of exploring with the great Daring Do into this utter catastrophe of a nightmare!  I did not go on this adventure to play foalsitter for a petulant crybaby!  I-I-I HATE YOU!"

Scootaloo felt as though she had just been bucked in the stomach.  She turned her head, not willing to show Tailspin how much her words stung.  As Tailspin caught her breath, she slowly began to notice what she was doing and her expression changed from rage to guilt.

"Brilliant job, Tailspin.  Way to crash and burn," she rebuked herself before walking up to Scootaloo's weeping form and placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, mate.  I-I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to snap at you like that.  I don't really hate you.  I'm just being, stupid.  Incredibly, incredibly stupid."

Tears began to mar her own vision as she turned away from the crying filly and knelt down to the floor. "I-I just wanted to be brave," she sniveled. "I-I wanted to be in control without actually being in control.  I have no idea what I'm doing, and I never did.  I-I'm actually kinda glad Professor Daring isn't here to see me now.  Sh-she would never want to have a cowardly screw-up like me for a partner."

Scootaloo stopped crying and looked over at Tailspin.  Something about her words sounded eerily familiar to her.

I'm afraid Rainbow Dash will find out I'm not as tough as she thinks I am.

As she looked at the weeping mare, Scootaloo felt something stirring in her own heart.  She and Tailspin were not the same pony.  Looking at her was nothing like looking into a mirror.  That much she knew.  But even so, she could sense the similarities.  It became abundantly clear that Tailspin felt the same way about Daring Do that Scootaloo herself felt about Rainbow Dash.  Cautiously, she walked over to Tailspin and nuzzled her with her muzzle.

"Hey, you wanna hear something?" she asked softly.

Tailspin didn't even look up. "J-just leave me alone, mate," she sobbed. "I-I've caused you enough grief."

"I want you to hear this, though," insisted Scootaloo. "Maybe it'll make you feel better."

Tailspin sighed. "Alright, fine.  What is it?"

Scootaloo took a deep breath before saying her piece. "Before Rainbow Dash took me under her wing, I kinda felt the same way you do right now.  I thought I had to act tough so that she'd know how awesome I was and become like my big sister.  But then, she started telling me these spooky stories, and I got scared.  I didn't want her to know, but soon enough I had to tell her the truth.  And you know what she did?"

"Wh-what?"

"She took me under her wing."

Tailspin looked over at Scootaloo, disbelief in her swollen eyes. "R-really?  Sh-she *sniff* really did that?"

"Yep," said Scootaloo with a gentle smile. "And it's because I faced my fears.  A pony once told me that we all have fears, and that we all have different ways of facing them.  But they have to be faced, or else they won't go away.  And I think that if Daring Do is as awesome as you say she is, she'll still let you be her partner."

Tailspin paused for a moment before biting her lip. "Well, this is a low point in my life," she muttered bitterly. "Imagine me, a grown mare, being lectured and comforted by a..."

She stopped herself and shook her head. "You know what?  I don't care anymore.  I really don't."  She picked herself up and wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo. "I really gave you a hard time, didn't I?  I kept seeing you as a nuisance because deep down, I didn't want to admit that I empathized with you."

"Empa-what?" inquired Scootaloo.

"It's a grown-up word," said Tailspin with a chuckle. "It means you share the feelings of another pony, and can understand what they're going through."  She then sighed. "Like I said, that was the reason I've been so short with you.  That was wrong of me, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.  Can you ever forgive me?"

Scootaloo mulled over it for a moment and smiled, returning the hug. "Yeah, I forgive you.  And, I'm sorry I called you a jerk before."

"Oh, you don't need to apologize for that," said Tailspin with a self-mocking grin. "Believe me, I deserved it."

Suddenly, the tender moment was interrupted as the cell door swung open and a large griffon walked in.

"You," he barked, pointing at Scootaloo. "The Commander wants to see you."

Tailspin swallowed. "Wh-what does she want to see us...?"

"Not you," the griffon snarled, cutting across Tailspin. "Just the filly.  She needs her to get through Mt. Götterdämarerung."

Both Scootaloo and Tailspin blanched.

"N-now wait just a minute!" Tailspin yelled, her voice cracking as she stood in front of Scootaloo and spread her wings. "Sh-she's just a filly!  Th-the Crimson Baroness can't expect her to risk her life like that!"

"Oh no?" said the griffon with a sneer. "That's not what I think.  After all, she managed to chase me all around Hoofington.  She's just the pony we need to clear a path straight to Das Reingold's treasure.  Now come here, you."

He shoved Tailspin out of the way and lifted Scootaloo up by the collar.

"Hey!" Scootaloo yelped as she struggled in the griffon's grip. "L-let me go, you big bully!"

"If you keep having that attitude, the Commander will not be pleased," warned the griffon. "When she's through with you, you'll be begging her to throw you to Das Reingold."

A new set of tears formed in Tailspin's eyes as she watched poor Scootaloo continue to struggle despite the griffon's threat.  She couldn't let this happen, but she didn't know what to do, either.  She scrunched her eyes tight and racked her brain for a solution.  Just as the griffon was about to leave, her eyes snapped open.

"Y-you heard the filly, buddy," she stated coldly as she got to her feet. "Let her go."

The griffon turned to the older pegasus and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?  And what'll you do if I don't?"

"I-I'm going to p-panic."

The griffon snickered, unable to believe his ears. "I-I'm sorry, did you just say you were going to panic?"

"Y-yes.  Yes, I did," said Tailspin. "You see, when I panic, I usually end up doing something stupid.  Like THIS!"

Before the griffon could react, Tailspin flew right up to him, spun around on her forelegs, and delivered a powerful buck to the beak.  The griffon dropped Scootaloo and stumbled backwards, crashing into a button on the opposite wall.  Flashing red lights filled the corridors, and an alarm began to blare.

"Wow.  Did I just jinx myself, or what?" said Tailspin, sheepishly brushing the back of her head.

Scootaloo shook herself and looked over to where the griffon lay unconscious.  Her pupils dilated as she saw that he was carrying a scooter with him.

"Well, you know what they say," she told Tailspin. "Every cloud has a silver lining."

She then ran out of the cell and commandeered the vehicle while Tailspin kept looking embarrassed.  Scootaloo turned to the older mare and motioned with her hoof.

"Hey, you coming or what?" she hollered as she put on the helmet provided for her.

"Um, yeah.  Yes, of course," said Tailspin, clearing her throat and composing herself. "Indeed, I think it's high time we got out of here, Scootaloo."

"Huh?  What happened to 'mate?'" said Scootaloo jokingly.

"Th-that's all water under the bridge now, yeah?" said Tailspin, blushing a little. "W-we really should be focusing on finding a way off this thing, don't you think?"

"Relax, Tailspin.  I'm just messing with you," said Scootaloo with a laugh.

"Hey!  Those two are escaping!"

Tailspin turned around to see a group of angry-looking griffons and pegasi coming in from down the hall.

"And there's our cue to skidoo," said she. "Think you can keep up with me on that thing?"

Scootaloo smirked and caused her wings to buzz. "If you think I was awesome in Hoofington, you haven't seen anything yet."

With that, she was off like a shot.  Tailspin couldn't help but smile as she watched the orange filly speed away.

Just goes to show you that wisdom doesn't have an age limit, I suppose, she thought to herself as she lowered her goggles and flew off after Scootaloo.