//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 Too School for Cool // Story: Finding A Home // by DerpyDaringDitzyDoo //------------------------------// Anger. The emotion one feels when the sun wakes them up before they’re ready. Scootaloo woke with a yawn and a hoof over her eyes, a vain attempt to block out the sun’s overbearing light. “Just five more minutes…” She mumbled to herself, her voice muffled by her blanket. All the previous day’s events hit her mind like a wave, causing her to shoot upright. She heard two voices in the kitchen and decided to investigate. She quietly slid off the couch and walked to the door of the kitchen, the cold wood floor feeling refreshing and helping to wake her senses. She stopped around the corner of the door when she could tell it was Swift and Sky talking. “…Think you’re lying, you don’t look okay.” “Swift I told you I’m fine. I’m just… deep in thought.” “If you say so, just promise me you’ll take it easy. We really can’t afford for you to get sick or something right now. So what are you thinking about, Scootaloo?” “Yeah, it’s just not fair Swift she deserves so much more than this old dump.” “Your house isn’t that bad…” Even this early in the morning his chuckles made Scootaloo giggle. “Oh hush you, that’s not what I meant. Do you know how she got here? She walked all the way from Ponyville alone after her dad abandoned her. He just left her Swift, and she ended up here of all places! She can stay with me as long as necessary but we’ve got to find a better home for her.” “I know…” He let out a tired groan as he stood up. “And until the princess can pass the Pony Rights Bill and get the nobles to approve it, the longer she stays here the more danger she’ll be in. Listen I gotta go: Mr. Sherbert needs me to pick up another order from Germaneigh. I swear sometimes being the fastest flyer just isn’t worth it.” “Heh, better than being the slowest. So what should I do with Scootaloo? I can’t really take her to work with me, and Dawn has school today.” They both went silent for a moment in thought, causing Scootaloo’s curiosity to get the better of her. She peaked around the corner and jumped in surprise when Swift’s big blue eyes met hers less than an inch away. He collapsed into a fit of giggles as Scootaloo finally let go of the ceiling fan she hugged and slowly fluttered back to the floor next to Sky. “Now Swift it’s not nice to scare a filly fresh out of bed.” She tapped him on the nose while trying to control her own laughs. “Well I thought it was only fair that if she gets to eavesdrop on our conversation, then I get to scare her a little.” He chuckled and patted her on the head as he knelt down to her eye-level. “So I was thinking, how would you like to go to school today with Dawn?” “Swift you know that’s dangerous! I won’t- “Oh pfft she’ll be fine. Just don’t leave Dawn’s side and you won’t have anything to worry about. Isn’t that right?” He yelled the question informing the second eavesdropping filly that she’d been caught. “How does he do that!” Dawn shouted as she trotted in and sat at the table. “Anyways of course she’ll be fine! If anypony starts bothering you just let me know.” She added with a wink. “Come on, please?” Swift looked up at Sky with adorable eyes and a quivering lip. Dawn knew she was good at begging, but could tell she still had a few things to learn from the local master. Sky let out a groan and muttered something under her breath that sounded close to ‘fine’. “Well don’t you two need to get ready? Unless bed-mane is the new fashion these days.” “Oh you’re right! Come on classmate you can use my extra brush.” Scootaloo and Dawn jumped for a high hoof before running up the stairs with giggling filling the house. “I really hope you know what you’re doing Swift, because Princess Celestia knows I sure don’t.” “Oh you worry too much, I’m sure they’ll be fine. If nothing else I figured you’d be worried about keeping this place clean with the Daring Duo running around.” He laughed and gave her a hug which she readily returned before turning back to the lunches she was making for the fillies. “Hey I really do need to get going, but promise me you won’t worry yourself too much okay?” “Okay I won’t. And you’re right I’m sure as long as she stays close to Dawn she’ll be fine.” With a nod and a smile, Swift was out the door in less than a second, showing he really was running late. Just as she finished packing the school lunches, the two fillies shot into the kitchen and grabbed them, gave Sky a couple quick hugs, and ran out the front door leaving behind a very confused Soaring Sky. Dawn yelled a quick goodbye as she used her magic to shut the door behind them. “Everypony is in such a hurry today, and they tell me to take it easy…” Sky smiled to herself as she got ready for work. Dawn and Scootaloo slowed to a trot as they arrived at the huge school across town from where they started. “Well here it is: Manehatten Lower Academy. It’s not much to look at, but most of the teachers are pretty nice”. Dawn began showing her around the school as she explained the scheduling. The first thing Scootaloo noticed was how huge the school was! “I could get lost for days in here.” She whispered to herself as they entered the school’s atrium. Then she started to notice all the ponies watching her as she passed, all the unicorn and earth ponies watching her. Some were watching with shock, while others seemed angry at her just for being in the same room. The only other pegasus ponies she saw stayed in a tight group in one of the far corners of the room, and even then they still deftly avoided eye-contact with anypony else. Scootaloo started getting nervous when Dawn broke the tension with a shout. “Oh shoot we’re gonna be late!” She pulled on Scootaloo’s tail and ran off, still levitating their lunches beside her. Scootaloo didn’t want to find out what would happen if she got left behind, so she took off after the distraught filly as fast as her legs could carry her. After storing their lunches away in her locker, Dawn led the way to their first class, sitting near the front just as the bell rang. “Good morning class, I hope you all did your homework over the weekend. I know most of you can’t afford to take time away from your oh so busy schedules, but- oh hello there. It seems we have a… visitor. Miss, would you please stand and tell us your name, where you’re from, and something about yourself.” The older mare wore a smile when she walked in, but didn't do a good job of keeping it when she noticed the pegasus sitting in on her class. Scootaloo could tell the teacher wasn’t mad, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on what it was. Sad maybe? Her coat was a faded purple with a gray mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was a quill resting halfway over some parchment, prompting Scootaloo to assume this was some sort of writing class. Scootaloo stood nervously and looked around the room, noticing the occasional shocked faces of those who hadn’t seen her come in and the many angry expressions on the other members of her class. She noticed a teal coated pegasus in the room. He shot her a smile before noticing the laughing ponies around him, making him blush and hide behind his long white mane. “Umm my name is Scootaloo… I’m from Ponyville, and… oh! Bright Dawn is my best friend.” She sat down gently and sat upright, trying to make a good first impression. A quick glance around at the still glowering ponies told her it didn’t work. But the teacher seemed pleased enough, and Scootaloo thought she could see her wearing the slightest hint of a smile. “I see, well my name is Mrs. Pencraft and as I’m sure you have deduced, this is a writing workshop. Unfortunately, we happen to be at the tail-end of finishing a hefty writing assignment. Tell you what, while we finish this why don’t you write a short paper on your topic of choice. That way you can stay busy and I’ll have something to judge where you are with the rest of the class. Scootaloo nodded as Dawn gave her the necessary items out of her saddle bag. Of course Rainbow Dash was the first thing that came to her head, so she wrote about when she got her autograph. She quickly got to work, the sounds of the classroom around her fading as she focused, trying to make this is the best paper she’d ever written. The talking suddenly grew louder, forcing Scootaloo to tear herself from her work to see what the cause of the commotion. The teacher had stepped out of the room to talk to the principle, and several of the other students around her were making fun of pegasi intentionally loud enough so she could hear. “Of course that’s just my luck. Don’t they have something better to do?” Scootaloo whispered under her breath. While she looked curiously at Dawn’s empty seat, a unicorn filly wrapper her paper in telekinesis and pulled it over to her click of friends. “Wha- Hey I wasn’t through with that yet give it back!” “Oh boo hoo poor little baby, why don’t you go cry all about it to your mom or something. Hey Ras read what is says, that is if you can read dumb pegasus.” The caramel coated unicorn snickered along with the rest of her group, except Ras who seemed to shocked to respond. “Hey Ras are you okay? Or did you try to read it and become too dumb to talk?” The red colored filly still couldn’t take her eyes off of the paper. “S-She wrote it in cursive! Caramel she mouth- wrote this in cursive! I didn’t think that was possible!” “What no way give it to me! Only unicorns can write in cursive.” The caramel telekinesis enwrapped the essay as she floated it over to her desk. At first she seemed surprised, but that emotion was quickly overwhelmed by jealous anger. “Well I bet you think you’re special.” By now all the other conversations had gone silent, and all eyes were on the lone pegasus standing up to the local bullies. Unfortunately for Scootaloo Dawn still hadn’t come back, so she was going to have to find her own way out of this. “You know what’s better than a page of mouth-written cursive? Two.” She slowly ripped the composition in half from top to bottom, letting the slivers of paper drift lazily to the floor. Scootaloo was furious, but she knew that was exactly the response the prejudice bully wanted to see. So instead she took a deep breath to let cooler heads prevail, and decided to poke at her assailant’s pride instead. “Wow you can count? I’m impressed, did your mom teach you that this morning after she got through picking out your clothes?” She couldn’t help but giggle as her jab had its intended effect on the shocked filly who was becoming quite embarrassed about being so fancily dressed. The rest of the class quickly joined in on the mirth as Caramel’s mind finally recovered from the surprise attack. “Oh that’s it!” Caramel jumped from her desk, horn flaring and pointing dangerously at Scootaloo who just smiled back. “Ahem…” All eyes turned to the front of the room, including a still smiling Scootaloo and a mortified Caramel. Mrs. Pencraft was standing next to a hysterically laughing Bright Dawn as she glared daggers at the still standing Caramel. “Umm… I can explain…” “You’ve done quite enough.” Mrs. Pencraft stomped her hoof and pointed to the door. “Hall. Now.” Caramel trudged out scowling, throwing a few profanities at Scootaloo under her breath as she passed. “I’m terribly sorry about that…interruption. Miss Dawn here is quite important to the school board it seems.” Dawn trotted back to her desk and gave Scootaloo a high hoof as Mrs. Pencraft picked up the pieces of Scootaloo paper in her mouth and set them on her desk. “Don’t worry dear nothing a little tape can’t fix.” “But I wasn’t finished yet.” Scootaloo pouted as she put her pencil back in her saddlebag. “I’m sorry dear, but due to that little escapade I’m afraid we’ve run out of class time. But don’t worry I’ll just read what you wrote, and this isn’t a grade.” The ringing bell and the shouts of the colts and fillies drowned out whatever else the teacher said, so Scootaloo and Dawn decided to leave to their next class: Equestria’s History, as soon as possible. They passed a few faces Scootaloo recognized from writing class and she waved to the teal pegasus as they crossed directions. Predictably he returned the wave with a sheepish smile, causing Scootaloo to warm to the slightest hint of a blush. Of course Dawn decided to take full advantage of this opportunity. “Aww looks like some-filly wants a special some-colt!” “What no way! It’s not like that, it’s just nice to meet a nice pony. Besides it’s not like I know his name yet or anything.” They started trotting a little faster, afraid they might be late for class. Scootaloo was thankful for the change in pace, the slight breeze helping to cool her cheeks. “Oh is that all that’s holding you two back? Well his name is Cool Breeze. Now I just need to properly introduce you two and you’ll be the cutest couple ever!” Scootaloo blushed again and opened her mouth to respond, but was left firmly speechless when they walked into the classroom and were met with wide eyes and shocked expressions. Scootaloo let out a sigh and turned to Dawn with tired eyes. “This is going to be a long day isn’t it?” “Yeah probably, but think of all the nice ponies you’ll get to meet!” *** *** *** After hours of boring classes and several awkward introductions, the school finally dismissed for lunch. This school was very different from what Scootaloo was used to: all their classes were in the morning, with only a few elective classes being held after lunch. Most ponies went home for lunch or to their favorite restaurants, but Dawn had a magic class after lunch she hated to miss. So after retrieving their lunches, which consisted of two apples and a juice box for each of them, they sat at an empty table in the School’s courtyard. “So what am I gonna do while you’re in this magic class?“ Scootaloo just finished her first apple, and curiosity was getting the better of her. “Well there’s actually a class for pegasi after lunch too, but you have to sign up before you can go wandering in.” Dawn said between bites of her apple. “Oh I have an idea, give me a minute.” She closed her eyes and scrunched her face up in concentration as a soft glow formed around her horn. Scootaloo was about to bite into her second apple when Dawn relaxed and let out a long held breath. “Okay he says you can come to class with me.” “Sweet.” Scootaloo made a second attempt to eat her apple when Dawn’s words sank in, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. “Wait what? Who is ‘he’?” Before Dawn could answer a teal pegasus fluttered from the sky and gracefully landed next to their table. “Oh hi Breeze! You want my extra apple? I’m not really hungry anyways.” “Oh umm… h-hi Dawn. Thanks for the… umm… apple." His tranquil voice barely more than a whisper as he grabbed the apple with a wing and put it in his saddlebag. “Hi Cool Breeze, my name’s Scootaloo, it’s nice to meet you.” She made a third attempt to enjoy her apple when Breeze shot into the air and landed on the bench next to her with a loud thump, his voice and body teeming with excitement. “Oh my gosh when you stood up to Caramel and her jerks it was like the most awesome thing ever! Oh umm… I mean… it’s nice to meet you too” His rapid mood swing going largely unnoticed by a grumbling Scootaloo as she picked up her apple, having dropped it during his surprise outburst. Dawn’s eyes lit up along with an imaginary light bulb over her head. “Hey Breeze Scootaloo needs to get in that afternoon class you have. You think you could talk to your teacher and hook us up?” Scootaloo blew the dust off her apple and turned to Breeze, finally taking note of the conversation. “Of course I can! Oh umm… I mean… I’ll try my best.” Scootaloo could see his cheeks getting red, but she shrugged it off as him simply being shy. “Nice! Okay so you’ll come with me to my magic class today, and hopefully you can start actually learning something useful tomorrow. Thanks Breeze I owe you one.”Dawn clapped her hooves together and gave a firm nod of approval, confident that her plan was foolproof. Scootaloo also gave a nod of approval before returning her attention to the red deliciousness in her hooves. She never saw him coming. With a flash of red and a mane-flaying wind a small pegasus colt circled over the group and landed on their table. Scootaloo couldn’t take her eyes off of her once again grounded apple as her lips quivered. The red pegasus crawled across the table to her and poked her shoulder with a careful hoof. “Umm is she okay?” “Gah! Jet don’t do that!” Dawn was slowly getting back to her hooves after being startled off of her bench. “You scared Cool Breeze under the table again.” She started pulling on Breeze’s tail while telling him to stop being such a scaredy-cat. She finally got him to come back out as Scootaloo startled Jet with a whisper. “Why? Why does the universe hate my poor lunch so much.” She picked it back up and tossed it over to Cool Breeze who nearly dropped it again. “Just take it I don’t even want it anymore.” She let out a sigh of defeat as she sunk back down onto her bench, ignoring the giggles coming from Dawn. Jet leaned over to Breeze and whispered in his ear as he put the apple in his saddlebag. “Your friends are weird.” Breeze shrugged it off as Dawn shot him a look that clearly expressed the phrase ‘look who’s talking’. There was a short silence before Dawn spoke up after the first bell rang. “Anyways what did you need Jet? Or do you just like scaring ponies during lunch?” “Well I enjoy a good scare as much as the next pony, but no that’s not why I needed you.” He hopped off the table and scuffed the ground with a hoof as he got a little nervous. “Remember that favor you owe me?” “This better be something serious this time. You saved my life and I plan to repay you with something better than an ice cream cone.” She noticed Scootaloo’s ears perk up, so she shot her a sidelong glance. “I’ll tell you later.” Jet chuckled as he waved a hoof at the notion. “Well ice cream does sound pretty tempting, but no this is much more serious.” He sighed as his expression turned much graver. “Look you know as well as I do that stuff is fixing to go down in this town, and I don’t want me or Cool Breeze to be here when it does. I got a friend in Fillydelphia who can help us out, I just need you to help us get there.” “That is pretty serious. Well I don’t have nearly enough bits for two train tickets all the way to Fillydelphia, but my mom is always helping other ponies so I’ll ask her for help too. When did you want to leave?” “Well spring break is in four weeks, so I figured the weekend before so we could get settled in before worrying about school. That sound good to you Cool?” “Umm…yeah sure… whatever you think is best.” He and Scootaloo had just finished their game of tic-tac-toe as the second bell rang. “Hey Jet we should probably get to class… so you know… we aren’t late again.” “Yeah I’m coming. Hey Dawn just let me know if anything comes up about those tickets. It was nice to kinda sorta meet you Dawn’s friend!” Jet shot off at break-neck speed nearly knocking a teacher over, with Cool Breeze trailing behind him at a leisurely pace apologizing for Jet to nearly everypony he passed. “So what was all that about?” Scootaloo was putting on her saddlebags while she watched the two fly off. “Oh that was Jet Stream, Cool Breeze’s brother. He seems to think this city is about to get a whole lot worse, and I kinda believe him.” Dawn added the last part with a dour expression that worried Scootaloo. “Anyways they’re pretty nice, but sometimes Jet can be a little…” She trailed off trying to think of the right word. “Hyper?” “Exactly, he can be a little crazy sometimes. Oh I guess you were wondering what I meant when I said he’d saved my life.“ Scootaloo nodded her head as they began walking to class. “Let me see… I guess it was about two years ago right before he started coming to school. I was walking back to Mr. Sherbert’s one night because mom was out of town, when I noticed these two older colts behind me. At first I didn’t really think much of it but they were slowly getting closer to me. Every part of my brain told me to run as fast as I could, but I just… didn’t. I’m not sure why, put I just kept walking like nothing was wrong. I was almost there when they caught up to me and pulled me into an alley. I thought they only wanted to rob me, but then they… they tried to…” Her words were caught in her throat as she stopped walking, her eyes on the verge of tears. Scootaloo gave her a gentle hug before they continued walking. “Thanks, I needed that. Anyways back then my magic wasn’t very good, so when they forced me into a corner there wasn’t much I could do. I screamed as loud as I could, but all that seemed to do was annoy the two colts a little. Then out of know where this super-fast pegasus swoops out of the air and BAM! He hit one of those jerks so hard he went unconscious before he even hit the ground!” She jumped and reenacted the scene with a rekindled excitement. “Then he stood between me and the other jerk and started saying all this awesome stuff! Well I was still kinda scared so I honestly have no idea what he said. But it must have been pretty awesome since that dumb bully wannabe started backing up like a scared kitten! Next thing I know he grabbed me and we flew off to Mr. Sherbert’s.” “Wow that’s so awesome! And that was Jet Stream?” “Mmhmm, and I’ve been trying to find a way to pay him back ever since. But he doesn't tell anypony much about himself so I don’t even know what he likes to do.” Scootaloo offered a shrug as Dawn opened the door to their classroom and led them inside. Scootaloo was quickly overwhelmed by how huge the single room was. It was easily the size of a gym and had no desks or chairs. The walls and tall ceiling were an off-white, and the floor was a dark blue and made of some kind of padding. The bell gave a loud ring as a tall unicorn trotted in and closed the door. “Sorry again about us having to meet in here, but after last week’s incident our normal classroom is still undergoing repairs.” He shot a sly grin to Dawn as he trotted by and stood in the center of the group of unicorns and one confused pegasus. “Okay go ahead and get started with your warm-ups while I greet our guest.” The Yellow unicorn led Scootaloo away from the group of quiet, focusing students, and sat on his haunches with a less than graceful thump. He blew a tuft of long brown mane out of his eyes before he began introductions. “Hello my name is Star Dasher, but my buffalo friends just call me Runs With Stars. I got my cutie mark in star gazing which also happens to be my favorite thing to do. I graduate from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns two years ago, and now I’m one of the head researchers of the Equestrian Astronomy Association. Although I do really like my day job teaching here too. Now your turn.” He was more hyper than Dawn on a sugar rush, and Scootaloo found his broad smile to be infectious as she shook his hoof. “My name is Scootaloo, and I’ve never met a buffalo-“ “Aww that’s too bad their really nice and totally fun to hang out with. Oh sorry please continue.” He sealed his mouth shut with a fictional zipper while Scootaloo giggled. “Well I don’t have any my cutie mark yet, but I really like riding my scooter and going on adventures!” She pumped a hoof in the air, earning a chuckle from the astronomer. “I can’t fly yet, but I also really like it when other ponies take me for a flight.” “Why can’t you fly by yourself yet?” He cocked his head as he asked the seemingly innocent question. He immediately regretted asking when Scootaloo did a magic trick of her own, making her smile vanish into thin air. “I never really knew my mom, and my dad was an earth pony. I’ve tried to learn but without somepony to teach me I can barely glide on my own.” “Come now turn that smile upside-down. If you don’t know how to fly, then I guess I’ll just have to teach you!” “Wow would you really?” Her hopeful eyes faded as her frown returned. “But you’re a unicorn, how can you teach me to fly.” The dejected tone of her rhetorical question broke the teacher’s heart as he realized the truth of her words. He looked to the center of the room and watched as Dawn ran through the exercises with flawless precision while the rest of the class seemed barely interested. He turned back to Scootaloo with a smile as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “True but I’ve never let such hindrances stop me before. And if I can’t help you myself, then I promise I’ll search the world over to find someone who can!” Scootaloo giggled at his bold theatrical movements as he spoke, but they both calmed down as they turned to watch the magic students. Or more specifically, an excited pearl-white filly fully devoted to her magic studies. Besides with a friend like her you’re destined to soar to greatness eventually, even if you can’t fly. The astronomer trotted back to the group and began his lecture as Scootaloo sat and watched, giving her wings a few experimental flaps. She had wanted to fly and be the best at it for as long as she could remember. And this random pony she didn’t even know just promised to do everything he could to help her achieve that dream. No, she did know him now, he made sure of it. She chuckled as she began thinking out loud. “I’ll find a way to make it up to him no matter what.” “Make it up to who?” Scootaloo jumped from being startled out of her daydream as Dawn sat next to her and laughed. “Geez I must have really caught you off guard there. Were you fantasizing about Cool Breeze again?” “Wha- No way! And what do you mean by again?” She glared at Dawn who just continued laughing. Scootaloo didn’t know if she was more mad at Dawn for repeatedly bringing that up, or at her cheeks for getting red every time she did. “Oh nothing, nothing. Besides what you dream about doing with colts is your business. But don’t worry. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way.” Dawn added a wink at the end just to push Scootaloo over the edge. She then became a tangled mess of hooves on the floor as she laughed at her seemingly broken and furiously blushing friend. Star walked up behind Dawn and couldn’t help but smile at her antics. “Not to intrude, but we do have an experiment to attend to. And it would also be preferable if our test subject is still in one piece mentally.” He sat next to Dawn and helped her get back on her hooves. Scootaloo shook her head and expelled any lingering thoughts of a nice teal pegasus, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the teacher. “Test subject?” Dawn sat down as he flared his horn ad closed his eyes. “That’s right, Dawn here is interested in some of the more complex magics, which in this case is telepathy.” Scootaloo jumped as the sound of his voice intruded her ears without him opening his mouth. “H-How did you just do that!” Dawn jumped up as she answered for him. “Telepathy! It’s so cool right? That’s what I did when I asked him if you could come to class with me.” “So wait you can just talk to ponies without really even talking?” Scootaloo was already getting confused. Star chuckled as he decided to humor her. “Well basically yes, we use our magic to send messages into another pony’s mind.” “Oh that makes sense I guess. But if you can already do it then what do you need me for?” “Aha, that’s where the science comes in!” The astronomer jumped up and began pacing. Dawn shook her head and giggled, knowing he was in full-scale lecture mode and there was no stopping him. “You see there are two main reasons why we need your help in this endeavor. The first is that Dawn has yet to start a telepathic connection with anyone yet. When a unicorn uses telepathy to speak to another pony, they must first get accustomed to the inert magic the other pony possesses. When this is achieved, the unicorn will be able to use their magic to make a magical link to the receiving pony and can send messages to them no matter the distance.” Scootaloo nodded her head periodically as she tried to follow the complex madness referred to as magic. “Once the link is made for the first time however, it is much easier for the unicorn to remember the ‘feel’ of the other pony’s magic and will then allow for easier long range correspondence. Of course using one’s magic to sense that of another pony is a difficult task by itself, and it gets exponentially more difficult the farther away the other pony is. This is why even I can barely send a message to a pony around 150 yards, and why nopony but the Princess has been able to send a message from one town to another. But this also leads to the second reason why we need your help. Scootaloo felt like her head was about to explode, but she urged him to continue as she prepared for another mental onslaught. If Dawn needed her help, she wasn’t going to let a few headaches stop her. “It is much easier to form a link and send messages to other unicorns than any other being. This is because a unicorn’s magic has an unexplained, yet natural affinity with harmony itself! It’s something not even the Princess understands, but just as a pegasus’ magic has a natural connection to the air and weather, and an earth pony’s magic has a natural connection to the soil and plants, a unicorn’s magic has a special connection with all the living creatures of this world. This connection is especially strong when two magics both want to connect to each other, as is the case between two unicorns. This is why we need you, being a pegasus, to be Dawn’s test subject.” Scootaloo tapped a hoof to her chin as she tried to digest all the information that was just shoved into her brain. “So let me get this straight, you need me so you can practice making a ‘connection’ with somepony who isn’t a unicorn?” After Dawn gave an affirmative nod, Scootaloo tilted her head out of curiosity. “Okay but what do you need me to do?” This time it was Star’s turn to answer for the other unicorn. “We just need you to sit relatively still and be patient. Because you’re not a unicorn, the connection will be completely forced by Dawn. This will likely take a lot of time and several attempts as this is a very difficult thing to do. Well we still have over an hour of class left and I still have a class of normally magical unicorns to teach, so I’ll leave you two to it.” The yellow unicorn trotted off giggling like a foal, somehow happier than he was before. Scootaloo looked equally confused as Dawn as she shrugged off the astronomer’s craziness as him just being, well, crazy. Dawn stole one last glance at her teacher before focusing all her attention on Scootaloo. “You ready?” she asked as her horn began glowing a soft blue. After an affirmative nod from her friend she concentrated on the tedious task before her. “Here we go.” Scootaloo situated herself and sat for what felt like, and certainly was, more than an hour. Dawn was able to try six times before she was too tired to continue. Scootaloo said she felt something weird on their last try, signaling progress. But Dawn didn’t want to push any farther and risk burning out her magic. So they went to talk to Star Dasher about what they might have been doing wrong, as well as to get a few pointers on how to better focus magic. “I think what you’re doing is thinking of Scootaloo as an object.” He chuckled at their quizzical looks before continuing. “What I mean is that you are focusing you magic on her, rather than in her.” Dawn seemed to be slowly fitting the gears together while Scootaloo gave up understanding completely. “You have been focusing your magic on her like you would to levitate or manipulate an object. However unlike a simple object, Scootaloo has magic of her own that will tend to disrupt your magic until you learn to flow your magic with hers harmoniously. Dawn cut his lecture off with a voice like an excited filly that just got her cutie mark. “And when I learn to match my magic with hers I can make the connection and send messages! This is so awesome! Come on Scoots let’s try it again.” Star held up a halting hoof as he let out a sigh. “Hold on a minute, unfortunately things aren’t quite that simple. I’ve explained to you that each pony race has its own innate magic, and that a unicorn’s magic naturally tends to form these bonds. However each race’s magic has its own very differing properties. One key rule to remember that each race’s magic is focused, applied, and thus directed completely differently than the others. So in essence, the only way to perform telekinesis with a pegasus, is to shape and direct your own magic like a pegasus would. Of course this won’t allow you to walk on clouds or manipulate weather, that is replicating the application of pegasus magic and that is a different lecture entirely. But your magic will be mimicking the directional properties of a pegasus.” “My brain feels like it’s about to explode…” Both unicorns looked over at Scootaloo who was holding a hoof over her forehead. Dawn rolled her eyes and went back to her note taking, waiting for the teacher to continue. He levitated a book out of a saddlebag he set by the door and gave it to Dawn. “Take this home and read it when you can. It’s a pegasus book written to help them improve their skills by adjusting their magic to flow more freely. It will explain everything you need to know about pegasus magic. You might want to read it too Scootaloo, I heard even the Wonderbolts swear by it.” Scootaloo and Star passed the rest of class chatting about how awesome the Wonderbolts are, and she told him about Rainbow Dash being the coolest flyer ever. Dawn began to peruse the small book, reading the introduction before the bell rang and set them free. “See ya later Mr. Dasher!” Dawn and Scootaloo shouted in almost perfect unison as they left the large room. After a little planning they decided to stop by Mr. Sherbert’s before they went to dinner. However they barely made it a block away from school when they heard what Scootaloo would describe as a deafening, shrieking noise. “Hey where are you two going?” The voice of Caramel rang through the air like the sound of fine china shattering on the ground… next to a jackhammer… behind a crying foal. Dawn groaned as she whispered to Scootaloo. “Don’t move, maybe it won’t see us.” Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle as she turned around. “Oh come on let’s see what she wants.” Dawn mumbled something about what she wanted, but she turned to face the oncoming unicorn anyways. “Hey Caramel we’re heading over to Mr. Sherbert’s for some ice cream, you want to come too?” Scootaloo could see right through her fake smile, but she applauded her efforts. “What and hang out with you two losers? Yeah right like I’d ever be caught dead in public with you two weirdos.” Caramel snorted as she somehow managed to stick her nose even further in the air. “Umm, aren’t you ‘in public’ with us right now?” Scootaloo deadpanned, reciting the unicorn’s words with air quotes. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about what you did to me this morning! But don’t expect any crazy revenge schemes or anything, you’re totally not even worth the time. I mean seriously a pegasus who can’t even fly? Talk about lame. Anyways I have way better things to do than talk with you blank flanks.” She gave one last ‘hmph’ before trotting off in the direction she came. Scootaloo stared at the ground as they continued walking, drowning out Dawn’s comforting words with her thoughts. It’s just not fair. Every pegasus I’ve met can fly, even the one’s way younger than me! Maybe they’re right, maybe I’ll never fly… “Hey don’t listen to her.” Scootaloo looked up to see two familiar pegasus brothers land next to them. Jet stood in front of her as Breeze greeted Dawn who still looked at her friend with concern. “Not every pegasus learns to be an awesome flyer like me. But what matters is that you keep trying!” Jet looked at her with a grin which she just didn’t feel like she could return. “Yeah that’s easy for you to say, you’re already flying. And I’m still down here with these worthless wings. Maybe I was supposed to be born as an earth pony.” Jet could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Oh buck that noise! He sat beside her and drew her into a tight hug. “Come on don’t talk like that, never deny who you are inside. I’m sure one day you’ll be a great flyer. Besides you might not believe it, but I’ve had lots of problems too.” Scootaloo was taken aback by that remark as she looked at him incredulously. “No way you’re like the most awesome pegasus at school!” Jet chuckled as she withdrew from his hug in shock. “Well I was going to say all of Manehatten, but that might be fluffin’ my cloud a little. Anyways Cool Breeze and I have both had our share of trouble too. Breeze mostly because he’s so shy, and me… well can I tell you a secret?” He motioned her closer after she nodded. “Me and Cool never knew our parents, they both left us on an orphanage doorstep I a cardboard box. But after things got heated in this dump, they kicked us out too. So me and Cool have been on our own for a while now. About a year ago, they made it so we could go to school without any kind of formal paperwork, so me and Breeze started going to school last year. “So wait this is only your second year in school?” Scootaloo asked in surprise, immediately regretting how degrading it sounded. “Yeah, and let me tell ya last year wasn’t exactly fun. I could barely read, I didn’t know anything about history or writing, and math… well that certainly could have gone better. Cool was pretty good at teaching himself, and he really helped me out. But with everypony making fun of me it was really hard. Scootaloo was disgusted with herself for thinking he had lived a perfect little life. He had already gone through so much and yet we was barely even sad talking about it! "So you know what I did about it? I never gave up. I kept at it and kept at it till the teachers told me to slow down. And now I’m one of the smartest kids in school! So don’t even think for a second that you aren’t good enough to do something okay? Just remember if no one else believes in you, you just gotta believe in yourself!” He gave her a warm smile and a poke to the shoulder to emphasize his point. “Thanks Jet, I needed that. Sometimes it’s just hard to keep going you know?” “Anytime, and just keep on keepin’ on till there isn’t anything to keep on doing.” They shared another light hug as Dawn decided it was time to ruin the adorableness of the moment. “Wow Scootaloo first Cool Breeze and now Jet Stream all on your first day, you’re a pretty busy filly.” The now red faced Scootaloo stared at Dawn as her jaw tried to play tag with the pavement. Breeze didn’t fare much better as he blushed and shot off like a rocket. “I gotta go bye!” Dawn looked back and forth at Scootaloo and the rapidly fleeing Breeze while laughing her lungs to exhaustion before looking at Jet who looked more confused than a termite in a wooden yoyo. “Umm did I miss something?”