//------------------------------// // Family and Flight // Story: Foal of the Forest // by moguera //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Family and Flight "He wants to see me?" said Twilight, staring at Fluttershy. The shy mare nodded slowly. "And I want you to see him," she added. Twilight frowned. She wasn't opposed to the notion of finally getting to see the mysterious pegasus colt who had saved Fluttershy. To be perfectly honest, she had been worried. The past week had filled her with tension as curiosity, along with the anxiety that Applejack had imparted to her, had been wearing away at Twilight's resolve to keep her promise. She had no stomach for these kinds of things, as her experience serving as both Fluttershy and Rarity's secret-keeper during the former's short-lived stint as a superstar model had taught her. But at the same time, she had to wonder why Dawn had apparently decided that he suddenly wanted to meet her. "Are any of the others coming?" she asked. Fluttershy shook her head. "No. Dawn's not ready for that yet. Both he and I wanted you to see him first." "Why?" Slowly, the pink-maned pegasus looked away, refusing to meet Twilight's gaze. "Um...remember that time a while ago, when I came and asked you about Nightmare Moon's eyes?" Twilight blinked. She remembered, of course. But she couldn't see any connection to that and the current topic. After all, all they had talked about was why Nightmare Moon's eyes looked the way the did and about rumored ponies with the same eyes... All of a sudden, the pieces clicked together in her head. Now Twilight understood. "No way," she said softly, "That was just a silly superstition." "I'm afraid it's true," admitted Fluttershy, her voice barely a whisper, "That's why we wanted you to see him first." Twilight Sparkle was already off in her own world. "This can't be true. If the Eyes are real, then does that mean that demons and such are real as well? No! That can't be right. Princess Celestia herself put a stop to those rumors long ago." There was no doubt in her mind that the rantings of the Cult Solar were little more than superstitious drivel. But then again, many stories and legends, however fictional they may be, often had a kernel of truth laying at their core, something that served as a starting point before attracting invented details and wild speculation, burying that kernel beneath layers of falsehood until the truth was all but completely hidden beneath the strata of lies. Her mind whirling, Twilight stared hard at Fluttershy. "When can I see him?" "Um...he'd like you to come over tomorrow, if that's possible," said Fluttershy meekly. "Alright," said Twilight without the slightest hesitation, "I'll come over tomorrow afternoon. Does that work?" "Um...yes." Fluttershy bobbed her head ever so slightly. "Okay then," declared Twilight Sparkle, "We're all set then." "Thank you." As she turned to leave, Fluttershy looked back over her shoulder. "Um...Twilight..." "Yes?" "Please don't tell the others about this yet." "You've got it." Without waiting, Twilight drew a cross over her chest before planting her hoof on her closed eye. "Thank you again Twilight Sparkle," said Fluttershy as she stepped out the door. Scootaloo sagged and slumped down onto the grass in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. For something that hardly made her move at all, Dawn's practice regimen left her completely drained at the end. She had yet to rise more than twice her own height above the earth, but the amount of time she was able to spend floating was increasing. Not only that, but she was finding it easier to get her wings to hold her aloft and that she was requiring less concentration to do so. "Ah still don't get how ya can do that without flappin' yer wings," muttered Apple Bloom as Sweetie Belle took a small towel and wiped the sweat from the orange pegasus' forehead. Now that the zap apples had been harvested and the jam made, Apple Bloom had time for her friends once again. This year had been a record harvest for the zap apples and the jam that Apple Bloom had made almost entirely through her own labor (and some coaching from Granny Smith) had been declared a success. The old, green mare had been quite secure in the knowledge that the secrets of her jam-making had been successfully passed on. "I think it's kind of cool," said Sweetie Belle, "It's like magic." "Dawn said that it is magic," answered Scootaloo, barely raising her head, "He said that all pegasi use their magic to fly." "Ah don't get it," said Apple Bloom, "Ah thought unicorns were the only ponies with magic." "I don't get it either," Scootaloo admitted, "Maybe we should ask Twilight Sparkle." She flinched at the eager gleam in the eyes of her two best friends. "But not now," she hastily amended, "I'm too tired." This wasn't the first time Scootaloo had practiced in front of her friends. Unlike some ponies, they were an encouraging audience. Practicing in front of them didn't give Scootaloo the same anxiety that she might have felt showing her new skill in front of other ponies, no matter how unique it was. She still remembered the first day after she had met Dawn. Her father had demanded that she show what she had learned. Scootaloo had obliged rather hesitantly and had done her practice in front of her parents. Cirrus Stratus didn't say a word. Instead, he turned around and stalked inside, disappointment practically oozing from every pore. Melon Cream, on the other hoof, had been ecstatic, hugging her daughter and praising her for her progress. Scootaloo got the sense that Melon's praise had been given more out of motherly duty than anything else, but was no less sincere because of it. Like her mother, Scootaloo's friends had no expectations of her. They were simply overjoyed to see her get off the ground. It was a sentiment that Scootaloo herself echoed. Her normal impatience had been replaced by anticipation of the future. Every little step towards that future was a reward in and of itself. So when Scootaloo reflected on her practice and realized how much easier it had been for her to enter the right state of mind, she couldn't help but smile. "What are y'all goin' on about now," drawled Applejack as she trotted up, a bucket with three bottles of apple juice in it balanced expertly on her back. "Scootaloo's been learnin' to fly from that new colt," explained Apple Bloom, "But the way she does it is really different from other pegasi." Applejack tilted her head to the side. "Different...and what new colt?" "That new colt staying with Fluttershy," answered Sweetie Belle. "Oh right. Him." Applejack's tone cooled considerably, but none of the girls picked up on the change. "He taught Scootaloo how to get off the ground without flapping her wings," Sweetie went on, grinning excitedly. That took the mare aback. "Without flappin'? That ain't possible is it?" "It sure is," replied Bloom, grinning, "Show her, Scootaloo." With a groan, Scootaloo got to her hooves and stretched out her wings. As worn out as she was, she wasn't sure that she had enough strength to actually do it again. Still, she reached out with her wings. She felt lightheaded and only partially aware of her surroundings. Strangely enough, it felt even easier than before to move that power through her wings and out into the world. She focused all her strength downward. Her hooves only made it a few scant inches off the ground. However, the mere act of doing so left Applejack completely flabbergasted. "Landsakes," she muttered, her eyes wide. "See!" crowed Apple Bloom, "Ah told ya so. It sure does look weird, don't it?" Applejack shook her head as Scootaloo collapsed back onto the ground, gasping for breath. "Ah ain't seen nothin' like it," she admitted. And Ah ain't so sure that's a good thing, she added in her own mind. She did not feel that it was right to trust a colt like this Dawn Lightwing to teach Scootaloo how to fly. And she was fairly certain that this was not how a pegasus was supposed to learn. But then again, as an earth pony, she was hardly in a position to tell a pegasus their business when it came to this sort of thing. "So," she said, after a moment, "Ya've been seein' this colt, Dawn?" "We haven't," said Bloom, pointing to Sweetie and herself, "Just Scootaloo." "I've only seen him once," admitted the bright orange filly, "But I'm seeing him again tomorrow." "You are?" asked Applejack, raising a curious eyebrow. Scootaloo nodded slowly. There was something about Applejack's manner that put her off. "And what's this colt like?" Scootaloo shrugged. "He's kind of neat. He's really quiet a lot of the time. But when he's talking about something he knows, he can talk a lot. He's sort of like Miss Twilight that way. He doesn't have a cutie mark yet and he looks pretty average except for..." she clamped her hooves over her mouth when she realized she nearly spilled Dawn's secret. "Except fer what?" asked Applejack, leaning in. "It's nothing!" said Scootaloo quickly, "It's not important!" "Yer lyin'," said Applejack, her eyes narrowing, "Now come on. Out with it." Scootaloo shook her head fiercely. "I can't say," she said nervously, she didn't like the dark expression on Applejack's face, "I promised I wouldn't." "Promised ya wouldn't what?" "I promised that I wouldn't tell what you want me to tell!" yelled the filly in frustration, "So I'm not going to." "Scootaloo, yah'd better come clean and tell me now," said Applejack, "Ah ain't askin'." "I CAN'T!!!" With that, the pegasus filly rushed off like a shot. "Scootaloo! Get back here!" demanded Applejack at the top of her lungs. "What's goin' on sis?" Applejack's frustration vanished when she saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were both staring at her like she had grown a second head. "Yer scarin' me!" Applejack paused and took deep breaths to calm herself down. "Ah'm sorry, Bloom, Sweetie. Ah didn't mean to get all angry like that, but Ah'm a bit worried. There's something about this colt that doesn't sit right with me and Ah ain't even met him yet. Ah don't feel he can be trusted." "Why's that?" asked Apple Bloom, staring at her sister plaintively. "Never you mind," said Applejack, "It's somethin' ya don't need to know about yet." Setting down the bucket and bottles, she turned back towards the house. "Tell Scootaloo Ah'm sorry for talkin' to her like that when y'all see her again." She trotted back towards the house, her mind a suspicious swirl. At least now Ah know that, whatever it is about him that makes him so secretive, it has somethin' to do with his looks. Could he be one 'o them ponies Pa warned me about? She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice the massive stallion watching her carefully from the crest of a nearby hill. Rainbow Dash sighed and sank into her seat. Today had been grueling, even though the scheduled storm had failed to arrive. Learning about managing the weather in Ponyville had meant learning about how the rainstorms nourished the crops, including what kind of margins of error she had to work with. Rainbow planned on waiting as long as she possibly could for something from the Weather Factory before she tapped into the emergency supplies she and her team had amassed over the past few days. Fortunately, with the amount of clouds they had managed to gather, she figured that she had enough to make up for the missed storm if push came to shove. She and the rest of her team had again spent the day amassing whatever stray clouds they could find into a single section of the sky. It was much more difficult than simply batting the clouds away and left the entire group exhausted. Their work completed, Rainbow settled down for a pleasant lunch outside her favorite café, deciding to enjoy the sunshine, however unscheduled it had been. "Do you mind if I join you?" teased a gentle voice from in front of the pegasus, causing her to snap back to the present. Her attention was immediately caught by the orange and purple earth pony in front of her. "Um sure, go ahead," said Rainbow, glad that the waiter hadn't taken her order yet. Haute Cuisine didn't like it when his table arrangements were upset and somepony arriving in the middle of a meal was one of his peeves. "How can I help you, Miss Cream?" "Please call me Melon Cream," requested the other mare, "I'd really like to be more familiar with the pony my daughter idolizes so much." Rainbow Dash chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head, blushing slightly. While she was used to the adoration she received, especially from the younger ponies, she did feel a little unnerved having it brought up directly like this, especially by the mother of her biggest fan. "Alright then," she said, "How can I help you?" Melon smiled cheerfully, "Like I said, I'd like to get to know you better." "So what do you want to know?" asked Rainbow. "I understand that you didn't finish Flight School," said Melon, prompting a flinch from the rainbow-maned pegasus in front of her, "Can you tell me why?" "It's a personal issue," said Rainbow softly, "And I don't like to talk about it." "Does it have anything to do with why you have been discouraging Scootaloo from going?" Dash blinked and looked up at Melon. "Did Scootaloo tell you?" Melon Cream shook her head. "No, she doesn't talk about it at all. Cirrus has brought up the topic many times, not that he's ever in the mood to solicit her input, but Scootaloo herself has never talked about Flight School even once." "So how do you figure I have anything to do with that?" asked Rainbow. "Scootaloo idolizes you. And when Cirrus isn't there or is in one of his better moods, she rarely talks about anything else aside from her time with her friends. She values your opinion and your thoughts immensely, which I can't help but think may have something to do with her reluctance to attend Flight School." Rainbow frowned and looked down. "Okay, you caught me. I did tell the squirt that Flight School probably wasn't the best place for her to go." "Why? Do you feel Scootaloo can't handle it? Is she not good enough?" Rainbow looked back up and this time stared directly into Melon's eyes. "I would never say that about Scootaloo! I would never tell a pony that they aren't good enough for anything. Even if she were a better flier than I was, I wouldn't want her to go to Flight School." "Then why?" Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "To be honest, it's because of a couple of things. And you're one of them." Now it was Melon Cream's turn to be taken aback. "What do you mean?" "Flight School isn't a very nice place. The ponies who go there mostly come from Cloudsdale itself. They usually aren't very nice to ponies who don't come from Cloudsdale. Outsiders are seen as intruders and inferiors and a lot of the Cloudsdale natives will bully them mercilessly. Even worse, a lot of these kids come from families that you might call old-school." "How so?" "They have old views on how relations should be between the pegasi and the other tribes. You should have seen the way they tweaked the Hearth's Warming pageant when I was there. It completely demonized the unicorns and earth ponies and made it look like the pegasi alone saved all three tribes. They're especially against mixed marriages. Anypony who comes from mixed parentage enters the school with a big target right between their wings." Melon Cream was shocked. She hadn't expected this response at all. "And this is why you don't want Scootaloo to go to Flight School." Rainbow Dash nodded. "If Scootaloo goes there, she'll be one of a tiny number of students who had somepony other than a pegasus for both her parents. There are a lot of ponies there who would love to make her life Tartarus for that." "But don't the instructors do anything about it?" "No," said Rainbow, shaking her head fiercely, "If anything, they make matters worse. You see, the school is managed by a Board of Trustees who wield a lot of power to decide who is hired for a given position. The members of that board are from some of Cloudsdale's oldest families and are some of the worst pegasus tribalists out there. They like to use their influence to make sure that anypony who gets hired as an instructor is likely to share their political views. Naturally, they don't state those things in public, but when it comes to enforcing discipline and cracking down on troublemakers, the instructors will always side with what those board members want." "That's terrible," gasped Melon, covering her mouth, "Is that why you left." Rainbow blinked and her eyes clouded with tears. "Actually, that wasn't quite it, but it's a similar topic. You know how pegasi used to be a really militaristic society? Well, that's the mindset that the instructors at the school have. They have this really narrow definition of what a real pegasus is supposed to be like and anypony who doesn't fit into their little pigeonhole is automatically a failure and unworthy of any effort on their part. To be a real pegasus, you have to be tough, hard as nails, fly fast and hard. You can't show any weakness ever." Melon waited silently. She understood the difficulties of such a narrow mindset. But she couldn't understand how that mindset had made any problems for Rainbow Dash, who indeed seemed to fit the mold that her instructors had created. Slowly, Rainbow went on. "And if a pony doesn't fit that ideal pegasus image, you're expected to shun them and do absolutely nothing to support them." Was that it? wondered Melon Cream, Did she stand up for somepony that she was supposed to be shunning and bullying. But who would she...? It suddenly clicked inside her head. "Fluttershy." Rainbow nodded solemnly. "You should have seen what it was like for Fluttershy. The students harassed her constantly and the only reason the instructors didn't straight up join in was because they had to keep up appearances at the very least. She was so traumatized by it that, when Tornado Day came around last year, she was barely able to even get off the ground at first because she was terrified of performing in public. "I couldn't stand it. I was fine with the idea that pegasi had to be strong and tough. But the one thing I believed was that picking on someone weak was the last thing that made you strong. At first, I just stood up for her because it made me mad that some ponies were so pathetic that they had to resort to picking on somepony like her to feel better about themselves. Of course, when I started defending Fluttershy, most of the other ponies at the school turned on me too, even though I had some of the best scores in the school's history when it came to practical curriculum. "Pretty soon, the only pony I could spend any amount of time with was Fluttershy. And after a while, we ended up becoming friends. I found I didn't mind that she was a weak flier or that she wasn't much of a fighter. She was just so...nice. I honestly couldn't understand how any of that could be a weakness. And after seeing some of the things Fluttershy can do when she puts her mind to it, I understand even less now." A sigh escaped from the sky-blue mare. "Long story short, after Fluttershy left the school after finding her special talent, I ended up with the bulk of the scorn she had been getting. The instructors couldn't do anything directly, but they sure as hay looked the other way when the other students did everything they could to push my buttons. Finally, I snapped, got in a fight with the wrong pony and got kicked out." "I'm so sorry," whispered Melon, staring aghast at Rainbow, "I had no idea it was like that." "Don't worry," replied Rainbow airily, "It's not like it was your fault or anything." "I'm grateful you could take the time to talk with me," said Melon Cream gently. Their meal sat untouched through the conversation and the earth pony mare didn't think she could muster up the appetite to eat hers. In spite of recalling what must have been a traumatic phase of her foalhood, Rainbow dug in heartily. "Do you mind if I could ask you a question now?" she asked between mouthfuls. Nibbling daintily on a flower petal Melon nodded hesitantly, "Go ahead." "Why does your husband hate me so much? I'm guessing that it might have something to do with the fact I dropped out of Flight School, but is that all there is to it?" "Did Scootaloo tell you about that?" Taking a sip from her drink, Rainbow nodded. "She's mentioned it a few times. But I also see the guy almost every day. He is flying through my skies after all. And every time we go through the same airspace, he's always shooting me these dirty looks when he thinks I'm not looking. So, seriously, what the hay is his problem?" Melon exhaled long and and hard before sucking in a breath to steady herself. "It's a complicated situation. Cirrus has a difficult relationship with his parents. They had a substantial number of impressive accomplishments. When Cirrus was born, they expected him to surpass them in everything that he did. They expected him to start flying earlier than they had, find his cutie mark sooner, get better scores in school, obtain more honors, and so on. While it's good to have high expectations for your child..." "Making them too high just puts them under more pressure than they can stand," suggested Rainbow, remembering how the sense of pressure she'd felt at the thought of performing in front of her friends and the Wonderbolts had nearly blown her chances at the Best Young Flier competition. Melon nodded. "And when he couldn't measure up, they made their disappointment very clear. They refused to send him to Coudsdale Flight School unless he earned a full scholarship, which is what they did when they went. He could have gotten a partial scholarship with the level of skill and talent he displayed, but his parents refused to contribute one bit, so he ended up going to a public school instead." "So that's it," muttered Rainbow, putting the pieces together. Melon nodded. "I'm sorry he puts so much of his frustration on you. But I hope you can understand him a little better." Deciding that she couldn't eat any more, Melon opted to get her meal boxed so she could take it home. She placed some bits on the table and left, balancing the box between her saddlebags. "Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Rainbow Dash. I hope we can talk again. And, in spite of my reservations about how reckless you are with your flying, I can't help but think of you as a good influence on my daughter. So please take care of her." Rainbow nodded silently as she watched Scootaloo's mother canter away through the crowds, thinking about getting the opportunity to speak with her again. That actually sounds kinda nice, she thought. The next day had arrived. All throughout school, it was all Scootaloo could do to stay planted in her seat. As it was, she spent the entire day fidgeting, much too distracted by the thought of her upcoming flying lesson to pay attention to Cheerilee, a problem that got her reprimanded no fewer than three times before school was over. Her problems focusing had not been missed by the other fillies and colts in the class. Diamond Tiara had tittered behind her hoof every time Scootaloo had gotten in trouble and had even been the one to point out the orange filly's lapses to the teacher on two occasions. As it was, Scootaloo was too excited and nervous to hold a grudge. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked on with a fair amount of trepidation as their beloved friend grew more and more anxious by the hour. When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day, Cheerilee had been going to tell Scootaloo to stay after class, but lost her opportunity. Before the ringing had even ended, Scootaloo was already gone, her desk vacant and a trail of dust leading out the door. Cheerilee merely sighed and asked the other two crusaders to relay her desire to speak to Scootaloo at the earliest opportunity. It wouldn't have been the first time that Cheerilee had been forced to talk to the orange filly about her neglect for her schoolwork. Cheerilee preferred to work those matters out with Scootaloo alone, when she could, only bringing problems to her father's attention when the absolute letter of the law required it. During the first parent-teacher conference she had had with Cirrus, Cherilee had been relieved to find a parent who didn't try to push the blame for their foal's problems straight onto the teacher. However, that relief quickly faded into dismay when she realized the sheer degree of pressure the stallion was putting on his daughter. At times, she found that Cirrus's treatment of Scootaloo bordered on outright abusive when it came to pushing her. But she had quickly realized that any effort she made to intervene would likely only make things worse for Scootaloo. So Cheerilee compromised and did the best she could to make sure that most of any problems that emerged were taken care of just between her and the filly, only getting Cirrus involved when the laws and rules governing her position absolutely required it. It had been a long time since she had seen Scootaloo that distracted, though. She wondered what the impetus could be and could only hope that, whatever the cause was, it would be a positive influence in the little filly's life. Dawn was in much the same position he had been in when he first met Scootaloo, standing silently in Fluttershy's front yard, his eyes closed and his body still. It was so still, in fact, that a couple of birds had actually perched on him and were chirping away without the slightest reaction from the colt beneath them. The low buzz of Scootaloo's approach startled the birds into flight and prompted Dawn's eyes to open. Fortunately, their meeting this time did not involve a crash of any kind. Scootaloo skidded her vehicle to a stop in front of the colt. Grinning widely, she dismounted and galloped up to him. "Okay! I'm here! What are we doing today!" Dawn simply stared at her. "First, show me how much progress you made." Her good mood instantly deflated, Scootaloo let out a groan and do as she told. She spread her wings halfheartedly, wishing to get it over with. To her surprise, she began feeling the flow of power through the appendages before she even closed her eyes. And with a single breath, she found herself drifting off the ground. "Hmm," Dawn mused as he watched the other pegasus ascend upwards, "You made faster progress than I thought you would." "Really!" exclaimed Scootaloo, immediately wishing she hadn't. Forgetting to maintain the flow of power to her wings, she plummeted. Then, before she could even think about it, her wings snapped back open and she slowed drastically before touching down lightly on the ground. "Much faster," said Dawn decisively as he nodded with what could only be approval. "Does this mean we get to move on to something new?" pleaded the filly. "That's debatable," answered Dawn, his tone giving nothing away. "What do you mean?" "Fast progress is good, but not if it encourages you to take unnecessary risks before you're ready. I am tempted to simply call it a day here and order another week of the same practice because you are in dire need of some patience." Any thoughts of protest were cut off by a single look at Dawn's unflinching, reptilian gaze. Instead, Scootaloo's ears flattened against her skull and she shrank back, her lips trembling. "As you have noticed, while you can start lifting off quite easily now, you are still in a position where you can still loose your lift if you are sufficiently distracted. The next step makes things considerably riskier." The young filly searched Dawn's face for any indicators of what she should do. But the colt remained as inscrutable as ever. Gathering her courage, she stepped forward again and tried to regain some of her composure. "I promise not to do anything dangerous with what you're going to teach me." "And?" Dawn raised one eyebrow. "...And I promise to follow your instructions to the letter and not try to find any fancy loopholes that could get me into trouble." Scootaloo blinked in surprise at her own words. It hadn't even initially occurred to her that she could take whatever instructions the colt gave her and try to find some creative way to subvert them to do what she wanted. To her relief, Dawn nodded. "Very well. But how can I be sure that you will keep your promise." "I'll keep it," asserted Scootaloo, "I'll even Pinkie Promise if I have to." Dawn's expressionless visage gave way to one of confusion. "Pinkie Promise?" Scootaloo nodded. "Uh huh. It's a really important promise to Ponyville ponies. You don't ever break a Pinkie Promise." Tilting his head to the side, the colt inquired, "May I ask why?" Wincing, Scootaloo gathered her courage. "Um...you might not be ready to hear that part yet." "..." "It has to do with the fact that you're not ready to meet other ponies quite yet." Dawn blinked and stood silently for a moment. "I still don't understand." Letting out a frustrated huff, the filly decided to throw caution to the wind. Alright! You asked for it. Closing her eyes, she blurted out, "Nopony ever breaks a Pinkie Promise because breaking a promise is the best way to lose your friends..." "FOREVER!!!" Dawn did something Scootaloo had never thought she would see him do, given his natural composure. The colt yelped and jumped into the air before rushing behind a nearby tree in a blur as Pinkie Pie erupted from beneath a rock she couldn't even begin to fit under, giving Scootaloo her most serious glare before sinking back under the rock and lowering it into place. A few seconds later, it was like she was never there. Slowly, Dawn leaned out from behind a tree, his eyes wide with shock. Scootaloo had to work extra hard to avoid collapsing from laughter at the sight of the colt's bamboozled expression. As it was, her face scrunched up while the air echoed with barely restrained giggles. "What..." asked Dawn as he slowly crept out from behind the tree, "...was that?" "That was Pinkie Pie," explained Scootaloo, snorting between words, "She does that." "How?" Finally managing to regain some of her composure, Scootaloo shook her head vigorously. "Don't...just don't. Trust me, you'll be happier that way. And besides..." She took a deep breath. "That is why you don't break a Pinkie Promise." "Really?" The little filly's eyes glimmered with mischief as she grinned at Dawn. "You want another go?" She sucked in a dramatically deep breath. "Breaking promises is..." "Stop!" exclaimed the colt, rearing back in preparation to flee again, "I get it!" Unable to contain herself anymore, Scootaloo collapsed, completely overcome with mirth as she laughed until tears leaked out of her eyes. "You should see your face," she gasped out. Dawn let out a long breath. After a moment, he smiled and a slight chuckle escaped him. "I have to admit, I haven't been surprised like that in a long time." Regaining a little self-control, Scootaloo got back up and smiled at the colt. "So, will a Pinkie Promise be good enough." Actually smiling, Dawn nodded. "I will accept it." "Okay then," said Scootaloo, going through the motions as she recited the words, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Dawn tilted his head curiously, but opted not to question anymore, given what his previous inquiries had led to. Instead, he coughed and tried his best to pull the remains of his dignity back together so that he could resume the lesson. "Well then, all distractions aside, your next step will be what amounts to an actual takeoff," he explained, "This time, I will demonstrate how it will go." He extended his wings. But instead of holding them level to the ground, he kept them in a slightly raised position. "You will do what you were doing before. Only instead of simply releasing the energy from your wings, you will hold it within your wings." He paused. "Does this make sense?" Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. Instead of reaching all the way out, you want me to build up that tingly feeling, right?" "I suppose that's one way of putting it," decided the colt, "But you probably won't get that tingly feeling for much longer. Once you build it up, use your breath to guide the release and in the same motion, make a downward stroke of your wings. This should be the result." Following his own instructions, Dawn took a breath, then released it. At the same time, he flapped downwards and rocketed up into the sky. Scootaloo's jaw dropped as she watched the colt soar upwards before his momentum petered out. Then, as he began to fall, his wings snapped back up into a horizontal position and his speed dropped, allowing him to slowly drift to the ground. "That is the basic gist of the exercise. It is built on the practice of the two main aspects of pegasus flight." Dawn lifted his wing. Scootaloo saw a slight breeze bend the grass away from him. "Releasing your power to generate the initial force and..." He flapped the wing and the slight breeze became a gale that blew a cloud of dust and several small stones into the air, "...using the physical motion of your wings to guide the release to maximize the force exerted by your energy. In the original exercise, you generated lift with your magic alone. But now, you will use the act of flapping your wings to invoke a greater force, which will generate true flight." "Um," ventured Scootaloo, "Do I really have to drift back to the ground like you did." The black colt nodded solemnly. "That is an extension of the first exercise you learned. The very first position you learned is also your recovery position. When you feel yourself falling or losing control, assuming that position will allow you to arrest your fall and regain some control. It will help later when you begin practicing more advanced material and will keep you safe even when you practice outside my of my supervision. "You are to follow the exercise as I told you. You will assume the position of the first exercise the exact moment you feel yourself begin to fall." Dawn narrowed his eyes, leaning close to the orange filly, "You will, under no circumstances, attempt any little daredevil tricks by withholding the position for any amount of time after you begin to fall. Do you understand?" Gulping, Scootaloo nodded quickly. Dawn smiled ever so slightly. "Then begin." Setting her stance, Scootaloo raised her wings and breathed in, closing her eyes by instinct, and feeling the magical energy beginning to gather in the feathery appendages. She smiled as she felt it build up. Finally, when she thought she had enough, she did as Dawn instructed, breathing out and releasing the magic as she flapped downward. The energy rushed out of her wings with an alacrity Scootaloo had never felt before. The ground disappeared beneath her hooves in an instant and she rushed upwards with startling speed. She imagined that most pegasi didn't go through first takeoffs quite like these. As she felt her ascent begin to slow, Scootloo opened her eyes. She immediately wished she hadn't. Her irises shrunk to pinpricks as the ground spanned beneath her. Her vision swam as panic gripped her. Scootaloo's wings went stiff and the filly let out a scream as she began to plummet. I'm dead! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! The mantra repeated itself endlessly through her thoughts as she screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the end. It never came as a sudden rush of air engulfed the orange filly, slowing her fall and causing her to come to a gentle rest on the ground. For a moment, she simply lay there, trembling. "Scootaloo." Dawn's voice brought her back and she remembered what she had been doing and why she had been up in the sky in the first place. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Dawn standing over her, his expression unreadable. "I'm sorry," whimpered the filly. The colt blinked in confusion. "Sorry? What for?" "I screwed up!" Scootaloo exclaimed, covering her head and wishing she could disappear. Hot tears, from sorrow and embarrassment this time, trickled down her cheeks, "I froze up and dropped like a rock! I suck at this! Maybe I shouldn't fly at all?" "That's all?" Scootaloo froze and slowly pulled her head out from under her hooves. "What do you mean 'that's all?'" Dawn shrugged. "So you fell. Simply try again." "But what if I fail again?" "Then try again. Try as many times as it takes until you get it right. That's all you need to do. That's all there is to do." Pausing, Dawn leaned in and whispered into Scootaloo's ear. "And no matter how many times it takes, I will catch you." The slightest tint of pink spread across the filly's cheeks as she nodded. Wiping her tears away, Scootaloo got back onto her hooves and did as she was bid. Seconds later, she was hurtling upwards. This time, she tried not to panic. She managed to avoid embarrassing herself with another scream, but the initial fear caused her to freeze up again. She was already falling when she remembered to spread her wings, but the air pressure from her increasing speed made it difficult to open her wings to the right position. Sadly, she made little headway in slowing herself down, forcing Dawn to catch her again. Dawn's expression was still unreadable. "Again." The filly tried for the third time. This time, she flinched when she looked down and pitched over backwards. Unable to make the slightest effort to slow her fall, she dropped like a stone. A fourth attempt was made, and then a fifth. By the end, Scootaloo was boiling over with frustration at her inability to master such a simple-looking exercise. Worse still, the exertion was beginning to take its toll and her breath was coming in heaving gasps as she desperately gathered strength for a sixth try. Her effort didn't make even half the height of her previous attempt. The filly's wings went limp, unable to reach out any further. Scootaloo's vision swam, this time from fatigue. She couldn't even begin to make an effort to stop. So she fell, trusting Dawn to continue to catch her. As it turned out, her trust was unnecessary as a field of glittering, violet magic enveloped the little pegasus and slowly lowered her gently. Scootaloo felt herself come to rest on a pair of gentle forelegs, which then wrapped around her, cradling her ever so softly. As her vision came back into focus, Scootaloo found herself staring into a pair of teal eyes. "Oh dear! Are you alright Scootaloo?" asked Fluttershy as she hovered along the ground so she could continue to carry the exhausted filly, "That was quite the fall. You could have been badly hurt." "Oh, you're back," observed Dawn flatly, "It's just as well. We're done for the day anyway." "Wait! You were making Scootaloo do this?" The presence of another voice prompted Scotaloo to turn her head, where she saw Twilight Sparkle, her eyes wide with indignation. The lavender unicorn flinched as the colt turned his unnerving gaze on her. All frustration faded, replaced with wonder as Twilight realized what she was looking at. There was no mistaking that glimmering color, or those dragon-like slits. The resemblance of Dawn's eyes to Nightmare Moon was uncanny; and it fascinated her. The possibilities boggled Twilight's mind as she considered what the existence of eyes like these might mean. "Amazing," she breathed. Realizing how quickly Twilight Sparkle changed tunes, Dawn turned his glance towards Fluttershy and raised an eyebrow. The yellow pegasus could only grin sheepishly and offer a half-hearted shrug. Letting out a slight sigh, Dawn resigned himself to the inevitable. "Perhaps we should go inside," he offered.