Less

by Duplex Fields


Solvable

"Spike! We're back!"

Spike came downstairs from the kitchenette. The little purple dragon was in his apron, carrying a tray of daisy and wheat sandwiches. The bread was food-colored to look like rainbows. "Thought you gals might want some snacks after all that flying. You were out there a while."

I could practically feel the drool leaking from my mouth. "Thanks, Spike!" I said, and grabbed one with my mouth.

As I chewed, Princess Twilight levitated her own sandwich near her mouth and turned to face the dragon. "Parchment and quill at the ready, I've got a royal promise to fulfill. We should start with a checklist."

"You're still gonna help me fly, even though you proved I can't?" I asked through a mouthful of sandwich, as Spike went into the next room, tossing his apron aside.

"You can't fly on your own at the moment, Scootaloo. That's the only thing we proved." She put a hoof to her chest and closed her eyes, posing regally. "A princess always keeps her word." She opened her eyes, a frown on her face. "Unless she isn't able. Or she's incapacitated. Or the laws of physics won't allow it. Actually, I guess I'd better be careful about giving my word from now on."

Spike re-entered the room with a few blank scrolls. "Checklist title?"

"Helping Scootaloo Fly," said Twilight, smiling.

"Ready," he said.

"Item one: create list of experiments on lift production," she said, "Item two: investigate long-term feasibility of each lift-producing scenario through experimentation."

"Check," said Spike, crossing the final 't's. He looked up at her. "List of ways to make Scootaloo fly. Ooh, how about balloons? Pinkie Pie has a balloon harness for hovering."

"Mark it down, Spike," said Twilight. "She also has the candycopter, but I don't think a hoof-powered vehicle using propellers would count."

I shook my head. "I want to use my wings."

"No propellers, got it," said Spike. "Tank's hover-propeller is out for sure. There's probably a spell to make her float, though."

Twilight said, "Probably. Make a note to research that one."

Spike wrote it down. "Now, what else floats?" He tapped his chin with the quill's feather-tip. Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide. "I know, clouds!"

Twilight pondered. "Write it down. Oh, let's put 'hang glider' at the top of the list. I think we could easily convert thrust into lift with a hang glider."

"You used your scooter all the way to the Crystal Empire, didn't you?" Spike asked me.

"Actually, I just caught up with the train," I said, smiling, "It wasn't even to Vanhoover, and I was exhausted."

"That's quite the feat of endurance anyway," said Twilight, putting a forehoof around me. "You've got strong little wings."

I frowned. "Wait a minute. All we've mentioned are tools and spells with effects. What about actually making my wings grow better?"

Twilight looked upward, thinking. "Hm. I don't specialize in medical spells, and I don't want to try anything that'll hurt you. We'll have to consult a physiologist first, and check on interactions between the arcane characteristics of a growing filly's body and any spells I'd potentially use." She poked at my wing with a hoof. "Still, it's a valid area of investigation."

I imagined flying up to Rainbow Dash's cloud house and knocking on the door.

"Hey, Scootaloo," she would say, then her eyes would bug out. "Whoa! You're flying?!? Now we're gonna be best buds forever, and hang out with the Wonderbolts together, and I'll teach you how to make a rainboom, and make you sub-captain of the Ponyville Weather Patrol..."

*snap* *snap*

I shook my head. "Huh?"

Spike moved his claws away; he had snapped them in front of my face. "You okay? You zoned out there for a second. You had this goofy smile."

I quickly restored dignity to my facial expression. "Did not."

"Did too," said Spike, smirking.

"Let's get back to the list, shall we?" said Princess Twilight. "There was a spell Trixie used on Rainbow Dash that made one of her wings huge. We should look into a bilateral version of that one for sure."

Spike scratched words onto the scroll. "How about Zecora? Maybe she knows a potion that can grow her wings?"

"Ooh, ooh," I said, waving a hoof in the air. "Discord!"

Spike went pale.

Twilight frowned. "I really don't think that's a good idea, Scootaloo. He's up to something, but he's hiding it well. After that whole Plunder Seed vine infestation that cost us the El... er, a lot of time and effort, I trust him less than ever."

"But if nothing else works," I said, "Can we give it a try?"

"Only if both Fluttershy and I are there," said Twilight, "And only as the very last resort. Spike, make sure those caveats are on the list."

"Ka-veee..." said Spike, squinting as he wrote.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Conditions. Anyway, let's categorize the list and see what we have."

Within a minute, Spike had rewritten the list on another scroll, sorted into Artificial, Natural, Medical, and Magical categories.

"Can you blast me with the Elements of Harmony?" I asked, seeing Spike write Discord's name.

Spike and Twilight glanced at each other. They looked nervous. Spike said, "You see..."

Twilight interrupted him. "The Elements are a measure of last resort, a heavily guarded national security measure. They're much too powerful to use on you, and I have no idea what the effects would be. We won't even write that one down."

I glanced at her head. She wasn't wearing a crown. "Whatever. So, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" My belly grumbled loudly enough for both of them to hear. "...after dinner?"

Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder. "Why don't you get a good night's rest, and we'll try tomorrow after school? That'll give me a chance to research the spells on this list."

With a noncommittal grunt, I agreed to the plan.