Reaching New Heights
"Now you've got it Scoot!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Scootaloo's progress in her flight lessons was remarkable. Once her wings grew to their full size, she was destined to be a very strong flyer. After only a week and a half, she was already able to effectively fly on her own. To think that, before she came into Rainbow and Spitfire's care, she could barely hover off the ground.
"When are you gonna start teaching me to do the tricks that you can do?" Scootaloo asked with excitement.
"After your wings come in completely," Rainbow said. "Tricks require strong wings and a very experienced flyer." Scootaloo sighed. She was disappointed.
"How am I gonna learn if I don't practice?" she asked.
"You're not," Rainbow answered. "Don't worry Scoot, your wings are starting to come in now. At this rate, I'll be starting you on tricks before Winter Wrap Up."
"Think I can help with Winter Wrap Up this year?" Scootaloo's undying excitement made Rainbow laugh.
"We'll see Scoot. We'll see. Come on, let's head home. We're gonna have to hurry if we're gonna beat the storm."
"I'll race you there," Scootaloo challenged. This put Rainbow in quite the dilemma. On the one hoof, she'd never turn down a challenge. But on the other hoof, this was a new flyer who had just learned to keep in the air without effort. If she gave it her all right now she'd fall out of the sky. Rainbow wasn't about to let that happen to Scootaloo.
"You're on Squirt," Rainbow said.
The two took their places on the start cloud.
"On my count," Rainbow said. "3, 2, 1, GO!" They took off. Scootaloo flew faster than Rainbow expected, but not nearly as fast as her de facto mother. Rainbow kept pace just ahead of Scootaloo. Just because she wasn't going to leave Scootaloo in her dust didn't mean she was going to let her win. When they reached the hole in the clouds that Rainbow had made sure the weather team had left, Rainbow was getting bored. She had never flown this slow in a race. Then, about 20 meters away from the front porch, something Rainbow could not explain happened. Scootaloo pulled ahead of her.
Scootaloo ran inside the house with a look of pure joy on her face.
"Spitfire! I beat Rainbow Dash!"
"Huh?" Spitfire asked.
"I raced Rainbow Dash and won! It was awesome!" Spitfire looked at her wife with a smile. As soon as she saw Rainbow her smile faded. Rainbow didn't let her win. Scootaloo won fair and square. Spitfire was stunned. Too stunned to realize that the eggplant she had been preparing began to burn on the stove top. Scootaloo turned off the stove and removed the pot from the burner.
"N-nice work kiddo." Was all Spitfire could manage. How fast was their daughter?
"Y-y-yeah," Rainbow managed. As disappointed as Rainbow was, it all faded when she smelled the eggplant. Only Spitfire's cooking could do that. "Nevermind that, I'm starving!" Rainbow exclaimed with a smile on her face.
"Woohoo, victory dinner!" Scootaloo cheered.
After Dinner...
"What happened out there? During the race? How the hay did Scootaloo beat you?" Spitfire asked.
"She hustled me." A tear escaped her eye.
"Don't you dare cry about that," Spitfire said.
"It's not that," Rainbow said. "I'm just so proud. I've won tons of races like that. She's just like me." Now Rainbow couldn't hold back. "I'm gonna congratulate her." Spitfire rolled her eyes and smiled.
"I'll be right here waiting." She gave Rainbow her bedroom eyes. Rainbow's wings snapped to attention.
"DAMMIT SPITFIRE!" she exclaimed as she barely managed to put her wings back down.
"I thought it was Wildfire in these situations." Rainbow's wings snapped back up, and this time she wasn't going be getting them back down.
"Uggh, now I have to talk to Scoot with wingboners! Why'd you have to go and do that?"
"So I could keep you with me tonight," Spitfire said and pushed Rainbow to their bedroom. Rainbow made no effort to resist.
From her room, Scootaloo heard the tell tale grunts and giggles that could only come from "adult playtime." She sighed and turned up her music.
"They really enjoy that, don't they?" she said to herself. "At least I don't have to worry about creaky floorboards... They're loud enough as it is."
The next morning carried on as usual. Scootaloo's alarm went off, and she turned it off with a force that would destroy it if she hadn't armored it. Her morning crankiness disappeared as soon as she smelled breakfast. She ate with her family and took a quick shower. However, one thing was different this morning. Today, for the first time, she was going to fly herself to school. She was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to see the looks on the faces of her classmates. She'd be the first pegasus in her class to fly.
"Bye Rainbow Dash! Bye Spitfire!"
"See ya Scoot. Have a nice day!" Spitfire called out.
"Be careful!" Rainbow Dash added. Her words weren't heard. Scootaloo had already dove off the porch and was accelerating towards the ground. She opened her wings and tilted up, speeding towards the school. When she arrived, the first pony she saw was her friend Applebloom. Applejack was with her as well.
"Hey Applebloom! Hey Applejack!" Scootaloo called out. The two looked up and their mouths dropped open at the same time.
"Scootaloo, yer flyin'!" Applebloom exclaimed, now with a smile.
"Hay yeah! Rainbow Dash taught me!" Heads were turning, especially among the other pegasi in the class. Every one of them was either jealous that she could fly or embarrassed that a Cutie Mark Crusader managed to pull off a major feat of every growing pegasus before they could.
"Scootaloo, fly down here so I can give you a hug!" Sweetie Belle shouted. Scootaloo touched the ground and had just barely folded her wings before her friends glomped her.
"Sweetie Belle, I will not allow my sister to act like such a ruffian in public!" a white unicorn with a well groomed white coat and purple mane shouted as she lifted Applebloom out of the tangle of fillies with her magic.
"Uhh, Rarity? Ah think ya got th' wrong filly there," Applejack laughed. Rarity dropped Applebloom and pulled her sister away from Scootaloo, again using magic.
"Uggh, look at how dirty you are!" Rarity exclaimed. "N-no STAY BACK!"
"You don't want me to be dirty sis. I won't be dirty if I rub it all off on you." Sweetie Belle had a devious grin on her face that stretched from ear to ear.
"Sweetie Belle, if you get dirt on my-AHHHGETAWAYRIGHTTHISINSTANTYOURUFFIAN!"
"What's that sis? You were talking WAY too fast. I didn't understand you." With that, Rarity bolted off to Carousel Boutique, to "open for business," away from the dirty evil dirt that Sweetie Belle had almost tarnished her fabulous coat with. Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't try to hold back their laughter.
"Alright children, class is in session! Don't be late!" Cheerilee's ever cheery voice resounded, almost as loud as the series of groans that followed it.
"Ah'll see ya after school," Applejack said and hugged her sister.
"Bye Applejack!" All of the Crusaders shouted back, making Applejack cringe. She loved their energy, but hoo'ee did it hurt the ears. As the three fillies turned to go to class, Scootaloo taking to the sky to show off, Applejack turned and pushed her cart to the market to set up her own shop for the day.
Back Home...
Back at the home of Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, Rainbow was taking a long look at her old guitar. She hadn't played the thing in years, but Scootaloo sure was taking an interest. The mechanical "talons" that every non-unicorn guitarist needed in order to play were much too small for Rainbow as well, but they might just fit little Scootaloo.
"Hey Spitfire, think Scoot'll like this?" Spitfire took a look at it.
"Maybe if you get it patched up a little," she replied.
"I'll have Dr. Whooves take a look at it," Rainbow said. Spitfire shuddered.
"That guy is freaky."
"Allons-y!" Rainbow shouted, to which they both laughed. The "Dr." was an awfully nice stallion, strange though he was, but he had the dumbest catch phrase they had ever heard.
"Don't laugh," Rainbow said between giggles. "Those are words of Great Power and Mystery."
"Oh shut up," Spitfire laughed and pushed her wife. "Just take the guitar to him and see what he can do." With that, Rainbow kissed her wife, dropped the guitar, talons, and amplifier into her saddlebags, and flew off towards town.