//------------------------------// // Starfall // Story: Catch Me if I Fall // by Shahrazad //------------------------------// Fluttershy held Scootaloo under her wing while she explained where Dash was. “Rainbow Dash was called away for emergency cloudbusting in Fillydelphia this morning. She should be back soon, but I don’t want to wait ‘til it gets too cold for our lesson today.” An errant gust of frigid wind blew by, causing Scootaloo to shiver despite Fluttershy’s protective pinions. Scootaloo had enjoyed the time she landed on the First Cloud with Dash, but now her stomach started to cramp just standing there. “Can somepony else go first?” Scootaloo asked Fluttershy, without turning her head. She continued to look out over the edge of the cloud. They sky was vivid purple, fading to black. It was quickly darkening to night as the sun touched the top of Canterlot Castle, far in the distance. Tweet “I’d prefer it if you went first, Scootaloo,” Fluttershy said while petting Gold Feather. He was perched on her head in Angel’s usual spot. Her thick mane made for a fine place to sit. She didn’t even feel his tiny weight on her head. Twilight walked up on Scootaloo’s other side and stopped next to her, looking out over the edge. “I have a good feeling about today; I think you’ll do great.” Scootaloo snorted and replied, “Thanks.” She would have let rip a sarcastic comment, but something in Twilight’s face kept her quiet. Twilight looked… Scootaloo didn’t know, but not normal. She wore a smile, but it looked funny. Like the smile Cheerliee wore when Scootaloo asked where foals came from. Fluttershy swept Scootaloo up in her hooves and summoned all of the kindness she could muster. She asked quietly, “Do you trust me, Scootaloo?” Twilight grimaced and swallowed the lump in her throat, but said nothing. Fluttershy held Scootaloo in front of her, with Scootaloo’s hind legs dangling into space. Fluttershy’s eyes widened just a tiny bit. Here she was, in her father’s place, doing something horrible. But our starfall worked out, didn’t it? Fluttershy heard Dash’s voice in her head. She closed her eyes and nodded to herself. For Scootaloo, the deja vu was just as powerful. Just like her first fall with Dash, the warm memory untied her stomach. She remembered that night, about two weeks ago. The fall was scary, but she wouldn’t trade that memory for anything. It was one of the happiest memories she had, right behind meeting Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Scootaloo sighed; her calm expression and closed eyes made her almost appear to be sleeping. “Tuck my legs in, right?” Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open, and she nodded with a bright smile. “That’s right.” Her forelimbs quivering, she hesitated. Scootaloo responded, “Aren’t you gonna drop me?” She tilted her head and raised one brow. Fluttershy gasped and said, “Aren’t you scared?” Scootaloo didn’t wait to respond. “Nope. I just sorta remembered the first time I was with Dash up here. She told me a story about—” Fluttershy hugged Scootaloo into her chest, her grip nearly crushing the filly. Gold Feather chirped again. “Just a moment, Gold Feather. You’ll get a chance to fly too.” Tears were in the corners of her eyes, but they didn’t fall. Fluttershy held Scootaloo out over the edge again. “Are you ready?” Scootaloo nodded and said, “Yeah—if anything goes wrong, Dash will catch me.” Fluttershy gasped and shook her head. “You need to fly on your own. You can’t rely on her every time.” “Hey, I want to fly, so lets do this!” Scootaloo said as she knocked Fluttershy’s hooves away and arched backwards. She fell into the sky with a smile. I really feel good about this. Maybe Twilight is right—maybe today I’m gonna fly. As she accelerated, she snapped her goggles onto her face with a wild grin. Okay, tuck in my legs—where’s Fluttershy? Scootaloo’s head darted around. There was nothing, and no pony near her, just endless sky and roaring wind in her ears. She could see the First Cloud, a golden smudge above her, rapidly shrinking. “FLUTTERSHY? TWILIGHT? RAINBOW DASH? ANYPONY?!” Suddenly, her stomach twisted up, her pupils dilated, and her heart rate skyrocketed. Unfortunately, her body fell like a rock. Up on the First Cloud, Fluttershy and Twilight bent over the edge to watch Scootaloo fall. Fluttershy was staring at the orange speck as it fell away from them. Twilight forced herself to take a ragged breath. She had been holding it in for several seconds. She glanced at Fluttershy and said, “Hey, where’s Gold Feather?” Fluttershy broke her gaze and looked at Twilight. “Gold Feather? He’s right here…” She put a hoof to her head and searched. And searched. And searched. “Gold Feather?!” Her voice became frantic. “Where are you?” Tweet Fluttershy and Twilight’s eyes snapped down again to see Gold Feather falling after Scootaloo. His legs were tucked in and his wings spread, just like he’d been taught. “GOLD FEATHER, NO!” Fluttershy screamed and jumped after him. Scootaloo saw him a second before he flew past her. He was just a golden dart to her; he was going much faster than she was. She heard Fluttershy scream and saw her jump after them. No, this is bad. If Fluttershy is going to save Gold Feather, who’s going to save me? Scootaloo buzzed her wings and flailed her limbs about. She was breathing fast, the air burning in her lungs. She could see Fluttershy trying to catch them, but she could already tell it was too late. If Fluttershy was as good as Rainbow Dash, she might have been able to catch Scootaloo. There was no way she could catch Gold Feather, not at the rate he was going. And Fluttershy wasn’t a great flyer. Scootaloo watched as Fluttershy rocketed down as fast as she could go… She isn’t going to catch me. She’s too slow. Oh Goddess, who’s going to catch us? I’M GONNA DIE! That was the only thought in Scootaloo’s mind. She was falling, like a comet out of the heavens. The ground was far below her, giving her a fantastic view of the countryside. She could easily see Canterlot from this height in all of its majestic glory, the sun setting behind it. But she wouldn’t see it much longer. Falling really isn’t so bad; it’s that sudden stop at the end where things tend to get... messy. Her limbs flailed about uselessly. Her wings didn’t even manage their usual ineffectual buzzing. The air tore at her face and peeled her lips back, exposing her teeth. The goggles kept her wide eyes protected, but right now all that did was give her a view of the rapidly approaching ground. A few clouds drifted into her view. She tried to calm down as the wind tore her breath away. I’ve got to hit one of those clouds! Her wings finally made a useful maneuver. Not flapping, exactly, but enough to change her direction. She was right on target for a wispy little cloud. Thank Celestia, I’m gonna live! She hit the cloud like an arrow hitting water. There was a pop and the uncanny sound of torn fog, like the ripping of silk fabric. Her eyes went wide. The ground rushed up to meet her once again. I’M GONNA DIE! Scootaloo quivered in the air, fear and wind roaring over her. She clutched at herself out of instinct, curling into a ball. Tears began to form around her eyes. Tweet Scootaloo glanced at Gold Feather, a short distance below her. His wings flapped around, but his tiny body couldn’t withstand the crosswind that buffeted them both. Scootaloo hardly noticed it; on instinct she had spread her wings and righted herself. She watched as Gold Feather tumbled in freefall, his eyes closed and his wings limp. He’s out! She couldn’t believe it, the prodigy had been knocked out by… Am I going down? Scootaloo glanced to her left and right, noticing that her own wings were spread. She accelerated down, Gold Feather drawing closer. I’ll catch you if you fall. Scootaloo could hear Dash’s voice in her head, as if she were right next to her. Scootaloo’s mouth closed and her lips went into a line. She could feel Dash’s hooves around her barrel, lifting her up. I’ll catch you if you fall. Scootaloo nodded, It’s alright, Scootaloo. Just fly. Dash will catch you if you mess up, she thought to herself. Now she could hear Dash’s voice, and only Dash’s voice. Tuck in your legs. Scootaloo spread her wings straight out, uncurled herself, and kept her legs tucked in. She could see Gold Feather, still turning end over end. I’ve got Dash to catch me, but who’s gonna catch him? Scootaloo started to feel her stomach clench again. It’s gotta be me! I’m gonna catch him! That was when something changed. As her eyes focused on Gold Feather, the sound of the rushing wind and Fluttershy’s screams faded away. The sunlight softened, the world beyond her and Gold Feather becoming dark. Scootaloo drew in a slow breath, and focused. She could hear Dash, speaking as if reading off bingo numbers. Now just tilt slowly, like you’re trying to lift your head up. Angle your wings and your head to the horizon, and your tail in the opposite direction; try to even out. Dash’s voice was calm… and Scootaloo couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t be calm. What was there to be afraid of? She couldn’t mess up—Dash would catch her. That was the worst that could happen: her hero would catch her. With her wings spread, Scootaloo accelerated downward. She reached out with her hooves and snagged Gold Feather before he floated past her. She held him like Dash held her. No wonder you can’t fly. You’re trying to do this on your own without anypony to catch you. She tilted her head, wings, and tail slowly. The horizon rotated to meet her eyes, a long, jagged line of mountains slowly growing wider. Scootaloo buzzed her wings with heightened strength. Her body felt like sunlight: lightweight and hot. She was falling, but hovered for the smallest fraction of a second with every beat of her wings. Pumping her wings harder only made her sweat, and she was still falling. Her hind quarters quivered and a chill ran up her spine. Focus, Scootaloo, focus. What did Dash say about flying? She thought as her wings kept buzzing. The ground was close enough that she could make out individual trees and houses. The final cloud layer was rapidly approaching, but none of the clouds were anywhere near her. Don’t flap your wings so fast. You need to arc them so they push you up. Scootaloo almost slapped herself. Normally, panic would make her beat her wings as fast as she could, but the ground didn’t concern her. It wasn’t that she had ignored it, it just wasn’t important. Like so many things in her life, it was something she couldn’t do anything about. She could fear the ground and the air, or she could work with them. The ground didn’t care what happened to her, so why should she care about the ground? Although, it was getting awfully close... One—two—one—two—one—two... Scootaloo closed her eyes and counted the beating of her wings, forcing them up and down in wide arcs. She could feel the air resist her on the down stroke when she spread her wings out. As she pulled them in and let them flow through the air on the upstroke, the air gave for her. One—two—one—two—one—two. The feeling of the air faded, the tiny weight of Gold Feather faded, and even Dash’s voice faded away. It was as if she had been trying to listen to a song in a noisy room; it was impossible to hear anything with all of the other voices. Now, all the other sounds were gone. She couldn’t hear Gold Feather chirping, or Fluttershy screaming, or the wind roaring, or Twilight fretting, or Dash reassuring. She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t feel anything. She couldn’t feel gravity’s pull, or the air peeling her lips back, or Dash’s hooves like an iron bar on her chest. She could only hear herself count. And then she couldn’t even hear that. All Scootaloo could hear was the soft flapping of her wings, like the steady beat of a drum, synchronized with her heart. They were both in the same steady cadence, like she was trotting to school on a familiar road. It was the most natural thing in the world; she didn’t think about it, she just felt it. Now, she couldn’t imagine trying to fly any other way. Because of course, that’s what she was doing: flying. “Toldja you’d fly, kid.” Scootaloo’s eyes popped open as the wind roared in her ears. Fluttershy’s voice called out to her—something about the quivering ball of feathers in her hooves. She saw Dash on her left, flying straight ahead with languid beats of her wings; she hardly moved at all. Before today, Scootaloo thought it wasn’t fair that Dash didn’t have to work so hard to fly. Now, she understood that was the best, maybe the only way to fly. “Eyes forward, kid.” “Whoa!” Scootaloo gave a powerful downstroke just in time to lift herself above the top of an evergreen. She glanced down and gulped; the ground was close, to say the least. She was flying over the outskirts of Ponyville, and the trees here were not so tall. If she fell, it wouldn’t even hurt that badly, at least not anymore. “Rainbow Dash… were you there to catch me?” Fluttershy flew up on Scootaloo’s right side with wide, tearful eyes. Her voice cracked as she said, “Please give him to me.” Scootaloo blinked, glanced at her own forehooves, and realized she was still holding Gold Feather. “Oh yeah! Uh, here.” Scootaloo hoofed him over. Fluttershy snatched the unconscious bird from Scootaloo and hugged him to her chest. “Oh I was so scared. I wasn’t sure if Dash could catch both of you, and he was going so fast…” Dash snickered and exclaimed, “I wasn’t worried—I saw Scoots doing just what I said to do. You were focused, I could see it! That’s all you needed: focus.” Scootaloo’s wings were beating at twice the rate of Dash’s as they flew side by side. She’d had dreams about doing this, and it was exactly like she had imagined it. “I was kinda scared ‘til I realized you’d catch me. Once I knew that, I didn’t worry about falling anymore.” She blinked away tears. “I just couldn’t focus when I was scared, but I was okay when I knew you’d be there to catch me.” Dash looked at Scootaloo, flew close to her, and whispered, “Hey, is everything okay?” Scootaloo sniffed once more and swallowed the lump in her throat. Scootaloo nodded vigorously as a wild grin broke out on her face. “Yeah, I just…” She glanced at Fluttershy, who was hugging Gold Feather and whispering to him. He appeared to be peacefully, dreamlessly, asleep—that’s what happens when you pass out. “I just wanted this for so long. I… It’s even better than I imagined it would be.” Little tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She blushed, putting a hoof up between herself and Fluttershy. “Are you embarrassed?” Dash asked. She smiled at Scootaloo and said, “You don’t have to be embarrassed if those are tears of joy. Besides, I don’t think Fluttershy will notice much ‘til we get to the ground. You wanna learn how to land?” It took a moment before Scootaloo replied, “...Do we have to land right now?” Dash shook her head as she laughed. “No, we can keep flying for as long as you like.” A thin sheen of sweat covered Scootaloo, and she started to pant. “As long as you can keep this up,” Dash said as she spread her wings and allowed herself to glide forward. I’ve still got a lot to learn, Scootaloo thought as she watched Dash glide effortlessly. She hardly moved her wings, but still didn’t lose altitude or slow down. “No way am I quitting now,” Scootaloo panted out. Rainbow Dash laughed with abandon in between her words. “Okay! I’ll just tell ya how to land, and when I’m done, it’ll be time, I think.” She snickered as Scootaloo dipped for a split-second before redoubling her efforts just to keep aloft. “First, you gotta slow down; that’s the easy part. Then, let your hind legs dangle and tilt your wings back…” ~~~~~ Vigilance’s eyes scanned the page. Iron Law sat next to him drinking tea, trying to hide his smile. He likes tea too much for a royal guardspony, Vigilance thought. His eyes continued to scan the page as he watched Iron Law, the little purple dragon at the Princess’ side, the pair of pegasi lounging on the couch, the Princess herself (of course), and… well… everything. That was his talent, and it made other ponies nervous, because he always knew what they were doing. That’s why he was paired with Iron Law, who never did anything illegal. His conscious was always clear, so he wasn’t worried that Vigilance knew what he was doing all the time. That didn’t mean Vigilance wouldn’t tease him later about liking tea with sugar in it rather than the black coffee that most guards drank. Iron Law referred to such beverages as “boiled rust,” but that little bit of banter would have to wait. They had a filthy criminal to exhonerate. “Well, everything seems to be in order,” Vigilance growled, keeping his voice just this side of professional. “The criminal—ahem—suspect, is free to go, and all charges have been dropped. I still would like to interview the filly again,” he said as he gestured in Scootaloo’s direction. She was sleeping, curled into Dash’s side, using a cerulean wing as a blanket. Dash wore a little smile as she read her Daring Do novel and waited for Twilight to do her “legal thing.” Fluttershy was also in the library, caring for Gold Feather. Spike had to retrieve Gold Feather’s bed from Fluttershy’s cabin hours ago. Once the two guards arrived, Twilight wasn’t going to let Fluttershy or Dash out of her sight. It just wouldn’t do to break her word in front of the guards, not after she had spent over an hour drafting the document with Scootaloo. She was quite surprised when Dash had retrieved her from the First Cloud and told her Scootaloo had flown. The filly was still bubbling with excitement when she and Dash landed next to her a few minutes later in front of the library. She still didn’t quite have the hang of turning, but she did avoid crashing into some obstacles, like large houses. The two guardsponies knocked on the door a couple of hours later, giving Twilight the opportunity to get her friends out of trouble. “That won’t be necessary, I took the interview myself. Scootaloo recanted her accusation just like it’s written there. I assure you, I took her diction faithfully.” Twilight tried to sound like Celestia, but those were big horseshoes to fill. Iron Law set down his teacup with a soft clink on the table. It was getting late, the moon was out, and most ponies were going to bed. Their shift was over, but Vigilance would never drop a case like this one without being thorough. He gazed across the table, over his still-full teacup. The liquid inside had stopped steaming and was growing cold. “Really? This filly said, and I quote: ‘I recant my previous testimony regarding the matter of State of Equestria vs. Rainbow Dash. I wish for all grievances to be dropped, and require no further assistance from the state in this matter’?” A drop of sweat rolled down Twilight's neck as she said, “Yeah, that sounds like Scootaloo.” Vigilance and Iron Law both stared at Twilight for a moment. Twilight gulped before Iron Law smiled and said, “Great! Now we can close this case. I must say, that little filly must be a walking dictionary to say something like that at her age.” Twilight smiled sheepishly and glanced away. “Uh, well, yeah, she’s such a smart filly, and she studies really hard. I’ll have to thank her teacher for being so good at her job.” “Wait a minute…” Vigilance narrowed his eyes at Twilight. “I’m not satisfied with this. I want to interview her again—wake her up.” Dash raised her head from her book and looked over at the three ponies at the table. She and Scootaloo were suddenly the subject of three sets of eyes. Twilight gulped as her left forehoof began to shake under the table. Iron Law piped up, “Is something wrong with the document?” Vigilance turned back to his colleague and replied, “No.” “Is it not signed by the witness?” Iron Law asked. “It is,” Vigilance replied. His right eye had an almost imperceptible twitch to it. “Do you suspect coercion or improper diction by the court clerk? Or do you suspect her credentials have been forged and/or her seal is insufficient for the task?” Iron Law glanced at Twilight’s royal seal at the bottom of the page and raised one brow. “N-no!” Vigilance stammered out. His eyes went wide and he could no longer look at Twilight. “Then I see no reason to spend state resources when they could be better spent elsewhere.” Iron Law stood and saluted Twilight. “Thank you for the tea, Princess. May we be relieved?” “Absolutely. You deserve the rest of the night off.” Twilight’s forehoof stopped shaking and she relaxed into her seat. Iron Law stood and trotted towards the door, his hooves making crisp notes on the hardwood floor. When he reached the door, he opened it and turned back to Vigilance. “Sir? It’s time to go.” “B-but...you...the little filly...FINE!” Vigilance snapped the scroll into a tight roll and tucked it into his saddle bag. It was useless to argue with Iron Law about legal matters. Possibly worse than useless if Iron Law thought he was wasting state resources and internal affairs got involved. He bowed low to Twilight and intoned, “Good night, Princess.” He trotted out, but not before glaring once more at Rainbow Dash and the door behind which Fluttershy was tending to Gold Feather. When the door closed, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “You showed ‘em, Twilight. I told ya they’d do whatever you asked. Now how ‘bout we work on the Royal Canterlot Voice?” Spike said with smug satisfaction as he looked at the door. “Maybe you could get them to do something about all the ponies asking for favors? By the way, you got 6,934 new messages asking for lower taxes today.” “It’s called a petition, Spike, and I don’t want to even think about them right now. Let Princess Celestia handle that for the time being. I can barely handle two guards—what’s gonna happen when I have to make a real decision?” Twilight’s eyes grew wide and she spoke quickly, “What if I don’t lower taxes and all the citizens of Equestria hate me? What if they stop buying tea because the taxes are so high? What if they form a ‘no-tea party’? Spike! The library is going to be attacked by angry tea merchants! Get my books on dehydration spells—we must defend the library from the chamomile crusade!” Dash roared with laughter from the couch. Spike tumbled to the floor quaking with a belly laugh, while Twilight blushed. “Cool off, Egghead. If the tea merchants get really mad, Celestia will handle it. She’ll catch all the boiling hot tea that gets thrown at you,” Dash reassured her while trying not to laugh too hard. Scootaloo yawned and poked her head out from under Dash’s wing. “What’s so funny? Are the guards gone? Can I fly with you tomorrow? You’re not going to jail, are you?” “Nahh, I ain't going to jail. I can’t fly with you tomorrow, though. I have to get a rainstorm ready for next week.” Dash sighed and closed her eyes; her wings felt like lead weights. Scootaloo glanced at Twilight, who was flipping through a book Spike had retrieved from a dusty top shelf titled Dehydration and Dust, or How to Package Milk. Scootaloo shook her head and looked back at Dash. “What if I fall again?” Dash cracked her eyes open and yawned. “Then I’ll catch you. Weren’t you listening?” “Yeah. Yeah, that’s right...” Scootaloo’s body relaxed as she rested her head on her forehooves again. “...I can’t wait to show Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. They’ll be so jealous…” She yawned and closed her eyes. “...I wonder if they got anyone to catch them when they mess up...” Dash hummed softly, trying to fall asleep. She glanced at the upstairs bedroom door, where Fluttershy had sequestered herself with Gold Feather. She nodded and said, “I’m sure they do. Every successful pony had somepony to catch them when they were learning.” Scootaloo snored softly, and Dash just chuckled. They were both tired, and right now, she was more than willing to just fall asleep on the couch. She’d tell the matron tomorrow that Scootaloo had to speak to the royal guards, and it took all night. She fell asleep with her wing still covering Scootaloo.