//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Lessons and Memories // Story: Kindred Spirits // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// Scootaloo sat in her seat, staring at the clock on the wall, waiting for the moment that the school bell would ring. Her impatience was getting the better of her. She could hardly sit still at the prospect of learning how to fly from the one and only Rainbow Dash. Her eyes widened as she saw the clocks minute hand nearing the 60-second mark. ‘Three…two…. one!’ The clock struck 2:30, thus signaling the end of the school day. As soon as the bell rang, Scootaloo had swept up her school supplies into her saddlebag, and rushed out the door, giving a quick goodbye to her two friends. As soon as the young filly made it outside, she bolted to her scooter, and hopped on. Buzzing her wings rapidly, she zoomed off towards her destination. Scootaloo used her well-developed scooter skills to maneuver through Ponyville, weaving past obstacles without loosing any speed. Seeing a knocked over cart, she adjusted her coarse, and sped over the obstacle, using it as a ramp to gain an impressive amount of air. Scootaloo spun her scooter before landing back on the ground, and proceeding to her destination. After a few minutes riding, Scootaloo finally made it to the agreed meeting place, the hills on the outskirts of Ponyville. When she reached the hills, she put the brakes on her scooter, skidding to a halt, and digging into the dirt. Scootaloo removed her helmet, and walked her scooter over to a nearby tree, resting her scooter against it. She lifted her saddlebag and set it on top of the scooter. Once she finished putting her stuff away, she turned and looked for her idol. Scootaloo searched the sky for the prismatic mare but saw no one. She walked over to the tree, and looked to see if Rainbow was napping on one of the branches, but again, no one was there. Scootaloo sat down on the ground next to her scooter, and looked to the ground. ‘Maybe she forgot,’ thought Scootaloo. But, just as she thought that she heard a familiar voice from above. “Look out below!” Scootaloo looked to the sky to see a familiar prismatic torpedo heading her way. Scootaloo backed up a bit, and watched as the pony projectile touched down on the ground, stirring up dirt. Scootaloo closed her eyes to keep dust from getting in her eyes. After a few moments of waving her hoof to fan away the dirt, she opened her eyes and gazed at her mentor. “Sup squirt?” said Rainbow. “Oh, Rainbow Dash! That was awesome!” “Thanks kid, I try.” “I’m glad you’re here Rainbow. For a minute there, I was worried you weren’t going to show.” “Heck No! They don’t call me the Element of Loyalty for nothing!” Scootaloo gave Rainbow a toothy smile. “So, you ready to get started?” “You betcha!” responded Scootaloo, hopping in the air, and buzzing her wings. “Alright then, let’s get started! The first thing we’ve got to do is build up some wing strength.” Kyle tossed his Frisbee, his dog happily chasing the plastic disc. As soon as the dog retrieved the disc, he ran back towards the young boy. When the dog reached the child, he sat down, and dropped the Frisbee, wagging his tail. Kyle picked up the disc and tossed it again, farther this time. His dog once again pursued the toy, with the young human jogging after him. “Don’t go to far sweetie!” said Kyle’s mom from the picnic blanket. “Okay mom!’ replied Kyle. He and his dog were now near the forest at the edge of the park. The dog retrieved the disc, and brought it back to his master. The two continued to play for a while longer. The dog once again brought the Frisbee to Kyle, who took it and tossed it again. Only this time, a strong breeze blew through the air, causing the disc to veer left, into the nearby forest. The dog barked, and pursued the Frisbee. He ran into the forest, and kept running. Worried that he would get lost, Kyle gave chase. “Spud! Come back!” Kyle ran, chasing his dog, deeper into the forest. He ran as fast as he could, but the canine was faster, gaining enough speed, and getting deeper into the forest. Kyle could no longer see his pet, and now found himself lost in the forest. “Spud! Spud, where are you!” the landscape shifted as the boy turned around, the trees and foliage disappearing, morphing into a clear hilltop. The sky had gone dark, with lightning striking. “M-mom…. dad? Where are you guys?” called the child. Suddenly, he started to hear loud, echoing whispers, saying; “Monster”, over and over again. Then, he saw a glowing light from behind him. He turned and looked to see six mares rising in the air, wearing five golden pendants, and one tiara. A rainbow beam connected between the jewelry, and then launched into the air, strait at the young human. He closed his eyes, and covered his head with his arms, getting ready for the impact. Kyle jolted awake, screaming. The moment he did, a wave of nausea overcame him, causing him to vomit to the side. His head was burning, and he had a terrible headache. He wobbled side to side, his vision hazy. “Kyle!” Kyle turned his head, seeing something that he never thought he’d see again. “M-mom?” “Sweetie! Sweetie, follow me, this way!” Kyle stumbled onto his feet, and wobbly followed after his mother. He followed as fast as he could, but she always remained ahead of him, calling him to follow her. She led him on, through the orchard. After a few minutes of walking, Kyle lost sight of his mother. “Mom? Mom where are you?” He called out, but could not see or hear his mom. His vision became fuzzy, his knees weak, causing him to collapse under his own weight. The young boy was on his hands and knees, when another fit of throwing up occurred. With his head spinning, he felt the need to lie down. He fell to his right side, and rolled onto his back, his arm soaking in his vomit. He could do nothing but sit there and wait for whatever came next. As Scootaloo rode her Scooter towards the clubhouse, she thought about how good a day today had been. Her training with Rainbow Dash had gone well, at least in her opinion. They hadn’t started any actual flying yet, instead working on some exercised to build strength in her wings. Rainbow Dash had told her to work these exercises everyday, and in about a week, their second lesson would begin. When Scootaloo finally came to her destination, she parked her scooter against the tree where the clubhouse was located, and set her helmet on the handlebars. She grabbed her saddlebag, and carried it up into the clubhouse. “Kyle, I’m back,” called Scootaloo as she opened the door to the clubhouse, only to find that there was no one inside. “Kyle? Where’d you go?” Scootaloo’s calls went unheard. She walked into the clubhouse, and set her saddlebag against the wall, and sat down. “Hm…he should be here by now…” Scootaloo decided to wait for him, and pass the time by doing her homework. Hours passed as Scootaloo worked, until she was finally finished. Satisfied with her work, she put her school supplies back into her saddlebag, and stood up. She looked around, and saw that Kyle had still not returned. She was starting to get worried. He usually was here by now. “I should go look for him,” said Scootaloo. She opened the door, and walked out to go look for him. She made her way towards the west orchard, searching all around. Around five minutes into her search, she was starting to get worried. That was, until she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, and saw the human’s familiar form lying in the grass. She turned and sprinted towards the boy, and took in his situation. He was lying on the grass, his arm lying in vomit, presumably his own His eyes were shut, and had saliva dripping from his mouth. On top of that, every few seconds, his body would twitch. “Kyle! Kyle, are you Ok?” questioned the filly. She lowered her body to the ground, and pushed her hoof into his body, trying to wake him. Slowly, his eyes opened, his voice groggy. “M-mo-mom?” “No, Kyle it’s me, Scootaloo! What happened?” “It was…was…it, it…b-bat…bat, it…bit me,” muttered the boy. “Kyle! Kyle!” Scootaloo was frightened; her friend seemed to be in pretty bad shape. “If he got bit by a bat, he might have rabies! But, I don’t know how to help!” Scootaloo started panicking. She sat down, and took a few moments to breath deeply, trying to calm her mind. After doing so, she reexamined the situation. “Alright…alright, first things first, I need to get him back to the clubhouse, then I’ll figure our what to do next.” She grabbed his body, and started dragging him towards the clubhouse, while thinking about how she would help her friend. But first, she needed to get him home.