We Will Fly

by Zephyr Spark


Part 3 Idols

Rainbow Dash had finally found Spike and Scootaloo in the middle of a field with six mattresses and that diving board that Applejack had used to launch her into Twilight’s library soon after Twilight came to Ponyville. She was instantly filled with curiosity and suspicion. Carefully hiding behind a cloud, she spied on the duo. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around what she saw. Why was Scootaloo jumping off that diving board (that she had no idea was still around by the way) onto a pile of mattresses? And what was Spike telling her each time? He wasn’t really trying to teach her to fly, was he?
She must have arrived at Scootaloo’s fifth or sixth jump because the filly appeared somewhat winded and frustrated. If it were any pony else jumping, she might have laughed at the sight, but laughing at Scootaloo of all ponies doing this just didn’t seem right. In fact, it something like that would seem incredibly cruel.
Every time Scootaloo fell, Rainbow Dash winced. The impact probably wasn’t painful with those mattresses but it certainly hurt seeing her number one fan doing this to herself. If Spike put her up to this, I’m going to kill him, Rainbow Dash thought ruefully. He didn’t know anything about flying and what made him think he could teach Scootaloo to do so with a book? This wasn’t helping her; it was just making her upset.
Then she noticed Spike winced just like her every time Scootaloo fell. Now she was truly disappointed in him. He knew this wasn’t helping her and just aggravated little Scootaloo. It pained him to watch her fall. So why was he letting her continue? He should have just stopped and let a real flier show her how to do it. Then again, Rainbow Dash realized with guilt, it’s not like I ever helped her improve.
Finally, she saw Scootaloo throw down her helmet in frustration and decided to sneak in closer. She heard Spike try to reassure her but Scootaloo responded coldly, “You don’t know anything about flying! You don’t even have wings!”
When Rainbow saw Spike’s broken expression, she suddenly had a change of heart and sympathized with him. Why? She wondered. Scootaloo had said exactly what Rainbow Dash had been thinking the whole time, so why did it pain her to see him so broken? Because Scoots said it straight to his face, Rainbow Dash supposed, and she mentioned his lack of wings.
She watched as Scootaloo apologized profusely to Spike, scooped up her helmet, and climbed the board. Now Rainbow Dash was confused. Did Scootaloo want this the whole time? Had Spike just suggested this whole thing and she simply agreed? As Scootaloo stood on the board, Rainbow Dash realized something was different. She couldn’t explain what, just that something in her gut told her something had changed in Scootaloo.
Then she stared, mouth agape, as Scootaloo slowly descended to the ground, propelled forward by the wind. No way. She wanted to feel proud of her but instead found herself slightly upset. She had always hoped she would be the one to get Scoots in the air, but instead Spike, who knows nothing about flying, comes along and magically Scootaloo can now glide through the air? Why? What had she done wrong? Rainbow Dash couldn’t suppress her personal disappointment. She had failed Scootaloo. She had failed her number one fan, no, her sister.
She tried to shove aside her personal disappointment and smile for Scootaloo’s success as she soared through the air for the tenth time. At least, she finally got off the ground, even if it was without Rainbow’s help. Then she heard Spike call out to Scootaloo, and saw the orange pegasus was on a direct and dangerous collision course with a nearby tree. She sprung to her hooves and dived down to intercept.

***

Spike could only watch helplessly as Scootaloo headed face first towards the tree, when a blue blur snatched her from the sky faster than he could blink. Suddenly, a very dumbfounded Scootaloo was sitting on the ground next to Spike, completely unsure what had just happened. Unsure, until a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane flew down in front of her and dropped to the ground with a concerned look.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo excitedly greeted her, “did you see? I was riding the winds!”
“What I saw was you nearly crashing into a tree and getting a concussion,” Rainbow Dash interrupted her, stopping her jubilation, “what were you thinking? That was dangerous.”
“I was wearing a helmet,” Scootaloo tried to reassure her, “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“A helmet isn’t going to protect your head from colliding with a tree at 20 miles per hour!” Rainbow Dash insisted, “and you shouldn’t be flying without some pony to watch you.”
“It’s my fault,” Spike rose his hand, trying to take Rainbow’s focus away from Scootaloo, “I convinced her to do it.”
Rainbow turned angrily to Spike and hissed, “I’ll deal with you in a bit.”
Before she could turn back to Scootaloo, she took notice of all the bruises on his body and frowned, “What happened to you?”
“Oh,” Spike had almost forgotten his injuries, “I was testing the mattresses to make sure Scootaloo wouldn’t get hurt if she fell.”
“See?” Scootaloo impatiently spoke, “we are being safe.”
Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her face in exasperation, “You shouldn’t be jumping off diving boards like that in the first place! Look, what is this all about?”
“I just wanted to learn how to fly,” Scootaloo nervously shifted her hooves, worried Rainbow might take offense to this statement, “Spike offered to help me and we read about this practice in a book. And it really worked, I was soaring through the air.”
Rainbow Dash scowled. So Spike was behind this after all. She had to put a stop to this right now, before one of them got hurt. “Scootaloo, I don’t want you to do something like this unless I’m around to make sure you’re safe. Spike,” she gave him a fiercely protective glare, “stay away from Scootaloo. I can help her just fine.”
“Hey, leave him alone!” Scootaloo moved in between Spike and Rainbow Dash, “He was just helping me.”
“If you fall, and I’m not around, do you think he could stop you from falling off a cliff? Could he fly to your rescue?” Rainbow Dash was a bit unnerved by Scootaloo’s defiance but refused to yield. Spike flinched at her harsh words.
“We aren’t jumping off of cliffs,” Scootaloo scowled, “we’ve been doing everything safely so far and we will continue to be safe.”
“For how long?” Rainbow Dash challenged her, “I know what it’s like to start flying. Once you’ve experienced it, there’s nothing like it. You want more. You become more reckless. You won’t be safe forever. And I can’t be there every moment of your life to keep you safe.”
“That’s never stopped you from risking your skin,” Scootaloo challenged her right back, “you do this all the time! You did when you were beginning to fly! Somehow, I doubt you ever made sure your parents would be there to catch you if you fell. You certainly don’t make sure some pony is protecting you today. You’re the last pony who should be lecturing us about safety!”
“That’s because I have experience,” Rainbow Dash groaned trying to make her understand, “I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it forever.”
Scootaloo chuckled bitterly, startling Rainbow Dash and Spike.
“You know what you’re doing,” Scootaloo repeated her coldly, “clearly you do. After all those years of your flying lessons failing to get me anywhere, Spike helps me get off the ground in one day. He read from a book and he knows better than you.”
“Now hold on,” Spike interrupted her trying to come in between the two.
“No,” Scootaloo shoved Spike aside, “I’ve tried everything you’ve ever told me and it never worked. You want to know why? Turns out we have different types of wings! We fly differently! You weren’t teaching me how to fly, you were teaching me to mimic you.”
Rainbow Dash took a step backward, “I didn’t,” she stammered as familiar guilt of failure resurfaced, “I didn’t know.”
Scootaloo pressed forward as she gained the upper hand, “Yeah, you didn’t know. You’ve only devoted your life to flying. Training to become a Wonderbolt. Performing what’s possibly the first Sonic Rainboom. And yet you fail to teach a simple filly how to fly simply because you don’t know about the mechanics behind flying!”
“Cut it out!” Spike moved between the two and stood firmly this time, “Scootaloo, that’s not fair to Rainbow Dash. You can’t expect her to know everything.”
“What? You’re on her side now?” Scootaloo scowled.
“No, Spike,” Rainbow Dash spoke with her head down, “she’s right.”
She fought back her tears as her guilt overwhelmed her, “I’ve been flying forever, I should’ve known.”
She stared at Scootaloo and shed a single tear, “I failed you. I’m sorry.”
Scootaloo instantly regretted everything she had said, but Rainbow Dash quickly turned around and soared off into the clouds. Spike and Scootaloo sat quietly on the grass, processing everything that just transpired. Scootaloo wanted to apologize. Why did she always get so impulsively angry? Now she had driven away her mentor, her sister. She wanted to cry.
Spike stared at Scootaloo who stared vacantly into the sky. He wanted to say something helpful. He wanted to make all their troubles go away. Turning away, he searched for the proper words. He could only think of a moment he had with Twilight.
“You know,” Spike finally said breaking the silence, “ever since I was a hatchling, I always thought of Twilight as my mother.”
Scootaloo turned to him and he continued, “I thought she was the smartest, sweetest, and best unicorn to ever exist. Everyday after school, she would come home and feed me gems from a spoon. But one day, she never came and I just stood there, crying from the hunger. Her parents were out of town and her brother was … I don’t know where.”
Scootaloo stared at Spike in sympathy, “How could you ever forgive her after she abandoned you like that?”
“She didn’t abandon me!” Spike turned to Scootaloo, aghast some pony could even suggest such a thing, “Turns out she had to stay late at school to perfect a spell for an upcoming test, and then she had to search all over Canterlot when she realized she ran out of gems to feed me.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, I was angry with her for the longest time. Wouldn’t speak to her for a week. Then I realized that seeing her hurt at feeling like she failed me wasn’t bringing me any satisfaction. It just hurt me even more. She had always done her best to be there for me and she still does, so it wasn’t fair of me to be so mean for one little slip up. We shouldn’t expect the ponies we admire to be perfect all the time. I mean they are us, just a little older.”
Scootaloo never considered this before. Rainbow Dash was still just a child on the inside, one who had merely grown into a more experienced child? She couldn’t wrap her head around the thought. Still, she had to admit Spike was right. She expected perfection from her idol, Rainbow Dash, but her idol was just as prone to making mistakes as she was, and it wasn’t fair to hold it against her.
“I wish I could take it all back,” Scootaloo said resting her head on Spike’s shoulder, “what I said to Rainbow Dash.”
Spike wrapped his right arm around her, “I wish I could take back that time I was mean to Twilight. But maybe the best we can do is apologize and learn.”
Learn, learn. That reminded her of something—. “Oh no,” Scootaloo jumped up in a dreadful realization knocking over Spike as she ran to her scooter, “I’m supposed to meet up with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle at school! I’m going to be late and Cheerilie’s going to be furious!”
Spike was back on his feet, “I’ll come with you. I’ll explain to them it was my fault you were late.”
Scootaloo didn’t think she had the time to debate so she handed Spike a similar helmet and set off. Spike glanced behind them as he saw the grass rapidly fly past him. They hit a small rock and the scooter bumped, causing Spike to fall flat on the board with his face to the back. He desperately grabbed the edges of the board and managed to hang on for dear life like a cat grabbing a screen door.
“You alright, Spike?” Scootaloo quickly glanced back then returned her gaze to the road.
“Yeah,” Spike said weakly. He wouldn’t dare move from his spot now. As he saw the ground fly by from the bottom of the scooter, he lifted his head and sighed. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and an idea, a crazy idea, like Pinkie Pie level of crazy.
“Scootaloo,” he yelled her name to grab her attention, “I think I have an idea how you could go even faster. Do you trust me?”
“Do whatever you have to do,” Scootaloo belted as they turned a corner.
Carefully positioning his head far above the grass, he let out a steady jet of flames and maintained his fierce grip on the board. The scooter zoomed forward like a rocket, propelled by Spike’s flames. Scootaloo’s eyes grew watery as the wind pulled back her lips from her teeth. She had never gone this fast before. Whatever Spike was doing, she only hoped he could keep it up.
She saw the school approaching rapidly and yelled for Spike to stop. He couldn’t hear her. She kicked his tail and he stopped his flames to swivel around. When he saw the school coming dangerously close, he suddenly wished he thought of a way to brake. Maintaining his death grip on the board with his hands, he stuck out his right foot to touch the ground. It burned his foot as they skidded along, but Spike was a dragon capable of withstanding a dip in a pool of lava. He could manage. Slowly, their speed decreased. By some miracle, they actually managed to stop before they collided with Cheerilie.
“Scootaloo,” she said slightly aghast at their close collision, “and Spike.” She glanced at him as he rolled off the board and cradled his right foot.
“Well, at least you’re on time,” she smiled, “but next time, don’t feel like you have to do something so crazy just to get to school on time. Equestria won’t end if you’re five minutes late.”
“Hey, Spike,” Scootaloo whispered, “Thanks for the help. Think you could do that again?”
Spike was thoroughly winded but nodded all the same.
“Can you meet me tomorrow morning by the hill outside of Ponyville? I think I see a way we can take this flying business to a new level.”
Before Spike could ask her what she was talking about, Cheerilie walked over and inspected Spike’s right leg, “Spike, come inside, I have something for your foot and all those bruises."

***

Twilight paced by the castle entrance nervously. Rainbow Dash had returned and just said Scootaloo didn’t need her terrible advice any more. She seemed incredibly upset, but told Twilight to leave her alone. What had Spike done now?
She heard the door open and turned to see Spike limp through the door. His right leg was bandaged and the rest of his body had similar bandages. Any anger she might have felt towards her assistant vanished as she rushed forward to inspect him.
“Spike,” she looked him over with concern, “what in the world happened to you?”
“I got Scootaloo off the ground,” he smiled trying to hide his injuries with an upbeat attitude, “she was riding the winds.”
“What?” Twilight said with wide eyes, “that’s great, Spike! How did you do it?”
“A diving board, six mattresses, and that book you loaned us,” Spike held out the book to her and she quickly placed it on a nearby table and gave Spike a serious look.
“Did you get those injuries from helping her?”
“Most of them,” Spike stopped and conceded that he did injure his leg while helping Scootaloo, “okay, all of them.”
“You can’t keep doing this,” she frowned, “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know,” Spike said, “Scootaloo and I are going to take this slowly.”
“Just like that?” Twilight expected Spike to put up some sort of verbal fight.
“Yeah, we touched the skies. I think we’ll try to play it safe from now on,” Spike smiled. Then he remembered Rainbow Dash and continued, “Twilight, if you see Rainbow Dash, can you tell her that Scootaloo and I are both sorry? She will make mistakes every now and then but she’s always looking out for us, so we don’t mind and we hope she can forgive us for hurting her.”
Twilight blinked and wanted to ask what he was talking about, but decided not to. Spike would tell her what happened when he was ready. She didn’t need to pry.
“Oh, um Twilight?” Spike twiddled his fingers nervously, “ you remember that time when you were in magic school in Canterlot I didn’t speak to you for a week? I’m really sorry that I hurt your feelings.”
Twilight looked at Spike confused, “that was years ago.”
“I know but,” Spike embraced his protector, “I just wanted you to know that I forgive you. I know you’re not always perfect and I’m sorry I expected you to be.”
Twilight smiled as she lost a weight from her mind she was not even aware of and embraced the little dragon. She’d contact Rainbow Dash and pass on Spike’s message. Hopefully, she and Scootaloo could make up face to face.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Spike broke away from the hug and looked at Twilight, “I promised to meet up with Scootaloo tomorrow morning so we could practice some more flying stuff.”
Twilight suddenly lost her smile, “I thought you said you two wouldn’t be doing anything dangerous.”
“I said we were going to be safe not that we would stop,” Spike tried to assure her. She gave him an unconvinced look.
“Look, I’m sure whatever she has planned won’t be too crazy,” he smiled though he had doubts himself, “if you want, you can come along to be sure.”
Twilight considered the proposal but realized that she might not see their real plans if she was there. They might always meet up later in secret to engage in truly dangerous activities. If she caught them doing something dangerous, she could intervene and stop them. If she didn’t see them doing anything dangerous, she could still be there to make sure they were safe. But that would mean spying on Spike and betraying his trust. After that sweet embrace, Twilight felt particularly sick even considering it.
“Just promise me you’ll be safe, Spike,” she said uncertain what course of action she would take, “if you were ever hurt because you did something dangerous, I would never forgive myself.”
“Forgive yourself?” Spike cocked his head perplexed, “don’t you mean forgive me?”
“No,” she said with a smile, “I think I’d find a way to forgive you eventually for most anything you do to me.” Her smile slowly faded, “If you were hurt because I couldn’t protect you or didn’t tell you the right thing to do, I don’t think I could forgive myself knowing I failed you.”
He met Twilight’s gaze and saw true love in her eyes. He swore not to betray that trust, “I promise to be safe.”
“Good,” Twilight nodded, “now come on, let’s get something to eat.”
Spike smiled and licked his lips at the best suggestion he heard all day.