//------------------------------//
// Secret Admirer 
// Story: Come Fly With Me 
// by MistySparks 
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Celestia's sun shone bright over the town of Ponyville. Birds chirped and sang, ponies went about their daily business and routines, and a bright rainbow trail blazed across the sky along the outskirts of town.

"Woohoo! Awesome!"

The one and only Rainbow Dash cheered herself on as she practiced some tricks in a small field just outside Ponyville. Ever since she was accepted into the Wonderbolts reserves, Rainbow Dash was always pushing herself to become a better flyer.  She would always teach herself all sorts of loops, flips, twists, corkscrews, and sharp turns in the hopes of impressing the Wonderbolts enough to become a full-time member.

That wasn't the only reason that Dash practiced so much, of course. Flying was everything to Rainbow Dash, so much so that she was rarely ever seen on the ground. If she wasn't in the skies above Ponyville managing the weather team, or in her field practicing dangerous aerial maneuvers, she was likely napping on a cloud somewhere quiet. Rainbow Dash lived to fly, even if it did get a bit lonely at times.

Lonely. That word seemed to be popping up more and more in her head. If there was one thing that always bothered Rainbow Dash, it was that she didn't have anyone who she could truly share the sky with. The Wonderbolts were cool and all, but they weren't exactly close friends or anything. Fluttershy, one of Dash's closest friends, was terrified of flying, and usually stuck to the ground. And Twilight, while definitely considered a close friend, couldn't really keep up with Rainbow unless she flew at a slower pace. It bothered Dash that she had to fly alone all the time. A wide open, limitless sky, and no one to share it with? It just didn't seem fair.

Rainbow Dash's mind soon got the better of her, as her thoughts distracted her from focusing on her tricks, so she decided to call it a day and head home. As she came down to land and start walking back, however, she heard a small rustling noise in the treeline beside her. The pegasus shot her head around to look, but didn't see anything, and decided that her mind was playing tricks on her. After taking a few more steps, she heard it again, louder this time.

"Alright, I'll give whoever's sneaking around in there one chance to come out before I make you come out!" she yelled into the trees. She wasn't scared, of course - it was far too close to Ponyville for whoever was there to be any real threat. Dash just didn't really like the prospect of being spied on. Or at least, she thought she would be mad, until she saw a familiar orange filly shyly drag herself out into the open. "Scootaloo? What are you doing this far away from Ponyville?" Dash inquired.

"Oh, h-hey Rainbow Dash! Fancy, uh, running into you here, huh?" Scootaloo stammers, trying to come off as calm and innocent. The look she was getting from Dash was telling her that it wasn't working, though, and she simply sighed and looked away in shame. "I came out here to watch you while you were flying.." she admits, kicking her hoof into the ground in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I should've told you.."

Rainbow Dash simply blinked a few times. "Oh, well, don't worry about it, squirt. I don't mind if you watch me while I practice," she replies, tilting her head curiously. "But why didn't you tell me? I would've just flown you out here with me if I knew you wanted to watch."

"Well, you see, I.. just didn't want to bother you with it!" Scootaloo exclaims, perhaps a bit too quickly. It was a blatant lie, of course - Scootaloo knew it, and Dash probably knew it too. But the filly was too embarrassed to tell her the actual truth.

The truth of the matter was that Scootaloo was watching in order to try and teach herself how to fly. Her biggest insecurity was that, despite practically being a teenager, she couldn't get off the ground for more than a few seconds. She never understood why, either. All the other pegasi her age, and some even younger than her could fly just fine, but she could barely get off the ground. So when Scootaloo first saw Rainbow Dash fly through the sky with all that grace, confidence, and bravado, she figured that if anypony was going to teach her how to fly, it would be her. She started following Rainbow Dash to the field they were currently in, where she practices her tricks, and carefully memorizing her entire technique - how she took off, how she maintained her altitude, etc. - then she would go home and try to do it herself. This had been happening for several months now, and despite her best efforts, she wasn't really making any progress. And now that she had been discovered by Dash, she could have to give up flying altogether.

Rainbow simply shook her head at that answer. "Well, I appreciate the politeness, Scoots, but just ask me next time you want to watch and I'll come bring you with me, alright?" the pegasus offers, before starting in the direction of town again. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back and call it a day. Want a ride?"

Scootaloo's eyes lit up almost immediately when Rainbow asked her that. Scootaloo loved when Dash let her ride on her back. It was the closest to flying she ever got, and flying was all she really wanted to do. So she instantly jumped up onto the larger pegasi's back and held on tight. "Ready for takeoff, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash grinned and crouched down. "Takeoff in three, two, one...!" With a fake engine sound, Dash lept into the air, carrying both of them up into the bright blue sky. She could hear Scootaloo laughing on top of her, and when she looked back she saw the filly had a wide smile plastered across her face. This was what Rainbow Dash wanted. Someone to share the sky with. Maybe not while that someone rode her back, but it was a step in that direction. Of course, Rainbow wasn't oblivious to Scootaloo's flight problems, and thinking about that made her realize that there was a solution to both of their problems. Rainbow Dash could teach Scootaloo how to fly.