“Scootaloo, you are rushing,” Lilly corrected gently. Her wing feathers brushed the center of Scootaloo’s chest. “Nice and easy, you have to listen to the group. You can not just do your own thing. It won’t work.”
“This is boring!” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah!” Sweetie wined.
“Musical peasants!” Arrow sang. “Beautiful, musical peasants!”
“You’re the one who will be singing a different song soon,” Lilly hissed, her other wing shooting out to whack Arrow on the head. “If you don’t want me to call Steady, I suggest you put a sock in it. Alright girls, thank you for your help. This formation is what we consider normal.” Lilly had Sweetie on the far left, Apple Bloom in the middle, and Scootaloo on the right. “At Windy Wings, this is how we do all team projects. The center pony is what’s known as the ‘Base’. Normally it’s a position held by a stallion, but there are exceptions to the rule. It’s their job to set the pace of the routine.
“On the left, we have the leader, or the Stunter, depending on what we are doing. They are normally the most skilled of the group, and so is responsible for compensating. That’s why I have Snowpuff—”
“Sweetie,” Sweetie corrected with a giggle, her horn flickering.
“Sweet enough to eat?” Arrow asked.
Lilly whacked Arrow again with her wing. “This is why I have Sweetie in the position. The third position that we have is the Speeder, or Supporter.”
“Guess what I am in the group,” Arrow complained.
Lilly let out an exasperated sigh. Turning, he walked over to her bags, pulled something out, and then attacked Arrow’s muzzle with it. The thing was a long strip of tape. “Behave, or else, child,” Lilly scolded. “Leave it!
“The Supporter isn’t the smartest or the most skilled, but they are fast, and they are aware of their surroundings. Very. Aware,” the captain emphasized. “We use a lot of nonverbal communication in our work, from your normal nod to the most advanced methods that use nothing more than a flick of one muscle. I’m not going deep, but since I want to use the ‘Half-Halt’ with you guys, you need to learn what it is.”
“What is a half-halt?” Twilight asked.
“It’s a very simple, but the most important cue we have doing formation projects. You guys probably already use it and have no idea it’s being used,” Lilly explained. “Pay attention girls,” she said turning to the three fillies. “You’ll be using this. The ‘Half-Halt’ is nothing more than the signal, ‘prepare.’”
“If all it’s saying is ‘prepare’, why call it some fancy name?” Scootaloo asked.
“Miss Rarity,” Lilly asked, “Why is your shop called a Boutique instead of a ‘clothing store’? It’s the same thing right?”
“Darling!” Rarity acted affronted. “My shop is no measly old clothing shop! I specially design each garment to be simply fabulous!”
“Exactly!” The captain smiled. “And that is why it’s not called ‘Prepare.’ Could it be called that? Yes, it could. However, those who came before me called it a ‘Half-Halt,’ thereby defining it as the proper word.
“We use it all the time at the center if it’s two ponies or fifteen. I use it on and off the job. The cue is very easy: you just drop your hip half an inch, re-centering your weight in your hind quarters.” Lilly demonstrated. “If I had, say, a dog, the dog would have at that point pricked up its ears and turned it on me.”
“So animals know it?” Fluttershy asked.
Lilly nodded. “Indeed. They know it very well, it’s part of their instinct. I find Williwaw is one of the easiest ponies to fly with because she’s spent so much of her life with only non-verbal communication like this one.
“So, in action, how does this work? Well, for this, Apple Bloom, you are going to be blindfolded.”
Apple Bloom’s ears folded back. “Why?!”
“For an example of how this works. You do trust your two friends, right?”
Hesitantly, Apple Bloom nodded. “Still, why are ya gonna blindfold me?”
“Ooh!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping right, smack in the middle of things. “I bet it’s because if you don’t, then the Halt-Half won’t work!”
“Something like that,” Lilly affirmed. Returning to her back of tricks, she pulled out a thick silk scarf, which she then tied around Apple Bloom’s eyes.
“So, exactly why did ya’ choose mah sister ta get blindfolded?” Applejack asked.
“Do you really want to ask that one AJ?” Rainbow groaned. “You are talking to a teacher! She gives lectures as a pastime!”
Catstitch covered her mouth to stifle a chuckle. Arrow emphatically gestured. Lilly gave a meaningful look in the direction of her teammate and sister before addressing the two invalids. “Yes Dash, I do. And I’ll keep this short: I chose Apple Bloom because she is your sister.”
“Ah don’t get it,” Applejack stated.
“Alright, you were there at her birth, right?” Lilly questioned.
“How did you know that?! That’s somethin’ only mah family knows!” Applejack was at quite a loss.
Lilly shook her head with a smirk. “Remember, I’m an empath. Also, I understand female hormones. You relaxed when she walked in. I’ve seen this on both ends: my cousin Sony does the same thing for me. She and I have been partners in crime for as long as I can remember, and she was the midwife assistant who caught me. Then I caught Water Jewel, so I know how it is from both the mare’s and foal’s perspectives. I could get into the neurological, psychological stuff, but with the exception of Twilight, it’d all go over your heads. Very simply, that scent a foal has when it is born will attach itself into its mother’s mind, or any close relation that is there before it is washed off. So then, even after it is gone the bond is there and it helps hold families together. The only time you’ll smell it when you are older is when you get all hot and sweaty. So a family that works together, will be closer- in theory anyways.”
“And Ah didn’t understand a word,” Apple Bloom grumbled.
“Mother Bear instincts are at play. You two are close?” Captain Feathers asked the filly.
Apple Bloom frowned. “Yeah, but ah don’t understand what it has to do with anything.”
“That,” Catstitch stated, “has everythin’ ta do with it lass. If you two were nigh so close, this would be harder.”
“I need you to be the guide for your sisters. Therefore, I need you three to understand as well as the big ponies. I learned at a young age—foals learn best in action.”
“So does Dashy,” Pinkie pointed out.
Lilly shrugged. “Rainbow is also what we refer to as a ‘kinetic’ learner. Means she has to do to learn. She also has a lot of energy and a high-functioning mind. Very simply, body and mind that are as tight as hers are tend to have trouble learning apart from each other. That is what makes them such good athletes. However, it makes them horrible in a classroom. Anyways, Half-halt, not Halt-Half, Pinkamena.”
Arrow raised her hoof.
“Yes Arrow, you may sit quietly and not disturb me.” Lilly cocked an eyebrow in the brown mare’s direction.
Crossing her hooves tightly across her chest, Arrow pouted.
“Now,” Lilly sighed, “Where was I? Oh yes, Half-halt. Remember, it means prepare. Now, I don’t suppose you guys have a long stick or a riding crop, do you?”
Pinkie immediately produced the riding crop from her bags. “HERE IT IS!”
“Thank you Pinkie,” the pink pegasus said with a sigh.
“What are ya gonna do with that?” Sweetie asked nervously as Lilly came closer.
“I was going to tell you,” Lilly comforted. “At the center, we use these things to help us to remember to stay together. Yeah, they can be used for bad, but used as a tool, they can be very hoofy to have. I’m just going to put it so it lays flat across your backs. You three have to keep it there as you walk from one end of the room to the other. If it falls off, you fail.”
“But ah can’t see nothin!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in a panic.
Lilly moved in beside the filly, both of her friends stepping away. “First, let me show you. Then you three can do it together.” Lilly draped a wing over Apple Bloom’s back.
============
Apple Bloom felt terrified. Being blindfolded was not the most appealing idea in the world. Now, not only was she blindfolded, but she had a strange mare beside her as well.
“Alright Miss Bloom, I’m going to turn off my voice now. Your mind needs to be focused on what my body is saying and keeping your hip and shoulder against my barrel. Alright?”
Apple Bloom nodded shakily. “Alright, go.”
At first, all Lilly did was stand there. “Relax,” she reminded gently. “We can’t start if you can’t feel.”
With a shaky breath, Apple Bloom forced her body to relax just a tad, but not entirely. “Ready.”
Then, she felt Lilly’s barrel tighten and her body lift up just a tad. Apple Bloom copied the motion. Instinctively, she took a step forward. To her surprise, Lilly was still right where she had been beside her. Apple Bloom’s ears pricked forward. “Wow!”
“Listen,” Lilly whispered sternly.
The shoulder muscles tightened. Apple Bloom could feel it against her neck. Additionally, she could once again feel Lilly’s barrel muscles and flank muscles tighten alongside her. Then, she felt Lilly gently push against her. As she was instructed, she moved to the right, away from Lilly.
“Very good!” Apple Bloom could hear the praise in her voice. “Are you ready to try with your friends?”
With a nod, Apple Bloom felt Lilly’s weight drop, her momentum slowing. Then, they stopped. Apple Bloom took another two steps forward before realizing her error and backing up. “Sorry!” she apologized quickly.
Lilly instantly started laughing. “Nope! That was very well done for your first time at it. Normally, I have to stop and re-collect at least a hundred times. You do this more than you realize. You just don’t know what’s going on.”
Apple Bloom felt her cheeks flush. “Thanks?” she stumbled.
Lilly patted her on the shoulder before she moved off, her weight still low to the ground.
“Alright Miss Bloom, what was the Half-Halt?”
Apple Bloom’s ears perked forward. “Ah don’t know!”
“Think about it, how did you know I was about to change direction, speed up, slow down, start, or stop?”
Apple Bloom thought for a moment, her ears pinning back. “Your barrel tightened.”
Lilly nodded. “Actually, it was my flank, but since all the muscles are connected, the action does go into the barrel.”
“I didn’t know I could feel so much!” Apple Bloom stumbled over her words in awe.
“You happen to have been working with one of the best for teaching it. Second, because you and your sister are close, you are already used to listening to what her body language is saying, even if you don’t know it yourself.”
“Alright, can we move on now? I want this thing off!” Apple Bloom suddenly stated.
“Alright girls, you may come back now.”
Sweetie and Scootaloo were back at Apple Bloom’s sides. Apple Bloom again forced her body to relax, listening to what they were saying with their bodies.
“Scoots, over her back,” Lilly sternly said. “If there are feathers between you and her, there will be no communication.”
Scootaloo placed her left wing over Apple Bloom’s back.
“HEY!” Sweetie yelped, jumping away from her. “That tickles!”
“Sorry!” Scootaloo said, holding her wing a bit higher.
Sweetie hesitantly moved back in. “Don’t get me with that thing!”
“Remind you of anypony?” Catstitch sang.
Apple Bloom heard Lilly laugh. “Oh, to be young again!” she giggled. “Alright, minds on the work you three. This is how it’s done. There is a little more to it. Miss Belle, tell me three things you noticed while I was leading Miss Bloom.”
“Sweetie is alright you, know,” Sweetie corrected.
Lilly grunted. “Nope, sorry, this is a class; it’s formal. Comet has beat this into my head. So, what did you learn Miss Belle?”
“Well, Captain Feathers,” Sweetie responded, obviously seeking a reaction, “you walked beside Appl—I mean, Miss Bloom.”
Apple Bloom elbowed Sweetie. “Sweetie!”
“It’s Miss Belle! Remember, we are in class,” Sweetie responded.
“Does that mean I’m going to be called Miss Loo?” Scootaloo asked.
“No,” Lilly said firmly. “In the mountains, that means ‘bathroom’. I’d rather not have that image in my head. Miss Scoot was what I was planning on calling you. Go on, Sweetie.”
Scootaloo’s body tensed. Apple Bloom tittered. “Never will I hear that word the same again!”
“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo said with embarrassment. “How was I supposed to know that it meant—”
Lilly, however, interrupted. “It’s fine, girls. I’ve lived down here in the lowlands long enough for it not to bother me that much. I normally think of it in your terms: as a form of dance, or just something silly to say. Sweetie?”
Sweetie sighed. “I’m sorry Captain Feathers, I don’t know.”
“Miss Scoot?” Lilly asked.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie both started tittering.
“Girls!”
Apple Bloom felt her face grow hot. She coughed into her hoof. “Sorry.”
“Behave yourself,” Lilly instructed firmly, gently laying the riding crop evenly across their withers.
Scootaloo took a deep breath to steady herself. “Um… your wings never stopped moving?”
“Very observant,” Lilly stated. “So, why do you think that is?”
Scootaloo shrugged, remembering what Arrow had said earlier. “Were you reading her?”
Lilly nodded. “I was at that. Just because you have a leader does not mean the leader can ignore or not listen to their teammates. If you lead without listening, it’s a very slick slope to Sombra or Rock Fall’s leadership style.”
“Who?” they all three said together.
“Rock Fall,” Lilly repeated. “I think you all know who Sombra was… is.” They nodded. “Rock Fall was the unicorn stallion who created Ghastly Gorge. Tried to overthrow Celestia at one point. And you girls are going off-topic again. There is something else that none of you are getting.” After a bit more of a pause, Lilly turned to Spike. “Alright, Sir Spike, what is one thing that you noticed that you think is important?”
“You were at attention,” Spike stated after a moment's pause. “Even when you moved, you moved like the soldiers do.”
“Indeed, you are correct there. But how is that?” Lilly continued to question.
Spike hemmed and hawed, a grinding noise coming from his direction that Apple Bloom assumed was either him scratching the back of his neck or scuffing his feet on the floor. “Determined,” he finally spat out.
“Very good. You are getting closer. Catstitch?”
“Sis!” Catstitch hissed.
“Pinkie?”
“Your eyes!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the floor. “They were going here, then you walked here. Then they went there... and you went there. Then you—”
“We get the point,” Rainbow stated. Without even looking, Apple Bloom realized it was almost a hurt tone she used.
“That is the answer I was looking for. And one of the most important steps. Your eyes point, your head directs, and you body follows.” Captain Feathers took a deep breath. “So, when you start off, you look to where you want to go while your body lifts slightly to take the first step. We train to step out left side first. The reason being is because that is considered military proper.”
A second weight settled on top of Apple Bloom’s weight, on top of Scootaloo’s wing. “Alright Sweetie, I’m here to help. Straight line from here to the door. So you look up and lock your eyes on the hinge. Can you do that?”
Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, that’s simple enough.”
Again, Apple Bloom noticed, this time from Sweetie, the weight in her body lifting as she squared her shoulders. Her hind muscles tightened. Scootaloo’s body also got into the ‘prepare’ state on her other side. With Sweetie first, Apple Bloom second, and Scootaloo last, they all three walked out together.
“Um, Captain?” Sweetie asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Miss Belle?” Lilly asked.
“Are we doing this right?” Apple Bloom felt Sweetie’s body tense up. Apple Bloom slowed her own pace to match Sweetie’s which was slowly decreasing almost to a stop.
“You are doing fine,” Lilly said.
“Oh good!” Sweetie said, instantly going from slow to fast. Poor Apple Bloom felt Sweetie completely disappear from her side.
“SWEETIE!” Scootaloo protested. “Why did you do that?”
“Looks like you are leading Miss Scoot,” Lilly chuckled.
-----------
Rainbow was beaming as she watched Scootaloo guide Apple Bloom to the door, stopping neatly in front of it. Her body still ached, but from how many times the fillies had messed up, Dash could tell this wasn’t easy.
The first time, just Lilly and Apple Bloom had been the smoothest. However, Lilly had been doing such work for a long time, so it was no wonder that even with an inexperienced pony, she was able to make it look seamless. With all three fillies inexperienced, it had taken Lilly more than a little coaching for them to do it right. Finally, all three of them together, with Scootaloo leading, they had managed to complete the challenge.
A cheer went up as Lilly removed the silk scarf from Apple Bloom’s eyes.
The yellow filly blinked several times. “That was… different!” she stated simply.
Lilly nodded knowingly. “Sure is. But once you master it, the world is a whole lot more interesting. Eventually, you’ll be able to pick up on the little things just by being near them.”
“Like you?” Rainbow asked.
Lilly shook her head and sighed. “I was born an empath. This just helped me be able to focus it. I rule it instead of it ruling me. Comet actually yoked me with Steady once, then led us with a pair of reins with us both blindfolded. You don’t know what odd is until you are going by with a twenty pound hunk of wood and fabric around your neck as your only guide for what’s up ahead or where you are supposed to go next.”
“Oh my!” Rarity declared. “How did you ever manage?”
“Well, we started getting along after that,” Lilly stated plainly. “Now—” Just then her bags in the corner started glowing multiple colors. “I wonder who that could be. Cat, you did message Mom about Arrow, right?”
Catstitch nodded.
Lilly still looked puzzled, but she pulled out a thick book and a pen along with a pair of blue wire-rimmed reading glasses. These she quickly put on before opening the book to the brightest page. Lilly frowned. “Change of plans everypony. Girls, you three are going to work with Arrow downstairs teaching the big ponies what I just taught you.”
“Who it be from?” Catstitch asked Lilly.
“Luna.” Lilly frowned. “Royal assignment. I need everyone but these two downstairs. Take your book with you, sis. I might need to message you. I’ll do the exercises with Dash while you guys are downstairs running into walls.”