Rumble flew by the girls and landed. “How’d it go?”
“Umm, kind of weird,” Scootaloo replied. “I still can’t fly, but Thunderlane just went over a list to check. It might work better tomorrow. Didn’t he pass you by on the way over here?”
“No, he must have taken a detour, maybe to clear some clouds. Diamond Tiara, your mom came looking for you. She said to meet at Daisy’s for tea, and dinner would be in Canterlot tonight.”
Diamond groaned. “I’d better get going, then. Mom will want me to wash up first and put on some clean clothes.”
“You’re not wearing any clothes,” Apple Bloom said.
“What part of ‘put on clean clothes’ do you not understand?”
“Ah, gotcha.”
“I gotta go too,” Silver Spoon said. “I told my daddy I’d be home before teatime.”
“See you later, girls,” Rumble said.
“See you later!” They called out as they left.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders now had Rumble alone.
Perfect opportunity to talk about the important things in life.
“So, have you thought about getting your cutie mark yet?” Scootaloo asked with a smile.
He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “Uh, no. Like I said, I’m more focused on becoming a Wonderbolt stallion now. The cutie mark will come eventually.”
“But you can’t just leave it at that, Rumble; ponies make fun of you if you don’t have a cutie mark. Trust me, we know,” Apple Bloom noted.
“I thought Diamond Tiara was being nice to you now?”
“Well, yes,” Sweetie Belle replied. “But she’s not the only pony who calls out blank flanks, you know that. Don’t you want to find your special talent?”
Rumble inspected his blank flank then. A shiny, well-kept grey coat on his haunches, nothing out of the ordinary there. “Not especially. It’d be nice to know, but… Wonderbolt stallion first, cutie mark later.”
Sweetie Belle’s ears twitched, and her flanks itched for reasons she couldn’t quite place. That cutie mark of hers was weird like that.
“Well, me and the girls have been thinking,” Apple Bloom started.
“And?”
“And we figured that maybe, since you like the idea of puttin’ on a Wonderbolts show and all, if you’d ever do a proper dance, that might let you know what your talent is? We could help you out with that, no problem. Scootaloo’s a great dancer.”
“Why would you want me to dance? I am not a dancer, okay?”
“But dancing’s fun!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “You should try it. Loosen up a bit, get some agility.”
“My agility is fine, Scootaloo; you’re the one who has issues with the whole flight thing. And just because you think dancing is fun, doesn’t mean I do.”
“At the very least, do you think maybe your talent involves performing?” Sweetie Belle asked.
He thought that over for a moment. “I doubt it. But I’ll know tomorrow.”
“How’s that?”
“Rainbow Dash wants me to do a routine in front of an audience tomorrow. She thinks that’ll help me get over my stage fright, or something like that. If my special talent is performing, I’ll know then, won’t I?”
“You have a routine already?” Scootaloo asked.
He rubbed his right cannon, looking down nervously. “Uhuh. It’s not a very good one, though, it’s kind of old. But it’ll do for a demo. So, don’t worry about my flanks, okay? I’ll get my cutie mark eventually. Really. And if you really, really need me to, I’ll dance with you, but I don’t like doing it. So I don’t, not usually. It’s not a big deal. I’d rather do a flight show than dance, anyway.”
“If you say so,” Scootaloo said.
“I’m gonna go home now, if that’s okay. Unless you wanted me to show some more flying?”
“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Do you really need to leave right now?”
He grumbled. “Okay, not right now, no, but what do you need?”
“Nothing. I was just…” Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance with her fellow Crusaders. “I was going to say, if you really don’t like dancing, then maybe rescue flying or performance flying is your talent, if you’ve never done that before. Does that sound like it makes sense?”
He shrugged. “It might. I just wanna be a Wonderbolt stallion, you know? Have ponies look up to me, be an inspiration. That’s all.”
“Hmm…” The girls all pondered that.
Rumble winced. “You’re not thinking of trying to trick me into doing a fake rescue, are you?”
Scootaloo chuckled. “Well, that would be the obvious answer.”
He pouted. “Please don’t? I don’t like tricks or surprises like that. Even if you mean well.”
“We won’t do anything like that, we promise,” Sweetie Belle said. “It probably wouldn’t work anyway, if it wasn’t a real rescue. And we wouldn’t want to put anypony at risk trying.”
“Good. Can I go now, or was there something else?”
“No, we’re good,” Apple Bloom said. “See ya tomorrow. I look forward to seeing your routine.”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” he said with a chuckle. “Bye, girls.”
A moment later, he was up in the air. Another moment later, he was halfway to Ponyville.
“What do you make of that?” Scootaloo asked.
“You heard him: Rainbow Dash wants him to perform, to loosen up. And he will. That’s what we were planning, right?” Apple Bloom said. “So that’s a good thing.”
“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’ve got this weird feeling we’re overlooking something.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment. “Like, why would Rumble be able to do a routine at all if he never competed? There aren’t any flight clubs for pegasi our age, so why would he already be prepared?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Maybe it’s just a practice run. He did say it wasn’t very good.”
“I suppose. Yeah, that must be it.”
“Look, I think we can all agree that things are lookin’ up for Rumble, right, Crusaders? If he does do something amazing tomorrow, we make sure he feels appreciated, so he’s not down in the dumps anymore. We all agree?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Agreed!” The girls all slapped their hooves together in a high-one.
“And if it really does turn out to be as bad as he says it is, we won’t laugh, right?” Scootaloo asked.
“Of course not,” Sweetie Belle agreed.
In the distance, a bell rang.
“That’s my cue,” Apple Bloom said. “I’d better get back home.”
“Me too,” Sweetie Belle said. “You want me to walk you home, Scootaloo? You’re not too tired?”
“Nah, you know me: I can keep going all day if I have to.”
Scootaloo was humming a merry tune to herself as she trotted home. No one was watching her, no one had followed her, another day where she wouldn’t have to explain her home situation or why her parents weren’t seen around town very much.
And then she saw Thunderlane come out her front door.
She froze. Panic took over and petrified her body.
“Hey, Scootaloo,” he said, stopping as she reached the porch.
“Y-you went inside?”
“Yup. I needed to know some things you couldn’t tell me, and now I know. No biggie.”
“Buh-but… you saw? And you… you talked? Tell me you didn’t?”
He sighed. “Yes, I talked, and it’s fine. It’s okay, I know the whole story.”
“Please don’t tell anyone? Please? If anypony finds out, they’ll-”
He held up a hoof to quiet her. “Don’t worry about it. I won’t tell anyone. Wouldn’t be right, or fair. I just needed some background information, that’s all. And now I’ve got it.”
“Not even Rainbow Dash?”
He shook his head. “If you want to keep that from Rainbow Dash, it’s not my place to step in. You do what you think is best. Speaking of Rainbow Dash, are you doing anything tomorrow morning?”
“No?” Scootaloo shook her head. “I mean, Rainbow Dash and Rumble were gonna practise again, I think. She’s planning to make him do some sort of routine in front of the girls, to get him to loosen up.”
“Really? Huh, that’s not a bad idea, actually. Good. We can practise together again, too, if you want. But there are two catches. One: nopony comes see you, not until I give the all clear. You’re going to need all your concentration for this. Understand? No witnesses, no distractions.”
Scootaloo bit her lip, then nodded once her resolve came back. “Okay, fine. I can handle that.”
“Second: no breakfast.”
The orange filly shook her head, ignoring the rattling it produced. “Come again?”
“Don’t eat breakfast before training tomorrow. In fact, it’s probably best if you have a light dinner tonight, too. Avoid solid food if you can, but don’t starve yourself too much. Just skip breakfast tomorrow when you come see me, same spot as today. I’ll be getting you breakfast, for monitoring purposes.”
“Wait, so I can’t eat anything?”
He nodded. “No, not anything, not until I say. Your food is the only thing we haven’t checked yet, and I can’t be sure of what’s keeping you down if you eat anything before practice. Of course, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”
Scootaloo sighed and let her head hang.
“Think you can do that?” He asked with a smile. “Or do you want to go practise with Rainbow Dash again? I’m sure Rumble would love the company.”
“No. Not yet, I mean, Rainbow Dash is great and all, but you looked like you knew what you were doing, trying to figure out my problem. Rainbow Dash never did that.”
“Of course not; it’s not her style, and she’s never needed to do it that way. That’s why she asked me in the first place. Same as how I can’t teach Rumble everything he wants. Different ponies, different strengths.”
Scootaloo tensed.
“What’s the matter?”
“N-nothing, Thunderlane. It’s just that me and Rainbow Dash, we, umm…”
“No need to feel guilty, Scootaloo.” He patted her on the back. “Every pony has their limit. Asking another pony for help doesn’t say anything about you and Rainbow Dash. Especially when it’s Rainbow Dash who wanted it in the first place.”
She winced and forced herself to look up. “She’s okay with it?”
“I haven’t talked to her about tomorrow yet, but she was okay with today, I don’t see why tomorrow would be an issue for her. Is it going to be an issue for you?”
“If Rainbow Dash says it’s okay, then… tomorrow morning is fine. And I’ll skip breakfast if you think that’s best. I’ll even skip dinner if I have to.”
He chuckled. “Okay, don’t go too far, now. Just get a light dinner, some sandwiches or a dough wrap or something, and make sure to drink enough water, or fruit juice, or cider, or whatever. No milk, though, starting now, and absolutely no chocolate milk, or ice cream, or anything like that. Cream cheese should be fine, though, just don’t eat too much tonight, nothing to make your stomach feel heavy, that’s what’s important. Light dinner. And leave breakfast to me. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” She bit her lip. “It’s not gonna be anything gross, though, is it?”
“I promise it won’t be anything gross. What would you like?”
“What?”
“What would you like, aside from the special food? I’ll be getting it from Sugarcube Corner.”
“Umm… are cupcakes okay to ask?”
He smiled and nodded. “Yup. What kind?”
“Pineapple and orange. Please.”
“With hot chocolate milk to go with’em?”
“Yes, please, if that’s not bad.”
“No, that tells me everything I need to know.” He stepped past her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, and remember: absolutely no breakfast until after I say so.”
“Got it. See you tomorrow, Thunderlane!”
Thunderlane chuckled and took off.
Well, let’s hope it works.
Thunderlane was humming a tune of his own when Rainbow came flying beside him.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo’s doing fine.”
Rainbow would have said something, but she was, for once, beaten to the punch. “Well, duh, of course she is; she’s got me looking out for her. And, err… you too now, I guess. So, can she fly yet?”
“Not yet,” the stallion replied. “But I’ve ruled out all the usual suspects, and I gave her some pointers for tomorrow. I’m gonna need some alone time with her in the morning, though: nopony else can watch.”
“Oh, you wanna pull the old ‘magic feather’ trick, huh?”
“Something like that. How was Rumble?”
“I don’t know. He can fly just fine, he can do the glove catch already, would you believe that?”
“Sure. Like I said, he usually doesn’t have any trouble learning stuff like that.”
“Okay, except he doesn’t seem to like it at all. He can do a High Speed Strut already, too.”
“Really? Huh, I thought he was having trouble with the rhythm, still. Must have figured it out on his own. He’s a fast learner, isn’t he?”
The mare nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not the problem: he flies like he’s being forced to, like he doesn’t know how good he is. Do you think maybe Diamond Tiara and her family could have gotten under his skin?”
“I doubt it. Diamond’s always been nice to Rumble. She’s actually kind of scared of him, what with how her mom acts around him.”
“Well, he’s too uptight. I’m telling you, something’s gotten under his skin. If it’s not Diamond Tiara or her family, something’s throwing him off.”
Thunderlane shrugged. “Maybe Spoiled Rich did say something, but she says lots of things. Rumble’s just hit a little slump, I guess.”
“Does he ever perform? Like, with a crowd? He told me he had a routine ready. Did he ever do it?”
He sighed. “He tried to do a routine, once, but he failed. Kind of spectacularly.”
“What, so now he’s got stage fright because of one failure?”
“Something like that, maybe. We don’t talk about that sort of thing.”
“Would it be okay if I helped him get past that?”
Thunderlane quirked an eyebrow. “You think you can do that?”
“Sure. Look how Fluttershy turned out.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“So it’s okay? You don’t mind if I give Rumble the once-over, give him a little confidence booster? Get him to loosen up a little?”
“He’s all yours. If you think a real performance can make him relax, be my guest. Just don’t hurt his pride: he’s a tough little kid, but his pride is pretty fragile. And don’t make him dance.”
“I promise I won’t make him dance. I just want to see him do one routine in front of a crowd, see if he’s got that part of the Wonderbolt act down.”
“Okay. I look forward to seeing the result, then.”
“Great, I promise you’ll like it. And err, thanks for taking over Scootaloo for me. Are you sure she’s gonna be fine?”
He squinted, thinking. “I don’t know, Rainbow Dash, I honestly don’t. I’ve got a hunch I know what it is, but that’s all it is right now: a hunch. I can’t say for sure, and I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up.”
“Okay.” She nodded solemnly. “Thanks anyway.” She turned to get back to her cloud home.
“Rainbow,” he called out while she was leaving. “If Scootaloo does manage to fly tomorrow, we’ll be right there to tell you. That much, I can promise.”
“Thanks, Thunderlane. You’re the best.”
“No, you are, but thanks for saying it, anyway. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Thunderlane heaved out a heavy sigh. One more stop to make before he could call it a day. He spotted his target down below and went down in a spiral.
He waited for the mare to turn to face him. “Hey, Thunderlane. What’s up?”
“Hi, Derpy. Err, I kind of need your opinion on something.”
Scootaloo groaned when she finally made it to the pond the next day. Her stomach felt so empty, her head was spinning.
“Good morning, Scootaloo,” Thunderlane greeted. “I see you’ve taken my advice to heart.”
“Heart and stomach. I’m really hungry, Thunderlane.”
“Good. That means you’ll be motivated.” Thunderlane reached back and grabbed the breakfast he’d promised her the other day: three cupcakes and a cup, sitting on a tray. “Have a look at that: freshly baked cupcakes, and a cup of warm chocolate milk. Looks delicious, huh?”
“Y-yeah.” Scootaloo had to stop herself from drooling.
“Okay, then. You want it?” He flew up and set the tray down on a dark grey raincloud, possibly a thundercloud. “Come and get it!”
Scootaloo looked up at the cloud. As far as she could tell, the cloud was ten paces up in the sky. Pitifully close to walk, but a world away if she had to go up. “What?”
He flew down to right below the cloud, motioning for her to come forward. “This is what we’re gonna do. You’re going to walk over here, right to this spot.” He marked the ground with an ‘X.’ “And you’re going to fly, straight up.”
“But I can’t fly,” Scootaloo argued.
“I’ll be the judge of that. You can step up here and try, or you can turn back and ask Rainbow Dash, no hard feelings. Your choice.”
Scootaloo grit her teeth and walked over to the ‘X,’ leaving her directly under the thundercloud. “But I thought I was supposed to eat something special to fly?”
“You did: you ate nothing. You’re hungry now, right?”
Her stomach groaned. Another headrush washed over her. “Starving.”
“Well, that’s my point. Your body is craving food right now, right? All you can think about is eating that delicious breakfast? So close you can almost taste it, feel that empty void in your stomach filling already? That tasty food on your tongue?”
“Yes!" she cried out. "Why are you doing this?”
“To help you,” he replied with a gentle tone. “You can channel your magic just fine, but that won’t help you fly normally. You need to get in touch with your magic with your eyes open, and thinking straight. Right now the only thing you can think about is eating. You will get to eat only if you can manage to fly high enough. That’s your focus, that’s the only thing your body and your magic will be trying to get at. So, look up at that cloud. Keep your eyes on it.”
Scootaloo took in a deep breath and looked up.
“We’re gonna be going up together, slowly, one flap at a time. I’ll give you the rhythm, to keep you focused. And I’ll be flying right in front of you, right here, so you won’t be in any danger. I’m not going to carry you, but I’m not going to let you fall, either, understand?”
Scootaloo gulped, eyes still trained on the cloud. “Got it.”
“Good. Deep breath in, relax, feel out the magic, and… flap. Up, up, up, up…”
Thunderlane never stopped talking, never stopped giving her the rhythm for her wings. She felt her hooves leave the ground and she saw the cloud inching ever closer, but then she failed. Again. She forced herself to keep going, but the cloud stayed just as far as before. She struggled to stay aloft, let alone gain height.
“Up, up, up, up, up…”
She kept going, kept on pushing higher and higher, but the cloud stayed as far as it was. She clenched her teeth together and grimaced, but it was no use. The cloud, and the food she so desperately wanted, was miles off.
All too soon, she reached her limit. Her head spun, her stomach groaned. A tingling in her extremities warned her she was pushing it too far.
“Come on, don’t quit. Up, up, up, up…”
Scootaloo’s eyes watered with the exertion. Her face was locked in a painful grimace, her body shaking as it forced itself as far up as it could. Still the cloud stayed where it was. She couldn’t look down. If she looked down, she was sure she’d fall. Her eyes stayed locked on that cloud, even as she hovered in place.
“You’re not giving up, are ya? Up, up, up, up.”
The filly’s muscles burned, her wings felt like they were going to fall off. Finally, her head felt like it was about to explode. She’d barely gotten off the ground and her body was collapsing under the pressure. She couldn’t give up. Her stomach groaned in protest, she was so hungry. Her vision blurred.
Just… a little… more…
“Okay, stop, Scootaloo. Eyes on the cloud, but no more going up. Do not look down, whatever you do.”
This time, Thunderlane only had to tell her once. “What? Why do I have to stop?”
“Stop going up. You’ve hit your limit, you’re not getting any higher than this.”
She sighed and kept on flapping, desperately trying to stay up. She couldn’t go any higher, even if she wanted to. “Please?”
“How are your wings?”
“They’re fine. But my head hurts. I feel weak, I’m so hungry,” she whimpered.
“Then it’s time to go down.” He held his hooves out, just in case she needed to grab hold. “Don’t grab me unless you really can’t do it yourself. Let yourself fall, gently. Slow down your flaps, and land, before you hurt yourself.”
“But I can do it, Thunderlane. Just a little more,” she pleaded.
“Listen to me, Scootaloo. If you ever want to fly properly, you need to learn your limits. Every second you waste talking to me, you’re wearing yourself out even more. If you were doing this without me here, you could end up hurting yourself, badly. Do you understand the risk you’re taking, if you decide to keep going?”
She sighed. “Yes. I don’t wanna hurt myself.”
“Good girl. So please, just listen and land? Eyes on me, careful now.”
She closed her eyes and let herself go down, slowly, carefully. Her head was so woozy, time and distance seemed to stretch.
When she did feel solid ground under her hooves, it came with a gentle pat on the back.
“You did well, Scootaloo,” Thunderlane said. “Rainbow Dash would be proud.”
“Maybe.” She buried her head in her hooves. “But I still failed. I’m still hungry, and I don’t deserve any food.”
She felt, more than saw, Thunderlane rolling his eyes. “Yup. You’ve definitely been taking lessons from Rainbow Dash.”
Rumble walked up the makeshift stage Rainbow had gotten from Pinkie Pie. In front of him was his audience: two Sugarlump Rumps, two Cutie Mark Crusaders, and one Wonderbolt.
On stage, he had a bunch of apples on a metal plate lying in front of him.
“Okay, so what kind of an act is this gonna be?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Umm, it’s meant to be a figurative motion.”
“A whatnow?” Apple Bloom asked.
“It’s moving to tell a story,” Silver Spoon said.
“Like dancing,” Apple Bloom remarked.
“It’s not dancing, exactly,” Diamond Tiara replied. “It’s more symbolic, some martial arts do this, too. And it doesn’t have to follow any music, which is what real dancing does.”
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said. “So it’s supposed to tell a story? What’s the story?”
“I-I, umm, it’s a harvest thing,” Rumble blurted out.
“So… a Summer Harvest Celebration dance?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s about as much a dance as a Wonderbolts routine or a Royal Guard demo is a dance,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Okay, then. Let’s see it. And remember: loosen up. Smile, have fun,” Rainbow said.
“A-are you sure?” Rumble asked. “It’s not a very good act.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew up to the stage. She leaned in close to him and whispered. “Look, squirt, if you have stage fright that badly, there’s an easy way to fix that.”
Rumble smiled. “Really? How?”
“Just pretend the girls are all naked.”
Rumble tilted his head to look at the fillies. “They are all naked, Rainbow Dash.”
“Told you it was easy. Now go on, do it.”
Rumble nodded reluctantly and stepped back, before smiling as he went forward. Rainbow sat down and smiled eagerly.
What happened next was, as Rarity would say, poetry in motion.
Rumble mashed down on the metal plate that held his prop apples, sending them all flying. He took a deep breath and waited for them to reach their highest point.
Sweetie Belle’s ears twitched. If this was a real performance, now would be the point where he’d say something to grab the audience’s attention. Instead, he stayed quiet.
Once the apples started falling, he made a scooping motion with his wings, kicking them up higher in a single gust.
“Ooh…” Rainbow Dash was impressed, but it wasn’t until he started flying up in circles to create a miniature tornado that she was wowed.
The winds howled and blew at the audience’s manes, but not enough to make them flinch. As Rumble went up higher, the apples were sucked into the vortex, leaving them in a narrow and straight trajectory down once gravity got hold of them again. He stopped, the apples spiralled up high enough to go clear past his head.
Rumble wasn’t done yet, though. He spun and twirled as the apples fell around him, but more than that, he slashed. With a calm, graceful motion, his sharp wings cut every apple in half as it fell. Once he’d wet his wings enough, he dived down in a flash and grabbed the metal plate, bobbing around on stage to catch every cut apple he’d juggled with his winds.
The last piece fell, he set the plate down, and with a bright (if forced) smile, he bowed.
Silence fell. He rose up and rubbed the back of his head. “Umm, yeah. So, like I said, it wasn’t a very good act.”
“Not very good?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That was amazing! How do you think that’s not a good act?”
“Because it’s not?” Rumble said. “It’s a substandard routine. It’s not Wonderbolts material.”
“Yes, it is, Rumble,” Rainbow Dash said.
Diamond Tiara whimpered. “Umm, Miss Rainbow Dash? There were a couple of things he could have done better with that act.”
“See?” Rumble said. “She knows.”
“Oh, can it, Diamond Tiara,” Rainbow Dash said. “I know you see a lot of high-society stuff in Canterlot, but that was a Wonderbolts-worthy act, and you know it. Rumble, there was nothing wrong with that act. You can compete with an act like that. How did you even get your wings to be that sharp?”
“Hmm? Oh, I got a wingstone last time at the Trader’s Market, from a pegasus blacksmith. Children’s size and everything. I give my wings a shine every morning, after breakfast.”
“Those things come in kid’s sizes? Never mind. Look, that act was good, it was great.”
Diamond bit her lip. “No, it wasn’t! You can’t just say that.”
“Would you please be quiet, Diamond Tiara?” Rainbow said.
Sweetie Belle quirked an eyebrow. “Umm, maybe we should hear her out on this.”
Rumble squinted his eyes. “You really think that act was good enough to compete?”
“Yes!”
“I mean, that’s the best I can do.” He chuckled nervously. “You think that’s good enough?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good enough for the Wonderbolts to notice me? Good enough to beat other ponies with acts like mine?”
“Look, squirt, I don’t know who you’ve been hanging out with, but no other ponies your age do acts like that. That’s exceptional. If you just did that at the next talent show, you’d get noticed. You’d be a great example, ponies would cheer for you just like they cheer for me.”
Rumble’s body shook at that. He looked down and bit his lip. “Okay. Thanks for clearing that up, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow hung in the air, confused. “Huh?”
When he looked back up, it was with dead eyes. Not sadness or anger, just complete and utter defeat. “If you really think that was Wonderbolts level, then I don’t think I have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt stallion.”
She landed, one hoof off the ground, still. “W-why not? I just said you did.”
“Yes. And I know that’s a lie, Rainbow Dash.”
Sweetie Belle gasped. “Wait, that was…”
“I don’t understand,” Rainbow Dash said. “What’s the matter? You’re an ace flyer, this proves it.”
He sniffled. “The only thing this proves is that I’ll never be a Wonderbolt stallion. Thanks for the help, Rainbow Dash. You can go focus on Scootaloo now, I’m done.”
“Rumble, wait, she didn’t mean it like that,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Don’t you start, too. I think I’ve been a pretty good sport about all this so far, but I’m done. I’m never gonna be a Wonderbolt stallion. So I’m done trying. I know my place now. Guess I should thank you for that, too.” He plodded along, head down. He was so caught up in being gloomy he didn’t bother flying, he just hopped off the stage.
Rainbow Dash was stunned. He’s quitting. He’s seriously quitting? Why? “Rumble, wait!”
“Runaway thundercloud! Hit the deck!”
Rainbow Dash ducked as a black mass of thundercloud whizzed over her head. “Girls, keep your head down! What is that thing doing here?”
“I don’t know, it just came out of nowhere,” Apple Bloom said.
Priorities, Rainbow, priorities. “Okay, it’s only a little one. You stay down, I’ll take it up high.”
She dashed up to cut off the cloud’s escape path. She didn’t even need to think about this sort of thing anymore, it happened all the time. Clouds were charged with a burst of speed and programmed to go to the right place in Equestria, but sometimes the weather factories added too much speed, or the programming got muddled in the atmosphere, and then the clouds would rush and bounce all over the place.
Nothing too dangerous, but it was still a safety hazard for pegasi, and clouds of this nature usually had lightning in them, too, which could cause trouble.
Rainbow got right in front of the cloud’s path, ready to intercept.
It dodged her.
“Hey, what-”
“Careful, Rainbow! It’s a slippery one!” A nearby colleague from the Weather Patrol called out.
“No cloud’s getting the better of me!” She dove after it as the cloud made a beeline towards the fillies.
The cloud pulled up, and so did Rainbow Dash. “This thing’s fast. I’m gonna have to bolt at this rate.”
The black mass of rain and thunder ducked left, right, up, down, it gave Rainbow the slip every time she prepared a dash. It settled into a straight line eventually, though, and the mare needed no further cue. She had to catch that thing now, before the magic in it sent it bouncing all over again.
With a burst of speed, she caught hold of the fluffy thing. “Gotcha.”
Then she felt something bop her on the nose.
“Wait a second...”
Rainbow looked back at the pony who’d called out the warning. In all the excitement, she hadn’t realised it was Thunderlane, who had his arms folded in front of his chest, and a smug smirk on his face. Then she looked down at the thing that had bopped her on the nose. It was a hoof, and it was orange.
“Scootaloo?”
Without so much as a grimace or a pant of effort, the filly rose up from the cloud. “Surprise! What do you think?”
Rainbow froze. She forgot to breathe for a second, her heart missed a beat or two. She didn’t forget to flap her wings, though. “You’re… you’re flying? Really flying?”
The girl hung in the air, flapping her wings slowly and calmly, hooves down, back angled slightly upwards. She was flying as easily as Rainbow Dash was, or at least it looked like it. Her smile seemed to indicate as much. “Yup. Isn’t it great?”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head, completely befuddled. On a hunch, she flew up higher and waved her arms above the girl’s wings. “No strings?”
Scootaloo smiled all the brighter and shook her head. “No strings.”
Rainbow flew down and waved her arms beneath the girl. “No lift? No invisible stilts?”
Again, Scootaloo smiled and shook her head. “No stilts.”
Finally Rainbow patted the girl on the shoulders. “No unicorn magic keeping you up?”
Scootaloo chuckled, and almost cried with joy. “No unicorn magic, just mine. This is all me. I’m flying on my own. Isn’t it great?”
Oddly, Rainbow Dash had never planned what she’d do when this moment would arrive, when her sort-of little sister would fly at last. She’d thought that she’d probably hug the girl, or give her a noogie, or pretend to faint so Scootaloo could ‘catch’ her.
Much to her surprise, the only thing going through Rainbow’s mind at that point was how far down a drop it would be if those little wings were to give out. Oh, how careful she was going to have to be from now on. This would definitely be a good time to refresh her first-aid skills.
“You’re really flying?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Like, no sore wings? No need to catch your breath? No…”
With a bright smile, Scootaloo shook her head, swishing that messy mane of hers. “No nothing. I can fly just fine now. Like any normal pegasus. Better than normal.”
Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo by the arms and spun her around. “This is great! I can’t believe it! You did it! You-” She stopped herself when she caught sight of Thunderlane again. “You really did it.”
Thunderlane floated up to their level. “We did it. Scootaloo did all of the hard work.”
Scootaloo chuckled and backed away from Rainbow Dash, flying on her own strength again. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Thunderlane.”
“But… what? How?”
Scootaloo and Thunderlane exchanged a knowing glance.
“Here,” Thunderlane said, offering her a cupcake and the cup of hot cocoa. “You’ve earned this.”
Scootaloo’s ears perked. “But you said I couldn’t eat until I reached the cloud.”
“No, I said you could eat only if you flew high enough. By my count, you flew high enough.”
Even through the pounding in her head, she caught that that statement didn’t make any sense. “Wait. I flew?”
“You sure did.” He turned towards the cloud up above. “You can come out now!”
Right on cue, a grey pegasus mare with a blonde mane and strange eyes popped her head out of the thing. “How was that?”
“Perfect, Derpy. Thanks.”
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped when she realised that cloud was a lot higher now than it had been when she’d started out. She’d been had. “You were pulling the cloud up the whole time; that’s why I couldn’t reach it!”
“Yup,” Thunderlane admitted. “Common trick, really. Good for pranks, too.”
“That’s why I couldn’t look down. And that’s why you kept saying ‘up’ all the time: you were giving her the signal,” Scootaloo pointed a hoof to the mailmare.
“Also true,” Derpy said, hopping down with her own tray. “Congratulations, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For flying, silly. You got up pretty high for a first-timer. You must have really wanted it, huh?”
The girl looked down at what she’d been promised was her breakfast. She knew something was off, though, deep down. “I wouldn’t have flown if I’d eaten breakfast. You wanted me to fly on an empty stomach.”
Thunderlane nodded. “Yes. Normally I wouldn’t do it like this, but you’re kind of a special case.”
“Because of my wings?” She winced.
“No, because of your flanks.” He pointed to her cutie mark. “The way I heard it, you and your friends got your cutie marks when you decided you wanted to help other ponies find their true talents. A shield for a cutie mark is a big deal, you know. Captain Shining Armour, the Crystal Prince, has got one of those, too.”
“So?”
Thunderlane tilted his head. “So, is it true? Do you really want to help other ponies find their talents?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yes. I don’t know why, but it just feels right. I don’t like seeing other ponies worry about what they can and can’t do, it’s hard to, you know, explain. But what does that have to do with you tricking me?”
Thunderlane sighed. “First of all: I did not trick you, okay? I told you the truth: your body has an easier time flying on an empty stomach. At least, partially.”
“What he means is: your magic kicks in more,” Derpy explained.
“Exactly. See, normally, you need to watch your breath or focus on an image to get your magic going. You have to meditate, go into trance, the sort of stuff unicorns do, you know?”
“Sweetie Belle never does that sort of thing.”
“Oh, she does, but not where you can see it. But you’ve seen her learn magic, right? All squinty-eyed, concentrating really hard?”
That, Scootaloo had to admit, was a pretty accurate assessment. “Yeah, actually.”
“Well, there you go. That’s channeling your magic. Most unicorns have to stand still and concentrate really hard to do it, and you had to, too, yesterday. Thing is, if you want to fly, you have to get your magic out while you’re awake, while you’re moving. And that’s easier when you’re hungry.”
Derpy nodded. “What he’s trying to say is: normally, you’re thinking of a bajillion and one things at the same time, and if you try to do any kind of magic like that, it’s too scattered to do anything.”
“But how does going hungry help?” The filly asked.
“When you’re hungry, your body starts trying to conserve energy,” Thunderlane explained. “Your mind becomes more focused on the necessities. You just need to know how it feels once, and then it becomes easier to do.”
“Same as Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo concluded. “She doesn’t have to squint as much as she used to.”
“Same thing,” Derpy said. “Magic gets easier the more you do it. And us pegasi are really quick at it once we get going.”
Scootaloo’s stomach growled again. Still, something nagged at the back of her head. “But then why did it take so long for me? What’s wrong with me?”
“Scootaloo, listen to me.” Thunderlane lied down so he’d be at her eye level. “Nothing is wrong with you, and nothing was wrong with you. You learned to hover just like any other pegasus did, and now you can fly, same any other pegasus.”
“That’s not true, you’re just sugarcoating it. If it’s that easy, then there has to be something wrong with me. I’m not a baby, I know that’s not how it works.” Scootaloo argued. “Rumble said he just woke up one day hovering instead of falling. Featherweight said the same thing.”
Thunderlane averted his eyes and grumbled. “Yup, they would say that. And that’s what every pegasus will tell you: that it just happens one day. If you ask them for details, every single one of them will say the same thing: you just get out of bed one day hovering. And it’s true; that’s exactly how it happens. You do, usually, just get out of bed one day and hover. What they won’t tell you is which bed they got out of.”
“Huh?”
Thunderlane looked her right in the eyes then. “A hospital bed, Scootaloo. Or at the very least, a sick bed.”
The girl’s heart skipped a beat. “Whoa. You mean to tell me…”
“Every single pegasus who can fly, at least your age, got their ability of flight after being sick. Seriously sick, to the point that they couldn’t eat solids for a while. Starting to see the pattern here?”
Scootaloo squinted, looking for any telltale signs of a lie. She couldn’t find any, but she kept on looking. “You’re just making this up.”
“‘Fraid not,” Derpy said. “For us pegasus ponies, flight, real flight, starts with an empty stomach. That causes a little head click that gets your magic pumping. Back in the old days, pegasi all huddled closer together, away from the other tribes. You know, up higher, where the other ponies couldn’t reach? Because of how we lived, kids would get sick at the same time, learn to fly at the same time.”
“That’s still how it happens in places like Rainbow Falls,” Thunderlane said. “In towns where you have a lot of pegasus ponies together, if one kid can fly, they all can.”
“But in towns like Manehattan or Ponyville, the pegasus kids are scattered and mixed with Earth ponies and unicorns, so they don’t all catch the same sickness at the same time. Or, you know, they get shots or don’t get sick in the first place, which is probably what happened with you,” Derpy added.
“Oh. So my shots made me artistic and that’s why I couldn’t fly. But then why can’t I sing better?”
Thunderlane’s brain took a moment to restart after that. “Umm… I think you might be misinformed on that? Vaccinations don’t work like that. It’s the fact that you never went hungry that’s important. If you’d kept going normally, they’d have picked you out at Flight Camp and put you on liquids for a couple of days, it’s standard procedure. You’re a perfectly healthy young pegasus pony, Scootaloo. You’re so healthy you never got sick enough to fly.”
“But Rumble and Featherweight?”
He chuckled. “Will never admit to that kind of thing. No pegasus pony will. I mean, seriously, getting magic powers after getting over a stomach flu? We are a proud warrior race. You wouldn’t admit to it, either.”
That, she had to admit, was a fair point. “And Rainbow Dash?”
Thunderlane shook his head. “Rainbow Dash was the same as any other pegasus filly, but she probably wasn’t aware of it, neither are Rumble or Featherweight. Not a lot of pegasus ponies know that’s how it works. It’s just not something we discuss, in public or otherwise; it’s uncouth. But me and Derpy, we, err, we went to school for it, you might say. We know about this sort of thing. Flight Camp instructors, they know, and they keep it quiet, for… well, a lot of reasons that you’re too young to understand right now. But now you know what it is, at least. Pegasus kids always get sick one day. Swollen lips, the trots, vomiting sickness, worms, whatever, something will empty their stomachs, and that triggers their magic. After they sick it out, they know what magic feels like, and it works just fine. For us, it’s a normal part of growing up.”
“Wow.”
“Same thing for baby pegasi, and unicorns,” Derpy said. “They tend to get their magic surges right after a diaper change, or right before a feeding. They don’t remember it, though; their little heads aren’t ripe for learning that kind of thing. But you’re going to want to keep that in mind if you ever get a foalsitting job. Trust me, you’ll have a leg up on the competition if you remember that.”
Silence fell.
Then that aching stomach growled again. “But… if I eat this, can I still fly?”
“Yes,” Thunderlane said. “No reason to think you couldn’t. As long as you use the same technique you were using before, your magic will take care of the rest. No buzzing your wings like you do on your scooter.”
“But… but Bulk Biceps buzzes like that. Aren’t I like him?”
Thunderlane nodded. “No; he’s bulky. And he eats a lot. He had to cut down when he was at the Academy. And while we’re on the subject of cutting down, if you ever have trouble with controlling your magic, or, I don’t know, if you ever run into, say, a unicorn filly who’s having trouble concentrating, who’s too scattered to make anything work? The sort of kid you might want to help, with your cutie mark being what it is, but you don’t know how?” He pointed to her cutie mark again. “Now you know one of the tricks behind it. One of the tricks your friends might not think of. That’s why me and Derpy did it like this. Now, if you ever run into somepony else with that kind of problem, you know what to do.”
“Magic is finnicky like that. That’s why you don’t call it ‘science’,” Derpy said. “But going hungry for a little bit helps. If it’s a long-term thing, switching to liquid food is what you’ll usually see. Hardcore magic, unicorn magic, can make you throw up if you do it too long. You might wanna remember that if one of your friends ever get into it.”
“I will.”
“Now eat up, Scootaloo. You’ve fasted, and you got what you needed out of it,” Thunderlane said. “You need to get your energy back up for practice.”
“Fasted?”
“It’s what you call going hungry for a reason. Us pegasus ponies invented that word. You know, fast-ing, because we’re quicker afterwards.” He winked. “Be careful with it, though. Your magic gets easier, but your body still needs to eat. Advanced flyers like the Wonderbolts learn to eat while flying, so don’t go starving yourself for no reason, okay?”
With that, she finally dug in.
Derpy nudged the stallion as he got up. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Right. One more thing, Scootaloo.”
“Hmm?” She muttered with her mouth full.
“Rainbow Dash will probably show you some moves from here on out, and you’ll learn the basics at Flight Camp, but… in the meantime, there’s something important that you need to learn to start keeping track of.”
She swallowed. “What’s that?”
“The most important thing for any pegasus pony, or any creature that can fly: landing sites.”
“Huh?”
“Flying is like swimming, but the other way around. If you stop swimming, you can still float. If you stop flying, you fall. So when you start getting up there, always remember to keep track of where the clouds are, where the roofs are, so you can set down if you have to. Never fly too high if you don’t have a way of getting down safely. If Rainbow Dash goes up too high for you, and she probably will, because she’s Rainbow Dash, do not follow her. Learn your limits, and be careful. There are worse things than losing face. Think you can remember that?”
She nodded with tears of happiness in her eyes. “I will. Thank you.”
“We just had a good talk over breakfast,” Scootaloo said.
“Okay. You wanna keep the mystery, that’s cool. I’ll figure it out eventually.”
“So, how’s Rumble doing?” Thunderlane asked.
“What?”
“Rumble? How’s the performance issues coming along?”
Rainbow Dash looked down and found a distinct lack of grey pegasus colts.
“Errr… we hit kind of a rough spot. I think. I’m not sure what just happened.”
“Rainbow, tell me you didn’t hurt his pride? He’s awfully touchy about his skills.”
“Heheh, I’m starting to notice. But don’t worry, it’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I can fix this, just give me a minute.”