//------------------------------// // The Hurricane-Pt 12: Miyagi // Story: Blue Angel // by V-Pony //------------------------------// September 2nd, Afternoon ---------------------------------------- To say that Volare’s first week in Equestria could have gone better would have been a gross understatement. The pilot-turned-Pegasus reflected back on the past few days with somewhat more than a sense of awe. He’d gone from fulfilling his dreams of becoming a jet pilot with the Blue Angels, to escaping a horrible accident by what seemed to be divine intervention of the Rainbow Dash kind, to becoming a completely different species able to fly under its own power, losing said power, and now working alongside somepony whom he never would have logically pegged as the individual to get him back in the air: Fluttershy. If he’d been told 8 days ago that this would be his new reality, he would have likely scoffed at it (although being in this world, minus the drama so far would’ve seemed like a great change of pace). Had it really only been 8 days…? Ever since surviving the accident that had severed his right wing, he’d found himself asking that question more and more, with the appropriate addition of days in the question, of course. Whereas on Earth, time seemed to whiz by in the daily race to get things done in a non-stop 24 hour cycle, here…it was like there was no hurry at all. It was like the majority of the inhabitants of this world knew that rushing things would likely only lead to disaster. In all honesty, it was one of the things he was beginning to like about the place…but then again, wasn't it his propensity to push things ahead of schedule that had caused his predicament to begin with? And so, with that hard-earned lesson in mind, he’d resolved himself to follow the steps of Fluttershy’s rehabilitation program she’d developed for creatures that had suffered from severe physical traumas that would likely leave behind lingering mental scars. He’d arrived at her cottage with his confidence in his abilities to fly shattered to pieces, for though he’d been involved in more than his share of close calls in his relatively short flight career, he’d always come out in one piece. But after his injury, he’d come to realize that it had all been a game of Russian Roulette; that he’d merely been playing the odds…until the odds finally played him. And the nightmare he’d had following it…It had nearly completely broken him mentally in matters above terra-firma, but Fluttershy had seen this sort of behavior in injured creatures before, and knew that avoiding what they feared would likely not help them overcome their trauma. Over the past three days, he’d shown considerable progress, both in his physical reconditioning as well as his mental state. He’d gone from experiencing a sense of vertigo whenever he even saw something flying to going out and helping Shae the osprey hunt fish in the nearby streams and rivers. No longer did he feel the fingers of fear clutching his chest whenever Shae soared high in the sky or when she folded her wings and dove like an arrow into the water, returning from below the surface with a fish; food for them both. Instead he felt a fierce sense of pride in the bravery of the young bird of prey’s abilities to trust its instincts so strongly in its own fight to survive, something he knew he’d have to tackle sooner or later. Thus, Volare and Shae had grown rather close over the past three days, not as master and pet, for Shae was a bit too wild for that and Volare knew it, but they’d certainly developed a mutual respect for one another. However, as Volare had been raised as a human, expected to push himself and expecting near-instant results, a little of that human skepticism began to show through during his training. Those feelings of doubt finally came to a head on the afternoon of the fifth day of his rehabilitation… Volare hung his head and gasped slightly as he trotted across the backyard of the cottage, having just returned from another hunt with Shae that had entailed chasing after her when she had suddenly refused to return to his saddle when he called her. He’d finally caught up to her and gotten her to perch on him, but she seemed…almost annoyed with him; like her having to always return to him instead of to the sky was holding her back. True, she enjoyed the free ride and his companionship, but even she was starting to feel like he was more of a hindrance than a help, despite his enthusiasm. More than once, he’d whooped and scared away the fish she was hunting, leading to wasted effort and many pecks to the side of his head. Today, as bad as it made her feel, she decided she’d just about had enough. The only reason she returned to him was because she remembered how he’d defended her back at the edge of the Everfree Forest from…whatever those eyes belonged to! Even so, Volare seemed to understand that her patience was wearing thin, and as soon as they returned to Fluttershy’s cottage, he let Shae go up to her tree and he hung the saddle up before going to his rehabilitator who was busy feeding her chickens. “Fluttershy,” the blue Pegasus spoke almost tentatively. The mare instantly picked up on the worry in his voice and sat down the bucket of corn kernels she’d been tossing over the chicken wire fence before giving the stallion her full attention. “What’s wrong, Volare?” she asked, worry filling her sea-blue eyes. “Oh, you didn’t get hurt out in the field with Shae today, did you?” She flittered over to his side and began investigating his wings and limbs, causing him to chuckle lightly. Even after learning that she was much more mature in life matters than he’d previously thought, her tendency to over-react a little whenever one of her friends might be hurt never failed to amuse him. “No, I’m ok, if a bit tired,” he smiled reassuringly. “But I thank you for the concern. Um…find what you’re lookin’ for there, doc?” Fluttershy realized she had his left rear leg lifted at a bit of an awkward angle and quickly let it back down, blushing a bit as she did so. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she squeaked before composing herself. She hesitantly moved to touch his leg again before Volare nodded his consent. “Just let me know if I’m hurting you, ok?” “Will do,” he replied as she began to run her hooves over the muscles in his legs, hemming and hawing as she did so, her brows knitting as she closed her eyes and frowned slightly. “Something wrong?” “Oh, no, actually things are going very well,” she said as she untied the sling around his right wing, holding it up off the ground as she spoke, flexing it to its apex and back, watching the primaries twitch as she did so. “The fibers in the base of your wing aren’t shriveling and the ones in your left wing are growing stronger with daily use, as are your leg muscles. Even your breathing seems to have improved.” “Heh, probably this fresh air out here,” Volare joked and flapped his good wing before Fluttershy re-trussed the crippled one back up and looked at him with a bit more intensity than usual; it quite frankly worried him and he quickly settled down again. “What?” “I’m just curious about why you seemed so upset when you came back from the field today,” she motioned for him to follow her as she picked up the bucket of kernels and made her way towards the cottage, hanging the bucket up on the wall before they walked into the shade of the small house. Volare sat down at the table as Fluttershy brought them both a bundle of fresh spinach leaves which she split between him and herself. “Heh, keeping me on that strict diet, I see,” he chuckled as he munched on the leafy greens. These ponies are gonna kill my love of bacon eventually…hmm, stuff’s not too bad though. “Mhm,” Fluttershy nodded with a smile before motioning with her hoof to Volare after a moment’s silence. With an “oh” of realization, Volare described the morning hunt and how he believed that Shae probably felt about him, as well as how he’d begun to have some feelings of doubt creep back into his mind. “In short, I don’t think Shae needs my help to fly and hunt anymore,” Volare finally explained. “I just kinda feel like I’m getting in her way now.” “I see,” Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “And, ugh,” he groaned slightly before continuing. “I know I said I wouldn’t doubt your methods of rehabilitation, but…I dunno, I just know there’s a fine line between being inspired to do better by the actions of those above you, and getting discouraged by trying to emulate those above you but unable to match them…heh, does that sound stupid?” “No, not at all.” She had a feeling she knew where this was going, though. “Well, I feel like I’m slipping towards that discouraged side of the line in regards to my training…sorry.” “No need to apologize,” Fluttershy patted his hoof encouragingly. “I don’t wanna sound whiney, though…” “Volare, trust me,” she looked at him intently, making him drop his gaze to his spinach in sudden shame. “When it comes to situations like this, one treatment can’t fit all patients. It’s important for you to let those helping you know if what they’re doing is causing more hurt than help.” She lifted his chin so his eyes met hers. “What’s got you discouraged, Volare?” It was at that moment that the pilot realized that perhaps she was just as unsure about exactly what was the best course of treatment for him. “Well, it’s a couple of things,” he twiddled his hooves uncomfortably as he spoke. He’d never been known to whine, had always taken things in stride as best he could…or simply walked away when he realized he couldn’t win. But he was stuck in this situation, admittedly by his own doing, and there was no running away. However, on the same token, if he wasn’t going to be barked at by voicing his displeasure… “Ok, to start, I think I’m making progress in the vertigo factor because I’m not running fall speed and impact force calculations through my head whenever I see something flying over my head anymore.” “That’s certainly good news,” the mare returned his sheepish grin with a smile of her own, though she frowned as his face fell slightly when he continued. “However…as much as I appreciate the cardio and leg strength exercises that come with having to follow Shae all over the place when she hunts, I feel like she’d just too many steps ahead of me when it comes to flight and therefore is a bit too impatient with me in keeping up with her. I guess it’s cuz I can’t get up there into the air and accompany her that’s got me down the most…it’s just discouraging to me when I can’t match my partner in effort.” “But that’s not fair for yourself, Volare,” Fluttershy countered. “You can’t fly just yet.” “I know that, Fluttershy…but as smart as Shae is, I don’t know if she can rationalize it that way like we can,” he sighed. “So yeah, I feel like I can’t match her and that’s discouraging me…and I’m just holding her back…so I’d like to stop going hunting with her for now, if you don’t mind; at least till I can fly again. Plus I don’t think my body is processing fish too terribly well,” he said in embarrassment, causing them both to chuckle and grimace simultaneously. “However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna stop exercising and building strength where I can,” he quickly added. “Of course not,” Fluttershy nodded. “I’m glad you’re admitting this now before it really got you down later, Volare.” “I’m just glad you’re not mad at me for kinda questioning your methods.” “You’ve just gotta let me know if it’s not working,” she explained and gave him a semi-fierce grin. “Be assertive!” she growled lightly and laughed before her face softened, becoming almost sorrowful; the abruptness of the change worried Volare. Was it something he said? “You…you’re not afraid of me, are you?” “Um, I,” Volare began. Shit, what do I say?! He knew of her Stare, of her ability to talk down dragons, and what happened when little animals didn’t love her *shudder*…so yes, under certain conditions, he likely would fear her, and greatly! But looking at her kind face now, the way she was being so patient with him to make sure he was getting the best treatment possible… “No, not right now anyway…though Iron Will may have told me a story or two that would make anypony cautious if they-” “Somepony call my name?” the huge blue minotaur surprised both Pegasi as he suddenly poked his head in through the window with mischievous grin, sending Fluttershy shooting halfway to the ceiling and Volare toppling out of his chair. “Whoa, was it something I said?” “Kinda, yeah,” Volare rubbed the shoulder he’d landed on as he got to his hooves and Fluttershy returned to the table, righting her chair and sitting back down in it. “But not what you think.” “What did I say, then?” Iron Will asked with a confused scratch of his head, causing Fluttershy and Volare to exchange quick looks before bursting into laughter. Volare shook his head after a moment, reassuring Fluttershy that what he heard didn’t affect how he felt around her too terribly much. “Oh, it was nothing, Will,” Fluttershy said as she patted him on the head. “Just a funny story, that’s all.” “Well, ok then,” the minotaur shrugged his shoulders and headed for the backyard. “If ya need me, I’ll just be out back working some stress outta my neck and shoulders.” “Be careful, Will,” Fluttershy nodded before turning back to Volare. “So you’re not afraid of me, then?” “Nah, I’ll just be sure to watch my step,” he replied, glad the mood had lightened considerably. However, they were still left with a small conundrum on their hooves. “How am I gonna get my training in now?” “Well, you said you’re already feeling better about flying, right? I could try carrying you over the fields and get you a feel for being back in the air if you want.” “Hey, let’s not push it too much now,” Volare laughed nervously. “I was only joking,” she chuckled and booped his nose again. “I’m not the strongest flier and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do that anyway.” “Heh, doing better than me,” he gave her a soft tap on her wing. “At least you can get off the ground.” The two Pegasi sat there wracking their brains over what they could do for a moment before Fluttershy looked up, her eyes considerably brighter. “Hrm?” “I think I know what you might need.” “Oh?” “Mhm,” she looked at the wall for a moment as if contemplating her next move before turning back to him. “You say Shae is a little too far ahead of you and it’s discouraging you, right?” “Yep, unfortunately.” “So maybe we need someone closer to your speed, so to speak…no offense,” she spoke the last words so quietly it took Volare a moment to understand what she’d said. “Oh, heh, none taken,” he chortled. “It’s true, I suck.” “Oh you do not suck,” she gave him a gentle smack on the shoulder. “You put those thoughts out of your head, even in jest.” “Heh-heh ok, ok,” he raised his hooves defensively. “Just don’t beat me to pieces, Miyagi.” Fluttershy cocked her head. “You’ve called me that a number of times…what’s a Miyagi?” To add to her confusion, Volare broke out into a series of chuckles, though it relieved her to see him smiling like this. In truth, she’d felt something off about him ever since he and Shae had come back their trip around Sweet Apple Acres that evening. She wondered if it had to do with what Rainbow Dash had said she’d heard…what Volare had conveniently left out of his recollection of the day, but why? She was determined to find out, but now wasn’t the time. For now, she’d let him relax in the relief that she wasn’t mad at him for wanting to change up his rehabilitation routine. He finally stopped chuckling long enough to speak. “Well, Miyagi isn’t a what, but a who. He’s an important person in a movie called The Karate Kid. You know what movies are, right?” “Mhm, we don’t have many, but I know what they are. But tell me more about this Miyagi. Was he a good person, I hope, cuz I’d hate to be compared to the bad guy,” Fluttershy hid her face behind her hooves for a moment before Volare chuckled again. “Heh, far from it. Hrm, do you have some free time? I can tell you about the movie and how Miyagi fits into it…and why I keep calling you by his name.” “Sure, I’ve got time,” Fluttershy smiled and settled into her seat. “Alrighty then, let’s see what I can remember,” Volare grinned. ------------------------------------ Meanwhile, above Ponyville, a certain cyan Pegasus was getting heavily involved with a set of puffy cumulus clouds that had drifted in on the breeze from the weather factory at Cloudsdale north of the town. Normally these clouds would have been destined for shading some weary pony, but oh no, not today! “Hate to do this to ya, but…nah, I regret nothing!” Rainbow Dash snickered as she spiraled down from the heavens and smashed through the first of the fluffy clouds, sending ice and water vapor flying. She quickly followed suit with the others until the air was completely full of water drops. Turning a quick 180, she zipped back through the water, the wake of her passing dragging the vapor behind her in a great swath of water that thinned out as she flew. With a fierce grin, she zigged and zagged through the air, finally coming to rest about 150 feet from the ground before throwing her hooves up in the air and turning about to see her work. “Oh yeah!!” she crowed. The light from the mid-afternoon sun struck the path of water vapor falling through the air, revealing a shimmering lightning bolt outline reminiscent of her cutie mark. “Who’s the mare, huh? Who’s the mare?” She grasped her hooves together and shook them to the sound of applause. “Yeah, Rainbow Dash!!” the cries rose to meet her as she fluttered to the ground just to the east of Ponyville, face filled with a confident, toothy grin and her eyes closed as she soaked in the cheers. She opened them to greet her adoring fanclub…of one. “Huh?!” “Wow Rainbow Dash, that was a good one!” the young orange Pegasus before her hooted and hollered like ten ponies, her fuchsia mane bobbing all over the place as she jumped up and down in excitement. “But I-where’d everypony else go?” Dash muttered as she looked about. But sure enough, the only pony there was the small Pegasus; nopony else had seen what she’d just done, and she nearly sunk to her flank in despair before the smaller Pegasus grabbed her hooves and shook them heartily, grinning wildly the whole time. Dash sighed. Well, at least my self-proclaimed number one fan caught that one… She brought a hoof up and mussed the younger Pegasus’ mane before putting on a smile for her only fan present, the very founder of the Rainbow Dash fanclub: Scootaloo. “So you caught that one, eh Scoots?” “I sure did! That was your cutie mark you just made with the rainwater, wasn’t it?” She beamed up at her idol. “Heh-heh, sure was,” Dash polished a hoof on her chest fur for a moment before tossing her mane skyward to watch the rain she’d atomized fall into and around the Ponyville Stream. “What do ya call that one?” Scootaloo asked as she produced a notebook and pencil from her saddlebag. Adorning the notebook’s cover were multiple images and drawings of Dash, the prized one being a photo from this past summer that showed Scootaloo standing on Dash’s back as they mugged for the camera. She had filled the book with all things Rainbow Dash, including her own patented tricks, the newest of which she was just itching to write down. “Hrm, I dunno yet…I kinda just made it up on the spot,” the older Pegasus grinned before tapping the ground with a hoof. “Um, what do you think it should be called, Scoots?” Scootaloo gasped and her purple eyes went wide. She’d had input on Dash’s tricks before, but she’d never asked her to name one of them! “Um, but why me-I mean, that’s awesome you’d ask me, but why?” “Simple: you were the only one around to see it besides me of course, and I’ve made up and named a whole mess of tricks already,” Dash sat down next to her biggest fan. “So, I feel you should get to name this one.” “Oh my gosh, dude this is so sweet!” Scootaloo practically squealed before she realized who she was sitting next to. She quickly regained her composure in order to project “cool and collected” rather than “Rainbow Dash fanatic”. “Ahem, I mean, yeah, of course I’ll help you name it.” Dash couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at Scootaloo’s enthusiasm. Though she had no siblings of her own, she sometimes considered the smaller Pegasus her little sister more than a fan. She’d never told her so, but because Scootaloo was almost always there to watch her practice her stunts, she never felt totally stupid in doing so. As long as somepony is looking up to me…I’ll keep it up…even if I never do make the Wonderbolts…not that I wouldn’t, but still… “Thanks, Scoots. Whatcha got for me?” she asked as she leaned back on the grass and rested her eyes for a moment. “Um,” Scootaloo tapped her hoof on her chin and winked an eye, thinking hard for a fitting name for such an awesome stunt. “Well, you made a lightning bolt with the rain…how about The Rainbolt?” “Scoots…” Dash’s magenta eyes shot open and stared at the sky for a moment before she turned to Scootaloo and grinned. “That’s genius! Gimme some wing!” “It is? I mean, I am!” The younger Pegasus hopped up as Dash did before jumping and swatting her small right wing against Dash’s strong one. She was so excited that she did her best to hover in mid-air like she’d seen Dash do…but only managed to crash back to the ground. She spat out pieces of grass and blushed heavily as Rainbow Dash did her best to contain a giggle. Instead, she gently patted her biggest fan on the head and flicked a leaf from her mane. “Keep trying, kiddo; you’ll catch me one of these days,” she nodded, totally serious. “You remind me of me when I was your age…just a little less air-borne. But don’t stop trying, cuz as awesome as I’ve seen you while on your scooter, I’ll bet you’re 4 times as that much once you learn how to fly!” “Wow, thanks RD,” Scootaloo grinned and hopped on her scooter, puttering along next to her idol as she trotted along back towards Ponyville. “So, what else ya got planned for today?” “Oh crap,” Dash paused in her tracks for an instant. She was supposed to be watching the Acres for those two creepos…what if they snuck back near the town while she was showing off…what if they messed with Scoots, her biggest fan? Or messed with Volare again like she was positive they’d already done… “Nopony messes with my friends or my fans…not on my watch,” she growled before she realized that her orange companion had stopped a few feet ahead and was looking back at Dash in alarm. “What’s wrong, RD?” “Oh, um, nothing Squirt,” the rainbow Pegasus shook her mane. “I just, um…forgot something on the other side of town, that’s all.” “Forgot something like what?” “A couple of somethings, actually. Gonna be pretty busy with them to tell ya the truth, so why don’t ya run along back into town, eh? I’ll catch up with ya later, ok?” “Aww, ok,” Scootaloo’s face fell for a moment before Dash mussed her mane again, causing her to chuckle before she buzzed away on her scooter, her small wings pushing her along the ground with great speed like tiny plane propellers. “Heh, cute kid,” Dash smiled before turning back to the eastern edge of town. Back to the spy games… With a whoosh of air forcing the grass along the roadside flat, she took off into the air again, headed towards the Acres and snagging one of the few clouds she’d spared earlier on the way there. “Good thing I didn’t clear all you guys out, eh? Heh-heh.” She nestled down into the fluff and resumed her waiting game between Fluttershy’s cottage and the northern edge of the orchard, hoping that Big Mac was still keeping an eye on his end. …sure you’re not watching for somepony else? Oh knock it off, so what if I am? …perhaps you’re worried The Hurricane will improve him past you, eh? Meh, Fluttershy’s good, but she’s not THAT good! …only time will tell. Yeah, and once he gets back in the air, it’ll be time for him to REALLY learn a thing or two about flying! … Within reason of course! …that’s better. Yeah, I think I’m losing it…Volare’s gonna pay for this one of these days. ---------------------------------------- “And that’s the story of The Karate Kid,” Volare leaned back in his seat smiled at Fluttershy’s wide-eyed expression. “A real underdog story if there ever was one. I think humans like those stories the most because Earth is full of adversity and…well, I guess we like seeing one’s efforts pay off in the end, especially against all odds, and-Fluttershy, are you ok?” “Oh! Mhm, I’m fine,” she shook her head twice before cocking it over to the left, her eyes never leaving his, a thoughtful air growing about her. “…what, is there something on my face?” the pilot chuckled nervously. “No, not at all; I’m just thinking about what you said about the movie, that’s all.” “Heh, it wasn’t all that great of a movie, Fluttershy.” “But it certainly seems that way.” That’s only cuz your data set is small…heh I guess I got a little Twilight rubbing off on me. But he decided to humor the mare for the moment. “Ok, what stood out the most to make it seem so great to you, Fluttershy?” “Well, it wasn’t any one thing, really. More like, hrm…it’s hard to put a hoof on it,” she thought for a moment. “Ok, you remember how you said that I’m like Mr. Miyagi because we both had methods that seem originally seem strange, especially when taken by themselves?” “Mhm, I do.” “But when put together, they make sense,” a strange, excited smile began spreading across her face as she spoke. “For example, the ‘wax on, wax off’ scene. At first it just seemed silly, but in fact he was helping Daniel to build muscle memory for his karate lessons later.” She paused and tilted her head again. “Remember that wing motion I told you to keep in mind, the one we’ve been repeating on your crippled wing for several days now?” “Yes…” Whoa, wait a second here … “Do you remember why we’ve been doing those?” “Um, yeah, you said so my wing doesn’t shrivel up.” “Why else do you think we were doing that?” Flutteshy’s smile was practically Cheshire now. After a moment’s thought, the realization hit Volare like a ton of bricks. “What…no, no way, that’s just…that’s crazy!” “What’s crazy? The exercises for muscle memory part?” “Well no, not that…I mean, yeah, the parallel is uncanny, but,” Volare shook his head in disbelief. “I never thought about that!” “Those aren’t all the distinctions I saw, Volare.” When the pilot gave her a curious look, the mare explained herself. “You said that even though Mr. Miyagi could beat anyone in a fight in the movie, he preferred to settle things peacefully, right?” “Right…I guess that kinda is you, huh? Especially in regards to The Stare; what a weapon, huh?” He grinned. “Hee, it’s useful in a pinch,” she blushed slightly at the compliment and continued. But as she did, she became rather quiet. “There’s one more thing I saw between me and him, Volare.” “What was it?” “Well…remember how Mr. Miyagi was a World War II veteran, even receiving some awards for his actions?” She withheld her questions about the war for now, drawing the conclusion that if there was a second world war than there must have been a first…Volare’s planet didn’t exactly sound like her type of place to be. “The Medal of Honor, yeah. That group he was with, the 442nd Infantry Regiment was the most-decorated to come out of that war.” “Mhm, but he didn’t seem terribly proud of it,” Fluttershy continued, her voice growing even softer. “Well, he said it was something he was required to do, and he did it to the best of his abilities,” the blue Pegasus said. “But Fluttershy, except for that skirmish against the Changelings, you haven’t been in any wars, have you?” “No…” “Then where’s the connection you see there?” Fluttershy sighed softly and raised her gaze from the tabletop to his own. Her eyes, full of excitement moments ago, were now full of worry. “Volare, I want to tell you something important…I’m just a little ashamed that it took you telling me about a movie to get me to say this.” “Ok,” the stallion leaned across the table, doing his best not to show too much concern and spook Fluttershy. She’s been so strong since I’ve gotten here…why the sudden change, though? The yellow mare’s blue-green eyes drifted up to the corner of the room, where THE HURRICANE banner was hanging. “Volare, how did you come to know about me?” Her question caught him by surprise; he nearly answered “from a TV show,” but he quickly recovered. “Oh, um, well Big Macintosh first mentioned you when we were trying to figure out who to take me in while Twilight was out of town. He said that you could also help me rehabilitate myself.” “Yes, but how did he refer to me?” “Ah, I see…as The Hurricane.” “Is that how you define me now?” “Huh, Fluttershy I don’t understand”- Her gaze returned back to meet his. He couldn’t quite define the emotion filling her eyes, but it seemed almost like…disappointment. “Do you see me as more than just The Hurricane, now that you’ve gotten to know me better?” Dammit, now he was really stuck! He’d known her as anything but The Hurricane before he’d even met her, so how the hell did he answer this one truthfully?! “Fluttershy, I…” He trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, Volare,” she sniffed lightly. “It’s just…I’ve felt like Mr. Miyagi did in that movie for a while now in regards to my behavior…” She sniffed again, and hung her head. Ok, now Volare was worried! He grasped her hooves in his and squeezed gently, bringing her vision back to his; her sea-blue eyes peeking through the strands of pink mane, almost as if they were hiding from him of their own accord. “What do you mean, Fluttershy?” “What I mean is…for a good while now, I’ve felt like other ponies have defined me by my behavior and the deeds I’ve done. But the problem is, most of the time, I’m quiet and out of the way; the only time I do deeds that get noticed always seem to be negative, or aggressive, or scary things like me being overly assertive, the animal incident at the Grand Galloping Gala, The Stare, or me being called The Hurricane for my efforts this past spring.” “But that last one doesn’t seem so bad,” he replied in an attempt to gloss things over somewhat. “But that’s not me, Volare,” Fluttershy raised her head to the point that her mane slid away from her face, revealing two distinct tear trails glistening on her cheeks. Volare couldn’t help himself, and he slid around the table and sat next to her, spreading his left wing across her back and held her close, doing his best comfort his mentor who until now he thought had become invincible to a degree. “That’s not how I want to be known. I don’t want you or anypony to be intimidated of me because of what I’ve done.” “Ah, I see now,” he nodded and stared at the table. Now he saw why she seemed to do an about-face in emotions when she asked if he was scared of her. He didn’t think she felt so strongly about this… “I don’t want to be defined by aggressive actions, even the ones I had to take out of necessity. Just like Mr. Miyagi,” she wiped her face with a hoof and turned to stallion. “And I just feel so terribly guilty about this whole situation, Volare.” “What, how? You didn’t do anything wrong, Fluttershy!” “Yes, but I played up my reputation as The Hurricane too much, I think,” she explained. “I feel like I should have told you sooner about who I truly was instead of you continuing to think I was some all-knowing master of flight. I’ll bet if you knew the truth you wouldn’t have put such blind faith in me knowing what I was doing; but the truth is, this rehab situation is like nothing I’ve ever dealt with. I’m learning as I go along, just as you are…I’m sorry.” “Fluttershy, it’s ok. I”- “Did they get you thinking that way because they told you about how much I increased my wingpower in a few days for The Water Tornado; that I must have some secret technique or something?” “Well, they did mention it, yeah.” Nice save, Volare…lame. “Well the truth is this: I began with .5 wingpower,” she frowned at the memory. “After training myself for a few days, I came back and had my wingpower tested again. It came out to 2.3.” “That’s actually a pretty impressive improvement, Fluttershy,” Volare said in what he thought was a helpful tone. But it only served to make Fluttershy pound the table with a hoof. “Is that what they told you? Volare, do you know what the average wingpower of the other Pegasi that day was? 10…and I was a measly 2.3…” “Ahh, jeez-I mean, come on Fluttershy, that’s not so bad…better than me right now, right?” “But that’s only because of your injury…before that, who knows what you were at, especially if you were keeping up with Rainbow Dash.” “Well, I think she was messing with me a little…or a lot, more than likely,” Volare chuckled lightly, trying to cheer his friend up. But nothing seemed to be working. “What happened after that?” was all he managed to ask. “Well, the day of The Water Tornado came, and the other Pegasus ponies, the ones not missing and sick from the Feather Flu, had to get their combined wingpower up to 800 to move the water up to Coudsdale.” “Mhm, I remember that.” “How much did they tell you I contributed?” “Well, Twilight didn’t say specifically, actually,” Volare replied, wracking his brains for the numbers but realized she hadn’t mentioned anything concrete. “The other Pegasi got their combined power to 795, and that’s when I jumped in, something I didn’t even want to do in the first place…did she tell you about that? Did she tell you I was scared stiff?” “Well, no…” He kinda guessed she’d be nervous, but not that nervous, especially after getting to know her these past few…oh…now I think I get it… “Oh Twilight…guess she couldn’t have convinced you to come to me for help if you knew the whole truth,” she shook her head and continued. “I jumped into the tornado and added my wing strength to theirs, and we managed to bump it up to 801, pulling the water up into the sky.” “But that’s great, Fluttershy! Without you, they”- “Volare, you don’t understand…even with me, they only gained 6 more wingpower…I’m still a weaker flier than most of them,” she held her face in her hooves. “I dunno why they even gave me the title The Hurricane if I was still such a weak flier. You see why I almost resent that nickname now? Why I don’t wanna be known first as The Hurricane and Fluttershy second? That’s what I’ve felt guilty about, Volare. Because without that lie, you wouldn’t be here…” “Aww, Fluttershy,” he hugged her gently as he spoke. He wanted so badly to get his own guilty secret off his chest at that moment, if anything to simply make her feel less alone in carrying such a heavy weight all the time, but as upset as she was, he knew that was a horrible idea. Instead… “I think I know how you feel.” “Hmm?” “Not personally, but I mean I understand what you meant; that you’d rather be known for who you want to be, not who you had to be, am I right?” At her simple nod, he continued. “However, if I were you, I wouldn’t resent that distinction of The Hurricane. Heh, you’re doing better than me cuz knowing myself, I’d probably let the fame go to my head a bit. But you’ve got a smart noggin on your shoulders here,” he patted her mane gently, bringing the softest of curls to the corners of her mouth. “You’re not letting what you did in the past: The Stare, The Hurricane, the scary little mental breakdowns-ow,” he chuckled as she hoofed him in the shoulder at that last comment, her smile growing a bit as she did so. “Heh, my point is you’re not letting those things define who you are, and for that I commend you. And in regards to your actions with The Water Tornado and The Stare…as aggressive and out of character as those things were for you, I also commend you for doing what you needed to do, despite how scared or reluctant you might have been in those situations. Those decision took a lot of guts, Fluttershy, more than many people I knew ever had. So I say instead of repressing those things in fear of them taking over who you are all the time, embrace them for who you can be when the time comes.” He nudged her shoulder lightly to get her to look up at him and see him smiling brightly. “Just don’t let those things define you, and keep being the you that you wanna be, and it’ll work out just fine. I don’t think you’re a phony; look at what you did for Big Mac, Iron Will, and your animals. Look what you’ve done for me so far. And as for your actions that led to you being called The Hurricane; you threw away your fear to help your friends and achieved real results! That’s not fake! And heck, if anypony thinks otherwise, I’ll vouch for you if I have to-hey!” He gasped a bit as she suddenly threw her hooves around him and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder and sniffling for a bit. It wasn’t all-out crying, but it was close enough for it to wrench at Volare’s heart. He simply held her there for a long, long moment, letting her hug out whatever emotions that might have been welling up in her. “T-thank you, Volare,” she finally said, looking up at him with wet eyes, though she also wore a smile that eased his worries. “Thanks for…for seeing who I really am and not being mad at me.” “Mad? How could I be mad at you, considering all you’ve done for me? Heck, you don’t think I’m whiney so it’s the least I could do, right?” He wasn’t even really all that upset even though he’d basically been tricked into coming here. But would you have really come if you’d known the truth from the outset? Hrm…probably not…dammit Twilight, why’ve you gotta be so damn devious and smart!? Speaking of which, he wondered how her search was going… “Thanks, Volare…for letting me get that off my chest.” She finally released him from her embrace and looked down at her uneaten spinach, a little more color than usual flushing her cheeks. “You’re very welcome, Fluttershy.” Hope you can do the same for me if I ever get up the nerve to tell YOU guys the truth about what I know… “Hey, I don’t mean to change the subject, but I was kinda wondering...” “Yes?” “What other connections did you see between The Karate Kid and this situation?” It was now her turn to be caught off-guard by his question, and she shook her head with a giggle before responding. “Hmm, you said it’s an underdog story, right? Well, isn’t that kinda what you are right now?” “Ah, I see what you mean,” he grinned sheepishly. “Guess the odds are kinda against me, huh?" “Indeed. But that’s far from all. You’re a stranger in a strange land, trying to make his way in the world without a desire to cause trouble, but trouble seems to find you anyway, right?” she tapped her hooves together to emphasize each fact as she spoke. “You can say that again, though a lot of it’s my fault, heh-heh.” “Even so, it still does, and you’re fighting through it.” “Well, at least I’m not being jumped on by thugs…unless Angel Bunny counts,” his response drew a long chuckle from both Pegasi. “Speaking of which,” he glanced back and forth, actually rather surprised he hadn’t been jumped when Fluttershy hugged him. “I haven’t seen him in a good while. Where is the little rascal?” “Oh, him…I gave him a good talking to the day that he jumped on your head,” Fluttershy explained. “I told him that if he didn’t have anything nice to do or say to you, that he was better off leaving you alone because you’re here until you get better or at least until Twilight comes back.” “Guess he doesn't have many positive things to say to me, huh?” “I suppose not…as for where he’s been lately,” she glanced towards the back door. “He’s been outside a lot. Maybe he’s out there with Iron Will watching him exer”- She suddenly stopped mid-sentence and gave Volare a knowing grin. “Ok, you’re smiling like the fox that robbed the farmer blind,” the pilot placed his hooves on his hips, a rather difficult maneuver for a pony to pull off, even when sitting. “What’re you thinking?” “Remember how I said we should find you a partner closer to your speed; someone that’s not so far ahead of you in flying that you don’t feel like you’re being left in the dust?” She stood up and trotted towards the back door as she spoke, Volare rising and following her. “Don’t remind me,” he groaned lightly. “But yes, I remember.” “Well…how about Iron Will? He can’t fly and I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help you build up your strength.” “Um, I dunno if that’s the best idea,” Volare raised an eyebrow as she opened the door, only to reveal a minotaur-less backyard. Just as he was about to ask where the rather-hard-to-miss blue guy could have disappeared off to, he yelped in surprise as half a dead tree landed just outside the picket fence that bordered the yard. “Whoa, what the hell!?” “Heh-heh, sorry about that Spike-head!” a gruff voice called from off to the side of the yard. As Fluttershy and Volare followed the laugh, they were soon greeted by the creaking and cracking noise of splintering wood and the sight of Iron Will literally punching dead trees at the edge of the Everfree Forest to splinters as Angel Bunny watched from the fence. As he broke the trees to pieces, the minotaur placed his horns under the timber and tossed it high into the air, most of it landing near the house in a heap. Shae was up in her tree silently observing the commmotion, looking more than a little annoyed that she had, yet again, had her nap interrupted by some crazy and loud creature. She turned her attention to Fluttershy and Volare as they watched Iron Will work. As each piece crash-landed by the fence, Angel comically scribbled on a piece of paper he held in his paws and held it up, revealing a number between 1 and 10. He’s judging…whatever the hell that crazy minotaur is doing! You gotta be kidding me, the wide-eyed blue Pegasus thought to himself. “He’s breaking up the dead trees into firewood for the winter, Volare,” Fluttershy noted the astonished expression on her friend’s face and explained. “That’s his strength building exercise for today. Would you like to try your hoof at it with him?" Volare slowly looked from the mighty minotaur, smashing trees to bits with ease, and then back to Fluttershy with a much less-than-excited look. “Fluttershy, I think he might be a little too far ahead of me in the strength department.” “Oh, he’ll go easy on you, I’m sure,” Angel Bunny heard her speaking and turned to snicker silently at the shocked stallion for a moment. “Fluttershy, lemme let you in on the plot of another underdog movie: Rocky 3.” “Oh, what’s that about?” “It’s about a boxer named Rocky who gets his butt kicked by another big boxer named Clubber Lang, all because he underestimates him.” Volare pointed to himself and then to the minotaur. “Me: Rocky. Him: Clubber Lang. Me: Hell no!” As he spoke, Iron Will chopped off a tree limb the size of Volare with a single blow and kicked it high in the air where it landed upright in the growing pile of firewood. “As friendly as Iron Will is, I’d rather not even take the chance.” “Hee, yeah, I think I see what you mean now,” Fluttershy blushed terribly. Even Shae seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly. True, though she viewed Volare as a bit of a burden, the proud osprey would still rather not see him accidentally broken to pieces by Iron Will either. “It’s ok,” Volare sighed and hung is head. “I’ll figure something out sooner or later…” “Well, tell you what,” Fluttershy nudged him. “Since you already took the morning to go hunting with Shae, and I need to get some supplies for my pets as well as food for us…how about you take the afternoon off and come with me into town, hmm? It’ll give you a chance to catch up with the ponies in town and maybe we’ll find somepony to help you out too. You feeling up to going into town?” “Absolutely!” Volare smiled, realizing it had been some time since he’d had contact with anyone besides Fluttershy, Iron Will, and Shae. “When do we leave?” “Lemme get my saddlebags and we can go. Iron Will!” “Oh heya Fluttershy,” the minotaur waved. “What’s up?” “Volare and I are going into town for a bit. Keep an eye out while I’m gone, please?” “You got it!” he flashed a smile and a thumbs up before returning to his work. ---------------------- Rainbow Dash was awoken from the nap she’d slipped into above the cottage by the sound of Volare and Fluttershy trotting down the path towards Ponyville. As much as she wanted to follow them to see what all they were going to do, she knew she had a duty she’d promised to uphold. She slapped herself awake and scanned the tree-line of the Everfree, watching for intruders and beginning to wish that they had gotten the Royal Guard involved after all. At the very least, they could rotate shifts in and out, but here she was, balancing weather duty in the morning with stunts and tricks with the Rainbow Dash fanclub (of one she thought glumly), as well as creep patrol. “Then again, if anypony’s up to the task, it’s me,” she whispered with a grin. She settled down on the cloud and kept her eyes riveted on the forest, her vision flicking between Fluttershy’s cottage and the trees…but soon the warm afternoon sun and her own physical exhaustion/laziness began to take their toll. Within minutes of waking up, she had fallen asleep again. Well, it’s not like it’s my fault…hrm, didn’t Volare and Twilight say something about why Pegasi like me are tired all the time…oh well…zzzz ---------------------------- “Darling, it’s been simply too long since we last did this,” Rarity cooed as she slipped up to her neck into the warm water of the spa bath. Her smile shown through the mud mask heavily applied to her face as she literally soaked it all in. “But I thought we did this last week, just like every week,” Fluttershy replied, a bit distressed despite the soothing bath, and rightly so! She and Volare hadn’t gotten three hoofsteps into town before Rarity spotted them and practically tackled them both, saying she’d been worried those two had either fallen off a cliff or had taken to doing other things in their cabin in the woods, a joking statement that still caused Volare to face-hoof heavily and Fluttershy to blush as pink as her mane. “Come on Rarity, knock it off,” Volare had groaned. “She’s helping me rehabilitate my wing and nothing more; you know that full well.” “Oh, I know Volare,” she tittered. “I’m only having a bit of fun. How has your recovery been coming, since we’re on the subject?” The two Pegasi quickly explained the situation, and that they were at a bit of an impasse until Twilight figured out exactly what spell she used to save his life and reattach his wing. “That’s actually something I’ve been a little worried about. Has anypony gotten word back from Twilight on how things are going there?” Volare asked. “No, not that I’ve heard,” Rarity replied. “But I know how you can find out.” She led them to Twilight’s Library and called for Spike, who was more than pleased to see Rarity knocking on the door. The baby dragon was quickly briefed on the recent events and how Volare would like to know how Twilight’s mission was going, or if Spike had gotten word from her at all. “No, nothing on my end,” Spike shrugged. “Which might mean she and Celestia or Luna are either seriously involved in debate so crazy they can’t send out letters, which I kinda doubt, or,” a little worry leaked into his visage. “She hasn’t met with the Princesses yet.” “Oh no,” Rarity gasped. “What if her train never made it there? What if it crashed and fell off the mountain? What if Twilight is hamming it up with Canterlot upper-class…without moi? Forget the train crash, that would be THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!!!” Rarity began to swoon backwards, but just before she hit the ground, she magically dragged a nearby bench over for her to fall on…and fell right into the lap of Lyra! “Oh, heya Rarity,” Lyra grinned down at the shocked white Unicorn. “Long time no see, eh? Oh, and it’s Volare and Fluttershy! Volare, ponies around town have been wondering where you disappeared off to, so I’ve just been telling them you’re out at Fluttershy’s getting treatment for a wing injury; gotcha covered,” she threw him a small salute and a wink. “So how goes the wing rehab?” Rarity quickly clamored out of the green Unicorn’s lap and got to her hooves, composing herself to appear a little more lady-like. “Well, it’s a little give and a little take at the moment, Lyra,” the pilot smiled sheepishly. “In fact, we were just talking about how we’re kinda stuck with it until Twilight figures out the correct spell to use to totally fix it; that’s why she’s up in Canterlot.” “Oh, well that explains where she went,” Lyra nodded. “Seems she kinda up and left without telling too many folks because everypony that’s gone to the Library has been kinda surprised to see just Spike in there. But he’s handling the place pretty well, from what I’ve seen,” she gave the proud little dragon a wink. “He hasn’t burned it down, so that’s a plus.” “Urgh, why does everypony assume that’s what I’ll eventually do to the place?!” Spike threw his claws up in the air in frustration. “Dragon,” Rarity, Lyra, and Volare all said in unison before bursting into giggles. Even Fluttershy had to suppress a few of her own before they settled down again. “In all seriousness Spike,” Volare said solemnly. “Could you please help me by sending a letter to Celestia to see if she’s spoken with Twilight yet?” “Sure thing,” Spike nodded and grabbed a quill and scroll from inside. “Whatcha wanna write?” “Um…I guess something along the lines of asking if she’s spoken to or seen her yet, and if so, if she’s made any progress on a healing spell she promised to find; that a friend of hers is depending on her to find it, otherwise he might never fly again.” “Ok, I think that’ll work,” Spike dotted the final period and looked up. “You wanna tell her who you are?” “Um, I don’t think that’s important for now,” Volare glanced at Lyra, the only pony there who didn’t know the whole story behind how he’d gotten there. Spike caught his glance and nodded. “Gotcha, maybe later,” he rolled the scroll up and took a deep breath before spewing out a small ball of green flame that quickly consumed the letter and blew away up into the air, heading for Canterlot. “Alright, if Celestia’s not too busy, she oughtta respond fairly quickly.” “Sounds good. In the meantime,” he turned to Lyra. “How’re things at the Gilden Griffon coming?” “Oh, well, uh,” Lyra pawed the ground nervously. “Not so good, actually. I wasn’t able to get into contact with Fancy Pants to get him to sponsor the place…in fact he hasn’t been back here since last week. Probably busy up in Canterlot, but without him to sponsor the ol' GG, I dunno how we’re gonna get more business.” “Well, maybe I could help,” Volare suggested, recalling the small crowd of ponies that he and Vinyl had attracted with their little musical session, much to Lyra’s wonder. “If I can convince Vinyl it’s a good idea, maybe she’ll have a new venue to play at and bring in business for you guys!” “Wow, that’d be great, Volare!” Lyra shook his hoof heartily. “You really mean it?” “Course I do,” he smiled and gave her a wink, which she returned without the others noticing. Guess she remembers why too. “Ooh, Bon-Bon’s gonna freak once she hears about this! And in a good way for once,” the green Unicorn chuckled. “Heh, I guess I’ll find Pinkie sooner or later and get her to talk to Vinyl, then we’ll”- but he was interrupted as Spike suddenly hiccupped, inhaled, and belched a ball of flames, a letter materializing from the smoke and falling into his outstretched claw. He peeled off the sun-shaped seal and cleared his throat before reading it. “Ahem, Dearest Spike. I regret to inform you that I haven’t seen my student Twilight Sparkle in months, and certainly not in the time frame you mentioned. Quite frankly I’m getting a little concerned myself because she was due for a meeting with me over two hours ago. But I’ve never known her to be late if she can help it, so as soon as I locate her I’ll inform you. Please tell your friend that your Princess is on the case. Best regards, Princess Celestia.” Spike looked up with genuine worry this time. “Oh boy…” “Seems our dear Twilight Sparkle is in a bit of a pickle,” Rarity surmised. “Or she could simply be caught up in reading the books they have up there,” Fluttershy offered, the first time she’d spoken since Rarity had greeted them. “I mean, the Canterlot Library is many times the size of her own collection, so maybe she just got really, really distracted…?” “You know, you might be right, Fluttershy,” Spike crossed his arms and chuckled. “If Twilight gets on a roll as far as books are concerned, everypony better just get outta the way!” “Or maybe she hasn’t found what she’s looking for yet,” Volare said a bit glumly. “Aww, cheer up Volare,” Lyra patted him on the back. “I may not know Twilight as well as you guys do, but if anypony can find the book or information you need, it’d be her! And if the Princess finds her, then you’ve got two super smart ponies looking for what ya need,” she grinned, her logic lifting Volare’s spirits substantially and thoroughly baffling Rarity. “It’ll get found, just you see. In the meantime, I’ve gotta get back to the café and tell Bon-Bon the good news. Don’t be strangers, you guys; the old GG welcomes anypony anytime…within reason of course, heh-heh. See ya!” The green Unicorn quickly trotted away, having quite the animated conversation with herself as to what she’d say to Bon-Bon and how her friend would react to the news. “Well, she’s certainly a strange pony,” Rarity chuckled. “Aren’t we all though,” Volare replied. “In our own ways, of course. I think Lyra’s a good-intentioned pony.” “Yes, if a little scatter-brained, always going on about things from Earth” the fashionista smiled. “Still, you’re right, she seems mostly harmless…perhaps I should get to know her better. Oooh, if her café business really takes off perhaps I could help with the interior design and get rid of all that murk in the place!” “I dunno, I kinda like it,” Spike chimed in. “Seems kinda…” “Rustic, as Fancy Pants would put it,” Volare chuckled to which Rarity gasped audibly. “You spoke with Fancy Pants, the most influential pony in Canterlot?! Not that I closely admire him or anything,” she said with a flip or her mane. “But how?!” “He was one of the first ponies I met when I came into town,” the pilot nodded. “Said I did a good job of flying till I nearly crashed.” “Which time?” Fluttershy asked in a seemingly innocent tone but winked at Volare; she knew the pun she’d just made. “Haha, the first time. Cuz of hunger cramps if you can believe that. He’s the one that recommended the café, Rarity. So if you’re truly interested in getting to know him better, you may wanna give that interior design idea some serious consideration.” “I shall! Oh we simply must talk about it some more at the spa, or have you forgotten what day it is, Fluttershy?” “Oh, um, of course not,” she fibbed. “See, the thing is, Volare and I”- “Can come with us! Spike too! How about it, Spikey-wikey?” To Volare’s abject surprise, the baby dragon agreed. “Whoa, seriously dude?” Volare gaped, but Spike simply nodded. “Yeah, it’s relaxing. You should try it sometime.” “Uh, I think I’m ok,” the stallion chuckled nervously. “Aww, really Volare?” Fluttershy asked. “You sure? I’m sorry, but Rarity and I do this every week and I completely forgot, I swear. I mean, if it’s not ok with you, you know the way back to the cottage, right?” “It’s totally ok, Fluttershy,” he said reassuringly. “And I know the way back…but I think I’ll stay and check out the town, if it’s all the same to you guys.” “Suit yourself, darling,” Rarity consented and led them towards the spa. Volare stopped outside the building and looked about for a place to nap, honestly feeling a little bit tired. Hrm, maybe mine and Twilight’s theory was right about Pegasi lungs taking in too much oxygen he thought as he spotted a big shady tree across the street from the spa. Then again, that was supposed to only apply to ultra-athletic Pegasi…unless that means I’m getting stronger myself. He settled his back against the tree and observed the scene about him before allowing his eyes to slide shut. His ears flicked with the bustling sounds of ponies going about their business in the town, and he quickly began to tune it out as sleep approached him. But just as he was about to zonk out, he heard a chorus of higher-pitched voices headed his way. Opening his eye a crack, he watched as a strangely familiar, small orange Pegasus filly on a scooter came rolling down the sidewalk, being closely followed by half a dozen colts and fillies, all chanting something he could just barely make out from this distance. As they got closer, he recognized the rider on the scooter, and an ember of anger burned in his chest as he realized what she was being called. “Bawk, bawk, bawk, chicken! Cluck-cluck-bawk-bakawk!” The group hooted and hollered as they followed her, but nopony else on the street seemed to care as they went about their busy days, taking the children’s behavior as innocent play. Only a cripple-winged blue Pegasus under a tree paid them any heed, having been able to spot the tell-tale signs of bullying ever since he and his sister had entered the public school system. He didn’t need to see the poorly-wiped-away streak of tears running down the orange Pegasus’ face as she rolled along or the mean-spirited looks on the face of the group that was harassing her. No, all he needed to see was the look of mortification plastered on her face as she bravely rolled on, doing her best to ignore the chants being hurled at her back. He’d seen that look on his own sister’s face too many times to mistake it…or to stand by and let it continue. “Chicken-chicken, Scootachicken,” a Pegasus colt with a brown mane and red coat named Pinion jeered loudly above the rest. “Bawk-bawk, chicken can’t fly!” “Hey you!” a voice called out from beneath the shady tree they were passing under. Pinion turned to see a strange-looking blue Pegasus with a spiky yellow and black mane sitting up against the trunk of the tree. The scooter-riding Pegasus looked up at his voice. “What do you want, huh?” Pinion yelled back. “Any reason why you’re harassing that poor filly and calling her a chicken?” the blue Pegasus asked, not moving from his position beneath the tree. “If you really wanna know,” Pinion shot back. “It’s cuz she can’t fly! So why don't you back off!" “Cuz she can’t fly?!” The blue Pegasus sputtered and gathered his hooves under him. He stood up to his full height, a head taller than Pinion, and began trotting their way. He finally stopped a few feet in front of the bully and gave him a stern look before showing him his trussed-up wing. “Well I can’t fly either; that make me a chicken too?” As the blue Pegasus shot back at the red one, the orange filly slowly scooted on the other side of him until he was between her and Pinion. It seemed this guy was either nuts or on her side… “Now look here,” Pinion backed away a few steps, not used to feeling threatened like this, but Volare matched him, making sure to maintain eye contact in the same way that he did with Shae. “I don’t want any trouble.” “And there won’t be any trouble, as long as you quit harassing that little filly and be on your way. Unless you feel like being a stallion and roping me into that group of non-fliers, and calling me a chicken as well, as is the fairness of your definition of the word. Then you might have a little trouble on your hooves," he replied, his upper lip curled in a slight sneer. “Old-timer, why don’t you just mind your own business and go back to being lazy in the shade,” Pinion suggested with a haughty grin. “Lazy, eh?” the blue Pegasus laughed. “What’s your anti-definition of lazy? Does that usually involve bullying little fillies or did you have something else in mind and you just happened to pounce on an innocent kid? Seems like it’s you that needs to mind your own business and be on your way!” He emphasized the words with a light stomp of a hoof. The crippled Pegasus wasn’t backing down, and the look he was giving Pinion…it was like his angry blue eyes were burning their way into his…nope, the colt wasn’t about to tangle with this guy, even if he was crippled. The chicken wasn’t worth losing face over! “Meh, if I was in a worse mood, I’d buck your head in! Good thing you caught me in a good one today.” “Well, come back next time in a bad one and we’ll see what’s what, eh? Now get on your way!” Volare growled and flared his good wing while stomping the ground, sending the bullies scattering down the street in a tangle of hooves, wings, manes, and curses. Chuckling to himself, he turned back to the small orange filly who was standing there gob-smacked, completely at a loss for words for what had just happened. “You ok, kid?” “Um, yeah, yeah, I am,” the filly finally found her voice and grinned her thanks at the larger Pegasus. “Wow, that was amazing! Thank you!” “Heh, it was nothing,” Volare shook his mane. “Just seemed like we had a bit in common in the lack-of-flight department and I felt I should say something. Name’s Volare,” he stuck out a friendly hoof. “I-I’m Scootaloo,” the Pegasus smiled and shook his hoof with her smaller ones as hard as she could, grinning like a fool all the while. This guy just stood up for me out of nowhere…but who is he exactly...and why's he falling down like that...uh oh... --------------------------------