Outburst
Chapter 4: Outburst
The bell signaling the end of school rang out over Ponyville. Fluttershy glanced up from her animals and wondered how Dawn's first day had gone. She had briefly entertained the thought of going to meet him at the front gate, but opted not to, in case he decided to do something else before he came home.
I can't wait to hear all about it, she thought as she turned back to her chores.
Dawn trotted out with the Crusaders. Scootaloo was bouncing with excitement, her wings lifting her up off the ground before drifting back down. "Hurry! I want to get started as soon as I can."
"Well well well. What do we have here?" Dawn barely turned his head to acknowledge the derisive chortle that followed those words, seeing the pink filly he had seen glaring at him and the other Crusaders throughout the day. "Four little blank flanks all in a row, trying to get their cutie marks nice and slow."
"Great, now she's rhyming," groaned Sweetie Belle.
Dawn raised an eyebrow at the pink filly's sneer. "And you are?"
"I'm Diamond Tiara. My daddy Filthy Rich is only the most important pony in all of Ponyville. So you'd better remember that." Diamond Tiara slid like a mound of pink ooze, slinking to stand between Dawn and the Crusaders. A quick glance told him that her gray lackey, who seemed to shadow her every step, had remained where she was standing, a look of uncertainty on her face.
"I see," he said simply, "Nice to meet you." With that, Dawn brushed past Diamond Tiara and cantered over to Scootaloo and the others.
"Where do you think you're going?" snapped Diamond, glaring at him from behind, "You think you can get away with brushing me off like that?"
Not even pausing, Dawn glanced over his shoulder as Scootaloo and the other girls fell into step behind him. "If you ever happen to say anything worth listening to, I might consider paying attention."
The four trotted off, leaving Diamond Tiara standing there, her mouth flapping soundlessly. By the time she regained control of her voice, Dawn and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were long gone. "Why that little..." she growled.
Meanwhile, Dawn was leading the group into the park, where there was plenty of open space to practice in. "So those fillies were...?" prompted Dawn.
"Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," growled Scootaloo, "They're a couple of stuck-up rich girls who pick on others because they think they're better than everypony."
"And they really like to pick on us 'cause we don't have our cutie marks," added Apple Bloom.
"I see."
"Silver Spoon's not so bad though," Sweetie Belle chimed in, "It's just that she acts like a jerk when Diamond Tiara is around."
Thinking back to the differences between the two, Dawn could agree with that assessment. He thought about asking about the third pony that had followed them out of the schoolhouse, but decided not to, considering that the dark gray pegasus had hidden himself in a cloud above and wasn't doing anything.
They stopped in a grassy field, where Dawn turned to Scootaloo. "Let's begin. I want you to show me the second exercise."
Scootaloo groaned. "I thought you were going to show me a new trick."
"That comes later. For now, practice what you've already learned."
With a sigh of defeat, Scootaloo swung her wings down and rocketed upwards. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gaped at their friend's sudden ascent. They watched as Scootaloo reached the apex of her upwards journey and began to fall back downwards, only to extend her wings and catch herself with her magic. The orange pegasus drifted back down like a falling leaf.
"Again," said Dawn. This time, Scootaloo didn't protest, but launched herself upwards yet again. When she drifted back down a few moments later, Dawn nodded. "I want eight more repetitions from you. Proceed." And up she went again.
"Ah don't get it," said Apple Bloom as her eyes tracked Scootaloo's flight, "Why are ya makin' her do this over and over again?"
"Repetition breeds familiarity," replied Dawn, not taking his eyes away from the orange pegasus, "The entire purpose is to get her familiar with the mechanics of pegasus flight to the point that they become almost instinctual. The first exercise builds her magic and builds an understanding of how magic enables pegasus flight in the first place. The second exercise shows how our magic is tied to the movement of our wings. Without using as much power, she can get much more force from flapping her wings, thus generating thrust. These are basic skills upon which all more advanced maneuvers are based. Everything that comes after this will do so as a natural growth out of learning to apply what she has already learned. At this rate, it won't be much longer before she actually starts flying."
Scootaloo finished her eighth and final launch. She was dripping with sweat and was starting to breathe hard. Still, her gaze remained determined when she turned to look at Dawn, who nodded when her eyes met his.
"Well done. From what I can see, you have sufficiently mastered the second exercise to the point where I can trust you to carry it out outside of my supervision. From now on, I want you to aim for twenty repetitions a day."
Scootaloo's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. "Twenty times! You want me to do that twenty times every day."
"From now on," answered Dawn, "And, you can start to experiment with your descent. Earlier today, you were practicing how to use your magic to guide your flight. Now you can do that when you apply the second exercise and use both together. I still want you to continue the safe descent you've been practicing all this time, just to build your stamina and for safety's sake. But it won't be much longer until you don't have to bother with descending."
"And what does that mean?"
"That you'll be flying."
Scootaloo blinked in surprise and looked at her wings. "Oh. Awesome!"
Dawn's lips twitched in a light smile. "As you continue to work on it, you'll be able to feel your way through the basics of flight. It won't be very long at all at this rate. Now, we'll begin the third exercise I promised."
Scootaloo let out an eager squeal, grinning from ear to ear.
Dawn took a few steps back from his student and settled into a light crouch. "Now this is where our instruction really breaks away from typical pegasus flight techniques," he explained, "The ones you just learned operate on the same principles that regular pegasus flight relies on, most pegasi simply aren't aware of how their magic operates and won't be able to use it as efficiently or effectively as you will. But this is completely different."
With that, Dawn jumped. His wings remained tucked into his sides as he launched himself several meters into the air before dropping back down, his legs bending to absorb the impact.
For a moment, no one said anything. The three fillies stared in confusion. "What was so important about that?" asked Scootaloo, "I mean it was pretty high and all, but that was just a jump, right?"
Dawn smirked. "Perhaps I need to give a better demonstration." Once again, he crouched down and leapt. From a standing position, it was a truly impressive jump. But what really stunned the fillies came next. As he reached the apex of his leap, Dawn bent his legs and kicked out, as though he were trying to jump again. Only, instead of flailing impotently, the colt's legs seemed to push off something solid and launched him higher into the air. As he reached the top of his second leap, he repeated the process, going higher still. Up and up he went until his position was at the point where Scootaloo usually reached the peak of her rapid ascent when she practiced the second exercise. From there, Dawn simply let himself fall. However, as he was about to hit the ground, his legs kicked out once again. This time, Scootaloo felt a powerful gust of air. Dawn slowed to almost a complete stop before dropping the remaining few inches onto the grass.
"What was that?" asked Apple Bloom, after getting her jaw up off the ground.
"That was another exercise of pegasus magic, this time through the hooves," Dawn explained, "We pegasi can easily stand on clouds because of our natural magical ability. But clouds are simply condensed moisture in the air. Some clouds are magically modified to serve different purposes, such as building materials and sculptures, but they are still fundamentally just collections of airborne water, which is why none of the other pony breeds can walk on them without magical assistance.
"From there, it's not a far reach to assume that we can do the same with the air itself. That's what we are already doing with our wings after all. By expelling magic through my hooves at the moment of my kick, I bind the air beneath them into a sort of platform that I can push off of. Naturally, because air is less substantial than water, I can only keep such a platform together long enough to kick off of it. However, I can manipulate it in much the same way that I would manipulate the air with my wings, thus using it to push me even further."
"Can you stand on air?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Dawn shook his head. "A pegasus' hooves have fewer outlets than our wings do. And they are not designed for the same level of fine control that our wings are, so I can't maintain the platform for any real period."
"Then what's the point of it?" asked Scootaloo incredulously, "I mean sure, it looks kind of neat, but i don't see the big deal about just being able to jump on air."
"Just like the first and second exercises, this is a basic skill that you will eventually build upon," replied Dawn, "Once you master it, you can use it for much more than simple jumping. And once you figure how to use it and your wings at the same time, you can eventually do things like this..." Dawn abruptly vanished from sight. The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared blankly at the space he had occupied until a polite cough directly behind them caused all three fillies to leap into the air with a trio of loud yelps.
Dawn was standing directly behind them, as though he had been there the entire time and they had simply been facing in the wrong direction. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom could only gape, but Scootaloo managed to find her voice. "How the hay did you do that? Rainbow Dash isn't even that fast!"
"You're quite right," agreed Dawn, "She's nowhere near this fast. In fact, she's much faster."
"Huh?"
"It's not so much speed as it is acceleration," explained the colt, "I use my magic to eliminate air resistance in my direction of travel and prevent drag behind me. Then I use my hooves and wings to accelerate to top speed almost instantly. When I reach my destination, I use that technique with my hooves to help stop just as quickly, so it appears..." again, Dawn vanished and reappeared a few meters away before flickering to another location, "Like this." He stopped, once again in front of the girls. "I can only really use this for fast starts and over short distances. Otherwise, I simply transition back to normal flying once I reach top speed.
"The first three exercises that you've learned form the foundation of flight. Everything else you practice as you hone your flying skills will grow as a natural extension from these three exercises. Once you have finished learning the third exercise, you will no longer need my guidance to fly."
"Just like that?" asked Scootaloo, "I finish this third exercise and we're done?"
"You are practically flying already," answered Dawn, "What comes next is simply applying what you know to stay in the air. We started out this way so that you can work out how to control yourself before we begin any actual flying in order to reduce the risk of serious injury."
"Okay," said Scootaloo, deciding that she had had enough explanations for one day, "How do I get started?"
"It's basically the same as how we started. Only, instead of using your wings, you are now reaching through your hooves." Dawn lifted his front hoof and thrust it at Scootaloo, who suddenly felt a burst of air against her muzzle.
"Alright then," muttered the orange filly, "Here goes nothing."
From his perch on a high cloud, Rumble watched the entire affair. He wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but he didn't dare bring the cloud down any closer. Given how high Scootaloo was shooting up earlier, he would have been spotted quickly. Every now and then, the colt had to look around and make sure none of the weather ponies were coming to collect his cloud. He would put it back in the holding area when he was done, so he didn't feel obligated to worry too much.
It was all he could do to contain his seething jealousy of Dawn. What's so great about him? I could've taught Scootaloo how to fly if she wanted. I've always tried being nice and polite with her, like my brother said. But this guy just swoops in out of nowhere and suddenly they're like best friends. It irked him to no end. Rumble understood that Scootaloo was jealous of his natural talent for flight, but had always made an effort not to do anything that might have been considered rubbing it in her face.
"Tomorrow," muttered Rumble, "Tomorrow I'm gonna find out just what it is that makes that guy so special."
Taking to the air, Rumble set his hooves on the cloud and began pushing it back towards the holding area.
Scootaloo collapsed, panting, onto the ground, her own legs too tired to hold her up any longer. Her coat and mane were matted with sweat, her wings ruffled and unkempt. The effort of exerting her magic so much had left her completely exhausted.
"Well," remarked Dawn, a hint of amusement in his voice, "I think we'll leave it here for the day."
"That was..." gasped Scootaloo, "...So hard...it's nothing like...what I do with my wings."
"You worked really hard," said Sweetie Belle, giving her friend an encouraging smile.
"Yeah, ya just need more practice," agreed Apple Bloom as she checked the sun's position, "And Ah think it's time to get home. Miss Cheerilee's math homework ain't gonna do itself."
A low groan escaped from Scootaloo. "I'm too tired to move. I don't think I can get home."
She yelped as a sudden gust of wind lifted her off the ground. Before she could do anything, it abated, leaving her to settle onto Dawn's back. "I'll take you home," said the ebony colt.
"Dawn, you don't have too," protested the orange filly, "You don't need to carry me."
To her surprise, Dawn gave her a warm smile over his shoulder. "It's fine. Consider this a reward for your hard work."
"Huh?"
Dawn turned and nodded to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. "We'll see you tomorrow." Once again, he looked over his shoulder at Scootaloo. "Hold on tight." He spread his wings. Realizing what was coming, Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs tightly around Dawn's neck as he lifted off the ground.
With a single downward sweep of his wings, they rushed up into the air before Dawn turned and oriented on Scootaloo's house. Another flap and they were shooting off over the town, the force of acceleration making Scootaloo clench her teeth as she clung to Dawn all the tighter. Instead of maintaining his speed, Dawn spread his wings slightly and let their momentum peter out, slowing to a comfortable cruise. Taking the opportunity, Scootaloo looked down and saw Ponyville stretch out beneath them. Looking around, she could see the fields leading up to the edge of the Everfree, a foreboding dark green blur stretching towards the horizon. Looking another way, she saw the mountains leading up to Mount Equis, where Canterlot rested majestically, as beautiful from this distance as it was up close.
"This is great," she whispered.
Dawn chuckled softly. "It won't be long before you won't need me to get this view."
Scootaloo laughed along with him before lowering her head and pressing her muzzle into his withers. "Even so, I'd still like to have you with me," she whispered, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
Fluttershy hummed as she added some herbs to the soup she was preparing for the evening meal. The colors of sunset were stretching across the sky, indicating that the evening was coming on. Before long, Luna's moon would be visible on the eastern horizon just as Celestia's sun disappeared over the western one. Dawn still hadn't come back yet. Fluttershy worried a bit that something might have happened to him. The fact that he could take care of himself perfectly well seemed not to matter anymore. He was her son after all. It was perfectly natural for her to worry.
As the soup was nearing completion and just as Fluttershy was beginning to fear that she would need to put dinner off, she saw a black streak cutting through the evening sky. That streak dipped down towards her house, making it apparent that Dawn was coming in for a landing. He abruptly turned sideways and halted just as he was about to make contact with the ground, stopping so abruptly that it seemed that Fluttershy was looking at a photograph that had just been taken of him, rather than looking at him directly.
He cantered out of sight briefly and Fluttershy heard the door open and close softly. As she listened, she could hear Dawn moving about the living room, setting down his belongings, before moving to the kitchen. "I'm home," the colt announced as he stepped through the doorway.
"Welcome home," answered Fluttershy, smiling as she moved the pot to the table, where two bowls waited for their dinner.
"I'm sorry for being so late," said Dawn as he took his seat, "Scootaloo was too tired to walk after today's lesson, so I carried her home. Then I stayed so we could do our homework together."
"That's wonderful to hear," said Fluttershy as she filled the bowls, "Would you tell me about your day?"
Dawn nodded and began to recount his experiences as they ate. It was an awkwardly stilted conversation, Dawn not used to talking during meals. He occasionally tried to talk with his mouth full, only to stop when he realized he was on the verge of spitting food out with his words. At other times, he took several awkward seconds to respond as one of Fluttershy's queries caught him with a mouthful that was larger than polite, which took several tense seconds as he rushed to finish chewing and swallow.
Once the dishes had been washed, Fluttershy went on her evening rounds to inspect her animals while Dawn read quietly in the living room. A little over an hour later, with the moon rising in the sky, the two of them went to their beds. As she got ready, Fluttershy debated whether or not to tell Dawn about her encounter with that stallion in the market, but decided not to bother him with it. The last thing he needed now was for somepony to bring up the traumas of his past.
After she had finished getting ready for bed, Fluttershy took one last opportunity to check on Dawn in his new room. Seeing him resting peacefully under the blankets filled her with an indescribable warmth. He didn't even stir as she quietly walked up. Lowering her head, Fluttershy gently nuzzled the sleeping colt. "Goodnight Dawn," she whispered before leaving, shutting the door behind her.
Having developed an understanding of the classroom dynamic, Dawn was a more active participant on his second day of school. He tried to moderate his behavior so as not to take away time from the other students during discussions and even tried to help his three new friends work through difficulties during times where they worked independently.
He was still largely viewed as an oddity by the rest of the class. Given that his nature was rather aloof, he seemed largely unapproachable to the majority of the other foals, even though he was a little more talkative than the previous day. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon kept their distance during the morning, the former even refraining from any snide comments, even when the opportunity presented itself.
However, Dawn sensed that the gray pegasus colt, whose name he had learned was Rumble, was watching him even more closely and much more intense hostility than before. Still, it was considerably mild compared to what Dawn was used to dealing with, so he ignored it. However, once the bell for recess rang, events conspired to ensure that Dawn couldn't ignore him any longer.
Once again, Dawn was with the Cutie Mark Crusaders while they ate their lunch. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were making their plans for that afternoon. They were cycling through a few different activities they wanted to try their hooves at, while the colt looked on, perplexed.
"I fail to understand how any of this will help you get your cutie marks," he said.
"Well, we figure that if we try enough things that we'd find that one thing we were really good at and then we'd have our cutie marks," answered Sweetie Belle, "And besides, it's fun to try new things."
Dawn tilted his head in confusion. "I suppose..." he admitted.
The feathers of his wings twitched, feeling a foreign eddy in the air currents of their immediate vicinity. Keen senses, honed to their limit by his time living in the Everfree Forest, immediately picked up the soft sounds of breathing, the shift of hooves on the ground, the flutter of wings, the hiss of fur against tree bark. The group was sitting under the same tree they had been the previous day. And Rumble was hiding just on the other side of it. It would have been easy to write off the other colt's presence as purely coincidental, except for the barely audible signals of a pony that was clearly trying to conceal his presence.
Dawn flicked his ears, pretending to listen to the Crusaders' conversation as he tried to divine his shadow's intent. He understood that Rumble viewed him with some kind of hostility. But it was different from the pure anger and fury he had received from Applejack and the ponies he had dealt with before. It was also different from the superior sneers he had received from the likes of Diamond Tiara. Perhaps he had better start categorizing things like this. He was so focused on his attempts to discern Rumble's intentions, that he failed to notice the feathers on Scootaloo's wings twitching, her own ears swiveling to seek the source of an unknown sound. He also missed the moment comprehension dawned on her as she realized what she'd sensed.
"Hey!" Scootaloo's angry shout broke the comfortable cadence of conversation, the bright orange filly suddenly on her hooves, glaring at the tree. "I know you're there! What do you think you're doing?"
Apparently, Rumble's skill at stealth wasn't up to the standards of normal foals. Or at least, that was Dawn's initial thought. However, Scootaloo's practice with her magic had heightened her sensitivity to the flow of air around her. Without the kind of experience that Dawn had, Scootaloo wouldn't be able to discern any details about her surroundings, but she could still feel a certain "offness" about them.
"Come out here!" She snapped, her fuchsia tail lashing in agitation.
Slowly, Rumble crept out from his hiding place, looking quite ashamed to have been caught at spying. Both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were staring at him in surprise, having not noticed his presence. Dawn watched the colt out of the corner of his eye, patiently waiting to see what happened next.
"Rumble," growled Scootaloo, "You'd better have a good reason for spying on us."
"I uh..." Rumble averted his eyes, unable to meet the gazes of any of the girls.
"You know, it's bad enough that you're always bugging us. But now you're stalking us! Just how creepy can you get?" Scootaloo was positively fuming and Rumble was wilting under her glare. Worse still, her shouting was attracting the attention off the other foals in the yard, putting Rumble on the spot even more.
"What is it gonna take to get through to that head of yours?" yelled Scootaloo, "We don't want anything to do with you!"
"Scootaloo!" snapped Apple Bloom, jumping between her and Rumble, "Yer goin' too far. Ya need to stop actin' like ya got a bee in yer bonnet and calm down."
"Yeah," agreed Sweetie Belle, joining Apple Bloom, "Why are you always so angry at Rumble anyway? We get that you're jealous that he can fly. But that's no reason to treat him like this."
Scootaloo backed away from the other two fillies. "What are you talking about? Rumble's always butting in and shoving his snout where it doesn't belong."
"He's just tryin' to be friendly," said Apple Bloom. Both she and Sweetie Belle knew better than to say what they knew about the real reason Rumble kept trying to join them. The poor colt was embarrassed enough as it is. If everypony on the yard heard the truth, Rumble would probably not be able to show his face in school for weeks.
Rumble was mortified. He had been trying to work up the courage to confront Dawn when he had been caught by Scootaloo. Now, here he was cowering behind not one, but two fillies while she ladled out a liberal helping of verbal abuse. Taking his eyes off Scootaloo, Rumble could see that the other foals in the yard were now watching and listening to the confrontation. He could already hear the taunts he would be getting after this. Rumble might not have been one to care overly much about his image, but that didn't mean that he wanted to draw extra teasing onto himself. But what truly depressed him was hearing how vigorously Scootaloo was rejecting him. All he had really wanted was to spend time with her and maybe tell her how he felt. But now, he was hearing all too clearly what she felt about him.
"Don't you stand up for that wimp!" Scootaloo shouted at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, "I don't care how nice he is. A gutless loser like that doesn't belong with us!"
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's jaws dropped. They had never heard their friend say something so cruel before. Behind them, Rumble felt something break. Tears began to run out of his eyes. If he had bothered to look around, he would have seen that Scootaloo's exclamation had shocked almost everypony in the schoolyard. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were gaping at the affair. Nopony had ever expected such vitriol from Scootaloo.
Unable to conceal his hurt any longer, Rumble spread his wings and hurtled out of the yard, flying away from the school as fast as his wings could carry him. Before anypony could say a word, Rumble was a speck in the sky. He left behind a cluster of wide-eyed foals staring in the direction he had gone. Even Scootaloo was stunned, having not realized how hurtful her words must have been.
Silence reigned for a moment, no one wanting to say anything. Dawn watched the whole affair, betraying nothing about his thoughts. He merely waited to see what would happen next.
It was Sweetie Belle who broke the lull when she smacked Scootaloo across the muzzle...hard. The pegasus filly's head snapped to the side with the force of the blow, a red welt standing out against the vivid orange of her coat.
"I don't believe you," said the white coated unicorn, tears falling from her eyes, "I don't care how annoying you think he is, but Rumble never ever deserved to be treated like that." Turning sharply, Sweetie walked deliberately towards the schoolhouse, making it abundantly clear that Scootaloo wasn't to follow.
"I...what?" Scootaloo was at a loss for words.
"Ah have to say the same." There was a weary sadness in Apple Bloom's voice, one that contrasted with Sweetie Belle's explosive rage. "Ah expected that kind 'o manure from Diamond Tiara. But Ah'd never thought Ah'd hear it from you." With that, Apple Bloom turned slowly away from Scootaloo and trudged after Sweetie Belle, throwing a disappointed glance over her shoulder as she went.
Slack-jawed, Scootaloo watched her friends leave, unable to say a word. The spectacle over and done with, the other foals had lost interest and were beginning to wander away. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had taken themselves elsewhere, not wanting to tangle with Scootaloo in her current state.
Only Dawn remained, watching patiently as Scootaloo tried to come to terms with what happened. He said nothing, offering neither support nor criticism. Finally, realizing that he was still there, Scootaloo spun around, a desperate need for reassurance in her eyes.
"You understand, right?" she asked, desperate for some kind of affirmation.
"Frankly, I don't understand," answered Dawn calmly, "What is it exactly about that colt that makes you so angry." His reptilian gaze was unnerving, especially when he threw its force behind such a probing question.
Scootaloo couldn't meet his eyes any longer, glaring at the ground. "Because he's always trying to butt in."
"And why does that anger you?"
"Well, whenever I see him, even if he doesn't say anything, he's always reminding me that he can fly and I can't, that he's so much better than me. It feels like he's rubbing it in my face."
"Shouldn't that not be an issue anymore now that you are learning to fly as well?"
"Well yeah...but that's not the only thing..."
"Then what is it?"
"He pisses me off! Okay?" Scootaloo snapped out, glaring at Dawn before looking angrily away. "He's been able to fly since he was born. That's the most awesome thing ever. Even Rainbow Dash didn't start flying that early.
"But what really makes me mad is that he doesn't even care! If it were me, I would be doing all sorts of cool stuff. I'd fly with Rainbow Dash and get her to teach me all her awesome moves! I'd join races and competitions and win them and show how good I am. But he doesn't do anything. He has all that talent and he's wasting it. He doesn't care at all about how awesome he could be. All he does is lame stuff like helping his brother out on the weather team. He's just gonna end up as a nopony...a failure."
"Interesting..." mused Dawn idly, “Something in what you said sounds familiar.” He lowered his eyes and stared at the ground thoughtfully as he tried to puzzle out what Scootaloo’s words had reminded him of.
The orange filly's jaw worked soundlessly as she tried to come up with something...anything to say to that. While she hadn’t expected Dawn to jump adamantly to her defense, she wasn’t prepared for the complete lack of concern the colt seemed to show for her situation. She wasn't able find an answer to Dawn's words as a sharp summons issued across the schoolyard.
"Scootaloo! Inside right now!" Cheerilee was standing, looking at her student from the entrance to the schoolhouse and she did not look happy.
Drooping under the teacher's stern glare, Scootaloo slowly trudged towards the building while Dawn watched her leave. Now he was alone in the schoolyard, resting quietly as he waited for the bell to summon the foals back to class.
The cloud holding area designated by Rainbow Dash was a fairly large chunk of sky a ways to the east of the town, away from the border of the Everfree Forest, where the strange conditions of that region might cause the clouds to disperse or otherwise behave strangely before they could be used. The Everfree was also now the main source of the clouds the weather team had been gathering, stray wisps and clumps drifting out from over it after forming mysteriously within its borders.
Within the holding area, the clouds had been carefully placed to keep them separate. If too many were condensed together, the resulting cloud might get over saturated and be predisposed to premature precipitation. So the smaller clouds were spaced out neatly, which served Rumble just fine as the last thing he wanted to rest on was a raincloud.
The gray pegasus colt sobbed quietly, burying his face into the fluffy material. Right now, he didn't want anypony to see him, didn't want them to see just how much Scootaloo's words hurt him. Is that really what she thinks of me? Is that all that matters to her? I guess I never really had a chance with her after all. I'm such an idiot.
A slight breeze stirred his mane and the cloud shifted as more weight settled down on top of it. Sniffling, Rumble looked up to see a pair of magenta eyes gazing down at him with concern and worry.
"You okay kiddo?" asked Rainbow Dash, horrified to see Rumble in this state. She had always thought he was a nice kid. He may not have had much ambition, but he was sweet and kind and always tried to help out whenever and however he could. He reminded her of Fluttershy a little, which was probably another reason she liked him. And while she might always identify more with Scootaloo, Rainbow would always have a soft spot for the little colt.
Rumble sniffed and looked away, terrified. Rainbow Dash was probably the last pony he wanted to see him in this state. He thought about bolting. Only the realization that he could never get away from Rainbow if she decided to chase him and the comforting warmth of her wing settling over his back kept him in place. The gentle contact helped calm Rumble, making him feel a little better, in spite of what happened before.
"So what happened?" asked Rainbow, "You can tell me."
So Rumble told her...everything.
Scootaloo grumbled to herself as she glided in for a landing in front of her home. Compared to the five repetitions it had taken to get to school, seven was a disappointing number. Scootaloo blamed it, at least in part, on the fallout of her confrontation with Rumble. Rumble didn't come back for the afternoon and Cheerilee had been furious when she had learned the cause of his abrupt departure from the schoolyard.
Scootaloo had been given an hour's detention and a notice to take home to her mother, explaining what had happened. It had been almost painful to spend a full hour alone in the classroom, save for her teacher, with nothing to do but her homework. The worst part, however, was that, even if she hadn't gotten detention, Scootaloo would still have not had anything to do, as her friends wanted nothing to do with her at the moment.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom didn't say another word to the orange filly, refusing to even look at her or acknowledge her presence in any way. The moment the bell rang, they were gone before Scootaloo could utter so much as a single syllable. And Dawn was...well...Dawn. He had never been one for talking much about personal matters to begin with. And Cheerilee did not allow him to stay behind.
What he had said to her in the yard hadn't sat well with the filly either. His casual observation of her behavior gnawed at her in a way that made her feel sick inside. It felt more like she was a specimen being dissected on a table than another pony that he was actually talking to.
And now she was faced with the prospect of showing the note to her mother. Scootaloo dreaded that more than anything. What would Melon Cream say when she learned what her daughter had done?
Could this day get any worse? Scootaloo winced even as the thought crossed her mind. As if in answer to that question, she felt the breeze of an arriving pegasus wash over her back. Turning around, she saw the familiar sky-blue coat of her idol. Scootaloo was briefly elated to see Rainbow Dash land in her front yard. But that quickly changed into a sense of foreboding when she saw the solemn look in Rainbow's eyes.
"Squirt," she said, "We need to talk."
Stats
Page generated in 0.065 seconds
Total duration
984 users online
16,812 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Another good chapter I look forward to the release of the next
.
That was interesting. For starters, I finish your 3rd chapter and you post #4. 2nd, you set some very interesting pieces in place for the readers to play with. You already know what's going to happen. We only have guessing to do. And that's fun.
This was a great chapter with a lot of good things to come.
So good
when i saw the chapter name....this did not go as i expected
Seems to me that Scootaloo is more her father's daughter than she'd like to admit. Not only she got chewed out by her friends and Cheerilee, but now her idol will have some serious talk with her... And I think Melon will mainly focus on grounding her daughter than another lecture, though some words will surely be said.
oh damn. shits about to start flyin' . she's sounding like her father now
i tuned it to equestrian and this is what i saw
Chapter 4: Outburst
The bell signaling the end of school rang out over Ponyville. Fluttershy glanced up from her animals and wondered how Dawn's first day had gone. She had briefly entertained the thought of going to meet him at the front gate, but opted not to, in case he decided to do something else before he came home.
I can't wait to hear all about it, she thought as she turned back to her chores.
darnit it didnt work
change it to equestrian and see what i saw cE=
oooh shit
wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait watt wait wait wait wait
nothing can make scootaloo that MAD this says so
she couldn't do that could she
A
STUPID, FAT HOBBIT!
And was very impressed how Dawn just brushed Tiara and Spoon off like that.
this is good iv been waiting to see that somethang like this happen great job
DAMN YOU SEMI CLIFFHANGER MAN!
Get it? It's Semi cause we can kind of guess what's coming...
Silver Spoon is actually a
changelingCult SolarDecepticonnice pony.Our boy Dawn seems to analyze everything with an objective neutrality. He seems to have a basic understanding of emotions insofar that he understands most of his own emotions and directed hostility, but other than that it is like he has forgotten how to feel empathy for another person. It is funny, if little sad how out of tune with himself he is. Even though Scootaloo tried to explain why she felt the way she did, you can tell that he did not really understand her feelings. He understood on an intellectual level, but Dawn is truly one who has completely closed his heart and is just starting to open it again. Not sure how one goes through the process of learning how to feel again, should be interesting to read.
Is it odd that I can (mostly) understand how Dawn blinks around like that?
Haven't read yet, but Dawn is like a little Samuel L Jackson, Jet Li, Goku Hybrid. Insta Fav and upvote. I'll read and comment after I'm done with a fic I have to work on and finish up.
Thanks for making such an interesting OC. I love the martial arts. Very inspiring, although a word on pegasi martial arts. We have an External Martial Art style used by the guards that uses their wings as blades. So I'd think that External Martial Arts with Pegasi [or adapted by Pegasi from other schools] would at least train the wings for some combat uses. Since it's been shown as possible in the show [that and a wing can hold and lift a pegasus's body like any other limb]. But your story, your martial art, your rules I guess.
Although I mentioned that due to Rainbow's words last fic on Steel Hooves, which sounds more like an Earth Pony style that could be modified to fit Pegasus and Unicorns [also why the whole wing thing wouldn't be used. Since EP don't have those]. While Gale King seems more of an Internal / Magical Martial Art, so much more potent.
Keep up the good work and I'll make sure to comment when I can get to this fic.
Don't worry, Rumble will run away from home only to come back eight years later riding a Harley and covered in tattoos. No one's gonna just brush him aside any more.
I forsee Rumble getting severely pissed off at Dawn's caually dismissive nature.
I actually liked the physics explanation. While it could work in theory, it most definitely wouldn't actually happen that way. But hey! That's where Japanese logic comes in, right?
I have said it before and I'll say it again I approve of this Scootaloo shipping!!!! Also I kinda feel for Rumble on this one.
Man, Dawn is so insensitive! Show some opinion and emotion, man! Well, that certainly backs up Red River's assumptions!
...Damn Scoots. That's just harsh.
Poor Rumbly... [Yes, i call rumble rumbly. I make up random ass names for different ponies.]
Dagnabbit, yet another word I didn't know! With all the stuff Scootaloo said to Rumble, you had to break me out of the moment with a strange new word!
Jk, though, I really do enjoy this fic. Keep up the good work.
4452470 The author's notes did say he has a major in education. I would probably say his skill resides in English.
So he can e walk on air and water vapor, but not water itself? Really?
Sonido, Shunpo, Phantom, Mirage step, Lightspeed.
Fascinating take on the classic trick. And the physics do work better than a lot of pony physics.
Scootaloo's ad's legacy here. She unknowningly gain that bit of bad trait.
Oh boy.
This is a bit late, but...aww heck. Fluttershy is Best Mama.
Had to tempt fate didn't you Scootaloo?
i enjoy the view point u have for this series
This, I STRONGLY suspected that this was where you were going with this, And it goes a great way to dispelling some of the "gary sue"ness of the character Essentially He's Extremely fast but only over VERY short distances.
I understand that Dawn's behavior was nearly as unacceptable as Scootaloo's treatment of Rumble, but I would give him a pass seeing as he isn't exactly well versed in the art of etiquette given his history.
R.I.P. Scootaloo.
3016180
I both agree and disagree with you on this matter. While I think Dawn should have at least shown surprise or horror at Scootaloo's persecution of Rumble, I would say that Dawn doesn't know these people/ponies well enough to judge her pure disdain. Given the short time that Dawn has been in Ponyville, it is possible that Rumble had done something to Scootaloo in the past, and given Rumble's hostility towards Dawn, he can only assume that Rumble purposefully hurt Scootaloo on purpose. We, as the readers, know that this is not the case, but Dawn would have no idea about any existing history between Rumble and Scootaloo.
Not only is this a great chapter, it contrasts spectacularly with A fault in our cutie marks. Scootaloo saw in rumble what her father despised/aspired for and channelled her father. In the show, DT was a bitch...because her mother was too? It didn't really hold up. Her cutie mark centric teasing didn't really apply to her home situation the way scootaloo's acting out does. I hope Dawn takes something away from this, either that he has to teach scootaloo to be nicer or that he should reach out to be friends with Rumble.
I'm rereading this, and I now have some thoughts about this. Neither Scootoloo or Rumble are in the right. Both of them were stupid. Scootoloo is jealous of Rumble, and angry because he doesn't give two shits about being talented. Rumble is jealous of Dawn, because he got close to Scootoloo while Rumble failed. It seems like this would make it clear that Scootoloo is in the wrong, and if this was all, it would be the case. However, Rumble was acting like a creepy little stalker, this driving this into the grey area of them both being wrong.
You are too good at writing. I've stayed up till half-past three in the morning reading this far, and I think I may read some more.
8113389
Except that he isn't an adult with the knowledge to understand why it's creepy to follow someone around. He's just a child dealing with his first(?) crush who suddenly seems to be enamored with another boy. His reactions are perfectly normal for his age and experience, and this is the kind of moment that teaches him not to do things like follow people secretly and spy on them.
10136479
What I said was basically "While Scoots is mostly in the wrong, Rumble's behavior is pretty bad too." What you said is that Rumble doesn't understand that his behavior is creepy, and this is a teaching moment for him. It feels like you're still trying to excuse the behavior, despite saying that it is creepy, because he's a child. If your intent was not to argue that it's perfectly fine for him to act in a stalker-ish manner because he's too young to understand that it's wrong and instead to just add on to what I was saying, then why start it off with "except"? If it was your intent to do so, then why not also argue the point for Scootaloo? She's the same age as him, she doesn't understand that it's wrong to hate him, this is a learning moment, ergo she's also not in the wrong for yelling at him and calling him a gutless loser. Both of them exhibited bad behavior, both are kids, generally you don't understand what's wrong with your behavior when young, but it seems that since Scoots has the more "explosive" behavior she's treated as being the one doing the wrong, while Rumble's own negative behaviors are overlooked.
10137092
Scootaloo does have the knowledge and experience to know and understand why being a bully is not acceptable behavior.
It would be different if there was a scene a couple chapters back where Thunderlane took him aside and explained that he shouldn't spy on her after catching him watching her at the party or something of the like, but that didn't happen.
Scootaloo may lack the life experience to understand why she is so angry, but she has been bullied and should know that no matter how upset she is that is not a good reason to bully someone else.