Any Movement That Isn’t Backwards is Forwards
Scootaloo was short for a pegasus. The fact didn’t escape her as she beat her wings at a furious tempo, grabbing as much height from the air as she could. Her legs dangled about a meter above the ground. Her size became even more prominent as she looked Apple Bloom in the eye.
The earth pony had inherited whatever Apple gene gave Big Mac his impressive physique, though catered towards a more muscular female figure. Sort of like Applejack with an extra foot or two of height. Scootaloo’s wings fought against gravity, but her progress stopped right at the top of Apple Bloom’s head.
“That’s probably good for now, Scoots. Don’t wanna wear you out,” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo sunk to the ground and panted. “Yeah. Was I any higher that time?”
“No.” Sweetie Belle rolled up a measuring tape and wrote down the data. “Have I mentioned that ice cream before excessive exercise is generally a bad idea?”
“You could have said it sooner,” Apple Bloom said. “But ah doubt that it would make much difference. She’s a little higher than last she checked, but only by an inch or so.”
Scootaloo bent down and stretched her wings. “So any ideas? Is it my wings? My muscles? What’s holding me back?”
“Have you tried flapping less…” Sweetie rolled a hoof around as she searched for a word. “Enthusiastically? I’ve watched the occasional pegasus takeoff, and I’ve seen none of your rampant flapping.”
“Rampant flapping, huh?” Scootaloo leveled her eyebrows. She flapped her wings slowly, gently. She rose into the air inch by inch, until she came level with Apple Bloom’s head once more.
“No change, then?” Sweetie Belle scratched an “X” on her notepad.
Scootaloo plopped to the ground. “It’s literally the dumbest thing. I can’t get any higher than that just by flapping.”
Sweetie Belle looked over her glasses. “But you can get higher other ways?”
“You give me a ramp, a scooter, and a runway, and I’ll show you ‘airtime.’” Scootaloo grinned and dusted off her chest. “Just one of my many amazing talents.”
Apple Bloom chuckled. “Anything else?”
“Well, I can jump pretty high.” Scootaloo rubbed her chin. “Really high, really.”
Sweetie levitated her measuring tape around her body. “Can I get a rough estimate?”
Scootaloo took the end of the tape in her mouth and winked. She looked up, sighted a lone cloud floating above the park, and coiled her body. She sprung.
She was weightless at the apex of her jump. She looked straight down at her friends, laughing at how small they looked from up top. She reached out with her front hooves and grasped the side of the cloud. Her back legs flailed around for a moment before she got enough purchase to scramble aboard.
The park was bustling with activity, as it always did on sunny Saturday afternoons. Foals played with balls and Frisbees. Mares and stallions sat by the fountain, reading or eating. Some just lay in the grass, soaking in the sunlight. Scootaloo looked into town, where she could see the market stalls beginning to bustle as they approached the highest sales hours.
She saw Rumble rolling paint onto Mr. Frypan’s house. The yellow paint had gotten onto his hooves, his nose, and the tips of his wings. He looked down, got a sinister smile on his face, and ran the roller across Spike’s back. The dragon reached back and felt the paint. He lifted a fist and shouted at Rumble, who flew away laughing. Spike bent down to pick up a pail of paint, doing a bad job of hiding his grin.
Scootaloo guffawed and covered her mouth with a hoof.
“Hay! You gonna come down to earth anytime soon?” Apple Bloom shouted up.
Scootaloo sat up on the cloud and beat her wings. It descended little by little, leaving tiny puffs of water vapor behind. “Yeah, yeah. Can’t a girl enjoy the view?”
Sweetie Belle scrunched her muzzle up and raised an eyebrow.
Apple Bloom took the tape measure in her mouth and dragged it to Scootaloo. “Yah jumped nearly thirty feet, Scoots! That’s gotta be a record or somethin’!”
“Not for a pegasus.” Scootaloo shrugged. “It ain’t too impressive when I should be able to do that in my sleep.”
“Sleep nothin’,” Apple Bloom said. “What we gotta do is find a way to combine yer jump with yer wings and you can just sorta bounce around. Just to get it started.”
“Like a grasshopper?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Doesn’t sound much like flying to me.”
“But it’s a start,” Sweetie Belle said. “It’s the first step in a longer journey. This could be the beginning of your quest to get better.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Especially since you ain’t been, uh, improvin’ much. Like you said.”
Scootaloo looked from one friend to the other. “I guess it can’t hurt, can it?”
“Not in the slightest!”
All three turned their heads simultaneously. Pushing a baby carriage, holding an empty leash that seemed to have a mind of its own, and wearing the spickest of spats, was the King of Chaos himself. Discord grinned with his single snaggletooth. “Hello, my favorite chaos-causing ponies! What are we talking about?”
Scootaloo took a step closer and chanced a look inside the carriage. Angel Bunny sat within, wearing a pink bonnet and sucking on a pacifier. She could almost feel the indignation radiating off the rabbit. “We’re just talking about flying and stuff. What’re you doing?”
“Just going for a brisk mid-afternoon stroll with Pudding here.” Discord wriggled the leash to keep it from wrapping around his leg. “Down, girl! Down!”
He stretched over her and examined her wings. “Ooh, finally getting down and dirty with it, then? Good for you. You know, I’m something of an aerial connoisseur myself.”
“Really?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shared a glance. The unicorn was shaking her head with fervor. Scootaloo ignored her silent warning. “Got any tip and tricks?”
Discord propped his paw on his hip. “It’s all in the magic, Scootaloo! Don’t let them tell you it’s the wing exercises. You can only get so far flapping your appendages like a maniac.” He got a wistful smile on his face. “Though, that does get you pretty far.”
He lifted his head to the sky. “Speaking of flying reminds me of the first time I met your sisters. I stole Rainbow Dash’s wings and stuffed them in a box. Good times.”
Scootaloo glared at him. He cleared his throat.
“By ‘good,’ I mean horrible, horrible times, of course. Dreadful. That was before I became such good pals with—” Discord ran his talons through his goatee. “Well, I don’t exactly know if I’d call your sisters amazing friends. Pleasant acquaintances, perhaps. Noncombatants? Yes, I do believe that is the word for it. Noncombatants.”
Apple Bloom coughed into her hoof. “Well thank you much for the advice, Mister Cord.” She draped her hooves around Sweetie and Scootaloo’s shoulders. “Ah think we’ll just take our leave an’ let you keep on enjoyin’ yer walk.”
“It was a pleasure talking at you,” Discord said. “If any of you see Fluttershy, tell her I have absolutely no idea where Angel is.”
He wheeled the carriage away. Angel Bunny waved at them in desperation as he moved far out of sight.
“You know,” Apple Bloom said, “he’s pretty good with magicy-type things. Maybe we could ask him if he know’s what’s—”
“We don’t need any more help from him than we’ve gotten,” Sweetie Belle said. “The less I see of that fiend, the better.”
Scootaloo dug her hooves into the cloud and molded it into the shape of a grinning draconequus face. “I dunno. He’s mostly cool.”
“He’s insane.” Sweetie Belle scowled. “I think he’s clinically insane. Dangerous and unpredictable.”
“By the way, Sweetie Belle,” Discord said from over her shoulder.
She screeched and sprung into the air.
Discord rested his paw on her back. “I’ve been thinking of a nice gift to give Fluttershy on her birthday. A dress, not too fancy, not too drab. You seemed to be the pony for the job.”
Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. She cleared it again, again, and a fourth time. “Stop by the shop Monday and we’ll discuss it.”
“I knew I could trust Rarity’s daughter!” He clapped her back, causing her to wince. “I’ve seen some very professional work around town with your name on it. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!”
“I’m her sister,” Sweetie Belle said, but Discord had vanished again. “Clinically insane.”
“Yeah, okay. He’s not the most ‘together’ pony in Ponyville.” Apple Bloom reached behind her head to adjust her bow. “You ready to test out the hoppin’, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo hopped off the cloud and spied a pony-less path through the park. “Hay, no better time than the present, right?”
She ran, flapping her wings at an even beat. Her hooves pounded the grass and kicked up little trails of dirt. When she felt she had built up enough speed, she jumped into the air. She felt herself being pulled upward and forward. The wind whistled by her ears and stung her eyes.
Scootaloo’s wings twisted as she tried to grab the air, to steer herself or keep her afloat. They did nothing to change her trajectory.
It was at that point that a thought crossed her mind. “Wait, where are the breaks on this thing?”
She flared her wings and brought her hooves close to her body. Her speed increased.
“Aw, son of a—”
She plowed into the loamy earth. Her body dug a ditch roughly ten feet in length. She was buried under a thin layer of dirt, her mouth full of grass and her tail in the air.
“—gun.”
Apple Bloom trotted up with Sweetie Belle in tow. She looked over the wreckage with a furrowed brow. “You okay under there, Scoots? Can yah feel yer hooves? How many hooves am ah holdin’ up?”
“F-f-five?” Scootaloo shook her mane. Soil fell like rain. “Five hundred, maybe?”
“Ah only got four!” Apple Bloom grasped Scootaloo’s chin and looked at her pupils. “Look at me and tell me yer name.”
“Scootaloo…” Scootaloo frowned. “You know my name!”
“Ah wanna make sure you know it.” Apple Bloom stretched out one of Scootaloo’s legs. “Where do yah live?”
“Quills and Sofas. Four-oh Mane Street.” Scootaloo pulled back with a smirk. “Ponyville, Equestria.”
“Fine, maybe yer not concussed.” Apple Bloom grasped her friend’s leg and dragged her to her feet. “You should still be a little more careful.”
“What can she do?” Sweetie Belle asked. “It’s not as though we could just drag a mattress out here.”
“You ready to move that there mattress, Sweetie Belle?”
“Well, yeah, but I’m not sure this is a—”
“Here she comes!”
“Wait!”
Scootaloo cut off a length of bandage with her teeth. She wrapped it around her front-left knee and glared at a busted old mattress pulled from somewhere in Carousel Boutique’s basement. A rusty spring stuck out from its fabric.
“You sure you got all your shots?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yeah, yeah.” Scootaloo brushed her mane. Dirt, grass, and a few flowers tumbled out. “They gave me that stupid one that makes all your muscles hurt.”
Sweetie Belle grasped the spring in her magic and shoved it deep into the mattress. She produced a sewing needle and thread from her saddlebags. “Shall I flip it over so that you can try again?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “What could it hurt?”
“Ouch.”
Scootaloo had nailed the landing on the mattress. Then, she had bounced off and hit the ground.
She pulled herself to a seated position. “Grasshopper-style flying may be the dumbest thing ever.”
“Well—” Apple Bloom scratched the side of her head. “Well, yeah.”
“Perhaps we should move on to some other sort of… of…” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Let’s just call it a day.”
“Seems a might anticlimactic,” Apple Bloom said. She rubbed her stomach. “But ah guess ah’m game fer some food.”
“Hay, any movement that isn’t backwards is forwards.” Scootaloo brushed off her dirty coat. “Or something.”
Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a cheesy grin. “Now if that ain’t a perfect example of a hokey sayin’.”
“Hokey pokey, yourself.” Scootaloo rubbed a sore spot on her side. “I’m with Sweetie Belle. Let’s call it a day and think of something else tomorrow. I’m not gonna survive this crud for much longer.”
Apple Bloom took the edge of the mattress in her teeth and slung it over her back. “You gonna want this back, Sweetie?”
“It’s yours if you want it,” Sweetie Belle said. “You’re both invited back to my place for supper, by the way.”
“Sorry, ah got chores to do before sundown.” Apple Bloom started the long trot back to Sweet Apple Acres. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“Fair enough,” Sweetie Belle adjusted her glasses. “How does supper at Carousel Boutique tomorrow sound to you, Scootaloo?”
“Sounds great,” Scootaloo said. “I know my folks wanna have me home for supper tonight. Mom gets kinda antsy when I’m away, you know.”
“We all have parents with idiosyncrasies.” Sweetie Belle started in place and gave the retreating Apple Bloom a double-take. She sighed when she noticed the farmer was out of earshot. “Guardians with idiosyncrasies.”
“Hay.” Scootaloo nudged her shoulder against Sweetie Belle’s. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells around Apple Bloom.”
“Just because she is not easily offended,” Sweetie Belle said, “does not mean that I should say offensive things.”
“Is it offensive if she doesn’t get offended?”
“I don’t want to take the chance.” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. “Then I shall see you tomorrow. I promise only the finest cuisine!”
“Looking forward to it!” Scootaloo waved as Sweetie left the park.
“Wow. What happened to you?”
Scootaloo looked up at her dad as she backed into the shop. She limped on her cut leg a little, but it was already feeling better. “I listened to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Again.”
Davenport laughed. “I thought you were done crusading after you got that cutie mark.”
“Nah, just time to start a new crusade.” Scootaloo wrapped her good leg around his shoulders. “Mom home yet?”
“Nope, you’ve still got time to make yourself presentable.” Davenport’s smile was uneven. “Don’t wanna worry her.”
“Then I’ll see you when my coat’s orange again.” She galloped up the steps two at a time and ignored the pain in her knee.
Her dad brushed the dust that had fallen from her leg to his coat. “Make sure you clean the dirt off the shower! I don’t want any black rings around the edge!”
Scootaloo shut her eyes as she stepped into the shower and just let the water carry the loose dirt away. The warmth soothed her aching muscles, and the refreshing steam left her feeling a little cleaner. A quick shampoo removed the more stubborn dirt and grass stains, as well as some dried blood.
Incidentally, she managed to find several stinging cuts she was previously unaware of.
She toweled off the mirror and giggled at the limp mane on her reflection. It hung over her eyes and nose. “Looks like a purple mop.”
She ruffled it until it stood up on its own. A few hasty brushes later, she considered it presentable enough for supper at home. She ran to her room, tossed her wet towel over the back of a chair, and rattled her way down the steps. She reached the first floor just as the door to Quills and Sofas opened, admitting Scootaloo’s mom.
Roseluck greeted her husband with a kiss on the lips, and her daughter with a kiss on the forehead. Davenport gathered them up in a group hug. “So, how were your days?” he asked.
“We sold plenty of bouquets today,” Roseluck said. “It’s that season where a young pony’s fancy turns to certain thoughts, after all.”
“Mine was pretty great,” Scootaloo said. “Had fun with the girls and got a little flying practice in.”
Roseluck blinked. “You mean you finally flew?”
“Well, no.” Scootaloo shrugged. “But I’m a step closer. We tried combining my jumping skills with my hovering.”
Roseluck bent down to examine Scootaloo’s knee. “Is that where this came from?” She looked her daughter in the eye, her eyebrows bent up. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
“I’m fine, Mom, it was just a scratch.” Scootaloo backed away a step while putting on her best reassuring smile. “Besides, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were there. They wouldn’t let me get hurt.”
Roseluck sighed through her nose. “Experience begs to differ.”
“Mom, we were, like, eight when that happened.” Scootaloo chuckled, though Roseluck looked unconvinced. “How were we supposed to know catapults wouldn’t help me fly?”
“Horse sense.” Roseluck shook her head and shut her eyes. She opened them after a moment and put on her best warm smile. “Just as long as you’re okay.”
“I’m better than okay,” Scootaloo said. She hopped her way into the kitchen. “What’s for supper, Dad?”
“Fruit salad,” Davenport said. He winked at Roseluck. “Your favorite.”
Roseluck tittered. “Sometimes I wonder if there should be a picture of a salad on your flank.”
“Nah, don’t wanna brag.” Davenport touched the tip of his nose to hers. “Besides, my salads wouldn’t be nearly as good without you to toss them for.”
“Hello! Starving pony in the kitchen!” Scootaloo clacked a plate against the table. “Might pass out from the sheer cheese in the atmosphere!”
Roseluck scrunched up her nose. “Wouldn’t want her to starve, would we?”
“Nope.”
They walked into the kitchen together. Roseluck dropped the day’s mail on the counter. Scootaloo sidled up and flipped through the letters.
“Anything for me?” she asked.
“I didn’t look, Honey.”
“Junk, junk, junk, bills—” Scootaloo passed a letter to her dad. “Looks like something from the Riches. Junk, bills…”
Scootaloo froze as she saw one letter addressed to her. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the return address.
Rainbow Dash
222 Jet Stream Lane
Cloudsdale, Equestria
“I’ve been waiting for this,” Davenport said as he tossed the salad. “Looks like Filthy Rich is finally looking to get some newer furniture—”
Scootaloo’s squeal drowned out his next words. “Rainbow Dash!”
Roseluck squinted one eye and straightened up. “What, Scootaloo?”
“Rainbow Dash wrote!” Scootaloo tore the letter open and began to read.
Hay Squirt,
Sorry I couldn’t visit over the weekend like usual, but they’ve been really keeping me tied down in Cloudsdale. We’re starting to get ready for the next batch of recruits, and that means making sure the safety protocols are airtight. Lightning Dust is heading that up, since she’s the one we made them for—Ha!—but that still leaves yours truly in charge of everything else.
They especially need me after all the time I spent shooting that movie. How awesome is that, by the way? Rainbow Dash: Movie Star! Remind me I gotta find a way to sneak you into a few scenes of the sequel. Now that I know the producers, I think I could pull a few strings.
I tried to convince my team I took the part to advertise the Wonderbolts, but they didn’t believe me. What a bunch of—
Anyway, the movie’s coming out next week. I’ll be coming to town next weekend, so maybe we can see it together. Until then, though, I got you three tickets so that you and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle can catch the flick. Tell your other friends how awesome it is, too!
Hay, could you do me a favor? Check up on Tank to make sure he’s doing okay. He should have plenty of food, but maybe he’d like to see a friendly face. I’ve never seen a tortoise get as restless as he does when he’s not attached to that silly whirly-copter-thing. He’s my pet, alright!
I’m looking forward to finding out how you’ve been doing! How’re your exercises coming? Have you flown yet? I heard you were gonna take a summer job with the Apples. If Applejack works you too hard, let me know and I’ll give the Lord Mayor of Ponyville a royal karate chop!
Keep being awesome, Squirt!
Rainbow Dash.
Scootaloo opened the letter fully and watched three slips of gold foil fall out. She picked them up and read. “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone: The Movie! Starring Rainbow Dash! I can’t believe it’s coming out next week!”
Davenport dished the salad out to Roseluck’s and Scootaloo’s plates. “Sounds like it’ll be fun. Are those tickets?”
“Yeah, for me and the other crusaders!” Scootaloo’s wings fluttered like a hummingbird’s. “It’s gonna be so awesome!”
“Well, sit down and eat, and you can tell us about it.” Davenport filled his own plate and sat down. “Or aren’t you starving to death anymore?”
“Ha,” Scootaloo said. She took her seat. “Ha, ha, ha.”
The sun set behind her as Scootaloo stared up at Rainbow Dash’s cloudhouse. It had been burnt down in a freak magic accident about two years ago, but had been rebuilt even bigger and better than before. There was a whole other wing, with an entertainment room for when Rainbow Dash had visitors from Cloudsdale. It had the usual books that nopony read, flowers that nopony sniffed, and chairs that nopony sat in.
Rarity and Fluttershy had insisted they stock the room themselves.
But Rainbow Dash had the last laugh. She used the room to put together her own projector studio. She could run her own movie nights with almost the same amount of quality she could get at the theater. It was a little smaller, but that came with not wanting to add an entire theater to the house.
Yet, anyway.
It also had three stories. Mostly bedrooms, with adjoining baths. It had turned into a literal cloud mansion the day Rainbow Dash found out being a Wonderbolt meant being a gracious host as often as she led a show.
What hadn’t changed was the rainbow waterfall that dissipated in midair, and the distance from the house to the ground.
Scootaloo coiled her legs, took a deep breath, and jumped. She twisted in midair, kicking her legs up high and sailing with her wings held out to catch the edge of the cloudhouse’s porch. She balanced on one wing with her legs up for a minute, and then let herself fall to her feet.
“Holy cow,” a voice said.
Scootaloo jumped back and almost fell off the porch. “Who’s there?”
“Sorry, sorry.” Rumble stepped out of the front door. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Scare me?” Scootaloo rubbed her cheek. “I was ready to punch you in the face.”
“Thank you for not.” Rumble flapped his wings once. The tips were still covered in yellow paint. “So what are you doing up here?”
“I was gonna ask you the same thing.” Scootaloo snickered. “You look like a taxi.”
“Tax—” Rumble looked at his yellow hooves. “Oh, yeah. Heh. It’ll wash off. Eventually.”
He swung his tail around and showed her the feather duster tied to the end. “Rainbow Dash hired me to housekeep for her. I come in every week and tidy things up. And I make sure it isn’t infested with flying spiders.”
Scootaloo cringed. “Those are a thing?”
“Anansi,” Rumble said through clenched teeth. “Creepiest things I’ve ever seen.”
Scootaloo shivered. She walked past Rumble into the house. “So you’re really serious about getting your debt to Silver Spoon paid back.”
“Heck yes.” Rumble followed her in. “A year is way too long to spend owing her anything.”
“My condolences.” Scootaloo walked through the white, cloud-constructed halls.
Rumble ducked into a bedroom and called out over his shoulder. “Hay, I’m still waiting for your totally-credible reason for breaking into Rainbow Dash’s house!”
“She asked me to take care of Tank this weekend.” Scootaloo poked her head into the room as he re-solidified the moisture on one cloudy shelf. “She still keep him next to the master bedroom?”
“Yeah. I’ve been letting him crawl around his room.” Rumble placed a bookend that looked like a lightning bolt next to a series of rainbow-colored books. “He’d probably like to go for a flight around the house, though.”
Scootaloo walked up to Tank’s tank. The tortoise’s habitat was basically a small house on its own. Plenty of dark places to hide, lots of nice places to sunbathe under the skylight, and more food and water than he could use in a day. Tank looked at her as she approached, his mouth turning up in a lethargic smile.
“Hi, Tank! How you doing, buddy?” She patted his head. “Have you gotten wrinklier while I wasn’t looking?”
The tortoise made a little “hmm” sound.
Scootaloo went to the other side of the room and retrieved a small propeller from a stand. She twirled the blades. “You wanna go flying? I’ve got just the thing for you!”
She strapped it to his shell. Tank held his breath for a moment, his beady eyes shut tight in concentration. The propeller spun on its own, lifting him into the air. Scootaloo ran down the hall, waving him on. “Come on, show them how it’s done!”
She led Tank out the door and let him whirl around outside. He kept to the porch and what passed for a lawn on the cloudhouse. He dipped through the rainbow waterfall, splashing little flecks of color on Scootaloo’s wings. She grinned and splashed him right back.
Rumble exited the house, a bag strapped to his back. Scootaloo raised a hoof. “Hay, Taxi! You done playing maid, yet?”
Rumble rolled his eyes and walked over. “Yeah, Rainbow Dash’s house always has really solid construction.”
Scootaloo sat down next to the rainbow pool and watched Tank zip around. “Find any anansies?”
“No flying spiders to report, no.” Rumble sat next to her and rolled his head. “Oof. Sorry we couldn’t hang out today.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that? Painting take longer than you thought?”
“Spike wanted to get it done today.” Rumble stuck his tongue out. “Do you know how long it takes to paint one wall? Two hours. Mr. Frypan’s house has six.”
Scootaloo winced. “I do not envy you.”
“I don’t envy me, either.” Rumble chuckled. “But Spike was right, it’s nice to have it done.”
“How close are you to paying it off?” Scootaloo asked.
“Just around ninety-five percent.” Rumble wiggled a hoof. “Give or take. Almost there.”
He extended his wings and gave them a lazy flap. “So how about you? Did you manage to fly?”
“No.” Scootaloo lifted her leg and showed him the bandage. “Apple Bloom got a bright idea, but it didn’t quite work out. She had me jumping and trying to hover at the same time.”
“What comes up, must come down?”
“That exactly, and when I came down…” Scootaloo brought a hoof to the cloud and made a deep impression in the surface. “Choo. Splat!”
“Looks like you came out okay, though.” Rumble grinned. “You wouldn’t be Scootaloo without a few scrapes and bruises.”
“Ha!” Scootaloo punched his shoulder. “And you wouldn’t be Rumble without a dumb comment or two.”
Rumble snickered. He fiddled with a tuft of cloud for a little bit before reaching into his bag. “Hay, speaking of dumb comments—”
Scootaloo watched him search blindly through his bag. “What’s up?”
“You know that Daring Do movie coming up?” Rumble smacked his forehead. “Who am I kidding? Of course you do.”
“Rainbow Dash is starring. Duh.” Scootaloo crossed her forelegs and smirked. “What about it?”
“Well, I don’t give the Silver Spoon Restaurant all the cash I scrounge up…” Rumble slid the bag off his back and stuck his nose inside. “I save up a bit here and there… And I managed to score a couple of tickets.”
He pulled two strips of golden foil out of the bag and presented them to Scootaloo. “So, I figured, hay, you like Daring Do and Rainbow Dash, I like Daring do and Rainbow Dash, we should see the movie together. What do you think?”
Scootaloo burst with laughter.
Rumble’s eyes darted between Scootaloo and the tickets. “Is that a ‘no’?”
“S-sorry.” Scootaloo wiped away a tear. “Sorry. It’s just that I got three tickets from Rainbow Dash literally two hours ago. Thanks, though.”
Rumble squinted one eye and tried to smile. “Wow. Talk about bad timing. I should have asked this morning.”
“Nah, we would have run into the same problem. No biggie.” Scootaloo stretched her back and fluttered her wings. “Hay, maybe you can take Featherweight or something.”
Rumble stuffed the tickets back into a small pocket in the bag. “No offense, but it isn’t really my life’s goal to take Featherweight out to a movie.”
Scootaloo leaned towards him. “Is it your life’s goal to take me out to a movie?”
Rumble raised an eyebrow. He sucked on his bottom lip. “Maybe.”
Scootaloo snorted. She pressed a hoof down on Rumble’s shoulder to help her stand up. “Here, Tank! Let’s get you ready for bed!”
She trotted away from Rumble with Tank flanking her. The pegasus stallion dug a furrow into the clouds with his hooves.
“Okay, then. Yes!” Rumble stood up and pulled up to her side. “Yes, it’s kinda my life’s goal to take you to a movie.”
“‘Maybe’? ‘Kinda’?” Scootaloo smirked. “These are words spoken like a true sissy.”
“Okay, so maybe I’m kinda a sissy.” Rumble pressed his lips together. “Scootaloo, it would be my honor to accompany you to a movie.”
“It sure would.” She tapped his chest with a hoof as they entered Tank’s room. “Some ponies would pay good money to sit next to this pegasus.”
Rumble blew a breath through his pursed lips. “Scootaloo, will you go to the movie with me?”
Scootaloo unbuckled Tank’s harness with her teeth. She looked through her mane at Rumble. “Why do you wanna go with me?”
“’Cause…” Rumble’s wings shivered against his sides. “’Cause you’re awesome, and funny, and beautiful, and cool, and I really enjoy being your friend.”
Scootaloo felt her face burn. She patted Tank on the back of his shell and sent him trundling into his habitat. “Not bad reasons.”
“No?” Rumble shrugged. “Why’d you ask?”
Scootaloo looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. She took a breath and met his gaze. “I wanted to make sure you were sure.”
“Yeah?” Rumble bared his teeth in a weak smile. “Am I sure?”
Scootaloo half-grinned. “Maybe.”
Rumble chuckled. “So, you wanna go to the movie together?”
“Maybe!” Scootaloo marched towards the front door. “We’ll have to talk schedules tomorrow! What’s a good time to meet up?”
“Uh. Ah.” Rumble ran after her. “I’ve got a bunch of odd jobs… After supper? Around sunset?”
“Hay, why not?” Scootaloo stepped up to the edge of the cloudhouse’s porch. “I’ll see you then?”
“One thing.” He held out a hoof. “Where’d you learn to do that awesome wing-stand thing earlier?”
Scootaloo tore a piece of the cloud off and stood on it. “Learn it? I invented it!”
She used the cloud to glide down to the ground, and then made her way back into town.
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Not an improvement from normally looking like a feather, huh?
So, even as teenagers they're still doing the thing where they get advice and it goes in one ear and out the other?
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In my mind's eye, they're both adorable.
Heck, I'm willing to bet that it's worse when they're teenagers!
This is...
All I can say is...
Like and favourite.
4812636
And all I can say is: Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
Spiders? Nope. Ah teen love. Smooches
Flying spiders.... that would certainly account for the times I feel like I walked into a web in the middle of nowhere.
And Scootaloo has an easy solution to her movie situation: SEE IT TWICE!!!! If Rumble can't make it during the day, go with Sweetie and Bloom during the day and Rumble at night.
4812826
Eeyup. Have fun with the bug spray.
Muchas Smoochas, as a matter of fact. Soon in coming, I might add.
4812945
Well, that'd be three times if she sees it with Dash, too. But really, her issue was that Rumble went and bought what she thought was an extra ticket. When that proved not to be the case, the point was moot.
I'm sure they'll find something to use it for.
Does Spike have wings? I hope he does. Stories that take place in the future always have a special place in my heart. So nice to imagine what happens after the "ever After," you know?
This is really good. Keep it up, man!
4812600 Ahh, I see! Thank you for answering my questions!
Giant Apple Bloom, that's a fun image.
Huh, so Scootaloo can jump really high, just not fly higher than eye level. That seems like an important detail.
Heh, that is a pretty good word for it.
If Scoots is the only pony who ends up buried in the dirt by the end of this, it's really a victory for Ponyville.
Pinkie would be proud of this plan, I just know it.
The crusade never ends!
Roseluck? Davenport? Interesting.
Ahh, future Dash in the 'Bolts, always awesome. Awesome house, too.
Dang, she really wasn't joking about the whole jumping thing.
Ahh, young love, or at least young crushes.
How expensive were those hedges, that Spike and Rumble have been working a year to pay them back?
You tease!
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He and Scootaloo are gonna have a talk about that in a couple of chapters.
Thank you! "After the Ever After" is a neat way to put it, since most of these stories don't actually focus on the Mane Six. Their story "ended," so now it's the kids' turn.
And yes, stories in the future always spark my imagination. There's something amazing about seeing the afterwards, and seeing how the protagonist's actions changed them and others.
4815643
Now, imagine her during her awkward teen years. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon probably called her "Stilts."
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Ha! No promises either way.
I gots my reasons.
A house made of clouds has a bajillion pounds of potential for renovations. I'll have to go into the architectural style in future chapters.
I just didn't wanna go overboard with the details just now.
Infatuation. Feels good, but tends to be shallow. Cross your fingers.
4819953
Well, they burned all the hedges around the Silver Spoon's outdoor dining room. Those hedges needed to be replaced pronto. Big ones, carefully trimmed and transported.
Plus, there was this little nugget from The Unmitigated Disaster:
The most fancy restaurant in Ponyville, during peak dinner hours, with Princess Twilight patronizing...
And owned by Silver Spoon.
As Rumble said later in the story:
Am I the tease, or is Discord?
4830325 Oooh, I missed the "lost business" part. Yeah that could really add up. I could definitely see Twilight letting Silver Spoon Senior gouge them a bit in his estimate, to teach them a lesson in responsibility/not stalking her on a date. I hope we get to see the hedges go in, they are probably going to be super fancy imported shrubs or something.
Yes.
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Silver Spoon Senior is letting his daughter handle most of the business, and Applejack's the one who handled the legal dispute (dragging that up to the princesses' courts would have just been embarrassing and drawn out). Silver Spoon has something of an ax to grind with everypony, and Applejack's pretty no-nonsense. Rumble and Spike didn't stand a chance.
They've been in for a while (Rumble and Spike are paying Silver Spoon back), but we'll most definitely see the Silver Spoon in all its glory.
Darn right.
4830379 That reminds me, we've seen the two halves of the adorabullies, but are they still friends as adults, or has their been the inevitable falling out yet?
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Still "friends," but the dynamic is a little different.
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My pleasure! I try to answer any questions that aren't too spoilery.
And then I had free time again, so naturally I read this. Priorities.
So much cute. Rumble asking Scoots out was adorably awkward, and for some reason Scootaloo laughing at her reflection and calling herself a "purple mop" almost killed me!
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Flatterer.
I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I sure am. Scootaloo's a ton of fun to write, and you can expect more cuteness coming up.
Plus drama and stuff, but you knew that coming in.
Aww, do they have little wingies? or do they do the silk balloon trick?
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Wings! Think "tarantulas with dragonfly wings."
They are also very, very fuzzy.
4856895 OMG IWANTOOOONNEEEE
Look what happened when I tried finding this story after seeing it a while ago:
i62.tinypic.com/207801x.png
I know I got the name wrong, but still, poor Scootaloo.
4858025
Tell you what, when flying dragonfly-tarantulas are discovered hovering around in the Amazon, you get first pick.
4858510
Oh my gosh, that's awful!
If there's one thing I've learned in my several years on the internet, it's that Google is a cruel, cruel search engine.
Just noticed this:
Do Davenport and Roseluck think their safe, responsible daughter has been coming home covered in bruises and bandages for the last ten years because she's been hanging out with Applebloom and Sweetie Bell? Do they really believe that
is getting TALKED IN to extreme sports cutie mark crusades and the likes by the other two? That is adorable.
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Well, it's been proven that Apple Bloom is the most clumsy of the three... But really, they probably consider the other crusaders enablers for their daughter's dangerous activities. Or are they just protective?
IMHO, Discord was right (and, being the God of Chaos, almost immediately clouded the issue just for the EvLulz). It is nothing about wing power and all about air magic. The fact that Scoots can cloud-walk mean she has access to that magic, she just needs to learn to turn it to flying.
And here I thought that having Dash as a movie star to Daring do would be creative. Curses!
Still, the idea i have is different enough, so still going ahead :P
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But it is creative. By golly, if you squint, it's almost original.
Please do! A story about Rainbow Dash joining the crazy world that is Applewood would be fantastic! I regret that it's basically a background detail in this story.
Alright, next chapter.
First off, Scootaloo's height limit doesn't make much physical sense. All motion, including vertical, is caused by forces creating acceleration. If her flapping provides enough force to get her started, the only way she'd stop is if the force she generates lessens to below air resistance. The only two ways I can think of that could cause this is either a decrease in air pressure from increased altitude, which could be easily fixed by moving to near or below sea level, or her flight for whatever reason is dependent on her proximity to the ground, like a hovercraft.
Enjoy the view, huh? Was there anywhere earlier that hinted an interest, or was this the first? I've waited way too long to continue these comments.
I actually had to look up what a spat was. I like how you wrote Discord, I could almost picture this animated. Also, it appears that he already knows what's wrong. Has he already done his research, or does that come later? We also see the beginnings of his amnesia subplot, since he brings up both the stolen wings and calls Sweetie Belle Rarity's daughter again later without remembering.
Sweetie Belle, you three have found mattresses on short notice before, this isn't any different.
So, Rainbow made it into the Wonderbolts. Not surprising, though it is surprising that Lightning Dust did. I bet that would make for an interesting side story. Oh, and she's a movie star too, that's new. It's kinda funny, at first we thought that Daring Do was just a recolor of Rainbow Dash. It's also gotta be interesting to play the part of someone you once knew and idolized when everyone else thinks they're fictional.
Oh, and the reference to the first story of this series and the sequel was pretty nice.
You come up with all sorts of great creatures that fit in the universe. I think there was only one Anasazi in the original myth, but there was also only one Pegasus, so yeah.
Scootaloo and Rumble were pretty nice here. I can see Scootaloo insisting that someone be completely upfront about asking her out, although she did seem to enjoy making him squirm a bit.
On the whole, a good chapter. I know the best is still to come, so until then, shalom everypony.
flying spiders FUCKING FLYING SPIDERS call in the MILITARY I GOT ONE IN MY HOUSE it needs to be nuked!!!!!!!!! lol
I've got no problem with flying spiders. They want to fly? I'm not going to be the one to tell them they can't. No, where I have problems is when (& where) they land.
Her hooves.
9571009
From dictionary.com
Hoof
So what I said is fine. I know it seems awkward, but it's not wrong.
Rumble's got a date Rumble's got a date🎵