Junior Flight Camp: The Crusader and the Bullhead

by Wise Cracker

In the Doldrums

Chapter 3: In the Doldrums

Scootaloo looked at the cloud in front of her, then to the abyss that separated it from the one she was on, then to the stairs that had been added for no reason other than to give foals another leg workout. “Okay, so I have to jump from here to there and flap my wings only once. And that’s supposed to be enough to carry me there, right?”

Rainbow Dash grimaced down at her. The clouds weren’t as high as the dive on the Gantelope, but they didn’t need to be. It was high enough to plummet, and far enough to require a wingflap. “Normally, yeah. If you think you’re not going to make it, at least try to make a good landing.”

Whimper took a few quick deep breaths before walking up to Scootaloo. “I’ll go first, if that’s okay with you. The others are waiting.”

Scootaloo nodded.

With a steady trot, Whimper lined up his jump and gave one calculated flap of his wing to clear the distance from one cloud to the other. He didn't dive down right away like the others had, though. He stayed there just for moral support, and to avoid the two jocks.

“Scootacooties up last, huh?“ Rumble asked with a grin, loud enough for all to hear.

Whimper kept his eye on Scootaloo, and she returned the gesture. Even with only two days, she decided she did kind of like him. He didn’t have much of a snap to him, he didn’t seem that prone to arguing, unlike Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. And, as she'd learned on the first night in the cabin, he did indeed sleep with a stuffed animal. To be fair, though, his plush bat was a bit of a surprise. It had buttons on its wings and a wingspan so wide he could go to sleep with it hugging his neck with its wings and warming his back with its body. The mares and filly had thought it rather cute, in a creepy sort of way.

“Come on, chicken, you’re holding up the line!” Skyron called.

Scootaloo sighed. With a running start, she jumped straight forward. Right at the halfway point, she gave one powerful flap of the wing, as strong as she could muster.

It did nothing, save getting her in a roll that sent her falling.

Flailing her hooves as the jocks got a little chuckle going, she pushed out her chest, lowered her shoulders and started flapping her wings in her normal rhythm, too fast for the naked eye. Still she plummeted, rolling and flailing in the air. She gritted her teeth as the landing cloud came to greet her.

She needn’t have worried. Just as before, Whimper was right there to catch her. She rolled off his back even as the other colts started making smooching sounds and calling out some inanity or another.

“Thanks.” Scootaloo blushed at the save.

“Eheh, no problem.”

Twilight was standing at the other end of the makeshift chasm, her suspicions about Scootaloo confirmed. The unicorn just needed one more test to make sure she could fix it, but she was confident she’d get Scootaloo flying normally before the end of the day. The foals marched up the stairs to work their legs, lined up to take the jump again, and things quickly settled into a routine. Rumble’s wings were already stronger than before, so he got enough lift from one flap. Zephyr and Skyron had no trouble clearing the gap, and Whimper barely even needed to flap at all. Their dives afterward went pretty well, too.

But no matter what Scootaloo tried, she always wound up falling. Twilight had to suppress a sigh every time Scootaloo plummeted. The exercise demanded that they keep going, no exceptions. But with every leap, Scootaloo’s face contorted in shame and resentment. Her usual cheerful expression, with that hint of defiance, was fading into defeat at every failed jump.

Twilight had never realised how much flying meant for a pegasus. It was heart-breaking to watch a filly she knew be broken like that. To think that Fluttershy had gone through the same ordeal made her chest ache even more.

But at least Scootaloo never crashed into the clouds. Twilight kept her eye on Whimper a few times when he dove after her, and as far as she could tell his technique was near perfect. He always had that little tension in his shoulders, a mere hint of a twitch in his wings, and then he’d be off. He’d go into freefall, catch up to Scootaloo as she barely managed to slow down her fall, and have her land on his back while he took the impact of the landing. All the while, his expression never shifted, like he wasn’t even thinking about it.

He really was like Fluttershy with her animals, albeit a colt with near-steroid-driven physique.

Twilight considered the options. She could take Scootaloo aside now or during the break, but she’d need Lyra’s help to pinpoint the exact problem, and currently Lyra had a few flight flea cases to deal with. Not a contagious problem, the silly things just had a taste for fruit-scented wing shampoo, and for some reason they were always attracted to whichever scent was in fashion at the time. This led to the odd trend that parasites was what all the cool kids had. She’d just have to wait until after lunch, as much as it pained her to do so. Twilight shrugged at the thought. At least Scootaloo has a friend to cheer her up.

---

Lunch had all the cheer of a class on differential equations as applied to water sanitation. Scootaloo nibbled idly on her daisy sandwich while Whimper tried to find something to lift her spirits.

Unfortunately, with his only friend being of the hyperactive and constantly happy variety, he didn’t exactly have a lot of experience in the matter. He kept quiet for a while before resorting to the most common and, sadly, probably the worst phrase a friend could offer. “You wanna talk about it?”

Scootaloo groaned, then giggled at the clumsy attempt. “Not really, no. It’s nothing, I’m kind of used to not being able to fly. I just want to get my certificate, that’s all.”

Whimper swallowed another bite. “Me too. It stinks that you’re not even considered a proper pegasus without one.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yup. No letters for Hurricane Day, no weather clean-up duty on Winter Wrap-Up Day, not even allowed to use a raincloud without a permission slip.”

Whimper scrunched his face, deciding to go for a different approach. “At least you can use your wings, right?”

Scootaloo looked back and flapped the little appendages, still disappointed at their minute size. She couldn’t even see them most of the time, they were so small. They were about three-quarters of Whimper’s, and when she was nervous they shrank to half. They’d always been small compared to others. And yet Skyron had almost the same wing size, but no problems at all. “These things? Maybe when they’re fully grown. Now, I might as well not have them at all. My wings are just like I am, small and useless.”

Whimper stretched his wing over her shoulder, as far as it could reach, and patted a little. The background smooching sounds from the other table were quickly silenced by the glares of some of the older kids. Apparently winning the cloudwrestling competition really did yield some respect. “I think your wings are awesome. You can’t even see them move, the way you go.”

Scootaloo gave him a weak smile, and suppressed the urge to groan at his use of the word ‘awesome’. It just didn’t feel right coming from him, not with him sounding the way he did. “Thanks. But do you have any idea what it’s like being grounded all the time?”

The blue colt shook his head slowly as Scootaloo’s appetite returned. “I know what it’s like being last all the time. At least you’re fast, the only thing I can do fast is go straight down.” He thought for a moment. ”Wait. If you’re always grounded, how did you beat Zephyr without any wing power?”

The filly shrugged as she finished her lunch. “I didn’t. I’ve got a lot of wing power, I just can’t fly. I get around Ponyville on my scooter, and I use my wings to push me forward. I’m used to doing that kind of thing, so I did that for my fight. It was harder without wheels under my hooves, but I pretty much just ran him over.”

“Wow. You ran over a bad apple striker? I thought you just tripped him or something. That’s not an easy trick.” He shook his head at the thought. He’d seen Zephyr in action, to beat him on pure wing power was to beat him at his own game.

“But what’s your problem, then? You can fly just fine, can’t you?” She certainly hadn’t seen him struggle with anything yet, but then they hadn’t done anything speed-related yet.

Whimper turned his face away. “I can, sort of, but not that well. I-I...”

Scootaloo didn’t press the issue. No point in making Whimper feel bad after he tried to cheer her up. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Rainbow Dash is the best flyer in all of Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle’s the smartest unicorn. We’re getting lessons from the best, so it’ll all work out. And afterwards, you could fly to Ponyville and hang out with my friends! I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

Whimper nodded. More crazy fillies, just what he needed. Scootaloo was quite sure Sweetie Belle would be swooning over the colt, and Apple Bloom could always appreciate someone down to Earth and strong, like her brother.

“Sure, I guess. Bogsdown isn’t that far from Ponyville if you fly. So what do your friends do for fun?”

Scootaloo took a deep breath to start listing all the things they’d gotten up to, but stopped herself. “Mostly we try to get our cutie marks.”

Whimper winced slightly at the sudden drop of her tone. “And how’s that worked out?”

“Let’s see: my friend Apple Bloom poisoned herself with a disease that went extinct 5000 years ago, then we gave her brother a love poison that drove him and our teacher nuts. Sweetie Belle got us lost in the Everfree Forest and nearly got us stoned by a cockatrice. We all tore down the stage during a school talent show, and we wrecked a few lives with our gossip column in the school newspaper.” She realised a little too late that this was probably not something she should admit to that early in their friendship.

“Oh, you’re that Scootaloo, huh? I’ve read about you in the Foal Free Press, you’re pretty amazing. That doesn’t sound so bad.”

Scootaloo blinked, surprised. As far as she knew, those were all big deals. If he didn’t think so, that could only mean one thing. “What have you gotten into, then?”

“Umm, nothing special. My friend Peachy just gets me into trouble sometimes, that’s all. She got robbed by Kludde near Froggy Bottom Bog, so I… I kind of wrestled it to get her necklace back. No big deal.” He ate a little quicker after that admission, and gulped his drink nervously.

This was news to the filly. She’d read about Kludde once, when the Crusaders used a book on horrific creatures as a style guide for their costumes (it sounded like a good idea at the time). Kludde was bipedal, green, had tusks and red glowing eyes, and there was supposed to be only one of its kind on Equestria. It was pretty big, too, about minotaur-sized. Scootaloo had seen its picture, but it was only of its head, and even then it wasn’t really clear if it was a head or a helmet. The plates of its mask or head didn't seem to wrap around all the way, just over the side. Then again, with a creature like that, it's hard to say where the neck begins and where the head starts, if any.

From what she’d read, Kludde resembled an armoured skeletal devil more than anything else, though the armour itself was made of plant material woven together. She was pretty sure it could change its shape, too, but not like a changeling. It had something to do with only using dead matter, like the plants that made up its armour.

The thing would scare travellers and steal their trinkets, and feed on the sentimentality and memories that had been bestowed upon them. It usually just ate necklaces and earrings, but it had been known to sneak into towns and go for ancient tomes of knowledge or valuable artifacts, putting it high on the hit-list of the Royal Guard. It would also ambush someone and terrify them to feed on the memories as their lives flashed before their eyes.

Kludde was basically a Windigo or a changeling that required memories attached to the emotions to feed. It had some sort of magic to attack prey, too, but she couldn’t quite remember what.

And if Whimper had fought it, that of course brought to mind the obvious question. “Did you beat it?”

The boy blushed and tensed up again, his wings locked against his flank. “I got the necklace back, if that’s what you mean.”

It was probably a lucky shot, dropped in a scuffle or something. Scootaloo already knew he wasn’t the type to go overboard about his achievements, and it felt good to hear him open up a little, so she kept going. “Just that? No tearing down the stage in a music contest? No super-awesome moves that get you into the newspapers?”

“Umm... there was the eating contest from Manneken Pix, the Royal Chef. Peachy Pie signed me up for that, you’re not the first one to do that.”

“An eating contest? By Manneken Pix, the alicorn chef of the royal court? The guy who has an indigestion wing named after him in Canterlot Hospital?”

He cringed as she summed it up. “Umm… yes?”

She let her eyes go over his muscular frame. “That does sound right up your alley. Or was that before you… you know…”

“No, that was after. It wasn’t bad, actually, I just couldn’t eat all the olives, too salty. Pix gave me a good honey and cheese dish recipe, though, my mom loved it. I finished third, too. So pretty standard stuff, not like you.” He tried to sound casual.

The filly looked at his face, and couldn’t see any lies, any hint of exaggerating or just bragging. He was pretty much in the same boat as she was. A blank flank pegasus who couldn’t fly properly and had nothing else to do all day but follow whoever let him hang out with them, even if ‘hanging out’ meant 'upsetting the very balance of the Universe'.

Then again, ‘brutalising the laws of physics’ was pretty much a national sport in Equestria, so kids could get away with a lot.

Scootaloo pondered the comparison for a moment. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’d be able to keep up with me and my friends. You bring your friends, I’ll bring mine, and we’ll see what happens.”

“Sure?” He looked confused, but relieved at her perking up a little.

The purple-maned filly gave him the best she could muster. The best fake smile, at least.

---

Twilight walked into the nurse’s office as Lyra sprayed one blushing green teen filly with some insecticide. “Got everything ready for Scootaloo?”

Lyra sniffed the lemony air around the girl before levitating some metal disks towards her purple companion. That was all the answer she had to give, really. “There, that’ll keep the creepy crawlies off ya. And remember, they’re drawn to peach now, so use a different shampoo.”

Once the filly was off, Lyra turned to unicorn for a more serious matter. “If you've got a minute, Twi, I noticed something a little weird in that book corner of yours.”

Twilight tilted her head. “What? You’re surprised little kids are capable of enjoying a book?”

Lyra shook her head and walked out with Twilight in tow, right to the cabin where the latter had installed her books. Lyra went browsing for a little something and showed Twilight the weird thing in question. “This one: The Fountain and other Soothing Scenes.”

Twilight flipped the pages to get an idea of the book. “There’s no dialogue. It’s just descriptions. I’m pretty sure this one isn’t mine, either. Is this that book Whimper dropped off so he wouldn’t lose it?”

The green bard nodded. “It is, and that’s why I asked. This is a rune page, not a story book.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “A whatnow?”

To that, Lyra looked surprised as it was something she’d assumed Twilight, of all ponies, would know about. “It’s an imagery book, like the ones they used to write in runes. It’s supposed to put stuff in your head, they give these things for hypnotherapy.”

“And you’re telling me this, because?”

“Because I’d like to know what Whimper would want with a book like that. He could have a medical problem and maybe this book is part of the treatment. But there’s nothing on his files, and he didn’t bring any medicine. Whimper didn’t ask for anypony to read it to him, so it’s not something he really needs, but then why would he bring this in the first place? I thought, since you’re training him and you know books better than I do, maybe you could tell me what it’s for?”

Twilight gave the titular story a brief read. It was mostly imagery of travelling, vast landscapes, feeling the waters of a mythical fountain feed the character’s body. A few detailed descriptions of water droplets growing and shrinking were there, too, which all pointed to a growth stimulant of sorts. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s just something to make his muscles bigger. It could be a little way of easing cramps by visualising the lactic acid shrinking. I know the principle, we got these things in magic kindergarten, didn’t we? Actually, now that I think about it, it might really just be to relax. You’ve seen how tense he can be.”

“Maybe you should talk to him about it, in case it’s something serious.”

Twilight considered it. “There's not much point, is there? If it was something serious, he wouldn’t have come to camp to begin with, or at least he’d have brought his medication. Lots of kids have little issues that they grow out of, they just get their certificates later. He wouldn't be up here with his bullies if he didn't think he could do it, so it's probably nothing. I’d rather just focus on Scootaloo’s problem now and make sure that we fix what we know. She can’t even land right now, and she’s the only one in our group who’s got a real problem.”

“So you’re just gonna leave it at that?”

“Yes, I am, and so are you. Whimper’s already got confidence issues, it’ll only get worse if we take him aside and upset him. Besides, you can't actually cure anything with this sort of thing, can you? It's just something to calm him down, I'm sure.”

Lyra weighed the facts in her mind before shrugging. “I suppose. It just worries me, is all.”

“What does?”

“That a little kid would be resorting to this sort of thing. I'm telling you, Twilight, this isn't normal.”

“Maybe not, but look at him. He’s clearly used to working out, he clearly knows how to get stronger. I’ve seen him fly at a normal pace, there’s nothing wrong with him. If he says he’s just slow, then… he’s just slow. And with his build, that’s not too surprising, either. He looks healthy to me.”

Lyra sighed in resignation. “You’re right, Scootaloo’s our primary concern now. So have you checked her weight yet?” She resumed her usual smile as they went back out.

“Not yet, but I can snatch her up before speed training, we’ll know for sure then.”

---

Rainbow Dash kept the pen in her mouth, carefully considering the words in her letter.

Dear Shining Armour,

Rainbow Dash here, writing to you from Flight Camp. You’ll be happy to know that your sister is helping me train young pegasus ponies to fly, and she’s still lecturing when she needs to. We’ve got a good group here: two overconfident flyers trying to set the example (you know how they get at that age), one who’s just tagging along with the cool kids, and Scootaloo. You remember Scootaloo, right? The orange flower girl?

Anyway, the reason I’m writing is because of the fifth kid in my group. His name is Doldrum Whimper, and I know this sounds crazy, but I’m sure I saw his face on the Phoenix Garden Wall of Fame. I overheard him talking about something called ‘Kludde’, that he fought it, maybe? I asked him, but he just shut down, like he was embarrassed about it. The point is, he’s got some sort of issues with his confidence, and if he really is up on that wall he shouldn’t. I mean, if you’re on there, that basically means you’ve earned a medal of honour or something, doesn’t it? I’m not sure what the rules are on this sort of thing, but I thought maybe, if it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me what got him on that wall? I think it might have something to do with his issues.

I’m sending this letter with a recording of Whimper during our little cloudwrestling competition. He’s jumpy, but the kid’s got moves. I’m sure the rest of the Royal Guard will love seeing it. We sure had fun doing it, and Whimper’s already made a name for himself with the older kids.

Say hi to Cadence for me,

Rainbow Dash

P.S.: Yes, I know, I know. I should have put my mane in a ponytail before combat, it makes a good improvised weapon, you told me. But it’s not like I’m about to whip a little kid in the eye during a friendly competition. And no, I didn't finish him off right away, I was having too much fun.

“You wanted to see me, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked bashfully as she walked into their group’s cabin. Rainbow Dash had just finished the letter on her nest-like cloud bed and patted the ground next to it for the filly to sit. Whimper stayed outside, just in case Scoot called him. It was private, though, it had to be, Rainbow had said.

One problem at a time.

“I just wanted to talk to you about your flying, or your not flying,” Dash said as Scootaloo took a seat.

Scootaloo felt a pain in her chest at that. She looked away from the mare. “Look, it’s not my fault. I try my best, it’s just not good enough, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. I heard what you said in the cafeteria. That you can’t do anything without your certificate, that you’re useless if you can’t fly.” She emphasised all the harsher words.

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? I can’t play with the other pegasus ponies, I can’t help my friends when they need something from the skies, I can’t even catch someone when they fall. I can still carry ponies around with my scooter, but it’s just not the same.” Scootaloo lamented with a cracking voice.

Rainbow Dash chanced a glance towards the door. Whimper’s tail was barely visible as he paced. She wasn’t sure if he’d heard, but she knew he’d be worried. “So a pegasus without wings isn’t a pegasus, huh? Just like that, your wings are everything?”

“Well, not exactly, but… everypony ignores a pegasus who can’t fly, even you. Apple Bloom told me you tried to help her get her cutie mark when Diamond Tiara gave her a hard time, and Sweetie Belle’s always laughing at the faces you make when you pose for Rarity.” Scootaloo was holding back her tears, but it wouldn’t last.

“But I never cheer you up,” she admitted with a smile.

Scootaloo nodded.“Even you wouldn’t teach me how to fly. You know what it’s like back at my place. All I’ve got is aunt Vinyl, and she can’t fly either. I thought maybe --”

“You thought that maybe if you just got the attention of the best flyer in Ponyville, she’d use her awesomeness to get you off the ground. Well, what do you expect, an adoption? Your parents aren’t dead. They’re just far away, is all.” Dash tried to sound sympathetic, but it wasn’t something she was used to, and it showed.

“Up in the clouds, checking the water. I know it’s important, that they’re really good at it, but --” Scootaloo looked at the ground in regret.

“But that still puts your closest family in a spot where you can’t follow, where you can’t really live. Is it true you had to wake up at 6 AM every morning to go to school?” Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

Scootaloo grimaced at the thought. “Yeah, and then wait an hour at school every morning before anypony else showed up. I couldn’t go alone because I couldn’t fly, and my parents couldn’t go later because they had to head off for work too. And then my wings wouldn’t grow… but I like living in Ponyville better, I just wish I could fly. And I hoped --"

“I know, Scootaloo. You hoped that one day you’d be moping in a corner like Apple Bloom was, and I’d notice, like I always do when I’m flying over. And then I’d take you somewhere to teach you how to fly. It would be awesome, and it would be the best day ever.”

“But you never did, because nopony cares about a flightless pegasus. Even you.” The filly turned away from her idol.

“Okay, that’s it. Snap out of it.”

“What?”

“I said: snap out of it.” The mare hardened her tone.

“You don’t know what it’s like for me. You never did.” Scootaloo was fuming by now.

“Three times,” Dash replied calmly.

Scootaloo shook her head.

“Three times I’ve lost my wings, and all three are some of the worst memories of my life. I know what it’s like to not be able to keep up, to feel useless. But I also know what it’s like to finally reach that one goal you’ve been dreaming of for years. Have you noticed I haven’t flown at top speed for a while?” Dash asked.

“You’re on camp clouds. You can’t, right?” Scootaloo calmed down a little.

“Exactly. You were there at the Royal Wedding, too. Did you see my Sonic Rainboom?” Dash asked, still sounding uncannily casual.

“Well, yeah, but --”

“I can do that on command now. How awesome is that?” Dash randomly changed the subject.

“You just don’t care.” Scootaloo let her head hang.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Yes, I do, Scootaloo. But I’m trying to tell you that if you keep trying to get better all the time, sometimes you forget how good you already are. I can do a Sonic Rainboom on command, I can head down to Ponyville in the morning, clear the skies and be back in time for breakfast, that’s pretty impressive. And you’re pretty impressive too, you know.”

“So you’ll finally teach me how to fly?” Scootaloo perked up at that.

Rainbow got up and rubbed Scootaloo’s mane. The mare’s face looked sad, remorseful, almost. “No, I won’t. Twilight and Lyra will take care of that.”

Scootaloo felt a tear welling up.

Rainbow Dash gave her fan's mane another rub. “But I don’t want you to think it’s because I don’t care. I do, honest, but… I don’t know how to help you.”

Scootaloo squinted at that, a little suspicious.

“I don’t even know where to start helping you. I’ve seen you race across Ponyville. You’re good, you’re really good, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to fly. I’ve asked around, I’ve tried research. But the library’s got books on aeronautics, aerodynamics, aerobatics, and that’s just under the ‘A’. I wouldn't know where to start.”

“So? At least you tried with Apple Bloom.”

“Yeah, I tried to help Apple Bloom get her cutie mark. And I failed. But did that stop her?”

Scootaloo considered it. “No.”

“Exactly. To her, failing wasn’t the end of the world, she could keep on trying. But you, me? I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony to ever come out of Cloudsdale, and you’re my number one fan. If I tried to help you and failed, where would that leave you?” The mare let that trail off.

Realisation set in the filly’s heart, and regret at ever doubting the most awesome flyer to ever grace the skies above Ponyville. “So you did want to help me?”

“Of course I did, I’d never leave you hanging. But I really wish you’d just asked Fluttershy. She’s actually gotten birds flying, I haven’t. I know I'm awesome and cool, but I can’t do everything. If I tried to get you flying and you found out I couldn’t… I didn’t want you to get heart-broken over it or give up. So I just figured you’d learn at Flight Camp. I’m sorry, I should have said something sooner.”

A load fell off the filly’s chest at that, leaning into the comforting hoof on her head. Her wings relaxed, she didn’t even realise those things had bunched up. The muscles seemed to unwind from the stress relief, and she half-hoped that they’d be bigger when she looked at them. The story of Fluttershy getting her cutie mark floated up in her mind, how the yellow pegasus had finally gotten into flight at the wonder of the world around, just from getting all that weight off her back. Maybe now Scootaloo would have her majestic flight.

She was still on the ground. She still had little chicken-wings.

But they were her chicken-wings, and she decided that she would wear them with pride.

“Look, Twilight’s gonna take you away from the group sometime soon, I’m guessing in a few minutes or tomorrow, if Lyra’s still busy. Twilight’s smarter than me, she can help you way better than I can. So you do whatever she tells you, and you pay attention, okay?”

“I will, I promise.” Scootaloo looked up with renewed hope in her eyes.

“And no more nonsense about being useless, got it? You’re never gonna get any lift if you bring yourself down.” She leaned in to whisper. ”And you don’t want to give your new friend nightmares, do you?”

Scootaloo chuckled. “No, I guess not. And I’m sorry. I guess it was kind of silly to want to fly with you, not being, you know --”

“Don't mention it. I’ve wanted to fly with the Wonderbolts for a long time now, and they’re more strangers to me than I am to you. I understand. Now run along before Whimper gets really worried.”

With a smile and a nod, the filly trotted off. She caught a glance of that giant bat plush in Whimper’s nest before getting out. He’d probably try putting it around her neck if she told him she felt bad.

“What happened? Are you in trouble?” Whimper asked as they went off to the playing grounds. Not that they had a lot of time, they just wanted to see some of the bigger pegasi fly around to get an idea of what they’d be getting. A bit of window-shopping, really.

“Not anymore, I’m not. Rainbow Dash just wanted to let me know that I’ll finally fly soon.”

“So what’s keeping you on the ground, then?”

“Don’t know yet, but Twilight’s gonna take care of me.” Scootaloo noticed the colt’s face was an odd mix of happiness and something she couldn’t place. Shame, maybe?

Scootaloo wasn’t that experienced with boys, but where Whimper was concerned, she was a quick study. “Hey, don’t worry about whatever problem you’ve got. You just don’t have any speed, right? And Rainbow Dash is all about speed. Trust me, whatever she’s got in mind for training, you can do it.”

The colt turned.

“You really think so?”

She looked at his face. For all his strength, he seemed really worried about his speed. She couldn’t let that hold him back, certainly not since she was a ground-bound speedster already. The idea of her finally flying and him getting left behind, still slow, did not sit well with her.

Scoot gave him a confident nod, right back to her old self after Dash’s pep talk. “I’m sure. We’re gonna fly soon, Whimper, and we’re gonna fly fast.”

---

To Captain Shining Armour,

I am writing in regards to the reports of disturbances near the suburbs of Bogsdown. I can confirm that the creature has been sighted in the area. Eye witness reports have so far appeared reliable and conclusive, and as you are undoubtedly aware Kludde has never failed to identify itself when encountered. However, I would hold off on mobilising the Royal Guard at this juncture.

I am currently in Bogsdown Hospital, trying to ascertain the facts regarding an attack that just took place. Two foals, a filly and a colt, both aged ten, were brought in with injuries that match what we know of the creature’s habits. The filly, I’m told, is in a state of hysteria at the moment. The colt is currently in intensive care, and the mare that brought them in is in a state of shock.

I’m aware of the implications, of course, hence my caution. If the thing has fed again, we can't waste time scouring the marshes. We may need to mobilise the special forces towards Ponyville instead. And rest assured, if it turns out to be an elaborate prank, the culprits will be punished.

I shall keep you informed as more information reaches me.

Squad Commander Obsidian Storm

---

“Whimper? You okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, I’m fine, just nervous. At least I’ll have you watching my back during speed training, right?” He smiled nervously as he started trembling.

Right at that moment, Scootaloo was lifted off the ground by a purple unicorn. Twilight gave her a wide smile she reserved for chess games and special someponies. Well, mostly chess games.

“Time to fly, huh?” Scootaloo asked. Twilight nodded proudly.

Whimper grimaced and locked his wings as their break was just about over. Rainbow Dash and the rest of the coaches were getting their groups together already.

“Well, guess I’ll see you on the track.” Whimper tried and failed to sound brave as the filly was carried off before she could reply.

He gulped as he trotted off alone. “Me and my big mouth.”

Comments

[wariyoshi]

1.This story with Scootaloo hit close to home with me, because I had similar results with my driving test last year, with a teacher who helped me through it when I was pretty much destined to fail the class (I passed though, no worries )
2.You told me all those possible outcomes of the plot in that comment last chapter, and I personally think that it's preeetty suspicious that a kid has runes AND he's on the Equestrian hall of fame, so at first I thought it was the one about the general, but now I'm not so sure, because I think it's more of "The reason he's on the wall is the reason he's so shy" now, because the runes are used to help with mental troubles I'm just taking a stab in the dark, but I'm pretty sure it's one of those, although I think the latter is more likely
3.I like this story, and I like how the plot is turning out I look forward to chapter 4

[Matt11]

i like this story

[way_2_spooky_4_u]

If Whimper took down the Kuddle by himself and the thing is moving, maybe it's Flight Camp that the Royal Guard should be heading to.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

I am writing in regards to the reports of disturbances near the suburbs of Bogsdown. I can confirm that the creature has been sighted in the area. Eye witness reports have so far appeared reliable and conclusive, and as you are undoubtedly aware Kludde has never failed to identify itself when encountered. However, I would hold out (off) on mobilising the Royal Guard at this juncture.