Soaring Above

by PonyThunder

Chapter Five - The Final Assigment

"Whoa, there, Scoot," said Rainbow Dash as Scootaloo did an about face and trotted back confidently towards Spitfire. Spitfire is gonna rip her to shreds, thought Dash. "What do you think you're doing?"

Scootaloo turned around. "I'm going to see what Spitfire has to say about all of this."

Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to respond, Scootaloo resumed trotting back onto the field towards Spitfire. She had her whistle in her mouth, watching the next pegasus soar through the cloud hoops above. Her dark shades glinted in the sunlight as she caught a glimpse of the orange filly trotting towards her. Her reflection grew in Spitfire's shades as she came up to reach her. She couldn't help but notice Scootaloo didn't fly over.

"Um, excuse me..." said Scootaloo.

Spitfire seemed slightly surprised at this little filly having the nerve to come up to her in the middle of her work, but something about her confidence caught her eye. "Yes, what is it? And make it quick, we've got trials to do here."

Scootaloo searched for the right words to say. She hadn't really thought this through. All she knew was that she wasn't going to let Rainbow Dash sulk and end up doing more harm to herself and her motivation in general. Suddenly, she just realized how crazy it was to see Rainbow Dash so dejected. In fact, she didn't think she had ever seen her in such a state. Rainbow Dash...giving up?. All her life, she had looked up to her as a source of inspiration, and right now was the first time she had ever seen her fail.

A couple of moments passed, as Spitfire waited patiently for Scootaloo to answer her.

"Well," said Scootaloo, looking down at the grass, "it's about Rainbow Dash."

"Yes?"

"She can still become a Wonderbolt...right?"

Spitfire rolled her eyes, although nopony would have seen it behind her shades. "Let me tell you something about Rainbow Dash. She's one of the hardest working pegasi i I've ever met, but she's got one major problem."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up briefly, then immediately went back to normal.

"Rainbow Dash tends to be a showpony," continued Spitfire. "It's one thing to be really good at something, but if you only do it to show off, you might as well not do it at all."

At this point, Rainbow Dash was trotting sulkily towards Spitfire and Scootaloo.

Spitfire continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash for the time being. She still had not answered the question of whether or not Rainbow Dash could ever be a Wonderbolt. "So, to answer your question, yes."

Rainbow came up next to Scootaloo and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Spitfire acknowledged Dash, now. "So, you've hired a filly to handle your problems now, Rainbow Dash?"

"No, I just--"

"I'm just messing with you, cadet," replied Spitfire. She seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

"So..." continued Rainbow Dash, "does this mean I can retake the test?"

Spitfire thought carefully for a moment. "No."

Rainbow Dash sighed deeply and her head sunk heavily towards the ground.

"Not yet," Spitfire continued. "You can retake this test when you show this filly how to fly."

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash perked up in surprise, and simultaneously looked at each other.

"What?" they both asked.

"What you lack in modesty and humbleness, Rainbow Dash, this filly makes up ten-fold." Spitfire smiled. "Your final assignment is to teach this filly how to fly. As soon as you've done that, report back to me."

"But--" stammered Scootaloo, "I've been trying to fly for so long already, and Rainbow Dash has already tried to help--"

"You're both dismissed," said Spitfire sternly. She turned around immediately and got back to timing the pegasi in their trials.

---

"Dash..." said Scootaloo, "what if I can't learn to fly? That'll mean you wont ever get to be a Wonderbolt! It'll all be my fault"

"Hey now, Scoot. Nothing about this is your fault. I'm the pony who decided to show off, and I take full responsibility for my actions. Besides, I've got a good feeling that you'll be flying in no time."

Scootaloo sighed. "I hope so..."