Mother Necessity
Chapter 6: Mother Necessity
Despite the fact that Dawn and Scootaloo knew what they were trying to do, that didn't necessarily make it easy for them. They had mapped out the first few moves of their new form, but neither of them had much experience in developing a form for two ponies. The fact that it was longer and broader in scope than any of the five basic forms they practiced for the Gale King only served to complicate matters. The forms were compressed sequences of attacks and techniques, generally performed within a small area in order to get the practitioner used to stringing several techniques together in sequence, rapidly changing direction, and adapting to the frenetic conditions of the battlefield.
However, what their performance required was sweeping flights that could encompass the entire area contained within the Cloudeseum. A single "step" of their form could necessitate a swoop from one end of the stadium to the other, or an ascending spiral taking them hundreds of feet into the air. In a way, it made things more difficult and easier. Neither of them was used to planning out a form over such a broad area, but sequencing those large maneuvers as single steps allowed them to spread out the power of a Gale King technique over a larger area and a longer period of time, making it less potentially dangerous to the audience.
"So...if we have enough cloud at the base," said Scootaloo, sketching a circle in the dirt with her hoof. "We should be able to use the double spiral to pull it up, sculpt it, sort of."
"That seems logical," said Dawn. Using the winds they could generate to shape and mold the clouds was a good way to showcase their skill without putting the audience at risk by calling up a tornado in the middle of the stadium.
As it stood now, the form was a mixture of techniques from different parts of the Gale King. Some of it was wind manipulation, some of it lightning. Though they were technically performing in concert, the basis for their motions had been found in their sparring sessions. The performance would essentially be a sequence of "exchanges" of attack and defense, the two of them trading blows back and forth in such a fashion that it would come off more as a perfectly choreographed dance than a fight.
They carefully worked their way through each move in the form individually, testing it out and perfecting it before setting each technique into the sequence. Then they began to run through those techniques together, seeing how best to move seamlessly from one step to the other. It was difficult work, demanding careful observation.
"The question is what to do for the finale," said Scootaloo, frowning. "We need something to really cap things off. I know it's not quite how a form's done but..."
"We just need to work out the appropriate technique," said Dawn. "Let's run through what we have already."
A few minutes later the two of them hovered high above the ground, a sphere of plasma suspended between them as they circled it, maintaining its shape with their concerted magics.
"This is pretty impressive," noted Dawn between breaths, careful not to allow the circulation of power to get out of control.
"But how do we finish off from here?" asked Scootaloo.
"I think I have an idea," said Dawn. "I've been reading about something."
Scootaloo couldn't help but smirk at that. Dawn might not have been an egghead on the level of Twilight Sparkle, but he was still an egghead nonetheless. He enjoyed checking out books on a variety of topics from the library, both fiction and non-fiction. "What do you want to do?" she asked.
"Let's go down and talk about it," said Dawn.
Scootaloo nodded and the two of them carefully dissipated the sphere of plasma before descending back to the ground. There, Dawn went over his plan.
Once Scootaloo heard it, her eyes went wide. "That's completely nuts!" she said. "Do you think that'll even work?"
"It's only an idea right now," said Dawn. "But, given the chance, I think we can make it work. We simply have to alter our techniques for maintaining the plasma sphere. I will maintain and shape the charge, while you feed air into it from below."
"Worth a try," she said, "I just hope it doesn't blow up in our faces."
"At least we know how to avoid being killed if that happens," Dawn pointed out.
Scootaloo frowned sourly at him. All things considered, she would definitely prefer to not risk being flash-fried. It felt a bit strange. Normally she was the one to take reckless risks. When it came to training or anything not related to actually going into battle, Dawn was usually quite thoughtful and methodical, which made it quite odd that he was willing to suggest something so...untried.
But it'll stay untried until we try it, thought Scootaloo with a mental shrug. "Might as well give it a go."
"Okay. Everything's been dropped off," said Rainbow Dash as she came in for a landing at Sugarcube Corner.
"That's great!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. "Let's get going. I can't wait to see everypony!"
"You've only been away a few weeks," Rainbow pointed out.
"So?" asked Pinkie, tilting her head slightly. "That's still three weeks without my super-bestest friends in the whole wide world."
Letting out an amused sigh, Rainbow could only shrug in the face of that logic. She'll never change.
That was an understatement if ever there was one. In fact, Pinkie Pie, whilst most adept at giggling at the ghosties, was apparently just as inclined to laugh in the face of the inexorable advance of time. Her pink coat shined and her mane and tail were as poofy as ever. Her crystal-clear blue eyes gleamed brightly and her teeth, when she grinned, gleamed brighter still, which seemed completely unfair considering the amount of sweets she was prone to devouring wholesale. The fact that those sweets never seemed to have much of an effect on Pinkie's physique was another thing her friends were endlessly jealous of as well.
"Let's move out!" exclaimed Pinkie, shooting off in a streak of pink for the park, leaving behind a cloud of dust where she was standing.
"And she's off," observed another mare, stepping out of Sugarcube corner, yet another picnic basket hoisted onto her haunches. Her coat was bright-yellow, while her mane and tail sported alternating streaks of blue, green, and magenta. She smiled congenially at Rainbow, who returned the gesture.
Mayweather chuckled and set off for the park at a more sedate pace, with Rainbow trotting alongside to keep her company. "So how was the family?" Rainbow asked Pinkie's fillyfriend.
"Pleasant as always," replied Mayweather. "Maud's married now."
"Huh?" gasped Rainbow, whipping her head around to gape at Mayweather. "Sorry...Did you say that Maud got married?"
"Yep," said Mayweather with a smirk.
"Was it to a rock?" asked Rainbow, not altogether joking. If there was one thing that could be said about Pinkie's placid and dour sister, it was that she was fascinated by rocks...sometimes to an unsettling degree.
That got a chuckle from Mayweather. "You'd think it, but no. He's actually an artist, a landscape painter actually."
"Huh? One of those artsy types? That's one of the last guys I'd expect Maud to marry. What's he look like?"
"Skinny, like he was made out of twigs. I swear, Pinkie's mother stuffed him every opportunity she had; something about 'the poor boy clearly being one of those starving artists.'"
Rainbow winced. Pinkie Pie might have been a culinary genius, especially when it came to the art of baked goods. However, she didn't inherit that trait from her family. Having made the occasional visit to the rock farm with her friend, Rainbow would have instead said that the Pie family, Pinkie's mother in particular, made bland an aspiration in their cooking.
The two of them chatted and shared news and information as they made their way to the park. Upon returning from visiting her family, Pinkie reacted rather predictably to the news that Rainbow and Soarin' had returned early from their latest tour with the Wonderbolts and had planned a party, inviting everypony from their circle of friends, including Rarity, who had just happened to return from Canterlot at around the same time. Pinkie had settled on a large picnic lunch in the park, where they could enjoy the summer afternoon in each other's company.
As Rainbow and Mayweather reached the edge of the park, there was a distant boom from the direction of the quarry, drawing their gaze over in that direction. Rainbow frowned as she looked over. Is it me or is the sky green over there? However, the glow she'd seen on the horizon quickly faded. Frowning, she started walking again, wondering if she'd just imagined it.
"Whoa!" gasped Scootaloo as they settled onto the ground once again, "That was awesome! That'll cinch us the win for sure."
Dawn nodded. "It's certainly striking. I'm glad it worked out as well as we thought it would. But it's less distinct during the daytime."
"Well...if we go late enough, we can hit the finish while it's getting dark and then ponies'll be able to see it real easy," suggested Scootaloo.
"That should work," agreed Dawn. "It also should be fairly easy to arrange. Performances are scheduled by order of arrival, so if we go in as close to the deadline as possible, we should be far enough down the queue to take advantage of it."
"Works for me," said Scootaloo. She glanced up at the sun. "Oh ponyfeathers! Look at the time! We need to get to the park."
"Let's towel off first," said Dawn, going to their saddlebags. "I don't think everypony will thank us if we stink up the place."
Scootaloo wrinkled her nose and chuckled. Dawn was right, of course. It was a party, after all, which meant that it wasn't a big deal if they were a couple minutes late.
A few minutes later, they were winging their way back to Ponyville, swooping low over the town until they reached the broad, green expanse of the town's park. They drifted above pathways of packed dirt that meandered amongst rolling hills. Parked on one of those hills was a fair-sized group of ponies, their families and friends.
Fluttershy, Caramel, and the little ones were there already. Larksong was frolicking about, kicking a ball with Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, the older foals laughing and enjoying themselves as they passed the ball to Larksong and each other. Fluttershy and Caramel lounged in the shade of one of the park's trees, Pepita contentedly sucking on a bottle as he laid atop his father's folded forelegs. Settled next to them was Scootaloo's mother, Melon Cream.
Pinkie Pie bounced about eagerly, laying out blankets and spreading food across them in a haphazard manner that should have left it scattered all over the ground, yet, somehow, managing to do it without spilling so much as a crumb. Nearby, Mayweather was setting out plates, moving much more carefully, working alongside Carrot Cake and Cup Cake.
Twilight Sparkle chatted amicably with a pegasus stallion sporting a gray coat with dark-purple highlights, his coloring bringing to mind a storm cloud in the sky. Storm Front was just as heavy a reader as Twilight and the two of them often enjoyed chatting about the different texts they perused. Nearby, Storm's fillyfriend, Flitter, was chatting softly with Coco Pommel.
Rarity was there too, have produced a lounge chair from somewhere. She reclined on it now, a broad hat resting over her elegantly-coifed, deep-violet mane, her elegant figure on full display. Resting on the blanket next to her was her husband/accountant, Flaxseed, a gold-colored stallion with a black mane, shot through with streaks of gray. He was dozing lightly in the summer sun.
Nearby, the Apple Family were busily setting out even more food: apple pies, tarts, and muffins. Big Macintosh and Spike unloaded the wagon they'd pulled up while Applejack, Red River, and Ditzy Doo set everything out. Ditzy was moving delicately, clearly not looking her best at the moment. Her amber-colored eyes spun and swiveled in their sockets even more randomly than usual and her fluttering sometimes had a drunken, lurching quality to it. Beside her, Ditzy's daughter, Dinky, fussed over her mother constantly, pleading for Ditzy to settle down and take things easy. The telltale bulge of Ditzy's stomach made the source of her condition clear. Though Ditzy's pregnancy was anything but easy on her, she was determined to do her part to help in the preparations. It took a firm hoof from Applejack to finally get her to settle down and relax.
"I'm glad you two made it," said somepony from behind Scootaloo just as her hooves touched the ground. The young mare leapt into the air with a startled yelp, whirling about to see Arkenstone standing there with an amused smile on his face.
"Dang it!" she snapped. "Stop doing that!"
"You need to keep your wits about you," teased Arkenstone as he strode past her, chuckling. He walked over to join Twilight and Storm.
Looking to the side, Scootaloo glared at Dawn as he pressed his mouth up against his foreleg, his stifled laughter coming through as a series of faint coughs. With a resigned sigh, Scootaloo shook her head and simply decided to take her lumps. She had been able to sense Arkenstone's physical presence with her wind-sense, but her consciousness had simply passed over him without the slightest acknowledgment. He might as well have been completely invisible to her.
"Glad ya made it, squirt," said Rainbow as she and Soarin' trotted up. "How are things going with your performance?"
"Pretty good," said Scootaloo, grinning, "I think we have a pretty good shot at winning this."
"I'm looking forward to it," said Soarin'. "Pity I don't get to judge this time."
Part of Scootaloo wanted to tell Rainbow and Soarin' all about what she and Dawn had just come up with. However, she quickly put a lid on her eagerness, wanting to save it for the actual competition. As it was, she was distracted by something small and fuzzy tackling her left foreleg. Looking down, Scootaloo couldn't quite hide a fond grin when she saw that Larksong had abandoned her game with Pound and Pumpkin to come over and latch on to Scootaloo.
"Sista Scoot!" yelled Larksong, clinging like a limpet to Scootaloo's foreleg, nuzzling into it.
Lifting up her leg, Scootaloo laughed and gently pried Larksong off. "Hey there, Li'l Sprout." She lifted Larksong up in her arms and kissed the little filly on the tip of her nose. "Are you still being a good girl for your mama?"
"I am!" squealed Larksong, wriggling eagerly in Scootaloo's grip.
"Reeeaaallllly?" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and gave Fluttershy an inquisitive look. Seeing Larksong's mother nod, Scootaloo relaxed and looked back down at the filly. "Okay then," she said, quickly pulling Larksong back in for another hug.
"Fly please?" asked Larksong, looking up at Scootaloo eagerly.
"Hold on there, Li'l Sprout," said Scootaloo. "It's almost time for lunch." Seeing Larksong's crestfallen expression, Scootaloo kissed her on the nose again. "Hey. I'll fly you after lunch. I promise."
"Okay," said Larksong, her smile returning, though slightly weaker.
Dawn snatched her away and hugged her back against his chest, chuckling as he nuzzled into the top of her head. "Larksong. If you're too sad to smile properly, then maybe you're too sad to fly."
"No!" exclaimed the filly, wriggling in her brother's grip. "I happy! I happy!"
"I'm not so sure," replied Dawn, "I think we need to give you some happiness treatment."
"No! No!" squealed Larksong, struggling even harder as she saw Dawn's wings reach around and curve towards her, his primaries delicately teasing her ribs. "EEEEEEE!" Her protestations gave way to peals of laughter as Dawn tickled her fiercely.
"Sista Scoot! Help!" yelled Larksong, reaching out plaintively to Scootaloo.
"Sorry, but Big Bro is right," said Scootaloo, smiling slyly as she came at Larksong from the front. "You need some happiness treatment." Leaning in, she blew a loud raspberry against Larksong's stomach, prompting another round of laughter from her as she wiggled desperately in an attempt to escape her tormentors, to no avail.
A few minutes later, Dawn and Scootaloo let up in their coordinated assault, letting a panting and exhausted Larksong go. She immediately slumped down. Dawn ended up picking her up again, hugging her against his chest as he nuzzled her mane again, his wings reaching out to now enfold around her completely. It was the same way that Fluttershy had used to cuddle with him.
"See, you feel a lot better, don't you," said Dawn.
"Yeah," said Larksong, nuzzling one of his arms.
"Good," said Dawn. "Remember not to eat too much during lunch or you'll get sick when we fly you."
"Okay."
Lunch was an easygoing affair, Pinkie Pie, the Cakes, and the Apple Family having brought an assortment of sandwiches and salads, along with drinks of every stripe. Naturally, this being an affair overseen by Pinkie Pie, there was no shortage of sweet treats. Both Dawn and Scootaloo kept a careful eye on Larksong to make sure that she didn't eat too much lunch or dessert. As she usually did, the little filly snuggled up between them, leaving Fluttershy and Caramel free to mind their youngest.
Once the food had been eaten, Dawn and Scootaloo took Larksong out to a nearby hill and began flying her once again, Scootaloo generating a constant updraft to help keep the filly aloft as she squealed and shouted happily.
"They're so good with her," observed Ditzy, smiling before swaying slightly, "Oooh..." She had only picked at her food throughout the meal, her appetite coming and going in random spurts throughout her pregnancy. Big Macintosh gently nuzzled her, doing his best to help her remain comfortable.
"Yes, they really are," agreed Fluttershy, carrying on the conversation as though Ditzy hadn't had a sudden attack of nausea, which the gray mare appreciated. "They both do so much to keep Larksong happy and they helped take care of her when she was a baby."
"They doin' the same with Peppy?" asked Macintosh, gently nudging the green form resting up against Caramel's chest. Pepita was watching his older siblings in his usual quiet, attentive manner,
"Dawn does," said Fluttershy. "He changes Peppy's diapers and even gets up at night when Peppy starts crying. It's nice having another adult in the house."
Caramel snorted, the jerk of his chest bumping Pepita slightly and eliciting a tiny giggle from the colt, who snuggled up against his father. "I was worried that the two of them were going to spoil Larksong rotten." He chuckled again.
"They don't?" asked Twilight, settling down next to Fluttershy on her other side.
"No," said Fluttershy. "They're always careful to make sure that Larksong's been behaving before they play with her. She's well-behaved because of that. She hardly ever causes trouble, even when Dawn and Scootaloo aren't around, because she knows they will always check with us first."
"Those two'll probably make pretty good parents themselves," observed Applejack wryly as she settled next to her brother and her sister-in-law.
That made Fluttershy giggle. Melon Cream joined in. "It's probably best if we keep that little observation to ourselves," Scootaloo's mother pointed out.
Dawn was watching as Larksong laughed and danced on the continuous updraft that Scootaloo was generating when he felt somepony tugging on his foreleg. Looking down, he was surprised to see Pound Cake looking up at him plaintively. "Can I fly too?" asked the colt, watching Dawn eagerly.
Pound Cake and his sister, Pumpkin, were a little older than Larksong, now attending the earliest grade at Ponyville Elementary. They were frequent playmates of Dawn's little sister as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie often brought them together.
Dawn smiled down at the colt. "You need to get permission from your mom and dad. But if they say yes, then you can fly too."
"Okay," said Pound, quickly rushing off to find the adults in question. A minute later, he was back, bouncing with eager excitement to get up in the air with his friend.
"I need you to pay attention," said Dawn, getting down onto Pound's level. "If you can't do what I say, you can't fly. Do you understand?"
"Okay," said Pound, quickly settling down to listen to Dawn's instructions.
"Start by opening up your wings and spreading them out as much as possible," said Dawn.
"Okay," said Pound, doing as he was told. His wings couldn't stretch very far, of course. But that was hardly any impediment.
"When I send you up, I need you to keep them open," said Dawn, "Do not try to close them or flap them. That will only make it harder to keep you up. Once I start flying you, you can move by tilting your weight, but don't try to fly too far away from me or you won't be able to stay up. If you do something dangerous, I won't fly you anymore. Do you understand?"
Pound nodded furiously.
"All right," said Dawn, smiling again. "Let's see how well you can keep your position. Open your wings again."
As Pound did what Dawn told him to, Dawn opened his own wings and directed a flow of air downwards, bouncing it off of the ground to create an updraft beneath Pound, lifting him up a few inches above the ground, not even as high as the colt could jump.
"Wheeeee!" squealed the colt, even though his hooves were still clipping the grass. He might not have been high, but the feeling of moving upwards, even if it was just a little bit, and staying there, the feeling of flying, was truly exhilarating for such a young pegasus. Shifting his weight, he found that he could move his body forwards, backwards, or even side to side. It wasn't exactly a match for the speed a pegasus' actual flight could manage, which was just fine, in Dawn's opinion, as that made it easier for him to maintain control and keep the updraft under Pound's wings.
Finally, Dawn was satisfied that Pound could maintain the position. "All right," he said, abating the flow of air, "it's time to fly for real. Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" shouted Pound eagerly.
Dawn lowered himself onto the ground. "Then climb on and spread your wings."
"Okay!" exclaimed Pound, doing just that. He settled between Dawn's shoulders and opened his wings.
Standing up, Dawn snapped his own wings out and directed a swift updraft into Pound's wings. The colt laughed long and loud as the flow of air lifted him up and up, until he was hovering at the same level as Larksong. The two of them laughed and shouted as they drifted about, using their weight to shift their flight around one another, but, mindful of the warnings they'd been given, never coming too close together. Scootaloo's and Dawn's efforts merged together, forming a single column of rising air that broadened the play area that Pound and Larksong had. Dawn and Scootaloo maneuvered carefully to keep their updrafts beneath their charges.
The game continued for nearly half an hour when Dawn's attention was drawn by a mare's polite cough. Looking for the source of the noise, his gaze met that of a lime-green earth pony mare. Looking near her hooves, Dawn could see a little pegasus filly, somewhere around Larksong's age, looking nervously up at him.
"Excuse me," said the mare politely, her gaze flicking upwards towards Pound and Larksong. "May I speak to you about what you are doing?”
Dawn nodded and looked over to Scootaloo, flexing the primaries of his wing, indicating that it was time to bring Pound and Larksong down. Scootaloo nodded and, together, the two of them slowly reduced their updrafts until Pound and Larksong gently drifted down towards the earth, setting them down gently and producing simultaneous calls of disappointment from them.
"Come on kids," said Scootaloo, gathering Pound and Larksong to her, "Let's go play with the ball until Dawn is done." She led them towards Pumpkin Cake, who had been looking slightly downcast at the loss of her playmates, though Pinkie and Dinky had taken it upon themselves to keep Pound's twin occupied and amused.
Dawn turned his full attention to the mare and smiled politely. "How may I help you, Ma'am?"
"What you were doing with those two..." the mare said, her tone nervous and hesitant, "...is it safe?"
"As safe as we can make it," said Dawn. "I will not say that there isn't a certain amount of risk to such an activity, but Scootaloo and I have done our best to anticipate any problems that might arise and made sure that we are able to handle them."
"I see..." said the mare, her tone somewhat dubious. "Is it really safe to raise them that high?”
"Safer than holding them at a lower altitude," Dawn explained. "It gives Scootaloo or I more time to catch them if they fall. Too low and they would still fall far enough to be hurt, but we would have less time to catch them before they hit the ground."
"Oh..." said the mare, going a little pale at the idea. "And...do their parents know about this?"
"Larksong is my little sister and we have been doing this with her for over a year now," replied Dawn, "with my mother's full approval." He titled his head to direct the mare's gaze over to where Fluttershy was lounging with the rest of their friends. Dawn's mother waved happily in their direction when she saw them look at her. "As for Pound Cake, I made sure that he asked his parents' permission before we sent him up."
"All right..." said the mare, nodding slowly, still looking very uncertain. She cast a glance down at the filly crouched behind her foreleg. "And you're sure it's a good idea to do that with such young ponies?"
"It's actually good for them," said Dawn, meeting the filly's gaze and giving the little one an encouraging smile. "We checked with the doctor and he says that it's good exercise for their wings and helps young pegasi develop their affinity for flying." Turning his gaze back to the mother, he gave her a bit more sober look. "May I inquire as to why you are asking about all of this?" He had a good idea as to why this mare was asking him all of these questions. But he wanted to hear confirmation from her own mouth.
"Well...my daughter has been watching you and..." The mare licked her lips nervously and glance down at the filly again, clearly feeling indecisive about this whole affair. "And she was wondering..."
"I see," said Dawn, smiling again and lowering himself down to her level. The little yellow scrap of a pegasus shrank away from his disconcerting gaze for a second before hesitantly meeting it. "You wanted to ask if I could fly you as well."
Very hesitantly, the filly nodded. "Uh...huh..."
Standing up, Dawn turned his attention once again to the filly's mother. "And you are uncertain if you should allow her or if you should even ask."
"Yes," agreed the mare readily enough.
"I understand," said Dawn. "Just to make it clear, Scootaloo and I are probably the only two ponies in this corner of Equestria, possibly the entire country, who could manage something like this. There are no standards governing an activity like this and no laws concerning applying our skills in this way."
In truth, there had been some possibility of the two of them, along with Fluttershy or anypony who consented to having their foals "flown" in such a manner being slapped with charges of reckless endangerment or possibly even abuse if ponies thought to accuse them of such. Fortunately, he and Scootaloo had taken steps to prevent this.
"That said," Dawn continued. "We have developed 'standards' of our own to ensure that this activity is as safe as we can make it. They have been approved by the Mayor and I have even consulted with a friend in the Department of Foal Protections to make sure that everything is as legal as we can make it." Said friend had been Rumble, who was still only interning at the department. But, at Dawn's urging, Rumble had run it past Softhoof, who had given her own agreement after being shown the body of evidence that Dawn had gathered to show that the activity was not only reasonably safe, but actually good for the foals who participated in it.
"I see," said the mare, still shifting nervously. "Then...my daughter can..."
"With your permission," said Dawn, nodding fractionally. "I wouldn't dream of doing this if she did not have your approval." He smiled at the mare. "If you feel at all unable to trust us with your daughter's safety, let us know and we will return her to you."
"All right," said the mare, nodding. She lowered her head and gently butted her daughter forward. "Ask the nice stallion, Little Star."
"Um...can I...can I..."
"May I," her mother corrected.
The filly nodded. "M-may I f-fly too?"
"You may," said Dawn, looking up at the filly's mother and catching her nod.
Dawn partly extended a wing in a slow but powerful motion, sending a gentle stream of air out so that it reached out to Scootaloo over where she was playing with the other foals and brushed up against her feathers, catching her attention before pulling his wing back, sweeping it in the direction of his own body rather than simply folding it up, gently using the wind to create a tugging sensation in his direction.
Feeling his summons, Scootaloo flapped her wings, rising just high enough to cross the distance between them in what almost looked more like an extended jump than an actual flight. "What's up?" she asked, "We ready to start again?"
"Almost," said Dawn, using a flick of his wing to designate Little Star, "She would like to join Larksong and Pound. I think we should use the method we agreed on."
"Okay," said Scootaloo, nodding, "I'll get the Li'l Sprout and Pound. You give her the primer."
Dawn nodded and crouched down to give Little Star the same instructions he had given Pound Cake earlier. After that, he did the same low-level test flight he'd done with Pound to assure himself that she could manage in the air. Little Star performed to his satisfaction and Dawn had her join Larksong and Pound around Scootaloo. This time, their starting procedure was a little different. Dawn had Scootaloo start her updraft and then had the three foals crawl onto his back, one by one, before using his own wings to boost each into the stream of rising air that his fillyfriend had created. Once that was done, he settled back to observe, tracking the foals through his wind-sense.
Little Star was nervous at first, this being the first time she had gone so high without another pegasus to directly carry her. But soon she was laughing and drifting about with the other two, clearly enjoying the sensation of flight. Down below, Scootaloo deftly manipulated the air, creating small gusts to nudge the foals back towards the middle of the column if they strayed too close to its edges.
"It's amazing," said Little Star's mother, watching attentively as her daughter banked and glided about the column of flowing air with the other two, "She's so happy."
Dawn nodded. "We worked it out the first time Larksong asked if she could fly with us. It's a good reward to keep her behaving."
"I'll bet," said the mare. For a moment, they watched in silence. "How many foals could you fly like this?" she asked suddenly.
"Like this..." Dawn tilted his head slightly. "Scootaloo or I could easily lift more than a dozen foals around that size. But we would want to keep it to about half that to keep the space from getting too crowded. If the two of us work together, we'd have room for even more than that easily, but then we'd want to recruit other pegasi to act as spotters."
"I see..." said the mare, pursing her lips. She cast her gaze around the park. Dawn did the same, looking at what she was looking at. There were several other families out, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. A few of them were parents with pegasus foals. Many of those foals were watching the trio that Scootaloo had suspended in the air eagerly, whilst their parents looked on, many with expressions of concern. There were even a couple who were clearly showing expressions of disgust, obviously believing that Dawn and Scootaloo were endangering the three foals currently up in the air.
Oh my, thought Dawn, seeing all the interest their little game had drawn. He even noticed a few parents edging closer, nervously considering inquiring about their own foals participating.
In the end, Dawn and Scootaloo received requests from parents to fly eighteen young pegasi. They recruited Rainbow Dash and Soarin' to act as spotters whilst they worked together to create an updraft wide enough to keep all the excited foals suspended in the air. They spent the afternoon flying the young pegasi about whilst their parents looked on with varying degrees of trepidation and excitement. Dawn and Scootaloo had originally planned to continue working on their performance plans after the picnic had concluded, but instead spent the afternoon amusing the little ones.
Finally, after spending nearly three hours keeping the rambunctious little ponies aloft, it was time for them to go home. Carefully lowering them to the ground, Dawn walked them through some exercises to help ease the strain caused by wings that had been held open for an extended period of time. Afterwards, the little ones were sent back home, babbling excitedly about their experience. Dawn saw Scootaloo and her mother off before walking home alongside his own family, a tired, but happy, Larksong napping on his back as they walked.
"You made those kids' day," observed Caramel with a chuckle, shifting his shoulders to gently rock Pepita in his sling as they ambled, prompting the colt to coo pleasantly.
"It was fun," said Dawn, nodding in agreement. Some of the foals had been a bit frightened at being up so high...at first. But soon they were enjoying themselves with the rest. Practically all of them had been reluctant for the experience to end and had pressed him and Scootaloo to fly them again sometime as their parents pulled them away to go back home.
"I think that was a wonderful thing you did," said Fluttershy, nuzzling her son's cheek. "Maybe you could make it a regular thing."
"Maybe..." said Dawn, rolling his eyes upward thoughtfully. To be honest, the thought actually appealed to him. Seeing so many young pegasi being made so happy through his skills had left him feeling quite good. Though he and Scootaloo had skipped their afternoon practice session, he couldn't consider it time wasted.
"It might be something for you to consider," suggested Caramel. "I mean, you obviously can't do it too much right now, what with you and Scootaloo getting ready for the competition. But maybe when that's over..."
Dawn thought about it. It didn't seem like such a bad idea. Sure, his job at the teahouse would still be there for him after he and Scootaloo finished with the competition. But, while he'd been content with that, it didn't quite leave him as fulfilled as he felt after spending an afternoon with the foals, giving them a taste of real flight. Instead, working at the teahouse left him feeling as though his life was locked in a sort of holding pattern. It was a stopgap, something to do until he found what he really wanted to do with his life.
But spending his afternoon playing flying games with foals...Was that really what he wanted to do? It was nice, even better than learning about, making, and serving tea. But Dawn still felt there was something...more...he could be doing. Still...it's something worth thinking about, he mused silently.
A new day came and, with it, a new practice session. This time, Dawn and Scootaloo dedicated their entire day to refining their routine, carefully walking through the steps of the form one at a time before working on stringing them together. With permission from Raindrops, Scootaloo had even borrowed a few clouds from the Weather Team to help simulate what they would be working with when they actually performed at the Cloudeseum. Already, Scootaloo felt extremely confident about their routine. It was an excellent showcase of their skills and the finale, if they could pull it off reliably, would completely enthrall their audience.
They worked through the morning before pausing to enjoy the packed lunches they had brought with them. As they resumed their practice through the afternoon, Dawn noticed a pony approaching from the direction of town. Pausing their practice, he looked down to see the familiar figure of the Mayor as she made her way along the rough, overgrown path leading to the quarry.
Dawn swooped down and landed in front of her. "Ms. Mayor," he said politely, bobbing his head in greeting.
Mayor Mare smiled when she saw the young stallion. She looked good for her age. Her wrinkles were a little deeper and her pace a bit slower, but she was still every bit the distinguished older mare Dawn had met when Fluttershy had taken him to Town Hall to finalize his adoption. Though she had never really radiated authority, she carried herself with the pride and confidence of a pony truly dedicated to her work, having overseen Ponyville through many of its crises, a few of which had been a consequence of Dawn's presence. Still, she had taken everything in stride and had never borne any ill will against him for some of the problems that had resulted from his presence, even when the town had been partially destroyed as a consequence.
"Hello Dawn," said the Mayor. "You and Scootaloo are hard at work I see."
Dawn nodded. "As are you. You really didn't have to come out this far to talk to me. I'd gladly meet with you at your convenience."
"Bah," she said, waving a dismissive hoof. "I already have my aides chatting me up about how I'm 'getting too old for this nonsense' and saying that I'm 'not as young as I used to be.' I'm not in my grave yet, so I'll thank you to not suggest that I'm decrepit."
"Sorry," said Dawn quickly, feeling a bit cowed by her speech. "What is it you wish to talk about?”
"I understand that you and your fillyfriend have apparently developed a new pastime with the local pegasus foals," she said blandly, her expression suddenly not giving anything away.
"I suppose..." said Dawn with a shrug. "We did give you a rundown on how it works and how we're doing our best to make it safe. I also don't think that it'll become a regular thing...yet."
Mayor Mare nodded, her smile returning. "Yes and you've gotten the approval of Foal Protections. All of those are reasons that why I am not here with a Cease and Desist Order on grounds of endangerment. But I thought that you should know that some ponies are raising...concerns."
"Is that so?" asked Dawn, raising an eyebrow. Given the way she'd hesitated at that last word, he got the distinct feeling that the ponies in question had probably been quite vocal about their "concerns."
She nodded in agreement, then in greeting as Scootaloo landed behind Dawn. "I'm afraid so. There weren't very many, about five of them. But they were quite vocal about their belief that you are endangering the lives of foals. Some of them are calling for very close scrutiny of your actions."
Dawn winced at that. He'd had quite enough of close scrutiny in his lifetime, thanks to the dogged efforts of the Cult Solar to cut said lifetime short. That was no longer a problem, of course, but the last thing he enjoyed was the idea of ponies peering over his and Scootaloo's shoulders because a few ponies objected to an activity for foals because they thought it was much more dangerous than it was.
"Naturally, I told them that they had nothing to be concerned about, that you had consulted me about this activity before undertaking it and had organized sufficient safeguards to satisfy even the ponies of Foal Protections. That didn't exactly satisfy them, but they didn't have much to say after that."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Dawn. "Is that all you came out here to talk about?"
"No," she said. "I also wanted to warn you that, while I won't take any official action, I can't control the actions of those ponies. I worry that they might take matters into their own hooves. If they try something while you're flying your sister or other foals, I want you to be extra careful. I don't want foals getting hurt because they distracted you in some way."
"You don't think they'd try to do that on purpose?" asked Scootaloo, her eyes wide in shock at the idea.
"I certainly hope not," replied the Mayor calmly. "Since they are basing their accusations on concern for foals' wellbeing, it would undermine their efforts if they endangered said foals, either directly or indirectly, through their actions. That said, one can never underestimate the recklessness of zealous ponies."
Dawn nodded, knowing full well how zealous some ponies could be.
The Mayor's expression softened, now that she had apparently delivered her warning to her satisfaction. "Now then, on to other matters. I understand that you two will be performing at the Best Young Fliers Competition."
"That's right," said Scootaloo eagerly. "We're working on fine tuning our routine right now. After that, we'll practice it until we can do it in our sleep."
"I'm pleased to hear it," she said. "Maybe, after the competition has ended, you'll share your routine with the rest of Ponyville. I think it would be quite the treat."
"Sure," said Scootaloo. "We'd love to do that."
Dawn said nothing, but noticeably made no objection to Scootaloo's words.
"Excellent," said Mayor Mare, chuckling at the younger mare's enthusiasm. "I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labors. I'll leave you alone now. I know how important it is to keep from giving away the secrets of your performance."
Scootaloo and Dawn waved goodbye as the Mayor headed back towards town. "She's a pretty cool pony," observed Scootaloo as she put her hoof back down.
"That she is," agreed Dawn. "Back to training?"
"You bet!"
The comments...they dog me...I see them in my sleep...
It's not the comments themselves that I'm complaining about. I love that you all are so invested in this story and have so much to say about it. Even if I don't respond to many (or any) comments most of the time, I still try to read them all, since a lot of you have interesting things to say. But still, to come back after posting a chapter and see anywhere from twenty to sixty comments in a period of less than twenty-four hours, across ten different stories...
...yeah, it can be exhausting keeping up with them all. But it's encouraging to see that there's so much enthusiasm for my work. Now if I could write something actually original for a change, instead of perpetually playing in someone else's sandbox, I might actually have a chance for success as an actual author, with help from an editor, of course. Seeing the various corrections I still need to make even after reviewing a chapter two or three times before posting shows I have my limits in that regard.
But, enough about that. Onwards!
Next chapter: Dawn and Scootaloo meet the competition.
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
732 users online
1,118,134 hits today, 2,561,572 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.®
This was an amazing chapter that I think foreshadows where Dawn's cutie mark might lie. Thoroughly enjoyable and adorable it is a wonderful addition. I hope we have many more before this series gets the ending it has earned.
Nice chapter... Shows Dawn is ready for fatherhood when it comes his way...
Also, why am I sensing that the competition will involve Dawn's 'biological brother/sister'...
The hours between your chapter-uploads are among the worst ever, just as them showing up in my feed are the greatest.
hey moguera never let it be said that this is unoriginal. as for that comment about someone elses sandbox it doesnt matter if your in a sandbox on the beach or even molding clay in an art class your work is your own. im not sure if your talking about the mlp fandom or other stories but the way you have presented your characters both oc and cannon alike are wonderful and unique. ive been around from book one till now and i can say without a shadow of a doubt that while the cannon characters share the same face thats it. the personalitys that drive the story are the important part. while i still watch the show i find your itteration of the characters much more palitable they still have flaws but every character has in my oppinion a much more developed and real personality. they arent the cardbord cutout that populate this site by the hundreds and twilight to my knowledge never went into purple unicorn syndrom territory from the get go she wasnt a bumbling student she was a scholor and a librarian someone who finds joy in the discovery and sharing of knowledge and while taking that route you avoided sprinting down the route of natural extremes she didnt have the answeres to everything in min or hours and she didnt talk down to everyone around her i seem to be droneing on and i could write a paragraph for every character but ill stop here. sandbox or not the mini city is really impresive especialy all the life like little people just one question though how are they moving on their own?
ps trust me when i say that no story makes it to the public flawless i worked with a team of three other editors two of which were english majors and we still had the occasional mistake slip through one of those wired querks about the human brain it can correct the little mistakes in your head so fast you dont even notice
Her name is spelled M-A-U-D. It does NOT end with an e.
On a side note, I'm starting to think Dawn's cutie mark will have something to do with ether teaching or caring for foals.
7302718 He means that he can't publish this for money because it's fanfiction. He wants to work on his own original fiction so he can publish it and try to be a 'real author'.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
2:47_6/14/2016
7302643 You know, that's a completely valid point. Until now, I'd completely forgotten that Dawn was effectively tossed away by his biological parents. Now that you've brought it back to the forefront of my mind, I cannot wait to see how Dawn and the rest of his adoptive family react, should they appear.
Will the try and hurt Dawn? Or did they get rid of him because the genuinely feared that he would harm them? So many different routes could be taken with a reunion like this. It leaves me thoroughly excited about the possibilities.
*sigh* This is going to keep me up at night.
7302834 ... oh ok well if thats the case id say hes well on his way he seems to have a pretty firm grasp on character development and pacing and id be willing to read anything he puts out so long as the quality remains the same
ooh! i was right about the cloud shaping and the lightning!
and daww!
i wonder if they can use cloud shaping and magic to create some updrafts that run on their own for a time? above a soft cloud floor of course
You did an amazing job with this chapter!
That was so adorable. It really *sucks* that after all they've been through some folks still don't trust Dawn.
Well, they *were* pegasi, so it's a good chance they don't actually live in Ponyville anyway, which might explain it.
*quirks an eyebrow*
You know, it makes me wonder if those five "concerned ponies" aren't remnants of Cult Solar. Or come from the bunch that never got over Dawn's look and dislike him on the principle of being different. Because forget about clearing this up with the Mayor or foal protection services, and never mind the fact that he isn't touching their foals (obviously those five wouldn't have allowed theirs to participate) - you'd think the fact that a princess of Equestria is lounging a hundred meters away from the activity and isn't raising any objections would clue any reasonable ponies in that The Crown doesn't take issue with the exercise. And this time Twilight can straight out shut down any farce comparable to the investigation of Dawn's home life a few stories ago, as she's the highest authority around.
Which, indeed, makes me wonder if the bunch won't try to take it in their own hooves to "prove" that the foals are in danger during the exercise by trying to distract Dawn/Scoots, in an ill-advised attempt to cause an accident.
Which would be all sorts of amusing probably, provided no foals get hurt (then it would be less amusing) - because the very next moment they would get a mob of ponies descending on them, ready to stomp their flanks in. Forget a response from Dawn and co - there would be a lot of parents around at that point, parents whose foals would be deliberately put in danger by those five. And parents don't tend to react well when their children are threatened by others ...
Ugh, this one-chapter-a-day is killing me.
It doesn't help that we all know that you've already finished the whole story. The anticipation is torture!
7303272 For some reason the regular updates make me more manic about it.
I think I know what Dawn's cutie mark is going to be about.
I never thought of Dawns cutie mark being related to him teaching. If it is I can't wait to see what it actually is. I have a few ideas if it is related to that. And don't say you're playing in someone else's sandbox. These characters (even though not originally yours) are more yours than the shows. They just gave you the canvas so you can paint the beautiful picture that is this series. Can't wait for the next chapter and the new original story you'll make. You're an awesome author Moguera
7303504 Other stories tend not to release chapters often, so our excitement eventually fades. With this story, the regularity means that we get the chapter before the excitement fades, so it all builds up, making us crazier as it goes on.
But it's not just the regularity. It's the fact that we know when it's coming next.
With other stories, we tend not to know when they're coming out. If they release a good enough chapter, they can still make us agitated with anticipation (I know I've got one that did just that recently won't likely update for a few months), but with this story we know the next chapter's coming tomorrow. We know how long we have to wait to continue reading. And that puts us into overdrive.
7302728 I've been thinking Dawn's cutie mark would be in teaching since before Dark Matter. The only times he's had the sense of fulfillment commonly associated with cutie marks is when Scootaloo accomplished something with flying or Gale King that he taught her.
I don't know if it's just me and it could be different for others... but this whole part:
Is very cringy and unrealistic for me.
7303258
"Which would be all sorts of amusing probably, provided no foals get hurt (then it would be less amusing) - because the very next moment they would get a mob of ponies descending on them, ready to stomp their flanks in. Forget a response from Dawn and co - there would be a lot of parents around at that point, parents whose foals would be deliberately put in danger by those five. And parents don't tend to react well when their children are threatened by others ..."
I'd buy out the popcorn supply of Iowa to see that happen.
Am I the only one who beliees that Dan is going to get his cutie mark if he opens p a dojo?
Scratch that.
7304292 SO you thinking what I'm thinking?
A Dojo?
Named after hhis sensei?
Seriously, a dojo would be awesome.
I see that you let Chekhov out of his cell, again... Let him break into the armory, again... And we are left to pick up the armaments left lying around hoping none of them blow our faces off.
Damnit author, keep him locked up. Just last week my friend found one hidden from months ago and lost his hand to it! I swear it's like you want him leaving these things out everywhere.
Lol. My re-reading of the earlier stories is making picking out your foreshadowing easier is some aspects.
I really like how Dawn and Scootaloo are working with the foals helping them to fly and at the same time I see a new story ark, Dawn and Scootaloo as parents hum maybe a side story just for the most part looking at Dawn and Scootaloo in say 10 years.
...hehehehe
We gonna get more info on this?
First Cloudsdale, now in Ponyville? I have a feeling that these ponies are more interested in Dawn than anything else...
Dawn. We get it. You want to start a dojo.
As someone who has his own sandbox that is regularly played in I will say this:
there's no such thing as truly original when it comes to this art form.
Let me explain in more detail. All authors get inspiration from the world around them. Even those quacks that write drivel like Daxter pull their ideas from the real world.
While it's true that fan fiction is playing in somepony else's sandbox, what fan authors- myself including, as mine own work continually surprises me -are able to do with it is simply astounding.
I've written a fair few pieces of original fiction, and even then I took inspiration for that from other mediums.
BE PROUD OF YOURSELF
COME ON
EXACTLY 7329584 !!!!
This series while it does use influences of other mangas. The same can be said of all works. Dragon Ball was inspired by Superman who was stolen from Gladiator. And of course Dragon Ball inspired many other mangas and manga battles.
What makes something unique, is not what you draw inspiration from. But how you implement it. And this series is both memorable, amazingly made, mind blowing world building, and an AU that makes others wish for more ... honestly this needs to be a thing like with the Lunaverse, where it becomes a community driven AU.
So yeah don't sell yourself short. This is original in many ways and is seriously an amazing body of work. Thank you for all the years you put into this.
7329584
YOU'RE UNDERSTATING IT!
BE PROUD OF YOURSELF MOGUERA!
YOU DESERVE TO
7819470
What would we call something like that for this AU? The... Skies-verse? The SS-Verse?
7819470
Dragonball wasn't inspired by Superman it was inspired by the book Journey to the West. That's Goku's name is Son Goku. He's named after the main character of Journey to the West, Son Wukong.
10027580
https://www.ignboards.com/threads/goku-was-inspired-on-the-superman-character.17013763/
https://www.cbr.com/superman-dragon-ball-goku-ripoff/
https://screenrant.com/superman-goku-same-origin-story/
Actually there's evidence that Goku took inspiration from Superman as well. Yes, Journey to the West was also a big one, but there are lots of things from Superman that get Adapted and Homaged in DB and DBZ as well.
It's not exactly just playing with foals, it's more like shaping their futures and helping... 🤔