The Mare, The Myth, The Legend

by Mark Young

Chp 4

Corkscrew Scissors sat down around the back behind the kitchen of the Coltured Cuisine, listening to the bustling sound of the city while drinking hot tea. As she took a solemn sip, the door squeaked open as Ladle Up disturbed the moment to find his wife. “I wondered if I would find you here. We have an early delivery. I already got it all ready to go.”

Corkscrew sipped her tea and sighed. “What am I doing here, Ladle? Some days, I wish I could just give up, and start over.”

Ladle brushed his cheek against her. “You never told me that by helping to achieve my dreams that you were giving up your own. You are a good mare, mother, and very skilled flyer. But if you like to take it easy, we been very successful enough. We can find a way to fit your plans too.”

Corkscrew finished her tea and walked back inside. “Can’t risk your family business to deal with mine.” She grabbed the paper sack and took off. She took a usual route, recognizing every door, every wall, the buildings, even the pigeon nests. Corkscrew flew up along the panels of a skyscraper and she looked down at her darkened reflection with a sigh. Up and over to the other side, she approached the window of her destination and set the order down on the windowsill when another Pegasus snatched up the bag in a spiraling dive.

“Hey!” Corkscrew shot into action, diving after the Pegasus. She kept her eye on the thief as she dodged around a flagpole. The Pegasus ran along the side of the building before disappearing into an alleyway. Corkscrew gained altitude and picked out her target like a hawk. She raced to intercept and get in their way.

But the thief had his wits about him and zigzagged around. Corkscrew twisted around and grabbed his tail in her teeth, yanking him back. He dropped the bag and another Pegasus grabbed it and was flying the other way.

Corkscrew grabbed the stallion in her teeth, twirled around, forced his wings open, and then kicked him off, launching herself at the second thief. She was ready to collide into the mare, but her assailant jolted to the side and weaved around another building. Corkscrew narrowed her profile and flew into the gap of an open window like a missile and appeared out the other side. The mare was just below her, giving Corkscrew the jump on her.

By now, the delivery mare realized this was some kind of gang working cohesively, so she took a quick scan of the skies and saw another Pegasus mare darting through the city, uncharacteristic of an average pony. She calculated possible intercept courses between the thief she was following, and the one that was coming in.

She flew off her target who looked back and felt confident she might’ve lost Corkscrew before dodging the archway on a balcony. The thief flew up to the peak of one of the taller buildings to give the bag to the other diving pony in a tag-team flyby. But Corkscrew bolted in-between them from a high angle. The ram jolted their grip on the bag and the food was falling to ground.

“Oops,” the first mare said in a raspy voice. “Guess it’s gone.”

But Corkscrew Scissors, having passed the ponies, braked her momentum fanning out feathers and slowing to a crawl before flipping in a backward loop, then skidding along toward the bag’s direction upside down, intercepting it before flying out of the maneuver in a spiraling dive right-side up, gaining lift again and racing towards the street below.

Then Corkscrew gained just enough lift to gallop on top of a few taxi carts before lifting up to the sky again, on her way to the original delivery spot.

She was panting hard as she tapped on the window and hovering by the window. “I have—your order—ready!”

The window opened and it was Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all smiling. Twilight nodded her head. “Well, well, well, I see you did some pretty snazzy flying there, Ms. Scissors.”

Corkscrew climbed in. “I don’t understand—kid, what’s going on?”

“Oh nothin’ special,” Rainbow dash rubbed her hoof on her chest. “Except the fact you just outflew three Wonderbolts single-wingedly!”

Flying in from behind were the three thieves. Rainbow Dash held out her hoof. “Corkscrew Scissors, meet Fleetfoot, Soarin, and captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire.”

Spitfire stepped in and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Whew, that was some flying you did there! Fancy wing-work. I’ve never seen anypony pull off an Alpha Cobra Somersault Skid Maneuver. I thought it was impossible.”

Corkscrew tried her best to keep a low, bored expression but couldn’t help but let up a sly grin before wiggling the feathers of her wing at Spitfire. “Dexterous wings. Do the right exercises and stretches, you can get a lot more out of them.”

“Nice job,” Fleetfoot said, “I think she’ll work out just fine.”

Corkscrew raised an eyebrow and looked at Rainbow Dash and her friends.

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. “Corkscrew, we know how much you gave up to make Rainbow Dash’s success a reality, and not just by saving her from the fall back when she was a filly. Our friend, our hero of Equestria helped save our homes and secure our future with the Loyalty instilled to her friends like the loyalty instilled from you to your family. In that, you were a great role model. I want to officially thank you for all that you have done.”

Twilight used her magic to reveal a scrapbook with pictures and news clippings. She started pointing at things in it. “This is when Rainbow Dash performed a Sonic Rainboom to save our friend Rarity and three Wonderbolts at the show.

“Here is when Rainbow Dash wouldn’t give up on Fluttershy to help get Ponyville’s waterspout for the weather factory.” She flipped a page. “We needed Rainbow Dash to win the friendship of sky pirates that helped us defeat the Storm King, and she was there at the defeat of King Sombra not once, but twice, and so much more.”

Twilight gave Corkscrew Scissors the book and put a medal around her neck. Corkscrew’s mouth wiggled into a smile as her eyes twinkled. Twilight continued, “None of this would have been possible were it not for you. By extension, you saved the lives of everypony in Equestria, including myself and each of the princesses.”

Spitfire bumped Corkscrew in the shoulder. “I think you’ve proven yourself to be top-notch Wonderbolt material. I’ve got a spot for you on the Wonderbolt Reserve for the Fillydelphia branch. It’d more of a part-time ordeal, but we’ve got a trainer who’s getting ready to retire.”

“But, what about my job?”

Fluttershy hummed a little giggle as she raised a hoof for a pigeon to perch on her front leg. “This is Reginald, and I’ve talked to his family here. They have a history of being first class carrier pigeons, and they would love to help out your restaurant! So now all of your order stations have pigeons there to take deliveries straight to the Coltured Cuisine so you don’t have to fly to retrieve them.”

“Well, that would cut the route time in half.” Corkscrew finally broke into a smile as she teared up. “Thanks kid. I needed this.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Heh, and I didn’t even have to say anything.”

“Lazy as ever.”

The three Wonderbolts got a puzzled look. “Uh, Dash,” Spitfire pointed, “your flank is blinking.”

Twilight and Fluttershy lifted their wings and saw their cutie marks also blinking. “Well, that means our job here is done. We better get back, school will be re-opened soon after Spring Break.”

After they said their goodbyes and started walking out, Rainbow Dash turned around. “Hey uh, I know things are still going to be busy for the both of us, but I could, well maybe—I could swing by, you know, maybe check up on things? You never did teach me how to do the Alpha Cobra Somersault Skid Maneuver.”

Corkscrew used one of her wings to lift up Rainbow Dash’s own wing. “Oh, I taught you alright. You’re just too much a lazy bum to get the right muscles in order. Next time I see you, better be able to do it.”

Rainbow Dash saluted with her wing then smiled. “Yes ma’am!”