partisans of Eqwuestria

by Ferencelvtars

The Rose Tree

It was a beautiful sunny day, with few clouds in the sky. The Ponyville School building echoed with the sounds of foals as the bell rang, marking the end of the last Friday class. The Crusaders hurried to exit, trying to avoid running into Diamond Tiara. Despite having earned their cutie marks, the beauty marks still clung to them, testing their patience day by day. As the large crowd passed, they made their way towards the exit. However, Apple Bloom found a peculiar paper in her mouth – red and pink, heart-shaped, emitting a delicate rose fragrance. Meanwhile, Scootaloo attempted to take flight once again, with varying degrees of success.

Sweetie Belle walked sadly between the two; while the others could enjoy themselves today, she had to help her sister with her boutique, as the grand apple festival was approaching, and Apple Bloom was busy with relatives visiting for vacation. Scoutalu couldn't assist due to her inability to fly; she couldn't even drag clouds, let alone perform other flying tasks. As the schoolyard cleared, the three friends headed in a different direction than the rest of the group.

Scoutalu didn't stay with Apple Bloom for long, as she had flying lessons with Rumble and many other little pegasi today, led by Rainbow Dash and Split Fire. When they arrived, Rumble pointed to his watch, indicating that he had once again managed to be late. Scoutalu swallowed hard, quickly dropped her bag, and joined the others in line in front of Rainbow Dash.

"Alright, young ones, it's time for you to learn to fly like no one else can," Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"Yay!" exclaimed Scoutalu, albeit with a hint of sadness and lack of enthusiasm.

Rainbow noticed this, but she had to stick to the schedule. "Alright, little ponies, Scoutalu, you lead the beginner group again. Warm them up while we work with the advanced ones," she instructed.

Scoutalu reluctantly organized the beginners into two groups. "Alright, little ones in the first group, practice wing circles. Those in the second group, practice wing stretches. We'll switch after 5 minutes," she announced, then began the exercises Rainbow Dash had given her.

After finishing the warm-up, Rumble took a step back and observed the beginners as Scoutalu demonstrated the basic wing techniques. Later, Split Fire took over the group.

The training proceeded as usual after the handover. Scoutalu focused on basic takeoffs and landings, as well as basic maneuvering. While her peers were learning various tricks and formations, Rumble was racing with some older ponies on the track. However, he kept finding himself watching Scoutalu, and because of that, he fell behind. Something caught his eye.

Rumble noticed that Scoutalu somehow couldn't or wouldn't stay in the air. He decided to help her, realizing that Scoutalu had only received her beauty mark because she assigned him to the kitchen; otherwise, she would never have discovered her exceptional cooking and baking skills. As Scoutalu was about to head to the clubhouse to watch the others practice sadly and alone, Rumble subtly separated from the group and landed behind her, just behind the flying Rainbow Dash and the imitating Day.

"Hey, Scoutalu, everything okay?" Rumble asked, the question carrying a touch of poetry.

"What do you want? Mock me again because I can't fly?" Scoutalu questioned, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What? No, not at all. I just see in you that, despite your efforts, it's not working, and it's slowly getting to you. I want to help," Rumble explained indignantly.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Scoutalu replied, sniffling.

"Do you want me to help? I think I can," Rumble offered.

"I don't understand. How could you help me?" Scoutalu asked irritably.

"Come, let me show you something that will surely please you," Rumble said, invitingly.

"Fine, why not? I don't have anything else to do," Scoutalu accepted, trying to dry her tears.

Rumble and Scoutalu headed towards the Everfree Forest. At the edge of the forest, they took a left turn onto a small, almost completely overgrown path. Soon, they reached a beautifully enchanting rose tree, with flowers of every color imaginable – blue, yellow, orange, purple, red, green, and every shade in between. Scoutalu found it mesmerizing, forgetting all her troubles and sorrows.

"This is so beautiful. Thank you, Rumble," Scoutalu said as she walked slowly among the flowers.

"I didn't bring you here just because it's pretty. This is definitely going to be something you'll like," Rumble declared.

"What? Why, if not just for this?" Scoutalu inquired.

"Well, you see, I'm three years older than you, and when I was your age, I couldn't fly either, just like you. Probably, I still wouldn't be able to if it weren't for this tree. The flowers have magical properties – if a creature makes tea from the flowers, it can behave in two ways. If the creature drinks it out of self-interest, it releases a merciless poison into its body, draining the last drop of life energy in an instant. But if someone drinks it to help or fix something that life has messed up, it gives you what you've always wanted," Rumble explained.

"Wow, so this tree can make me fly?" Scoutalu asked in amazement, tears of joy replacing the ones of sadness.

After hugging Rumble tightly in gratitude, Scoutalu picked some flowers and headed home. The next day at school, she took a sip of the tea and felt a tingling sensation in her wings. She resisted the urge to try immediately, deciding to wait until the end of school. She invited Rumble and her two best friends to the clubhouse to witness the effect. Climbing to the top of the clubhouse, closing her eyes, Scoutalu leaped into the air, flapping her wings vigorously. The others watched in awe, but she soon fell to the ground. It turned out that she had once again gotten stuck in the same tree branch. Although this time, she had to skip two weeks of practice.

After that, Scoutalu could fly quite well. While still far from perfect, it was a huge leap forward compared to her previous results. Secretly meeting Rumble by the tree, the two foals realized that something serious had begun on that warm early summer afternoon. To be continued...