Flight Training

by Biscayne

Chapter Three: Welcome Aboard

Flight Training

Chapter Three: Welcome Aboard

After the dismal showing on the lunch base, Scootaloo was feeling down. Not only had she made a fool of herself with her landing, but Rainbow Dash would not let her hear the end of it. She spent most of the flight to Cloudsdale complaining about the reactions of her colleagues.

"If you had listened to what I told you, this wouldn't have happened. I'm gonna have one heck of a time explaining the hole in that cloud! And Bo's gonna give me so much flak!"

Scootaloo interrupted Rainbow's rant, "I'm glad all you're worried about is your reputation, but can we debrief that landing now?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, the kid had a point. "Right. So, what happened?"

"Well, everything felt fine up until the end. As I started to lean back, I felt this pull on the back of my wings! I didn't know what it was, but I knew whatever it was, it had to do with me leaning back, so I lent forward again. Then I guess I ran out of altitude."

"You were starting to stall."

Scootaloo went back to her confused look. To her surprise, Rainbow had the same look on her face. The words had not come from her.

They both turned around to see a large, white-coated male pegasus flying in close formation behind them. Scootaloo almost forgot her wing motion for a second, and started to lose altitude. She caught herself and climbed back up to meet him.

“Hey!” Rainbow interjected, almost giddy to see the new face. “I was just about to explain that! How’s it goin’!”

"Rainbow, why don't you introduce me to your student?" The stallion looked at the orange filly with a concerned look, and smiled.

Rainbow blinked, and shook her head. "Right. Bo, this is my student, Scootaloo. Scoot, this is our Chief Flight Instructor, Bonanza.”

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The rest of the flight to the Academy had been of little interest to Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash had spent the rest of the flight fawning over Bonanza. She had asked him questions about the Wonderbolts, his routines, teaching, and almost everything else, but all Scootaloo wanted to know was what he had been talking about when he first spoke.

Bonanza had kept his cool, answering questions from Rainbow as they came, all the while trying to shut her up. He understood the fangirl mania all too well.

Eventually, he decided he had enough, and turned to the frustrated filly, “So, Scootaloo, was it? You’re the one who was responsible for the hole in that cloud. I have Raindrops out there fixing it right now. The advanced students will be flying to it tomorrow, and the last thing I want is somepony thinking they’re done flying, only to fall through!”

Scootaloo was relieved to finally be able to speak. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’m still not exactly sure what went wrong there.”

“Well, perhaps you’re instructor would be better suited to explain.” Bonanza turned and winked to his colleague.

Rainbow Dash perked back up; she hadn’t taken being shut out well. “You remember that tug on the back of your wings? That was the beginnings of a stall.”

Scootaloo blinked, “Ok, so what is a stall?”

Without missing a beat, and as if reciting from a textbook, Rainbow Dash replied, “A stall is when the air flowing over your wings separates from the wing, and the wing stops producing lift. When this happens, the air can actually change direction on your wings and try to pull your feathers out. It most often happens when you’re going too slow, and you lean back too far.

“You were doing perfectly fine in your approach, but when you felt that stall coming, you instinctively pushed forward. That’s the exact correct response to a stall, everywhere except a foot above your landing spot.”

Bonanza interjected, “Exactly. You had two options at that point. You could have either held that attitude, bearing the pain, and landed fine, or you could have simply given your wings a good flap, and also been fine! Each of those options has its advantages and disadvantages, but either way is better than landing on your front legs.”

By the time Bonanza had finished, they had reached the Academy. Several other ponies were in the process of landing on the small patch of cloud in front of the Academy building, with varying levels of success.

Bonanza took this opportunity to take his leave. “Good luck Scootaloo, hopefully my boring details haven’t messed with you too much!”

They both bid him farewell, then set back to the task of getting the filly on the ground.

Rainbow went straight back to the task at hoof. “Ok, so we’re not going to do what we did last time, right? Relax, keep your speed, and let yourself come down. Let the landing spot come to you, don’t go to it. Got it?”

Scootaloo wasn’t so focused. “Why were you fawning over the Chief like that? Are you in love with him or something? He’s a lot older than you, you know that, right?”

Rainbow face flushed. “Focus, kid! We’ll talk about this on the cloud! First we need to get you there. Start slowing down.”

Scootaloo sighed, then held out her wings. She immediately slowed down and started sinking. Although not exactly sure what she was doing differently this time, she was glad it at least appeared to be working.

Rainbow kept pace as the filly started descending. “Looking good, just hold that attitude. If you feel yourself sinking too fast, give a few wing beats to build up some altitude. If you feel the tug, lean forward a bit to keep your speed up.”

Scootaloo succeeded in getting herself on a solid approach angle, and got within a few feet of the landing spot she had picked. At that moment, a small gust of wind hit her from the side, moving her just off course. She shifted herself back over, only to feel the slight headwind she had been feeling the whole approach die. She started sinking towards the cloud, so she gave a few soft beats with her wings to gain some altitude.

It was enough to get her back on target, but her speed was too high. About a foot above the landing spot, she held out her wings and leant back. She landed on her back hooves, but instead of at a walking pace, it was almost a gallop. She stumbled on her front hooves and rolled mane-over-tail for about five feet. As the cloud dissipated around her, she got up, even more sore than she had been after the landing at the lunch base.

Rainbow Dash landed behind her, obviously suppressing fits of giggles. “Well, we’re here!” She snorted, “Obviously your landings are going to need a bit of work! Now, let’s get to the flight school before the meeting starts!”

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The Cloudsdale Flight Academy building was nowhere near as regal as the name implied. It was a small, one-story building near the landing field on the outskirts of the city, with little in the way of decoration beside from a full bay window in the center looking out on the practice area. On the other side of that bay window, a medium-sized conference room had its table pushed to one side, and the open floor was scattered with cushions. A podium was set up with its back to the window, and a chalkboard was to its right.

Several ponies had been mingling in this room, chatting about the flights they had taken to get here. When Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash entered the room, however, the chatter died down. Hushed remarks were made among those who saw Scootaloo’s attempts to land, and the occasional snicker at her expense was made.

“Rumors travel fast in the flying community,” Rainbow Dash commented, trying to quell the nervous look that had developed on Scootaloo’s face, “No big deal, though! Don’t let it get to you. Feel free to dish it out as much as you take it!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Scootaloo chuckled, Rainbow’s attempt to calm her nerves helped, but she still did not feel entirely comfortable with things.

They made their way towards the front of the room, where the podium was set up. Scootaloo sat back on her haunches, and waited for the meeting to start.

She didn’t have to wait long. Bonanza walked into the room through a side door. He set himself up behind the podium, and cleared his throat.

“Good evening, everypony, and welcome to the Cloudsdale Flight Academy. I want to welcome all of our new students, as well as welcome a new Instructor. Rainbow Dash is the pony-in-charge of the Ponyville Weather Patrol, with more than a thousand days of to-plan weather to her credit. She is also an up-and-coming star in the airshow circuit. It is with great pleasure that I welcome Rainbow Dash to our instruction team.”

A light sound of hoofbeats followed. The applause was short and light. Rainbow Dash groaned as Bonanza continued.

“Right, now on to the reason we’re all here. As those of you who were here last year remember, this is a safety meeting first and foremost. All of you should have received a copy of our “Safety Practices and Procedures” manual with your acceptance letters. A few major changes from last year include some modifications to the night flying rules. The gist of the changes are that no night operations are allowed before your solo flight, and that night weather training is strictly prohibited.”

A small series of chuckles came from the back of the room.

As Bonanza continued his speech, Scootaloo asked Rainbow, “Why all the rules about flying at night?”

Rainbow Dash sighed, still smarting over her meager welcome, “Somepony misread a weather chart, and instead of placing a thunderstorm in the practice area, it went off over Appleoosa, washing out a third of their orchard. It was in the Inquirer for weeks. Pay attention to this, kid, you’re not gonna hear it again!”

When Scootaloo turned her attention back to the meeting, Bonanza had worked past the safety rules, “Next on the agenda we have room assignments. Last year we started boarding the younger students with more advanced ones, and I think it worked quite well. So, we’re doing it again. Assignments will be handed out at the conclusion of this meeting. Which, since that was the last thing we needed to talk about, will be right now. Thanks for your attention, and have a wonderful summer!”

With an almost lightning speed, the room emptied. As Scootaloo left, she was handed a piece of paper and a key. The piece of paper simply had the number ‘11’ scrawled on it.

She showed it to Rainbow, who chuckled. “That’s my cue to leave. Good night Scoots! Ground lesson in the classroom at eight-AM, sharp!”

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By the time Scootaloo figured out that the number on the piece of paper was her room assignment, Celestia’s sun had been replaced by Luna’s night. She eventually wandered her way through the school to the dormitory, and found the door with the number eleven on it. Her key opened the door, and she trotted through.

On the other side, a ruby-red mare was laying on one of the beds, poring over a map. After a few awkward moments of Scootaloo trying to make as little noise as possible, she looked up and around to spot the orange filly. She immediately jumped up and screamed, her burgundy hair almost standing on end.

After pulling herself out of the ceiling, the mare said, “Sorry, you startled me. I was studying the chart to try and find someplace to go for lunch tomorrow, and I guess I got a little engrossed. Name’s Ruby. Ruby Rush. And you are?”

Scootaloo held back a fit of giggles from Ruby’s initial reaction. “I’m Scootaloo, you can call me Scoots. I’m taking initial training from Rainbow Dash. Why would you use a map to find someplace for lunch, aren’t there restaurants in Cloudsdale?”

Ruby let out a small laugh, “Scoots, eh? My favorite thing in the whole word is flying to random towns and having lunch. Just yesterday I had the best hay bacon sandwich in Fillydelphia, and it was on a whim! After you solo, you need to try it. I’ve been to dozens of restaurants in as many towns, and I haven’t found a bad one yet! I’ll even let you borrow my journal if you don’t know where to start!”

Scootaloo looked a bit shocked at this unexpected turn of friendship. “Thanks, I guess. So, you just fly to a town, have lunch, and come back? Seems like a lot of work for a meal.”

“Oh, but it’s so much fun! The people you meet, the things you see, and the food! Oh, Celestia, the food! But the flight’s the really great part, I love just going places, y’know? Once, I just left my apartment in Cloudsdale at sunrise, and just flew east. No reason, just for the hay of it! I ended up in Trottingham - The Blooming Daisy is a great little pub there, by the way-and flew back!”

“Ah, your cutie mark makes sense now! A map and compass for going places!” Scootaloo had been wondering what a weatherpony was doing with those on her flank.

“Yup! It’s as much of a reminder to me to plan ahead as it is a symbol of my love for cross country flying. I have a bad habit of just going, not thinking about what comes next.”

The silence got awkward a little too quickly. Scootaloo broke from it first. “So, Ruby? What are you here for?”

“I got a job with the Weather Patrol as a reserve lead. Basically I am on standby in the event of a weather emergency to lead a team of very specialized weatherponies. It’s perfect for me, because I get to fly to a bunch of different towns! Only problem is, I’ve only done real basic weather work. So, the patrol paid for me to take some advanced weather classes, so I can work with my team better. How ‘bout you, Scoots, what brings you to the Academy?”

Scootaloo felt a pang of dread, she was trying to avoid answering this one. “Uh.. To be honest, It’s kinda complicated.”

Ruby seemed even more interested now. “Well, we have some time before lights out. Spill the beans!”

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Rainbow Dash had bid her student good night, and was now about to go to sleep herself. Unfortunately, she had a lesson plan to go over before tomorrow’s ground lesson.

Ground school. The mere thought made Rainbow shiver with anger. The glory and excitement of being a flight instructor was starting to wear thin, and she hadn’t even finished the first day.

A loud, rasping knock came from the door of her small room. A white head with short, royal blue hair peeked in, and said, “Bonanza and I would like to have a word with you, Rainbow Dash.” The head belonged to the Assistant Chief, Skyhawk.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Hold on a sec, I’m finishing up my lesson plan for tomorrow.”

Skyhawk tapped a hoof on the floor whilst she waited for Rainbow to finish writing; patience was not her thing, especially not with part-time instructors.

Rainbow gave a sigh of contempt, closed the binder on her bed, and followed Skyhawk out the door.

On the slow trot, Skyhawk led the way. Upon reaching Bonanza’s office door, Skyhawk turned and glared. “I know why you’re here, and I think he does too. Bo’s not known for liking to be patronized. Keep the schoolfilly dreams to yourself, and focus on teaching your student. That’s all he cares about this summer.”

Rainbow scoffed. “Just because I don’t want to teach for the rest of my life does not mean I don’t care! I’m here to do a job. I wanted to teach with the best, and Bo is the best. The Wonderbolts are the farthest thing from my mind right now.” This was an outright lie, but she wouldn’t let Skyhawk know that, much less Bonanza.

Skyhawk smiled; the sort of contemptuous smile a predator has when it corners its prey. “Whatever you say, Rainbow. Bonanza’s just naive enough to believe that.”

Skyhawk knocked on the door, and a grunt on the other side was her signal to come in.

Bonanza didn’t look up as the two mares trotted to his desk. Although Rainbow had been in this office before, she still looked around in wonder at how anypony could possibly find anything in it. Boxes were stacked almost from floor to ceiling. All around the room lay papers and books, strewn about the place with an almost reckless abandon. A tall bookcase stood behind the desk in the center of the room, on which was an anatomical model of a wing, along with more framed pictures than could be counted.

When she had first been in this office, she had a chance to look at them. There were the expected class photos from the Academy, but there were others as well. Most of them chronicled a Who’s Who of the Wonderbolts, with Bonanza front and center. Older, black and white photos showed him in uniform, posing with fellow members. Newer shots featured current members, all huddled around him. Many were signed, revealing feelings of love and respect for the old stallion. She glanced back at those pictures, and thought of the day when she would be sitting on that bookcase.

She was pulled out of her pondering by Bonanza’s calm voice. “Rainbow Dash, how’s your student? I heard she had another landing incident while coming in today, what happened?”

Rainbow shook her head, blinked, and then replied, “Yeah, she, uh..” She hurriedly tried to think of an explanation, “over-corrected from what happened this morning. I’m going to have a ground lesson tomorrow that should help address it, hopefully before she gets any bad habits.” She grinned, and nodded.

Bonanza blinked, surprised to have recieved the reaction he got. “Right. So long as you have things under control. Scootaloo’s gonna be a fine flyer, it’s in her blood. All you have to do is show her the way, and she’ll get it.”

Bonanza then turned to Skyhawk, “Thank you for bringing her down here, but I need to talk to Rainbow Dash alone for a minute. Good night, Skyhawk.”

Skyhawk mumbled to herself as she flew out of the door, sending some papers floating into the air, Neither Rainbow Dash nor Bonanza heard what it was. Good thing, because it was not flattering.

Bonanza smiled, “So, Rainbow Dash, I hear you’ve got an interesting aerobatics routine.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up, and her eyes went glossy. “Interesting? I bet even you haven’t seen one like it!”

Bonanza brought a hoof to his chin, “You’ve got my interest.”

((So, that took way longer than I thought. But I had a brilliant idea for Scootaloo’s background, and it will be spilled out as things continue. I like how the story is kind of interweaving in my mind. Things are becoming interesting.

Again, I apologize for the delay between Chapter 2 and this, hopefully the wait was worth it!

Biscayne))

Comments

[iamtired]

Awesome

[bcsnakeeyes]

is this going to get updated soon??? its got soo much potential and ranbow dash awsomeness, to be put on hiatus.

[Biscayne]

491028

I have not put this story on hiatus; Chapter Four is in fact in the works.