> Wing and a Prayer
>  by Timbre Pitch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Wing and a Prayer
Chapter 1


“Okay, so what you are saying is without the help of the ponies of Combai you won’t be able to beat up the Algexis of Homgolia or something like that?” asked a young colt.  He sat on a cushion in Button Mash’s bedroom.  The colt had a coat so pale it appeared white, though the slightest hints on green could be seen if you looked hard enough.  His mane was green like the grass outside near the Ponyville Square.  A small pair of wings adorned his side, marking him as a young Pegasus pony.  The length and fluffiness of his tail gave many ponies the impression that he was a filly instead however, and was nothing short of demoralizing to the poor colt.  He turned his head to look at his play friend.
Button Mash was a small brown colt with a lighter brown mane and tail worn in a short style that, when you took into account the propeller beanie on his head, made him look every inch the young colt.  Button Mash didn’t even glance away from the screen as he replied.
“Pretty much, Timbre.  It’s very important to make sure in any game that you are as prepared as possible because you never know what could happen.  That’s what makes them so fun!”
Timbre Pitch just looked at him.  He’d come over to Button’s home earlier that morning to play with him, but was disappointed that very little of what Button did for fun was made for more than one pony to play.  He had a few toys that they were able to play with together, but most of the time together they had spent that day involved Timbre watching Button play some RPG game he didn’t really understand the point of.  He didn’t mind spending the time with Button, but their friendship was more based on the fact that their mothers were friends than anything else.
“Well, it’s getting close to dinner time, and my mother wanted me home before then.  I need to get going.  Good luck with your game.”  Timbre walked out of the house, catching a ‘goodbye’ from Button’s mother as he left.
Slowly Timbre walked back to his new home.  He and his mother had moved to Ponyville from Cloudsdale just before the school year started.  Because their home was not far from the train station Timbre didn’t get out to all of the places to see in Ponyville.  The few weeks they had been there were mostly spent unpacking everything and preparing for the start of school.  Aside from Button and his family, the only pony whom Timbre had really spoken to was the hyperactive Pinkie Pie when she held a party for her mother after they first showed up.
Timbre attended the last of three classes at the school in Ponyville and was glad for it.  Button was in his class, so he knew someone in it, and he had heard the morning class had two fillies in it that had the attitude of high society; tending to brag about how special they were.  Timbre wasn’t sure he would be able to handle dealing with fillies like that.  According to Pinkie Pie he was ‘almost as timid as Fluttershy’, though he had not yet met anypony with that name.
“Ms. Cheerilee was talking about Cutie Marks at the beginning of the school year,” Timbre thought aloud quietly.  “Aside from Button and me, I think the whole school has their cutie marks already.  It’s a wonder Button doesn’t have his yet.  He’s good at those video games he plays.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him with a cutie mark that looks like his controller one day.”
Timbre looked back at his flank.  His mother insisted on keeping him well groomed and the feathers of his wings were preened to perfection.  He didn’t mind it; it made him look his best after all.  However it also, along with the length and fluffiness of his tail, was what made ponies mistake him for a filly all the time.  Tied with his lack of cutie mark and it was little wonder he was insecure.  Timbre knew it was not so much shyness as feelings of inadequacy that made him a little withdrawn from most ponies.  He just wanted to make some good friends with the ponies of Ponyville, but wasn’t sure how to.  His flank did nothing to help his courage.
“I wish I just knew what my special talent was…”
XXXXX
“Welcome home, my little songbird!”  Timbre’s mother was a young pegasi mare with a medium blue coat and the same green mane and tail as her son.  Her voice was light and clear as a bell.  The image of a musical note and feather quill crossing each other lay on her flank.  Timbre’s mother wrote and occasionally performed music with the Canterlot Orchestra.  Timbre often saw letters in the mailbox for his mother with a return sender marked ‘Octavia’; another of his mother’s friends.  Timbre looked at his mother as he walked in.
“Hello, mom.  Do you have a minute?”  She set down a large wooden spoon.
“I have more than that for my little chirper.  Dinner is ready, so let’s set the table and we can talk while we eat.”
Timbre set out some bowls and glasses for two.  Looked like a simple meal tonight.  Tomato soup if the smell was any indicator.  A fresh mini loaf of bread was on a rack cooling nearby the small oven.  The family was not poor, but since her husband’s accident the two of them had been more careful of what they spent their bits on.  Saving up to be sure you could handle the money should the worst happen was not a happy reminder to either of them, but it was wisdom to do so ever since that day.
Timbre sat at the table and his mother served him a warm half of the loaf and some soup.  She made the best tomato soup he’d ever had.  Granted, he’d never had anypony else’s so maybe he was biased.  They both quietly began to eat.
“Mom,” Timbre started after a bite of soup dipped bread.  “Is it normal to not have any idea what your cutie mark will be?”  His mother smiled warmly between sips of the soup.
“Timbre, I know you are concerned about not having a cutie mark yet.  I don’t blame you for being worried, but for some ponies it is easier to spot than with others.  My parents knew what my special talent was before I did, and for many ponies others get glimpses of what it will be before you will.”  She took another sip.
“But mom, I’ve never really shown a talent or special interest in anything.  What if I don’t get a cutie mark until I’m a stallion?”
The question was one she expected to hear.  Rumors in Cloudsdale told of a mare that didn’t obtain a cutie mark at all until her first foal was born.  Such things were unheard of, and she understandably kept it a secret for as long as she could by covering her flanks with capes or dresses all the time.  Even her very special somepony didn’t know until they were married.  Still, it was a Cloudsdale secret now, kept among the pegasi.
“I wouldn’t worry your little head.  Most ponies don’t start getting cutie marks until your age, and for some it is as much as surprise to anypony as it is to them.  You will find your special talent with time, don’t worry.”  She paused thoughtfully.  “In fact, I’ve seen three little fillies your age that go around town trying out new things to earn their cutie marks.  Do you remember the talent show that the school had after we arrived?  They were in it.”
Timbre remembered.  They looked like they were having so much fun, even if their performance was really strange.  He couldn’t remember much what their song was supposed to be about though.  The outfits and the antics kept him too distracted to really understand the lyrics the one filly was singing.  Seeing him think about it, his mother continued.
“You can usually see them after school is out if they are together.  They are often somewhere near the apple orchard on the other end of town.  Maybe it would be a good idea for you to start trying out a few different things like they do to help you discover what it is you like.  Once you find out what you like most you may have a good idea of what your cutie mark will represent.”
“Thanks mom,” Timbre said, finishing his meal.  “I’m going to go for a walk, okay?”
“Just be back before dark, little nightingale.”
Timbre rolled his blue eyes as he walked out the door into the late afternoon air.
XXXXX
It was a calm afternoon breeze that blew through Ponyville as Scootaloo looked back to the wagon attached to her scooter.  Applebloom and Sweetie Belle helped Babs Seed up and into the wagon and put a helmet on her head.  Seeing her fellow crusaders ready, Scootaloo began flapping her wings as fast as she could go and pushed off with a hind leg to get them going.  In short order they were zooming down the road from their latest attempt at getting their cutie marks.  It was really nice to have Babs with them for the weekend, but her suggestion to earn cutie marks by bungee jumping didn’t pan out as well as they had hoped.  Luckily they put a large tub of water along the side of Town Hall to land in just in case the cord broke, which it did.  Sweetie Belle was still quite wet.
“Scootaloo, can you go a little faster?  Rarity said I needed to come home soon and I don’t want to show up wet.  I don’t want to have another lecture about being a proper lady again.”
Scootaloo turned her head to make her reply.
“I’m trying, but I’ve never pulled all three of you at once, let alone the tub of water.  It’s a lot harder.”
“I hope you aren’t sayin’ I’m too heavy ta pull, Scoot,” Babs said with a mirthful overtone in her voice.
“Not at all, Babs.  I’m just getting tired from a full day of crusading.”
“LOOK OUT!”  Applebloom pointed ahead of them where Scootaloo was no longer looking.  Scootaloo whipped her head forward and saw a pretty little white Pegasus pony with a fluffy green tail walking head down, not seeing them coming.  They were going too fast to stop in time, and too close to avoid hitting her.  Scootaloo pulled as hard as she could and frantically flapped her wings to slow down and lessen the impact.  She heard Applebloom behind her yell ‘sweet applesauce’ just as they hit the unsuspecting filly.
The crash sent them all flying.  The tub of water completely soaked Scootaloo and a large patch of fresh dirt that Rose was preparing a new bed of Calla Lilies for, creating a very muddy landing for the strange filly.  The four Crusaders groaned from the impact and got up shakily.  It was Applebloom that first recovered enough to see the unconscious form of the filly they had struck.  She was almost completely covered with mud and leaves from the crash.  Applebloom looked over to Babs and beckoned her over.
“Ah think she hit her head.  We should take her to the clubhouse an git her cleaned up.”
Babs nodded in agreement and together they picked up the filly and moved her toward Sweetie Belle whom was righting the wagon.  Just above the bed of the wagon Applebloom’s hoof slipped along the filly’s flank, dropping her but clearing some of the mud off.
“Look, crusaders!  She’s a blank flank like us!”
This caught Scootaloo’s attention especially as she and Sweetie Belle rushed over to look for themselves.  Although a muddy mess, it was still clear to see that the unknown filly certainly lacked a cutie mark, just like them.
“Ah didn’t know there were any other fillies in Ponyville that didn’t have their cutie marks.  But ah haven’t seen her around before.  Have you, Sweetie Belle?”  They began making their way back to the clubhouse, albeit at a much slower pace.
“I think I’ve seen her once or twice.  She goes to the afternoon class with Dinky.  I believe Ms. Cheerilee said something about a transfer pony coming in before school started.”
“Oh cool,” Scootaloo exclaimed.  “Think she’ll want to join the Crusaders?”
Applebloom piped up at the question.  “Why wouldn’t she?  She doesn’t have a cutie mark either, and maybe she’s got friends where she’s from and we can start a branch there.”
“YEAH!” they all shouted.
“Oh, I have an idea!”
“What is it, Sweetie Belle,” Babs asked.
“We can nurse her back to health at the clubhouse!”  The other three crusaders took hold of that idea and they all shouted together.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PONY HEALERS!  YEAH!”
XXXXX
Timbre woke up in pain.  He wasn’t sure what had happened.  He was just taking his walk and he heard somepony scream something just before something hard hit his head and everything went weightless and black.  As his senses returned to him he heard a voice nearby say something.  He wasn’t sure what they said, but it sounded like a filly.  He groaned a little from the pain.
“Are you sure this is what we’re supposed to be doing, Scootaloo?  I’m not sure a hammer is what we need to wake up somepony.”  The voice was quite high pitched.  Something about what she said told Timbre he should be alarmed, but he wasn’t quite sure why.
“Of course I am, Sweetie Belle.  Doctors use hammers all the time.  They hit you with it and it makes you move!  It’s like magic!  Now let me have the hammer so I can wake her up.”
‘Oh, they are talking about somepony else,’ Timbre thought.  He mentally sighed before realizing that with his track record, they were probably talking about him!  The pause was too late however, and before he could do anything he felt and heard the resounding crack of a hammer on his head.
“Ow!”  Timbre yelped and started scrambling away from the source of the pain.  He was quickly against a wall and with wide open eyes found he attacker.  An orange coated Pegasus filly with a cerise colored mane and tail grinned at him, hammer still in her mouth.
“See?  I told you hammers wake ponies up!”  The filly with the hammer looked awfully smug for somepony who just hit somepony with a hammer.  Timbre rubbed his head and groaned again.  The blow wasn’t too hard, but it still hurt.  He looked around to gain his bearings.
He was in a small but well-made clubhouse that had a few accents to it that suggested it belonged to fillies.  He didn’t mind the fillish touches that adorned the clubhouse; they were few enough anyway and added more charm than a regular old clubhouse would have anyway.  Judging by the branches and leaves he could see out the window, he guessed this was in a tree and not on the ground.  Looking at himself revealed him still being covered in mud.
The sound of a hammer dropping caught his attention and he looked at its source to see the orange filly dropping it in a toolbox that had a medical cross poorly painted on the side.  All three of the fillies expectantly looked at their flanks only to droop their heads when they discovered them as blank as ever.
‘These must be the trio mom mentioned,’ Timbre thought to himself.
“Well hey now,” one of the fillies started.  “You can go git yerself all cleaned up outside, we got a hose you kin use.”  The filly was yellow with a pink bow in her red mane.  Not as tomcolt as the bludgeoner, but still a little more so than the third filly in the room.  The third had a coat almost the same color as he had, just without the slightly green hint, and a pink and lavender mane that looked like it had natural loose curls in it.  A small horn poked out of the filly’s mane.
“Ah…  Thanks, I’ll go do that.”  Timbre staggered a little as he left the clubhouse.  Seeing a gently sloping ramp down made him grateful that he was not going to make his headache worse while trying to get to the ground.  He wasn’t sure he’d land well if he tried to glide with how his head was still a little dizzy.  While he cleaned himself off he could hear some of the fillies’ conversation through the clubhouse’s windows.
“So, what do you think?” “Definitely.” “Ah’ll git everything ready.” “We still have to ask first though.” “Have you revised the speech yet?”
Timbre was not sure if they weren’t making sense or if it was just his headache making it difficult to understand.  He finished cleaning himself though and took a drink from the hose before turning it off and heading back inside to find out what had happened.
“Hey,” Timbre started as he entered the room.  “Um, how did I end up here?”
The orange filly, Scootaloo he guessed, answered his question.
“Ah, well…  We accidentally ran into you on my scooter.  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to hurt anypony.  I guess I should pay more attention to where I’m going.”  Scootaloo laughed nervously.  From behind him he heard a scraping noise and turned to see a fourth filly pushing a large drum into the clubhouse.  This one spoke with the accent of a Manehattener.
“I brought the drums; did we get a yes outta the newbie?”  The filly was slightly stockier than the other three, with a light brown coat and a mane that resembled a strawberry candy cane.
“Nope, we were just about to ask,” the unicorn filly replied.
“Ask me what?”
Though the new arrival was busied with moving the drums next to a podium that Timbre was sure wasn’t there when he first woke up, the other three exclaimed at the same time, “To join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“…the what now?”
Between the four fillies they explained how the Cutie Mark Crusaders was their own little ‘secret society’ that was devoted to helping ponies to get their cutie marks.  They described the features of the clubhouse and a few examples of things they’ve tried to get their cutie marks.  Although some of the attempts were very humorous, Timbre admired their dedication.  He thought in his mind that maybe joining them actually would help him find his special talent someday.
“So what do ya say,” the yellow filly asked.
“Yes, that would be great.  I would love to join you all.”
A resounding cheer came from all four of the fillies and Applebloom walked over to a small chest and opened it.  What she pulled out was revealed to be five capes, and each of them donned one, holding the fifth one aside.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders formally introduced themselves.
“And what is your name,” Sweetie Belle asked at the end.
“It’s Timbre Pitch.”
Sweetie Belle sounded it out carefully, having never heard of that name before.  “Tam-bur, huh?  Well, okay then, let’s get started!”  She pulled up a scroll from inside the podium and looked at Scootaloo who started drumming up a tribal sounding rhythm.
“We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Timbre Pitch to join us as a sister,” Sweetie Belle started.  Timbre tuned out the speech for a moment at the word ‘sister’.  ‘Oh sweet Celestia, they think I’m a filly too.  What am I going to do?  I don’t want to risk losing their friendship.  Oh I just don’t know…’
“…and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader!”  Timbre was brought out of his thoughts as he felt the cape thrown over his back by Babs.  They gathered around him and all had a group high-hoof.  He nervously stuck his hoof into the group.  ‘Oh what have I gotten myself into?’

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Wing and a Prayer
Chapter 2


“Ah hope you kin come visit again soon, Babs.”  Applebloom and the rest of the CMC were at the train station to see Babs off.
“Me too.  A weekend just isn’t enough time to get to spend with you guys.  But hey, I should have some new members for the Cutie Mark Crusaders soon.”  This news was met with cheers from the three founders.  Timbre cheered a little as well, but without as much gusto.  The friends said their goodbyes and Babs departed on the train.
Timbre and the fillies all piled into the CMC’s wagon.  Sweetie Belle looked at Timbre quizzically.  “Can’t you just fly next to us?”
Timbre thought about this for a moment.  “I’ve never really had friends that I could spend time with, so I just want to be in the wagon with you instead?  It’s not that I can’t.”
Scootaloo was about to step onto her scooter when an idea popped into her head.
“Hey Timbre, you want to take a shot at pulling us?  I’ve always wondered what it feels like to be pulled in the wagon.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?  I mean, it’s your scooter not mine.”
“Totally fine.  Just don’t run into anything.”
“Yeah,” Applebloom interjected.  “Not like Scootaloo did to you yesterday.”  Scootaloo huffed indignantly.
At Sweetie Belle’s insistence the four arrived shortly thereafter at a café that served her favorite milkshakes.  The friends talked amicably and sipped from their shakes for several minutes, Timbre having ordered Mint flavor.
“Okay, so Timbre, what do you think we should do today to get our cutie marks?”  Sweetie Belle looked at him.  Timbre gulped nervously.  He’d never really thought about the things he could try to earn a cutie mark.  After all, this was part of why he joined the crusaders; because he wasn’t good at thinking of things to try.  He took a moment to try thinking but nothing came to mind.
“I’m not sure what we should try, I’m sorry.”
The three fillies didn’t pick up on the defeated sound in his voice, but Applebloom was ready with a suggestion.
“What kinds of things have you tried before?  Maybe we can go off of that for today.”
Timbre thought back over the last several months.  There hasn’t really been much that he found interesting or particularly noteworthy in his life that he wanted to take a shot at, and except for time spent with Button Mash most of the time he’d spent in Ponyville was with his mother unpacking and cleaning or going to school.  With nothing else to go on, he brought up gaming with Button Mash.
“I tried learning about and playing video games with Button Mash, but it just didn’t really seem like much fun.  Most of his games are single-player anyway, and watching someone else having fun without getting to participate was boring.  That and I never really got the point of playing those kinds of games.”  The girls all looked at him differently.  On Applebloom it was plain confusion.  Sweetie Belle looked like she was remembering a bad experience.  Scootaloo, however, was more vocal about it.
“Ew, why would you want to spend your time playing something fake anyway?  And with a colt?  I’d rather spend my time with all you girls than with any colt.”  Timbre looked away, face sporting a hint of red which Scootaloo misinterpreted.  “You don’t LIKE Button Mash, do you?”  Scootaloo sounded scandalized.
“No.  I don’t like him like that,” Timbre replied, blush gone and face deadpanned.  He sighed internally.  ‘I just wish I knew how to tell you all that I’m not a filly without losing your friendship.’  Before he could dwell on this for long, Scootaloo took charge of the conversation again.
“I know what we can do!  Rainbow Dash’s favorite book is about Daring Doo.  Maybe if we started exploring like she does we could get our cutie marks in Exploration or Treasure Hunting!”
“But where would we explore,” Sweetie Belle asked.  “We’ve been all over town and I think we know it pretty well.”
“The Everfree Forest!  We’ve been in there several times but we were always in there for something else.  Why don’t we actually explore part of it?”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other nervously.  Memories of chasing a chicken into the forest coming to mind.
“Okay, that sounds like a plan.”  The two fillies looked at Timbre mistaking his ignorance of the forest’s dangers as confidence and bravery.
“I think we should let somepony know we are going in there.  Just to be safe.”  Sweetie Belle’s voice faltered slightly as she spoke.  Scootaloo disagreed with her.
“If we tell somepony then they’ll just tell us we can’t go in there.  Let’s just go and be back in a few hours.  We’ll be just fine as long as we don’t go in too deep.”
Timbre finished his milkshake and hopped away from the table.  “Anything I need to bring with me?”  They shook their heads.  “Okay, I’ll let my mother know to expect me back by dinner and meet back up at the clubhouse.”  Hearing an ‘okay’ from his friends he left the café to make good on his word.
XXXXX
The four friends approached the border of the Everfree Forest several minutes later.  As they walked Applebloom was talking animatedly with Timbre Pitch.
“Ah can’t believe yer mom was okay with all of us going.  Most ponies don’t like it when we enter the forest.”
“I can’t see why.  I think more it was that my mother was excited that I was spending so much time with friends instead of at home studying or flying along the train tracks.  I don’t blame her though.  Spending time with you three has been great even if it’s only been a day.”  They all stopped on the path entering the tree line.  “I’m ready when you are.”
“It was my idea, so I’ll take the lead,” Scootaloo said with more confidence than she felt, now that they were actually here.  Timbre, you take up the rear and just follow us.”
“Got it, Scoots.”  Scootaloo smiled at the nickname.
The four friends entered the forest.  For a good hour they wandered around, exploring all the strange things that made the Everfree Forest so different from other forests.  Timbre noticed how it was so wild and chaotic.  Trees and other plants grew anywhere and in any way.  A few animals and birds were seen and the way everything looked just felt strange, but exciting.  For Timbre, getting used to Ponyville took some time because he grew up most of his life so far in Cloudsdale.  Going from Cloudstructure to wood and masonry was an adjustment, but it was still organized and planned.  The forest however defied even that.
After that first hour the CMC started to notice other things and point them out to each other, every now and then checking each other’s flanks to see if they’d earned a cutie mark.  Scootaloo just said they must need to find something more interesting and kept the group’s spirits up as they continued to explore.  They were certain that they were seeing more of the Everfree than anyone in Ponyville ever had.
“Hey Applebloom, is Zecora’s home near here,” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Nah, we’ve been heading the wrong way to be going to see her.  But I know Fluttershy’s cottage is probably close.  I think.  Maybe.”
“I’ve never met Fluttershy,” Timbre said.  “But Pinkie Pie said once that I was almost as timid as her.”  He paused for a moment as they walked.  “Do you girls think I’m really timid?”
“No way, you came in here after all, and Fluttershy won’t come in here unless she has to.”  Scootaloo’s grin reassured him a little.
“I don’t think you are timid; maybe a bit unsure of yourself sometimes though.”
“Like yer one to talk, Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom spoke up with a smirk.  All three of the fillies had a laugh which Timbre joined even though he didn’t know Sweetie Belle very much.  She seemed confident most of the time he had seen.
A few minutes later Scootaloo pointed to something shining in the distance to their left.  The group galloped to the source of the light and found a piece of broken mirror lodged in a tree next to a rope bridge.  On the other side of the bridge was an old ruin.  For the three fillies, their faces looked like Hearts Warming Eve had come early.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RUIN EXPLORERS!  YEAH!”  Timbre covered his ears with his hooves behind them.
For the next several minutes the four wandered around the ruins, finding fascination with everything from the vines growing on the walls to the loose rubble in corners to the strange apparatus in one of the towers.  They spent a lot of time imagining the kinds of ponies that might have once lived there, or other creatures that might have made it their home.  They pretended to be rulers, knights, and even stealthy ponies that would hide until their unsuspecting foe got too close, then would pounce and tickle them into submission.  Timbre won most of those because his wings boosted his speed enough to get away before the tickling became too much for him.
Finding a tapestry that was still in usable condition, Scootaloo draped it across herself and proclaimed herself the ruler of the castle and commanded her subjects to search for the treasury and bring her something cool.  The other three giggled at this but decided to comply.  The search found nothing, but they didn’t care.
The time to play came to a close and the four friends crossed the bridge to begin the trek out of the forest.  Timbre wasn’t sure why most ponies didn’t like to come into the forest like Applebloom said.  Sure it looked weird and everything was a big mass of mess, but they had a lot of fun in it.  No cutie marks, but he didn’t care.  It was nice that he had some friends to spend time with doing fun things.
Timbre took a deep breath of satisfaction, but the last of his breath smelled horribly of something he couldn’t identify.  He heard a growling from ahead.
“Uh, Scootaloo is that your stomach?”
“Ew, after smelling that?  I couldn’t possibly be hungry after that smell.”
The growling came once more, but this time it was much more obvious that it came from a source not their own.  They all looked around nervously and were met by two pairs of glowing green eyes from where they found the mirror shard.  Coming out from the shadows were two large creatures Timbre had never imagined in his nightmares.
Made from of conglomeration of wood, leaves, pitch and bark, two monstrosities on four ‘legs’ made their way slowly toward them.  Nothing in their movement was benign and fear took over the three fillies who shouted.
“TIMBER WOLVES!”  Timbre reigned in his fear.  The girls took off across the bridge back to the ruins in a panic.  Timbre looked back at the timber wolves and his mind raced with what to do.  He knew very little of these monsters other than what he could see.  If they were held together by strong magic then there was little he would be able to do but run, however if the magic was weak, he might be able to beat them by hitting them fast enough.  His decision made he opened his young wings and took off, making a loop over the bridge to gain some speed.
The impact with the first timber wolf lanced his body in pain.  He tried to tuck his shoulder low and twist just before impact so that he would avoid hitting head first.  He crashed through the timber wolf which did indeed break into pieces, scattering everywhere including down into the ravine the bridge covered.  However because of the twist he struck wing first and he wasn’t sure if all the noise of clattering wood didn’t include his wing, but it sure felt like it.  There was no time to find out though as the other timber wolf leaped at him and swiped a foreleg into him, causing him to roll several feet and into another tree.  More pain came, but this time it was muted by the feel of adrenaline, powering him and providing him with strength to save his first true friends.
Timbre staggered to his hooves then looked up defiantly at the lone wolf ahead of him.  Opting for a straight charge at the enemy he galloped as fast as he could.  The timber wolf opened its jaws and Timbre leapt at it, twisting around and coiling his hind legs.  Thus prepared he bucked with all his might into the timber wolf’s open maw, breaking wood and loosening what little magic held it together.  The sharp wood making up its teeth left their mark on his tiny legs as they passed through, leaving a few small cuts on them.
“Oh Celestia,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed as the trio of fillies cautiously made their way back over the bridge to Timbre.  “Are you okay, Timbre?”
Timbre turned to face her, keeping his scratched hind legs out of sight.  He reassured them he was okay, though the pain told him otherwise.  Scootaloo looked ashamed.  She scuffed the dirt with a hoof as she spoke.
“That was incredible, Timbre.  I, uh, would have joined you to take out the timber wolves, but I had to protect the others.  You know how it is, right?”
Timbre smiled through the pain but said nothing.  He nodded his head though and turned to walk away, leading the group toward home.
XXXXX
Because of the time spent in the ruins and the unwanted attention from the forests wildlife, the Cutie Mark Crusaders only knew the general direction to get home.  They’d been walking for almost an hour and the light through the trees was starting to dim by the time they found something other than a continuous mess of trees and brush.  Thankfully, they did not run into any more timber wolves.  They had kept up some conversation during that time about their more recent forays into the forest.  Timbre was particularly upset to learn they had faced a cockatrice last time with Fluttershy.
“I didn’t know there were dangerous creatures in here.  Why would you want to come in here without an adult?”  The question was met with reasoning from Applebloom that she’d been in many times to see Zecora whom lived in here.  Before the cockatrice encounter she'd never seen any monsters on her previous trips.  And why tell the adults when many of them were too scared to even see Zecora unless they had to?  Besides, Timbre only got a few scratches, right?  Why worry so much?
Timbre on the other hand knew that those scratches weren’t the only injuries he took.  Since the adrenaline from the fight wore off the pain had returned and brought friends.  His ribs and wings ached and he had managed, while making excuses to relieve himself in private, to carefully fold his wings back into a position that looked normal.  He secretly hoped that with some bed rest he’d be okay.  His mother would probably ban him from seeing his friends again if she knew he’d gotten hurt in a place even adults didn’t want to go.
The thing they had just stumbled upon was a small clearing in the forest that had a pond in it.  The most unusual thing wasn’t the pond or even the clearing itself.  It was the pony that was sitting on the far bank, looking into the water.
The pony had a grey coat and light blonde mane that while not styled was not particularly messy either.  She was an adult mare that all four knew.  The seven bubbles on her flank made up her cutie mark.  Resting next to her was a small satchel used by the Ponyville Mailmares.
“Derpy!  What are ya doin’ in here,” asked Applebloom as they approached her.  The grey mare looked up at the trio of fillies.
“Oh, I come here often after I’m done with work.  It’s quiet and peaceful.”  That it also kept her away from some of the ponies’ looks at her eyes was left unsaid.  It didn’t bother her as much as it used to, but it was still a sensitive topic for her when she caught those pitying looks.  “But why are you three here?  You know it’s dangerous.”
“Oh there aren’t three of us, Derpy.  Timbre is with us,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo added excitedly.  “Timbre fought two timber wolves and beat them both!  It was amazing!”
Derpy looked at them confused.  She lifted a hoof and pointed at all three as she counted them.  “I only see three of you.”  She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment.  When she opened them both eyes were properly focused and she counted again.  “Yeah, still only three.  Where is Timbre?”
The three fillies looked around.  Timbre wasn’t anywhere near them.  They called out his name and headed back to where they entered the clearing from.  It was only a few steps before they noticed a small patch of almost white fur among the tall grass.
“C’mon, Timbre.  We’re all tired but we need to get home.  No sleepin’ in the grass.”  Applebloom approached him and nudged his side.  Timbre gave out a yelp of pain that no one missed.  “What?  Ah barely touched her.”  As Derpy approached the young colt she gasped.  A tiny patch of the grass in front of Timbre’s mouth was red and his breathing was getting labored.
“Oh my Celestia!  He’s injured!  You say he fought timber wolves?”
“Well, yeah.  But she didn’t look hurt when it was over,” Scootaloo stood nearby but Timbre blocked the view of what Derpy could see.  The three of them described the fight for Derpy.
“Fluttershy’s cottage isn’t far from here.”  Derpy pointed a hoof in the appropriate direction.  “It’s a short walk to get out of the forest.  Go straight home now and don’t worry.  As often as I come here I won’t get lost.  I need to get him to the hospital fast.”  Derpy gingerly scooped up Timbre in her hooves and took flight in the direction she had pointed, an extremely worried look on her face.
The fillies looked at each other now more worried about their friend than ever.  It was Sweetie Belle who spoke first.
“Did Derpy call Timbre a ‘him’?”
XXXXX
There were few places in Equestria that had the smell of absolute cleanliness as a hospital, and Ponyville’s ward was no exception.  In many cases hospitals were relatively quiet.  Not to the extent that a library usually is, though the Grand Oaks Library in Ponyville was noisier than most, but more so than most shops.  Tonight however, the waiting room was anything but quiet.
“How in Equestria could you three DO such a thing?!”  Rarity, a white coated unicorn with perfectly styled purple mane was currently the worry of the hospital staff as she shouted down the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  “Honestly, it’s bad enough that Applebloom keeps going in there alone to see Zecora, but to go exploring in areas of the forest that no pony has been in?!  And now look, one of your friends has been hurt!”  Each word was another little blow to their hearts.
“But,” Sweetie Belle started meekly.  “The doctor will fix Timbre up just fine, right?  She’s a strong filly.”
“My son is a colt, young lady.”  Timbre’s mother was the picture of calm on the outside, but inside she was as frantic as any parent would be while awaiting the diagnosis of their child’s injuries.  “I know he’s pretty, but still.  He’s always been sensitive about that.”
Anything else the three fillies might have said was lost in the shock to their minds.  They had let a colt into their club.  Oh my.
“That’s beside the point,” Applejack said.  She had already yelled a bit but was quicker to calm down than Rarity was.  “The point is if’n ya want to go explorin’ someplace dangerous you should wait until you aint a little pony no more.  An lookit what ya done.  The doctors are good, but if he was coughing up blood who knows what’ll happen.”  A nurse at the counter gave an indignant look that no one noticed.
“But…” Applebloom started.  She found, however, that she really had nothing to say about that.  Her big sister was right.  And now one of her friends was in very bad shape because of them.  How were they going to make this right?  Was there anything they COULD do to make it right?  Their hearts were bouncing between being in their throats and deep in their bellies.
After a moment of silence the sound of hoofsteps alerted the group to the doctor returning.  They turned to face him as he came in.
“How is my son, doctor?”
The doctor sighed.  “He isn’t in any danger.  His injuries are stable now and he will recover.  A few of his ribs are broken however, and we’re keeping him here for a few days at least.  However that’s not my biggest concern.”
Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie belle looked at each other.  Knowing their friend was going to recover helped their hearts lighten a little, but if something was of greater concern to the doctor it was probably not going to be good.  They all looked at the doctor with expectant, worried looks.
“Please doctor, what is it,” Timbre’s mother asked.
The doctor sighed again.  He took a moment to collect his thoughts of how to say it.  After a moment he steeled himself.  It would be best to be straight to the point and get it over with, he decided.
“Both of the young colt’s wings were injured.  Badly.  Well, they are broken.”
Rarity looked at him oddly.  “Is that all?  Rainbow Dash came here with a broken wing once and you didn’t seem so concerned.  What aren’t you saying?”
The doctor looked away for a moment, biting his lip.  It was never easy to give this kind of news to anypony.  Again he sighed, then directed himself to Timbre’s mother.
“Some of the bones in his wings are completely shattered.  We’ll do what we can, but the truth is that he may never fly again.”
Two hearts in the room became as shattered as Timbre’s wings, and while his mother cried in Rarity and Applejack’s embrace, Scootaloo ran as fast as she could.  She did not stop running for hours.

> Chapter III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Wing and a Prayer
Chapter 3
(Think “Untitled” by Simple Plan)

It was a very subdued Scootaloo that walked in the pouring rain the following day.  The path she was walking was one she knew well, as it ran parallel to a small field where Rainbow Dash had her mailbox.  The path went further away from Ponyville than that and led to where Scootaloo had decided to go today.
Scootaloo stepped in a muddy puddle without even acknowledging the fact as she continued.  Her mind was too absorbed with the recent events.  Her fur, mane and tail were completely soaked and she just couldn’t be made to care.  Aside from just being soaked to the bone, Scootaloo looked in poor shape.  Her eyes were red from a recent bout of crying and had small bags under them.  She had neither slept nor eaten anything since finding out about Timbre’s wings.
I’m so stupid, she thought to herself.  Because of me my friend might never be able to live like he should.  How could I have been so dumb?  ‘Let’s go into the Everfree!’  Everypony told us we were lucky with the cockatrice a few months ago, but no, I had to keep proving myself to be better than what people think of me.  I don’t know why I haven’t been able to get off the ground with my own wings, but Timbre actually has flown on his own before.  And now… now I took that away from him.
Scootaloo continued her downward spiral within her emotions as her hooves led her to her destination.  She looked up away from the mud after almost half an hour walking at the slowest pace she’s ever gone.  Fluttershy’s cottage only lay another two or three minutes away.  She didn’t know how to talk to her about it.  At first, after she’d calmed down and stopped running, she’d wanted to talk to Rainbow Dash, but even though they’d talked about Rainbow taking her under her wing their relationship was still new and Scootaloo wasn’t sure Rainbow wouldn’t blame her for what happened.  Of course she’d blame her.  It was all her fault they were in that position.  Fluttershy though…
Scootaloo stopped at the little bridge in front of Fluttershy’s home.  Fluttershy wouldn’t blame her, would she?  Then again, Angel could have convinced her otherwise.  After all, Fluttershy was not in any condition to talk to them after the whole Gabby Gums incident.  How many times could you forgive a pony?  It appeared she was about to find out.  Fluttershy’s door opened on its own and she poked her head out.
“Scootaloo?  You should come inside, you don’t want to catch a cold, do you?”  Scootaloo almost said yes to the question, but walked inside after wiping off as much mud as she could off her hooves.
The warmth of Fluttershy’s cottage was a sudden indicator of just how cold and wet it was outside and Scootaloo shivered before having a towel dropped on her back.  Scootaloo made no move to dry herself yet, and just stared at the increasingly wet floor.  A gentle touch began to guide her to a spot next to the fireplace.  Scootaloo’s walls cracked a little more.
“Scootaloo, sweetie, what’s wrong?  I heard something outside and when I opened my door I saw you in the rain, crying harder than I’ve ever seen a pony cry.  Please talk to me; it will make you feel better.”  Fluttershy’s soft voice carried so much tender concern that the last remaining defenses around Scootaloo’s heart crumbled to dust.  She wailed loudly and sobbed bitter tears into Fluttershy’s mane.
Through the sobbing, sniffing and occasional hiccup Scootaloo told Fluttershy the story.  She told her all about how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had met Timbre and decided to bring her – no, him – into the club.  She cried through the story of the attack by timber wolves and Timbre’s collapse.  When she reached the part in the hospital her ability to talk left her before she could finish and she fell into a weeping mess, her heart feeling like it was tearing itself apart.
Fluttershy was surprised to say the least.  She knew nothing of the recent events in Ponyville since she’d been with Angel over the weekend on a short trip to get some medicine because her supply was low.  Fluttershy knew Scootaloo perhaps better than most of her friends did.  She was aware that Rainbow Dash had recently bonded with the orange filly, but for all that Scootaloo idolized her friend, Fluttershy knew that Rainbow Dash was more likely to be a mentor for a few specific things.  Scootaloo however needed something else right now.  Scootaloo needed her to be more than just a friend.  Fluttershy needed to take on the role of an older sister.
“Please, take your time and tell me what happened next when you are ready.”  Fluttershy quietly dreaded what was going to come out of the little filly.  As hard as she tried to remain calm and relaxed about it, the story had frightened her, especially knowing that this young colt whom the CMC had let into their group, interesting, that, was being treated at the hospital.  But as much as Scootaloo had broken down in front of her, she feared the worst.
Scootaloo hiccupped.  She’d been crying for several minutes without saying anything.  Most of the grief had bled out for now and she was beginning to collect herself once more.
“W-when the d-doctor came out, he t-told us the news.”  She paused again and took a deep breath.  “Timbre isn’t going to die, but he’ll probably wish he had.”  Fluttershy’s eyes widened but Scootaloo continued.
“His wings are broken so bad that the doctor doesn’t think he’ll ever fly again.  And it’s all… it’s all m-my fault.”  Her voice rose near the end and she began to cry again, albeit quietly this time.
Fluttershy wrapped the young filly into a warm hug and began to caress her mane dry with the towel.  Her mind was working hard as she thought of what to say.  It’s true that Scootaloo did suggest such a dangerous ‘crusade’, but they all had agreed to it.  It wasn’t her fault that danger decided to show itself.  She looked down at the cerise maned young filly she was attempting to soothe.  What to say?  Or should anything be said?  Fluttershy settled on rocking slowly and giving quiet shushing noises to calm her down.
After a few more minutes like that Fluttershy spoke.
“What are you going to do now?”
Scootaloo sniffed.  “What do you mean?”
“Well, you can’t change what happened, but what you do now is up to you.  Going into the forest was a mistake, you said it yourself, but was it your fault that those terrible things showed up?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment.  “No?”
“That’s right.  So don’t blame yourself so much.  If you drown yourself in the past you’ll never be able to swim to a better future.  Besides, you said the doctor isn’t sure.  Maybe he’ll be alright.”  A small glimmer of hope came to Scootaloo’s eyes.
“You really think so?”
Fluttershy smiled warmly.  “I know so.”
Scootaloo thanked Fluttershy with a hug and headed for the door.  She’d been there so long that the rain clouds were all cleared up by the weather patrol.  Just before walking out she turned back to Fluttershy.
“Only problem is, what do we do now?  We let a colt into the Crusaders.”
Fluttershy giggled.  “I’m sure you’ll work something out.  Bye now!”
XXXXX
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom sat on their haunches in the clubhouse.  As angry as their sisters had been they were still allowed to meet up, as long as there was ‘No crusading until further notice’.  They quickly agreed to that as part of their punishment.  Their individual punishments were far from pleasant but at least they were still allowed to be together.  They’d wanted to run after Scootaloo last night but by the time they got over the shock from the news they didn’t know where she’d gone and their sisters took them straight home.
The door opened to the clubhouse and Scootaloo walked in slowly.  Her head was still low but she looked thoughtful.  Without a word she moved to a small painted target on the floor and stood next to it.  Sweetie Belle and Applebloom joined her.
“So,” Applebloom started, “did yuh have a good run?”
Scootaloo gave a sniff at the question, but her lips curled into a small smile.  Her friends always knew how to make her grin.
“All the way until the rain started.  After that the weather rained on my parade.”
The three girls all shared a giggle and the mood lightened.
“Timbre is a colt, huh,” Sweetie Belle asked no one in particular after a few minutes of light play with each other.  A shift in topic was welcome, though nopony knew just what to think about it.
“Well, we never really said that a colt COULDN’T join the crusaders, but it’s kinda been an unwritten rule,” Applebloom said.  “Isn’t that why we never invited Button to join us?”
Sweetie Belle grimaced.  “That and after trying to spend time with him we just couldn’t stand him.  At least he wasn’t mean.”
“Yeah, but Button was never really Crusader material, you know?  Instead of trying new things he just wanted to play a lot of games.  Not exactly what our club is about.”  Scootaloo nodded her head as she finished.
“Timbre, on the other hoof, was okay with all our ideas, even if he didn’t have many of his own,” Sweetie Belle reminded them.
“What do y’all think Babs would say?  Hav’n a boy in the Cutie Mark Crusaders changes a lot of things.”  All three of them shrugged.  They’d only spent about a month with their newest Crusader in all once she’d joined them.  Applebloom stomped a hoof onto the target, showing an idea coming.  “We can ask her about it at the family reunion comin’ up!  She’s invited to come and ah just know she’ll be here then.”  The other two stomped a hoof on the target too.  It was a good idea.  Sweetie Belle raised a hoof to her chin in thought.
“Do you think Timbre will still want to be in the club anyway after yesterday?”
Scootaloo fought hard to keep from tearing up again and barely won.  She decided it would be better to change the subject a little.
“What did your sisters say about your punishment?”
As if rehearsed both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle drooped their heads and sighed.  They even spoke together in unison.
“We aren’t allowed to go with them to the Crystal Empire next week.”
“Whoa, really?  But you were both so looking forward to it!”
“I know,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in dismay.  “But they told us we had to stay here instead and to make sure to visit Timbre to ‘remind ourselves why we think things through’.  She raised her forelegs and hoof-quoted that last bit.  “Makes sense though.  We’re all to blame for his…”  Sweetie Belle trailed off.  They didn’t need to say it.  They all knew.
After a minute of silence Applebloom spoke up.
“Well, Crusaders, let’s go see how he’s doing.  Maybe he doesn’t know yet.”  Their lighter spirits began to get heavier again.
XXXXX
Timbre woke up slowly.  He did not want to open his eyes.  His whole body ached dully, and he could feel his heartbeat in every limb he had.  At least the bed he was in was comfortable.  He didn’t want to ever move again because when he tried to take a deeper breath he found it only caused the pain to multiply exponentially.
“Shh…” a voice said near him.  Even though it was just a sound he knew it was his mother.  Only a mother could make a noise that was so soothing to the soul.
“Hi, mom,” Timbre said weakly.  He opened one eye slightly.  “My sheets aren’t this color.”
Timbre’s mother laughed softly.  He always did try to put a humorous spin on things when he could.
“I could ask the nurse to change them when she comes in next.  I’m sure she’d be happy to.”
The hospital then.  As memories of the previous day returned to him he knew that was the only place he could be now.  He started to struggle up but was stopped by both his mother’s hoof and her voice.
“Try not to move much, little songbird.  You’ll make your injuries worse.”
There was no resistance to her gentle suggestion.  He knew better than to do anything other than what his mother told him to when she spoke so carefully.
“Mom, how bad is it?  I hurt all over, but part of me I can’t feel at all.”
Timbre’s mother had all night and day to pick out how to tell her precious little colt the news.  “The doctor says you’ve broken some bones in your wings and until he is able to see you again later tonight he doesn’t know how well they will heal up, but he’s going to do his best.”
Timbre looked away for a moment.  He knew what it meant if the doctor wasn’t sure.  He decided to verify it anyway.  “So, I might not fly anymore?”
“That is a possibility, but don’t think about it.  You just do your best to rest up and heal.  The doctor has you in a big cast and you’ve already got a lot written on them from your visitors.”
Timbre wasn’t sure whether to be excited or embarrassed that people had come to see him laid out in a hospital bed all broken.  He decided to remain neutral in the end.
“Who’s written on it, mom?”
“Well let’s see now.  I was first of course, then Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity.  Berry Punch, Lyra and Bon Bon all came in after Pinkie mentioned it to them.  Button’s mother wrote next, and your teacher came.  Apparently this scribble is supposed to be Gummy’s.  Derpy drew a muffin over here, and my cousin Thunderlane stopped by but didn’t write on it.  And lastly Fluttershy just left a few minutes ago.  She wrote on it too.”
It was nice to have so many well-wishers.  There were three names he’d been hoping to hear though, but they weren’t listed.  As if the thought was a summons, there was a timid knock on the door before it opened and the three Crusaders came into the room.
Timbre’s mother stood up and headed toward the door, taking note of the repentant look on the fillies faces.  She departed with a comment of letting them have a few minutes.  The three fillies slowly made their way over to his bed.  Applebloom was first to speak up.
“Um, Timbre?  How are ya doin’?”
“I can’t remember the last time I had so much sleep, actually,” Timbre said with a pained smile.  He wanted to sit up, but the body cast made it impossible to shift his weight enough to do so.  “All things considered I guess I’m okay.”
They looked at him with relief.  Sweetie Belle put her fore-hooves on the bed and looked at the cast.
“That can’t be comfortable.  Do you need any help?”
“No, thanks.  I probably shouldn’t try to move at all.  Since, you know… I’m broken.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo began.  “We’re really sorry about that.”
“Sorry?  About what?”
“We didn’t mean to get you hurt,” Sweetie Belle said.  “But because we decided to go into the forest you got hurt.  We really didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Yeah, if you hadn’t had to save us from the timber wolves you wouldn’t be in here now.  Not like this.”  Applebloom moved to take a seat in a nearby chair.
“So, you are sorry that I decided to stay and protect you from the timber wolves?”
Scootaloo looked shocked.  “No!  We are glad you were able to, but we’re sorry you were hurt.  Especially because you might never… you could forever lose…”  Scootaloo’s eyes glistened with tears ready to fall at a word.
Timbre looked at Scootaloo.  She was the only one he could really see since his head could only move so far in his position.  After a few seconds of looking at each other he said firmly, “I am not sorry at all.  You three are okay and if I got hurt to make sure of that, I’m okay with it.  You three are my friends.”
The tears fell to the floor, but for a good reason.  Scootaloo was happy.  She still felt terrible that the condition of his wings were uncertain, but so far he’d forgiven them.  Or maybe he didn’t think there was a need to forgive them?
“You know what,” Sweetie Belle said, “you are the first colt to ever join the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
Applebloom piped up.  “Yeah!  We never meant for that to happen.  I mean before you moved here we tried to see if Button would be joining us but then we figured he wasn’t exactly the Crusading type.”
Timbre would have nodded if it wasn’t so difficult.  “Yeah, I can see that.  The only ‘crusading’ he’s done is probably in his video games.”  They all laughed a little at that.  “So you figured out I’m not a filly, huh?”
All three blushed a little in embarrassment and looked away.  It was Applebloom who answered the question.
“Well, we didn’t realize because you were so… well… you know…”
“Yeah, I know.  I’m cute like a filly and my tail is so fluffy that nopony notices much else.  I get it a lot.”
Sweetie Belle giggled.  “That and between Scootaloo and Babs, we just figured you were a tomcolt.”
“I know,” Scootaloo exclaimed.  “Babs acts like a colt sometimes, doesn’t she?”  Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stared at Scootaloo.  “What?”
They all laughed light-heartedly, though Scootaloo wasn’t sure what she was laughing for.
“So can I stay a Crusader then or are you kickin’ me out?”  Timbre looked at Scootaloo with a grin though he meant the question to be for all of them.
“It’ll be up to my cousin, Babs,” Applebloom replied.  “But I think you’ve proven yourself a Crusader.  I think we can convince her.”
Unseen through a crack in the door Timbre’s mother smiled.
XXXXX
Walking carefully to not jolt himself Timbre stepped out of the front doors of the hospital with his mother.
“Remember,” the doctor called out to them, “come back in a week so we can have another look at your wings.”
They nodded to the doctor.  Timbre’s cast had been cut to cover his mid-section and wings only.  He felt weird having his wings locked in a straight out position. But it was the best way for them to remain until they could have the specialist look at them.  It was good to find that Las Pegasus had a pony who specialized in wing injuries.  This improved his chances quite a bit, according to the doctor.
While walking casually toward home Timbre sighed in relief.  He’d been in the hospital three days and he was getting antsy.  It was so much nicer to be outside walking that cooped up in a little room doing nothing.  Those video games must really be something if Button could stand to be that way.  They were little more than half way home when he heard a familiar buzzing of wings and saw Scootaloo coming toward them on her scooter, wagon in tow.  He smiled at the sight of his friends.
“Hey!  Timbre!  Over here!” Scootaloo shouted.  Timbre deadpanned then covered both eyes with one hoof.
“Where?  I can’t see you, Scootaloo!  The doctor said it was actually my eyes that are broken, not my wings!”  Timbre’s mother looked surprised that her little songbird was finally starting to open up and be himself around other ponies.
The humorous jibe caused a tiny wince in Scootaloo’s countenance, but she covered it quickly by rolling her eyes.  The CMC pulled to a stop next to the pair.  Timbre looked to his mother and said he’d catch up.
“Okay, but don’t be long and don’t go anywhere but straight home.”
“I won’t.”
“So what’s the word,” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah, what did the doctor say,” Applebloom added.
“The doctor is having me see a specialist next week.  He says we’ll know for sure after that.  He’s letting me go home for now as long as I rest it and don’t do anything I don’t need to.  So still no Crusading for me for a while.”
Scootaloo looked down at the dirt for a moment before speaking up.  “I’m still sorry that you got hurt.  I hope you will be able to fly again someday.”  Timbre smiled.
“Hey now, don’t worry about it.  If… if it turns out I can’t fly again I’ll just learn to live with it.”
“I hope you never have to learn that,” Scootaloo said too quiet for Timbre to hear.  He looked at her questioningly.  “Nothing,” she said louder.
“Any plans yet for our next crusade once I’m out of this,” Timbre asked cheerfully.  The three fillies looked at each other with big grins.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SKY DIVERS!  YEAH!”
Timbre covered his face with a hoof.
The group split up a moment later and in her mind Scootaloo prepared a letter.
	Dear Princess Celestia,
This week I learned that when your mistakes cause problems for others it’s important to ask for forgiveness, but sometimes before you can ask somepony else to forgive you, you have to learn to forgive yourself.