Scootaloo feels discouraged about her lack of flying abilities, and Rainbow Dash has her final Wonderbolts exam coming up. Both pegasi ponies have a lot to learn about what it truly means to soar.
Scootaloo feels discouraged about her lack of flying abilities, and Rainbow Dash has her final Wonderbolts exam coming up. Both Pegasus ponies could learn a lot from each other about what it truly means to soar.
"You really think this is a good idea, Scootaloo?" said Apple Bloom, peering over the edge of Ghastly Gorge and kicking a pebble down. It bounced down the rocky walls and echoed until nothing could be heard.
"Yeeaaahhh...this sounded cool, but now that we're here it's starting to look a little crazy..." said Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo put her hooves on her scooter. "It's not that bad," she replied, adjusting the helmet on her head with a determined look on her face, ensuring it was nice and tight. She looked down at the long path in front of her. At the end was Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on each side of a small wooden ramp they had set up in front of Ghastly Gorge. Their other friends sat at the other end of the gorge, surrounding where Scootaloo was supposed to land after clearing the jump. She felt a small twinge of doubt as a cool breeze suddenly came upon her, sending a prickling shiver down her mane. She shook it off and readied herself on her scooter.
"Ya sure bout' that?" yelled Apple Bloom.
She was sure. There was no doubt in her mind that she couldn't do this, at least in the current moment. "Yep! You ready to witness something awesome?" she yelled out enthusiastically.
A chorus of yeahs echoed across the chasm, and that was all that Scootaloo needed to kick her hooves off the ground and onto the scooter. She picked up speed quickly, feeling the wind slice past her. She used her hooves to get going, but eventually kept them on the scooter and started to use her wings to propel herself even faster. She lowered her head down towards the handlebars and kept a steady gaze on the ramp in front of the gorge. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched with both worry and amazement at what was about to happen.
She reached the ramp at blazing speeds, launching into the clear blue skies as everypony stood with mouths agape staring upwards at her. She reached the apex of her trajectory and felt a sense of weightlessness, just for a single moment. Her wings were outstretched and she could feel the lift they created as she soared through the air. Scootaloo felt like she was flying, mostly because she actually was. This is what she lived for. The feeling of soaring high above the ground, feeling weightless and capable of anything. And most importantly, being awesome, like Rainbow Dash. She lived for the feeling of being un-tethered to the ground, even if it was just for a single moment. That was enough for her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of wind rushing past her.
Scootaloo looked down after a couple moments as she began to descend closer towards the ground. Her gaze shifted towards everypony at the other end of the gorge. The looks of all the other schoolponies had turned from amazement to terror at the realization that she wouldn't be able to clear the jump. She felt another shiver down her mane, this one out of terror instead of excitement. She would not be able to clear the jump with her scooter. She started picking up speed as she fell down further and further, watching the gorge below her get bigger and bigger. She panicked for a moment, but quickly regained composure and realized she could probably make the jump if she leaped off her scooter, sending it tumbling down into the gorge and her safely on the other side. She readied herself for a few moments, getting ready to execute this emergency maneuver when suddenly, a blaze of rainbow light shot towards her from afar, catching her from below and sending the scooter tumbling off wildly towards the landing zone on the other edge of the gorge. The ponies all quickly scrambled out the way of the tumbling scooter as it crashed on the ground.
Rainbow Dash fluttered down towards the ground with Scootaloo in her hooves with a mixture of pride and worry on her face. She landed next to the group of spectators and set Scootaloo down gently. Scootaloo had a look of pure disappointment spread across her face. There was no way she could have made that jump, she realized now. If Rainbow Dash hadn't been there to rescue her, she might have been in big trouble.
"Scoot," said Rainbow Dash softly, "what were you thinking? Jumping Ghastly Gorge? I mean, that's super cool and all...in fact that's pretty awesome. You were going so fast, too. I mean, wow--" Rainbow Dash stopped herself. "I mean, what were you thinking? You could have gotten seriously hurt!"
Scootaloo leaned her head down even further and kicked at the grass beneath her hooves. "I don't know..." was all that came out of her mouth. "...I just wanted to do something awesome, Dash."
Rainbow Dash put a wing around Scootaloo. "There's a difference between being awesome and being careless, Scoot."
Scootaloo sighed. "I know," she sighed again. "Maybe that was a little too crazy..."
Sweetie Belle shouted across the chasm, "I told you it was crazy!" Her high pitched squeak echoed loudly. The rest of the ponies stood silently together in a huddle watching Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo talk.
"Alright, everypony," said Rainbow Dash, "show's over. You can all head home now."
The others left, and Scootaloo looked up at Dash, who still had her wing around her. She was still regaining her composure from the adrenaline rush of the jump. "Thanks for saving me, Dash."
"No problem, little squirt," she replied with a smile as she tossed around her mane a little with her hoof. "Now let's get you home, alright? Your parents are probably worried about you."
"Not really," she said monotonously, "they aren't really home that much."
Rainbow Dash looked at her for a moment. "Well, I sure as hay am worried about you."
"I didn't even crash!" said Scootaloo, with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, well...who cares. Come on, let's get outta here."
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash walked away from the gorge and towards Ponyville, leaving Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on the other side. They exchanged glances and headed off as well.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo walked to Scootaloo's home. Scootaloo took notice that Rainbow Dash walked with her all the way instead of flying off somewhere else. She couldn't help but think that if she were capable of flight, they'd be soaring above the landscape instead of trotting slowly along the ground. Her scooter was completely trashed, and one of the wheels had fallen completely off. It wasn't going to be any problem for her, though. She had made repairs to her scooter plenty of times before.
"You alright there, Scoot?" said Dash as they entered Ponyville.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "I'm just thinking about how much work it's gonna take to fix up my scooter." She turned her head to take a look at it on her back.
"Yeah, you really managed to bang it up this time," said Dash, without much else to say.
"Nothing a little hard work and time can't fix," she replied confidently.
"Keep it up with that attitude and you'll be flying in no time," she said with a smile and a pat on the back.
"I sure hope so..." said Scootaloo. They had reached her home after a few minutes of walking. It was late afternoon and the Sun was making its way back down towards the horizon.
Rainbow Dash continued. "I mean it! You've got more determination than anypony else."
Scootaloo took the compliment with great warmth. Not much felt better than having the pony she looked up to so much compliment her. She didn't get a lot of recognition elsewhere, unless she was doing stunts on her scooter of course. Her parents weren't ever really around all that much, either. She wondered what they would think about her jump across Ghastly Gorge. Thinking about the jump in hindsight made her wince slightly. She wanted to kick herself for doing something so careless just to feel recognized. But then she realized that she hadn't done that jump to garner recognition: she had done it for herself. If she couldn't handle flying, she would do the next best thing. It wasn't about being the center of attention or being awesome as she had thought earlier, but rather, it was about proving to herself that she could achieve her dreams. Even with her handicap of being unable to fly.
She looked back up to Rainbow Dash. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash," she replied with a warm smile.
"No problem, Scoot." She put a wing around her once more and then stepped back. "But I've gotta go," she added. "I've got to prepare for my Wonderbolts Final Exam!"
Scootaloo's eyes lit up. "Your final exam? You mean, like...you'll be a--"
"A Wonderbolt," Dash responded. "Yup," she said with a big grin. "It's tomorrow morning at dusk. It's a flying exam, too. Should be a piece of cake!"
"Wait, tomorrow? Isn't that kind of sudden?"
"There isn't a set time when you become a Wonderbolt," said Rainbow Dash. "When it's time, one of the captains of the academy selects a group of ponies to take their final test, and for me, that day's tomorrow," she said with a hint of excitement. "You're welcome to come watch with everybody else," she added. "There's a hot air balloon leaving early tomorrow morning. Anyways...I gotta go! See ya later, Scoot!"
Rainbow Dash took off from the ground, leaving a contrail of rainbow behind her and a flurrie of grass and dirt that swirled around Scootaloo for a few moments. She couldn't help but watch in awe as she rocketed through the skies, but a small twinge of jealousy made its way into her thoughts. It passed, of course, after just a moment or two. After all, Rainbow Dash said herself that she was more full of determination than anypony else. She just had a hard time believing it.
She walked into her home, closing the door behind her. Inside it was dark and silent, as usual. She set her scooter down on a small workbench and got to work. It took a bit longer than usual this time, but as always she was able to fix it up with a little time and effort.
---
Rainbow Dash resumed her training in the skies above the landscape surrounding Ponyville. She wanted to be absolutely certain that she was prepared for her Wonderbolts exam the following morning. She felt such a sense of excitement just thinking about it. It had been so long she had been waiting for this moment, and she had come so far. She had been training at the Wonderbolts Academy, rising through the ranks one by one, and now it was finally time to rise to the top and become a Wonderbolt. She did a loop in the air as a exciteful shiver went down her mane, then swooped quickly downwards and picked up as much velocity as she possibly could, the sheer speed through the air making her feel like a knife slicing through butter. She glanced over at Ponyville off in the distance, looking at all the earth and unicorn ponies walking about their daily lives. She couldn't help but think about Scootaloo, who also walked among them, and here she was speeding through the sky. It was no wonder she decided to jump the gorge, Rainbow Dash thought. Pegasi ponies were meant to be in the skies. It was their home; it was where they felt home.
---
She continued her flying maneuvers, making sure every one of them was perfect before moving on to practicing the next. It wasn't until late at night and exhausted that she finally decided that she had practiced enough. The skies had turned dark and the stars and moon came out, twinkling above her. She returned to her home in Cloudsdale and flopped straight onto her bed. She felt exhausted, but couldn't fall asleep from all of the excitement for the next morning. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.
On the next morning, Scootaloo woke up extra early to board one of the hot air balloons traveling to the Wonderbolt Academy and watch Rainbow Dash take her final test and become a Wonderbolt. She arrived much earlier than anypony else; she just couldn't sleep thinking about Rainbow Dash. Today, she was going to achieve the dream she'd always had since she was a little filly. I'm just a little filly, she thought to herself. Suddenly, she felt a whole lot smaller than she thought. There was so much ahead of her, so much to look forward to. It was both daunting and exhilarating. She and her friends had received their Cutie Marks a while ago, but they were still learning their place in the wide world of Equestria. Anything was possible for her life, and she had little idea what it might be.
"Hey, Scootaloo!" yelled Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom from afar.
A voice came from inside one of the houses along the road. "Hey, you little fillies, some of us are tryin' to sleep here!"
"Oh, sorry!" squeaked Sweetie Belle.
"You're up awful early, aren't ya, Scoots?" said Apple Bloom as they came up to her and the hot air balloon.
"I couldn't sleep," she replied.
"Me neither!" exclaimed a voice from behind them. Pinkie Pie bounced gleefully down the road towards them, with Applejack and Rarity trailing behind her.
"I repeat, some of us are trying to sleep!" said the voice from inside one of the houses.
"Oh, SORRY!" replied Pinkie Pie loudly, but genuinely.
"Where's Twilight or Fluttershy?" said Scootaloo as they came up.
"Oh, they've flown there, dear." said Rarity.
"Oh, yeah..." said Scootaloo.
More ponies came as well, all presumably to watch the final exam at the Wonderbolt Academy. So many ponies had shown up that the balloon pilot told them they'd have to really squeeze to fit everypony. Rainbow Dash had all these ponies who were showing up to see her finally achieve her dream, thought Scootaloo.
"All aboard!" yelled the balloon pilot.
"SHH!" replied the pony from inside the house for a third time.
The balloon rose slowly off the ground after all the ponies had boarded. Every one of them either a unicorn or earth pony, except Scootaloo. The cool morning air felt cold against her fur as they rose above the rooftops of Ponyville, and she could see the warm orange glow of the sun coming up from below the horizon. Today was going to be a really big day for Rainbow Dash, thought Scootaloo. She couldn't help but smile thinking about it.
---
Rainbow Dash slept soundly in her bed. She hadn't fallen asleep until very late at night from all the excitement about this day. The sun began to rise from below the horizon and cast its rays through the window of her room and into her face. She wrinkled her nose and groaned as she woke up groggily. Eyes blinking, and after a long drawn-out yawn, Rainbow Dash rolled out of bed and looked out the window out to the landscape below.
A sudden thought came to her mind.
"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh!" she exclaimed worriedly, speeding straight through the door and out into the skies, making a beeline straight for the Wonderbolt Academy. No, this can't be happening she thought, her mind racing. The final exam was supposed to be at dawn. Did Celestia raise the sun too early? What's the deal?, she thought. No, she continued. She had overslept as a result of exhausting herself the day before. She felt like kicking herself for making such a mistake. Her thoughts raced faster, wondering if she would be too late. Or too tired, she thought. She was still trying to wake up; she must have only slept a couple of hours, if that. The wind blew against her tired eyelids as she arrived at the academy.
---
"Where's Rainbow Dash?" said Scootaloo. She was sitting in the stands with everypony else, watching all the future Wonderbolts stretching on the grass below. Spitfire stood confidently with a whistle in her mouth, watching everypony prepare for the exam.
"I'm sure she's here," said Applejack, assuredly. Her eyes looked up to the skies hopefully. "I think..." she added.
"There she is!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, pointing repeatedly up into the sky at Rainbow Dash.
"Are you sure that's Rainbow Dash, dear?" said Rarity. "I don't see her rainbow trail behind her."
"She does seem to be flyin' awfully slow," added Applejack.
---
Rainbow Dash fluttered down slowly to where the others were stretching. Spitfire quickly trotted over to her.
"Tardiness? Not exactly Wonderbolt material."
Rainbow Dash started to yawn but quickly stifled it with a salute. "Apologies, captain!" she proclaimed sturdily, her hoof slipping down a little after.
Spitfire gave her a look. "Your time is not an academy record. Just get stretching."
"Aye, aye," she replied and walked off towards the others to begin her stretches. A few moments later, Spitfire blew her whistle.
"Alright, cadets! It's time for you to show me you're worthy of being a Wonderbolt! This final test is simple, but will push you to your limits, so I hope you've been preparing. It is designed to test both your speed and your agility. You will line up here and all individually fly the course one by one. If you can complete the circuit without missing any of the cloud hoops in a fast enough time, you will officially be a Wonderbolt."
"Yes, Captain!" proclaimed all the ponies.
"Yes, Captain!" said Rainbow Dash, a couple of moments echoing behind the others.
"Rainbow Dash!" yelled Spitfire. "You will be first!"
Rainbow Dash tried her best to wake herself up as quickly as possible, but she could only do so much as she walked over to the starting point. Above her was a series of cloud hoops she was supposed to maneuver through at top speeds. She took a gulp, hoping her hard training would be enough to overcome her mistake of not getting a good night's rest.
The whistle blew, catching her off guard, but she shot off from the ground into the air, sending a moderate breeze blowing over the grass below her. The first set of hoops were easy. They were in groups of three placed directly in a row. This must be the speed section of the course, she thought. Soon, however, the hoops became placed apart more sporadically. Still, Rainbow Dash deftly maneuvered through them at high speed. Suddenly, she noticed the next cloud hoop. There were two placed directly on top of each other. She blasted through the bottom one and immediately did a loop to fly backwards through the other.
At this point, she was high up in the air and was now flying straight downwards. A series of hoops were between her and the finish line. She was feeling good now, and more awake than before she started. She had been flying fantastically, pulling every maneuver off nearly perfectly. Her training had pulled off. A smile appeared on her face as she sped downwards towards the finish line. I'm going to become a Wonderbolt with style, and what better way to do that than with my signature Sonic Rainboom!. The last few cloud hoops were below her, and she rapidly accelerated downwards as she shifted her weight to fly through each of them. She gained more and more speed, eyes watering from the water in the air condensing against her fur from the raw speed. Her rainbow contrail glowed behind her brighter and brighter and the air in front of her hooves split in a cone around her body until in an explosion of light, she performed a Sonic Rainboom.
But something went wrong. Her form had shifted too far to one side and suddenly, she found herself tumbling out of control hurtling towards the ground away from the finish line. Everypony watching from below had mouths agape as she crashed horribly into the grassy ground, sending a wake of dirt and rocks into the air around her.
This can't have happened, thought Rainbow Dash. Surely, this is a dream and I'll be waking up any moment now. A few moments passed, a dead silence still hanging in the air as the dust from her crash began to settle. Rainbow Dash slowly staggered to her hooves and out of the pile of rubble she had created, and turned around only to see the terrifying face of Spitfire loom towards her as she trotted forcefully across the grass. Rainbow Dash couldn't see her eyes, but she was sure that Spitfire was furious.
"What was that, cadet!" Her voice boomed as she outstretched her neck above Rainbow Dash who was still trying to get on her hooves.
"I--"
"Do you think this is some sort of game?" Spitfire asked rhetorically. "Do you, Rainbow Dash?"
"No, Captain!" she proclaimed.
"Then why does it seem like you think it is?" Spitfire's voice somehow booming louder than before.
"I don't!" said Rainbow Dash, holding back tears as best she could.
"Oh, so I suppose your Sonic Rainboom was integral to your aerial maneuvering?"
"No, Captian, I just--"
"You just what, Rainbow Dash..."
"I just..." she sighed deeply. "I just..." She struggled to get the right words to come out of her mouth.
"That's why I thought," said Spitfire before Rainbow Dash had a chance to continue. She turned around and trotted back towards the field where the other cadets watched in cold silence the heated fury of Spitfire cast upon Rainbow Dash.
---
Scootaloo watched Dash get up out of the pile of rocks and grass, sulkily trotting away from the field. She couldn't believe it. Just like that, Rainbow Dash had failed. She watched the other Pegasi on the field lining up to continue their exams one by one. Emotions welled up inside Scootaloo. Isn't anybody going to do something? she thought to herself and looked at the others sitting next to her. All of them were too speechless to say anything.
"Well?" said Scootaloo. "Are we going to go talk to Dash, or what?"
Twilight spoke up first. "Of course, but...right now I think Rainbow Dash just needs a little time to herself."
Scootaloo pondered this for a moment, wondering how she would feel in such a situation. She definitely wouldn't want to feel alone, she decided, and took off trotting towards Rainbow Dash as Spitfire blew her whistle and the next Pegasus in line began his exam. Rainbow Dash was near the edge of the cliff the Wonderbolts Academy was perched on, about to take off.
"Dash!" she cried out.
Rainbow Dash turned her head around to see the orange filly trotting after her. She wasn't sure if she felt happy that she cared so much for her or sad that she had let her down.
"Dash," she said again more softly as she caught up to her.
"Yeah, Scoot?" she replied without a hint of emotion.
She didn't know what to say next, so all that came out was "I--I'm sorry that happened."
"Well, that makes two of us."
Dash's sarcasm directed towards her stung a little, but she continued anyways. "Can't you just go back and explain what happened?"
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Why bother. You heard what Spitfire said to me."
Scootaloo thought for a moment to the loud conversation Rainbow Dash and Spitfire had in front of everypony. "I didn't hear Spitfire say anything about you not being able to be a Wonderbolt."
"Yeah, well, sometimes you've just gotta read between the lines, you know?" Dash could feel tears start to well up inside her. She wasn't going to let herself cry in front of this filly. Especially not Scootaloo.
Scootaloo seemed determined to lift Rainbow Dash's spirits. "Do you remember what you said to me yesterday?" she asked. "You told me that if I had enough determination and put in the time, I'd be able to fly in no time."
"Well," said Rainbow Dash, still heavy with emotion. "That may be true for you, Scoot, but I might as well be a lost cause." Rainbow Dash turned back around and prepared to take off into the skies for a therapeutic flying session, but Scootaloo stopped her.
"Well, if you can't ever become a Wonderbolt, than I--I...I won't ever be able to fly!"
Dash sighed deeply. I've made a mistake, she thought. She hadn't realized how much Scootaloo really looked up to her. Everything she did, everything she said, Scootaloo was watching with complete attention. She put aside her emotions, sighed again and kicked at the ground for a moment before turning back around to face her.
“Scoot, you're never going to learn to fly with your negativity weighin' you down,” said Dash as she put a wing around her. Scootaloo looked down and let out a sigh.
“I know,” she replied dejectedly, “but I've just tried so hard and it seems like whatever I do...”
“I know it's hard, but you've just gotta keep on--”
“You don't know,” she interrupted. A tear began to well up in her eye. “You don't know how hard it is for me! You've always been able to fly. You're always been the best flyer around. How could you know what it's like to fail at something you were born to do?”
Scootaloo was softly crying now, Dash's wing still wrapped around her. “I did today,” she replied softly, letting out a sigh of her own. She looked up to the skies at the other Pegasus flying amongst the clouds. “I've spent my whole life dreaming of being a Wonderbolt. I've gotten into the Wonderbolt academy. I passed all the tests with flying colors--”
“So far, this isn't helping me at all,” she replied with another sniffle.
“All but one,” said Dash, “and it was the one that actually mattered. All of those years, all of that hard work. Wasted,” she said, letting go of Scootaloo and kicking up some dirt with her hoof. Her face felt warm from trying to hold back tears.
Seeing her idol in such a dejected state, Scootaloo's tears stopped flowing and she let out a final sniffle.
“...and it was the flying exam. The flying exam. Not even the written one, and Celestia knows that was mostly a fluke...”
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash and watched a single tear drop down from her eyes and splatter onto the dusty ground below. “Dash...” she said, choking a bit on her words. “there's something I want to tell you.”
Dash looked back at her, bringing a hoof to her face to wipe away the tears. “Yeah, Scoot?”
“I want you to know that, well, I've always kind of considered you to be my big sister.”
“Well, duh!” replied Dash, “And I consider you to be my little sister too.” She put her wing around her again.
“Yeah, but, there's more,” she replied. “I—I never really get to see my parents that much...and--”
Rainbow Dash had a sad and confused look on her face.
“--and, well. I've always kind of considered you to be like them, too.”
“Oh,” said Dash. “I...I never realized that I meant that much to you...”
Scootaloo looked embarrassed. “I shouldn't have said that,” she replied, looking away for a moment. Rainbow Dash was trying to search for the right words to say.
“There's nothing wrong with it,” she replied with a smug little smile. “I mean, I am Rainbow Dash after all.”
Scootaloo let out a little half-smile, but it quickly went away as she thought about her place in the world. Rainbow Dash seemed to notice this and quickly added, “and you're Scootloo, and nothing can ever change that.”
“But I don't want to be me,” she replied.
Dash sighed silently. Scootaloo was as stubborn as her. “Look, Scoot,” she said as she pulled her in closer with her wing, “I realized something today. Sometimes our view of ourselves can get...a little crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for example...sometimes I can be a little, um...”
“Arrogant? A sore loser? Competitive? A show-off?”
Rainbow Dash sent her a stern glance that ended up becoming a smile. “Yeah, those...the point that I'm trying to make, Scootaloo, is that the way I view myself can make me be like that. But for you, it's the opposite.”
Scootaloo thought about this for a moment. “I don't understand.”
“You put yourself down too much, and I over-inflate my own ego,” she replied hesitantly, kicking up some dirt with her hoof. “I didn't need to do a Sonic Rainboom at the end of that test, but I chose to because I wanted to become a Wonderbolt in style, and look where that got me. You're amazing, Scoot. Really, you are. I've never seen a pony go so fast on a scooter like you or be as determined to be your best."
“Well, I don't go that fast--”
“See? This is what I'm talkin' about!” said Rainbow Dash excitedly. “You do! And not just that, you do A-MAZE-ING tricks.”
“I mean, yeah, they're good, but not as amazing as you...”
“Scoot, listen to yourself. You gotta stop comparing yourself to others. Everybody is better than others at certain things. I sure as hay couldn't ride a scooter like you.”
“I guess that's true,” she said, lifting her head up a little bit with a smile.
“There's the Scootaloo I know,” replied Rainbow Dash.
“But what are you going to do, Dash?” Scootaloo looked up at the Wonderbolt Academy. “You've gotta go back and make them let you take the test again!”
“It's not that easy,” she replied. “The Wonderbolt Final Exam isn't meant to be taken twice. There are no second chances. I should have been more prepared.”
“But you were prepared! You just...kinda forgot to get enough sleep...”
"Somehow I don't think Spitfire is going to accept my lack of sleep as an excuse," said Rainbow Dash.
"Then we'll just have to think of something else."
"Whoa, there, Scoot," said Rainbow Dash as Scootaloo did an about face and trotted back confidently towards Spitfire. Spitfire is gonna rip her to shreds, thought Dash. "What do you think you're doing?"
Scootaloo turned around. "I'm going to see what Spitfire has to say about all of this."
Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to respond, Scootaloo resumed trotting back onto the field towards Spitfire. She had her whistle in her mouth, watching the next pegasus soar through the cloud hoops above. Her dark shades glinted in the sunlight as she caught a glimpse of the orange filly trotting towards her. Her reflection grew in Spitfire's shades as she came up to reach her. She couldn't help but notice Scootaloo didn't fly over.
"Um, excuse me..." said Scootaloo.
Spitfire seemed slightly surprised at this little filly having the nerve to come up to her in the middle of her work, but something about her confidence caught her eye. "Yes, what is it? And make it quick, we've got trials to do here."
Scootaloo searched for the right words to say. She hadn't really thought this through. All she knew was that she wasn't going to let Rainbow Dash sulk and end up doing more harm to herself and her motivation in general. Suddenly, she just realized how crazy it was to see Rainbow Dash so dejected. In fact, she didn't think she had ever seen her in such a state. Rainbow Dash...giving up?. All her life, she had looked up to her as a source of inspiration, and right now was the first time she had ever seen her fail.
A couple of moments passed, as Spitfire waited patiently for Scootaloo to answer her.
"Well," said Scootaloo, looking down at the grass, "it's about Rainbow Dash."
"Yes?"
"She can still become a Wonderbolt...right?"
Spitfire rolled her eyes, although nopony would have seen it behind her shades. "Let me tell you something about Rainbow Dash. She's one of the hardest working pegasi i I've ever met, but she's got one major problem."
Scootaloo's eyes lit up briefly, then immediately went back to normal.
"Rainbow Dash tends to be a showpony," continued Spitfire. "It's one thing to be really good at something, but if you only do it to show off, you might as well not do it at all."
At this point, Rainbow Dash was trotting sulkily towards Spitfire and Scootaloo.
Spitfire continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash for the time being. She still had not answered the question of whether or not Rainbow Dash could ever be a Wonderbolt. "So, to answer your question, yes."
Rainbow came up next to Scootaloo and they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Spitfire acknowledged Dash, now. "So, you've hired a filly to handle your problems now, Rainbow Dash?"
"No, I just--"
"I'm just messing with you, cadet," replied Spitfire. She seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.
"So..." continued Rainbow Dash, "does this mean I can retake the test?"
Spitfire thought carefully for a moment. "No."
Rainbow Dash sighed deeply and her head sunk heavily towards the ground.
"Not yet," Spitfire continued. "You can retake this test when you show this filly how to fly."
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash perked up in surprise, and simultaneously looked at each other.
"What?" they both asked.
"What you lack in modesty and humbleness, Rainbow Dash, this filly makes up ten-fold." Spitfire smiled. "Your final assignment is to teach this filly how to fly. As soon as you've done that, report back to me."
"But--" stammered Scootaloo, "I've been trying to fly for so long already, and Rainbow Dash has already tried to help--"
"You're both dismissed," said Spitfire sternly. She turned around immediately and got back to timing the pegasi in their trials.
---
"Dash..." said Scootaloo, "what if I can't learn to fly? That'll mean you wont ever get to be a Wonderbolt! It'll all be my fault"
"Hey now, Scoot. Nothing about this is your fault. I'm the pony who decided to show off, and I take full responsibility for my actions. Besides, I've got a good feeling that you'll be flying in no time."
Out in the rolling, grassy plains surrounding Ponyville, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash began Scootaloo's training. She couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed at the sudden and apparent responsibility she now had to fly. Even if Rainbow Dash said it wasn't her fault, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel some sense of pressure to figure this out. Why had Spitfire told Rainbow Dash such a thing anyways, she thought. But despite this feeling, Scootaloo felt more confident than ever to fly.
"So...Rainbow Dash? Are we going to start training soon?"
"Yeah, just give me a sec," she replied. "I'm...not really used to this whole teaching thing."
In reality, Rainbow Dash had no idea how to teach Scootaloo to fly. For her, flying was a simple matter of lifting herself off the ground with her wings, and the rest came naturally. She tried to think of some of the scientific terms Twilight had mentioned about flight in the past. Something about lift, thought Rainbow Dash. Let's go with that. "So, the number one rule for flying is to have lift. And you get lift from the wind rushing past your wings when you fly." Ugh, what am I even saying. This isn't working.
Scootaloo sat patiently.
"Tell you what, Scoot. How about we start off this flying lesson with some actual flying," said Rainbow Dash.
"And this time I won't be saving your life," she added and gestured for Scootaloo to get into her hooves. She excitedly hopped straight into them. "You ready?"
Scootaloo nodded excitedly.
"Alright!"
Rainbow Dash took off from the ground leaving behind a flurrie of dust and a rainbow contrail. Speeding high into the skies, Scootaloo watched the ground below them rapidly shrink and felt the wind rush through her mane. As Rainbow Dash slowed her vertical ascent to a sudden halt and in the lull between moving upwards and falling back down, Scootaloo felt the same feeling she had before when jumping Ghastly Gorge. That momentary feeling of weightlessness high above the world below caused a shiver to travel down her mane throughout her body and out the tips of her wings.
Rainbow Dash began flying horizontally and Scootaloo positioned herself on one of her outstretched hooves. She had done this a handful of times before with Rainbow Dash, of course. It was one of her favorite things to do to bond with her. She outstretched her wings and felt the wind forcefully cause them to flap about wildly.
Rainbow Dash took notice. "Keep your wings out straight," she said softly.
Scootaloo tried to straighten her wings in the tumultuous winds, struggling to keep them steady. Bend them too far down and the wind would catch them and push them down further. Bend them too far up, and the same would happen. But after a little practicing, Scootaloo managed to keep her wings level.
"Hey, I'm doing it!" she exclaimed.
Rainbow Dash smiled warmly. "That's awesome! You ready to try it on your own?"
"You mean...is that safe?"
Scootaloo already knew the answer. It wasn't safe, but she knew Rainbow Dash would certainly be capable of catching her if something bad were to happen. When something bad happens, she thought. She examined the feeling the rushing winds past her wings gave her. If she lifted them up just slightly, she could feel herself lift off from Dash's hoof.
"I'll be there to catch you," Rainbow assured her.
Scootaloo kept her eyes straight ahead on the horizon, wings outstretched. "Okay," she said confidently. "Let me go."
Rainbow Dash removed her hoof out from underneath Scootaloo. Immediately, she dropped rapidly downwards, but Rainbow Dash expected this. She watched as Scootaloo fell downwards with her wings outstretched. They're pointed too far down, she thought. She's got to learn to keep her wings up. Suddenly, another thought came to Dash's mind. The conversation they had after her Sonic Rainboom and resulting disaster, specifically what she had said about Scootaloo being the opposite of herself. Scootaloo was constantly putting herself down just like her wings were at this moment, and Rainbow Dash had problems with being too proud of her accomplishments.
"Ahhhhhh!" shrieked Scootaloo as she continued to plummet downwards as Dash had her epiphany.
Rainbow Dash turned her wings downwards and swooped towards Scootaloo. "I'm comin!"
Catching her in her hooves, Scootaloo stopped screaming from the free-fall.
"What took you so long?" she said, half angry and half terrified.
"Sorry about that, Scoot," Dash replied sheepishly. "I just realized something is all."
"I'm never going to learn to fly," she replied.
Dash slowed her flight to a halt and hovered in the air, flapping her wings to stay afloat. Suddenly, all the winds had died down and Scootaloo could feel the warm sun against her fur. "Scootaloo, you're so close."
"Yeah, well, close isn't going to let you become a Wonderbolt."
"Look, this is going to sound really sappy, but bear with me okay, Scoot? When you were trying to fly, I noticed your wings were angled too far downwards."
Scootaloo thought back to the free-fall. She must have instinctively done it as soon as Rainbow Dash let her loose. "That's it? I just need to angle my wings a bit differently?"
"Well, yeah, but it's more than that. A pegasus doesn't just get their ability to fly from their wings. Just like unicorns have magic, so do pegasi."
"But I don't feel any magic."
"That's because you're not letting yourself. Before I let you go, you were ready to fly. And believe me, I could tell. You had the magic in you, but when I let go, it's like it disappeared."
Scootaloo realized now, what was holding her back all of this time. Ironically, it was Rainbow Dash. She had held her in such high standings that her own self-worth was nowhere to be seen. All of her determination and driving force was being channeled into being like Rainbow Dash. And when Rainbow Dash let go, all of it went away with her.
Scootaloo felt another tingle go down her mane. "Let's try this again. I've got a good feeling this time."
Scootaloo tried over and over again to fly. She would balance herself and her wings on Dash's outstretched hoof high in the skies, and Dash would remove her hoof again and again as Scootaloo tried to stay afloat on her own. It wasn't as easy as she had hoped when the realization of her problem had struck her, but she got better and better with each attempt, lasting a couple seconds longer before angling her wings too far down or up, resulting in her losing her balance and getting out of control. But she never ceased trying, even as the sun started to shine dimly on the horizon below them. Never had she felt so close to flying than today.
Rainbow Dash didn't get tired either, even though she repetitively would swoop down to save Scootaloo, fly up a bit and try all over again. Normally such repetitive tasks would get incredibly boring for her, but watching Scootaloo get better and better with each attempt made everything worth it. She had even forgot that Scootaloo learning to fly would be her ticket to becoming a Wonderbolt. Seeing her fly was the only hope and aspiration Rainbow Dash had right now.
They had been trying for so long, the conversations between attempts dwindled until there was no conversation at all. Nothing needed to be said: it was clear that they would be working on this together even if it took until nightfall. Even Dash's wings were starting to get tired. She could only imagine how fatigued Scootaloo must have felt.
"Scoot, we can always pick this back up tomorrow morning," said Dash after swooping down to catch her yet again after another failed, but improved, attempt.
"But I'm so close," she replied, looking back to Dash. There were bags under her eyes.
"Alright," said Dash. She wasn't going to stop unless Scootaloo was ready. She held her tight in her hooves and flew up again into the sky for another attempt. Flying towards the hazy orange horizon, the sun now beneath it, they got into position once again. "Scootaloo," said Dash, "before we try this again, I want you to know that, well," she paused for a moment, "I'm proud of you. Seeing you get your cutie mark was one thing, but a pegasus learning to fly is just as amazing."
Scootaloo just smiled tiredly back at her. "I'm ready," she replied.
"You're going to soar, Scoot."
Rainbow Dash pulled her hoof out from underneath Scootaloo for probably the hundredth time, expecting her to drop down after a few moments as she had done in every previous attempt, but Scootaloo remained. Soaring above her, Dash looked up at the orange filly with her tiny wings outstretched, the sunlight from below the horizon casting a warm glow beneath her and her feathers swaying peacefully. A sudden onslaught of emotion came over her. She's done it, thought Rainbow Dash as the warmest smile overcame her.
After a few seconds of flight, Scootaloo yelled out with excitement. "I'm flying! Dash, I'm flying!"
"You sure are, Scoot," said Dash, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Dash, are you crying?"
"No," she replied with a sniffle. "Okay yeah, I am. I seem to be doing that a lot these past couple days..."
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash made their way back to Ponyville. At this point, the sun was far beneath the horizon and the sky was nearly dark.
"You ready to fly down?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah."
Scootaloo angled her wings downwards in preparation to swoop down through the sky like she had seen Rainbow Dash do thousands of times. She gradually picked up speed as she flew further and further downwards, feeling the wind slice past her wings. Every little movement resulted in drastic changes in her trajectory, but she remained in complete control.
"You're a natural!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she swooped down beside her.
Scootaloo felt another shiver go down her mane as she picked up even more speed. She felt like she could do anything in that moment.
The two pegasi landed on the ground near the outskirts of Ponyville, both of them exhausted. After a couple moments of silence, Scootaloo spoke up. "Thank you, Dash."
"Don't mention it," she replied with a tired smirk. The two parted ways as Scootaloo returned back to her home and Rainbow Dash flew back up into the sky towards Cloudsdale. She immediately rolled into her bed and pulled the warm blanket over herself. As she drifted slowly off to sleep, the only thoughts that ran through her mind was how proud she was of her little sister.
