I prefer the phrase "unprepared landing."
Tick, tock.
Scootaloo scrunched her muzzle, her hoof pressing down harder against the paper as she gave a cursory glance across the classroom.
Tick, tock.
Diamond Tiara was flashing her a smug smirk, waving her test in front of Scootaloo in a mocking fashion. Every question on the bully’s test was answered, which probably meant that she would receive yet another one-hundred; while Scootaloo would have to pray to Celestia to get a grade higher than a ‘C.’
Silver Spoon, on the other hoof, was passed out. A small amount of drool dripping comically from her muzzle while her glasses jutted out from being pressed against the desk.
Scootaloo chuckled as Diamond’s face heated up with embarrassment, lightly swatting Silver’s head with her test, causing her to grunt and wipe her chin with her hoof.
Stay classy, Silver.
Ding!
Several of Scootaloo’s classmates let out groans of discontent as she felt her heart begin to race with panic.
Shoot! I didn’t even get to finish it!
Cheerilee glanced at her students with a warm smile, clearing her throat before speaking.
“Alright, class, please pass your work up to the front. I hope everypony studied... because that was the last test before the end of the quarter!”
The reaction of the class was a mixture of annoyance and happiness, with Scootaloo being a part of the former. She rubbed her temples with her hooves, attempting to piece together how she was going to tell her parents about her grades without having her hide tanned.
Diamond Tiara was reveling at the sight of Scootaloo’s clear discomfort, while her friends shot her looks of sympathy, which only made Scootaloo grind her teeth. She didn’t like being pitied.
Diamond snorted, “If you did as well as you looked earlier, then you’re going to have to explain a lot to your parents.”
Scootaloo smirked, “At least my parents understand that I don’t have to be perfect all the time and that I don’t have to score a one-hundred to make them notice me.”
“Hmph, as if you’d know anything about my daddy and me,” Diamond replied, her muzzle raised high in the air.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “Tch, whatever. I could care less about you or your family.”
And with that, the school bell rung. The cacophony of fillies and colts packing their saddlebags and getting out of their desks drowned out Scootaloo’s thoughts, though it did little to nullify her anxiety.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had already exited the classroom, but Diamond Tiara looked as if she was waiting for her, a familiar smug smirk plastered across her face.
“You going to break the news to your parents? Or are you going to waste your time trying to fly again?”
Scootaloo smirked. "At least with practice, I'll eventually fly. But you, on the other hoof, no matter how hard you try, will always be a stuck-up bitch."
Without another word spoken, Scootaloo marched out, taking the time to close Diamond’s gaping muzzle as she shut the door behind her.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a suspicious glance as she exited the classroom. Sweetie, having noticed Diamond’s expression as the door closed, decided to speak up.
“Are you going to tell us what you said to Diamond? She seemed pretty shocked.”
Scootaloo’s smirk remained on her face. “Probably not. If I had to wager a guess, she’s either going to come at me twice as hard or leave me alone; either way, it was totally worth it.”
“How’d ya do on that test, Scootaloo? It looked like it was givin’ ya trouble,” Apple Bloom said.
The smirk fell from Scootaloo’s face as she fluttered her wings. “Pshh, that test? No problem. I’m sure I aced the stupid thing.”
The deadpan expressions on her friends’ faces caused her to sigh. “Fine, I’m pretty sure I flunked it. Am I really that easy to read?”
Sweetie Belle giggled, “Like a book with pictures.”
“Says you, dictionary.”
“So what are ya gonna do? Are ya tellin’ your parents today?” Apple Bloom asked her.
Scootaloo shook her head, glancing over toward the edge of town. “Nah, not today, I’m actually in a pretty good mood, and I don’t really want to think about grades right now.”
“So what are ya gonna do today, then?”
Scootaloo flashed her a big smile. “I’m going to fly, of course! I think I’m going to nail the landing this time!”
Crunch!
“I guess the third try wasn’t a charm,” Rainbow Dash said, facehoofing as she trotted over to the dazed filly.
“The point is to land on the dirt, Scootaloo, not eat it.”
Scootaloo’s eyes dizzily followed the halo of stars that had formed around her head as she spit out the sod and blades of grass that had found shelter between the crevices of her teeth.
“Ack… Very funny, Dash,” she replied, spitting out more dirt, glancing down at the crater that she’d formed in the hillside.
“Are you sure you want to practice near the edge of the Everfree? This terrain isn’t pegasus-friendly territory. These hills don’t exactly make it easy for you to properly judge your landing.”
Scootaloo slowly stood up, her legs shaking as she fought to regain her balance. She turned around and glanced at Rainbow Dash’s concerned expression, and glared up at her.
“Yeah, I know that. But this is where you practice, isn’t it?”
Dash rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, “Well, it is. But I’ve also been flying for a long time…”
She glanced in the direction of Ponyville, before looking back at Scootaloo.
“Wouldn’t you rather practice near Ponyville? Where the terrain is even and you’re less likely to get mauled to death by an Ursa Minor?”
Scootaloo’s gritted her teeth, “I can't fly in Ponyville, not with the chance of her seeing me trying to fly.”
“Who? That filly, Diamond Tiara? Is she really that much of a problem?”
“Yeah, her and her ‘friend,’ Silver Spoon,” Scootaloo said, an embarrassed blush forming on her face.
“Like, they’ll hound me about it if they see me. And, I mean, what if they're right? What if —”
“Oh come on, Scoots! Who cares if you can’t fly right now? I mean, look at Fluttershy! She doesn’t fly very often, and she’s fine,” Dash argued, gesturing to the cottage off in the distance with both hooves.
Scootaloo frowned. “You mean the social recluse in the outskirts of Ponyville with nopony to talk to except her animals?”
“Okay, that’s not cool, squirt. Fluttershy’s still my best friend ya know, even if she’s not as… outgoing as me.”
“That’s an understatement... “ Scootaloo murmured darkly.
Rainbow Dash flew back down, kneeling over and rearranging Scootaloo’s crooked feathers and plucking out the broken ones.
“Don’t worry about Diamond Tiara. A filly born without wings doesn’t know anything about being a pegasus,” she said as she shook the dirt out of Scootaloo’s mane. “Which is why her opinion doesn’t matter, like literally at all.”
“Well, what's your advice then? How do I keep myself from crashing?”
“I prefer the phrase ‘unprepared landing.’”
Scootaloo let out a huff of exasperation. “Okay, Miss Sonic Rainboom, how do I land correctly?”
Rainbow Dash grinned as she flew back into the sky. “Like I told you before, squirt, you just have to keep practicing! You’ll get it eventually.”
Scootaloo gave her a deadpan stare. “You’re a terrible teacher, you know that? How is repeatedly crashing into the ground going to help me learn how to land properly?”
“Look squirt, I’m not Cheerilee, that’s for sure. Gain some altitude and focus on wing posture, tilt your wings down and glide toward the ground at a slow pace.”
Scootaloo fluttered her wings as the dust shifted underneath her. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
A confident smile spread across Scootaloo’s face as she gently began to flap her wings. Slowly but surely, she took lift, her hooves dangling loosely off the ground.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up as her heart fluttered with excitement. “Look, Dash! I’m doing it!”
Dash chuckled, “Yeah, gaining lift is the easy part, remember what I said earlier and try to land now.”
The smile on Scootaloo’s face grew wider… until she looked down and saw that she had risen a lot higher than she intended.
“Oh... shit.”
…
Crack!
“Agh, my ribs,” Scootaloo whined, clutching her chest as she shook a layer of dust off her coat.
Rainbow Dash walked up to Scootaloo and sat down next to her. A minute of silence passed as Dash gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane. Finally, she spoke up.
“I have to admit, that dive bomb you did was pretty cool… until the part where you hit the ground, that is.”
“I wasn’t trying to do a dive bomb, Dash,” Scootaloo said.
She gave her a sheepish grin. “Yeah, I know, I was just trying to cheer you up.”
…
“Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah?”
“Can we go get ice cream? Please?”
…
“Sure Scoots, my treat.”