> Free Falling Filly > by Mystery1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Check This Out > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash had left for town around 10 minutes ago and wasn't back yet, giving Soarin some alone time. He'd rather have Dash next to him, but he couldn't lie; having some downtime sure felt nice once in a while. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "So much for some quiet time..." Soarin sighed, getting up and opening the door. Celestia's sun shined on Soarin's face as he took in two figures standing outside. "Hey Soarin, meet Scootaloo!" an excited Dash announced, bringing her inside. "Wow! You're the stallion that Dash talks about all the time! You look just as athletic and strong as she says you are! She can't stop talking abo-" Scootaloo started, before a hoof was pressed against her face. "Ehm...Scootaloo...a bit too specific...!" Dash yelped, looking away from Soarin. "D'awwww, really?" Soarin grinned, staring at the now slightly embarrassed rainbow maned pegasus. After turning back, she quickly introduced Soarin to Scootaloo. "This is Soarin, he's a special friend of mine." She said, playfully sticking her tounge out at him. "Nice to meet you, and you're Scootaloo, right?" He asked, looking at the small filly. "Yeah! So, what do you do? Are you a weather pony like Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked enthusiastically. "Well...not exactly. I'm a Wo-" He paused, thinking about his choice of words. "He's a Wonderbolt." Dash chimed in, smiling at Soarin. Soarin's jaw dropped, looking at Rainbow and then at Scootaloo, before his ears flopped down to drown out the screaming. "Well, there goes my cover...thanks Dash..." Soarin thought, sighing. "YOU'RE A WONDERBOLT?! THAT'S SO AWESOME!" She screamed, giving Soarin an earful of filly-fan comments. Sure he'd been chased by screaming fans before, but he didn't think they'd find where he lived. "Ah...well...yeah. I'm a Wonderbolt." Soarin said, picking his head up to smirk at Dash as she chuckled at him. "She's here to learn some flying techniques, right Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah! What are we gonna do first?" Scootaloo responded quickly. "Well, let's go outside and work on your lift off!" Rainbow led Scootaloo outside and onto the clouds while Soarin watched from inside. He watched as Rainbow Dash performed a basic liftoff motion and Scootaloo tried her best to replicate it. Though, he realized something very quickly; Scootaloo's wings were not strong enough to take flight yet. In fact, he was almost certain that fillies around her size could begin flying, but maybe she was just a late bloomer. Dash continued to encourage Scootaloo, eventually lifting her up slightly. Unfortunately, as soon as she let go, the small filly hit the clouds. She got up, frowning at her failed efforts. "Ouch...at least she's determined to fly...I just wish there was something I could do to help her feel better..." Soarin thought to himself as a plan crept into his mind. He watched as Rainbow Dash instructed Scootaloo to do some wing-ups, then walked inside the house. "Hey Soarin, I'm just gonna let her do some exercise before we do some more flight training. Uhm...Soarin...? Are you listening?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion at the oblivious stallion. "What...? Oh, I know what to do. I'm gonna show her some flying tricks." Soarin said confidently as he walked outside and made his way towards Scootaloo. "Okay...? I'm gonna go lay down on the couch for a little, see you soon.” She said as she watched him leave. Soarin tapped Scootaloo on the back and she turned to look at him. “Hey Soarin…what do you need?” She asked, curious at his sudden appearance. “Well…how would you like to see some flying techniques performed by a Wonderbolt?” He asked, grinning at her. “W…Wh…WOULD I?!” She exclaimed, hugging Soarin’s forehoof. Soarin couldn’t help but smile, as something about this filly was different. She wasn’t an ordinary fan, she was a dedicated flier, too. Sure she wasn’t that great, but no-pony ever said flying would be easy. Even with that in mind, she still tried her best at flying. Soarin let the filly sit down on the clouds as he shot off, giving her a mini-show. He started by accelerating into three loops, before he flew right past her, blowing her mane away. He landed next to her, noticing that her jaw was hanging. “Woah! You were going so fast! You make it look so easy!” She said fairly quickly, bouncing up and down. “Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. Say, how about I show you a little trick for taking off.” He said. As she watched him intently, he jumped up and splayed his wings out, flapping them slowly. He easily sustained flight, touching back down onto the cloud. “The trick is make your wing movements slow and steady, that way you don’t tire yourself out.” He explained. “Woah, I didn’t think of that!” She said as she readied herself to take off. She followed his steps, and when she started flapping slowly in the air, she stayed up for a few seconds longer than she did with Rainbow Dash. “Woah! I did it! I actually did it, thank you Soarin! Rainbow Dash was right, you are amazing!” She yelled excitedly. “Hey, you’re a great flier. You just need to practice, and soon you’ll be up here in no time. I have one more thing to show you, but I don’t know if you’re ready for it.” He said, smiling. “What is it? I’m totally ready for it, just tell me!” She said inquisitively. He lifted the filly onto his back and gently took off. “Woah! Where are we going?” She asked curiously. “For a little fly…hang on tight! He said, chuckling. Soarin accelerated and flew through the sky, curving his body to dodge clouds left and right. Scootaloo was cheering him on, yelling with happiness at the fun ride. But Soarin started accelerating a bit too fast, and once he curved to avoid the cloud up ahead of them, he felt some weight shift to the side and then disappear. “Scootaloo?” He asked, immediately turning around. He saw no-pony, but heard a scream come from below him. He looked down and saw the filly struggling to catch her fall, falling faster and faster towards the ground. “SCOOTALOO!” Soarin yelled as he angled his body towards the ground and dove towards her. He managed to catch up fairly quickly, grabbing a hold of her with his hooves as he slowed down. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt did you?” He asked, concerned deeply about her. “That…was…awesome!” She replied, hugging Soarin with her hooves. Soarin shared a laugh with Scootaloo as he flew back up to the cloud house. “Hey, if Rainbow Dash asks, I only showed you some tricks from Wonderbolt training, okay?” He asked with a smirk. “Uh huh!” She said, shaking her head. Rainbow apparently heard the commotion and came outside to figure out what the yelling was about. “What happened?” She asked, a concerned look displayed on her face. “Soarin taught me how to take off easier! Look!” Scootaloo announced as she demonstrated her basic takeoff. This time she stayed in the air for a whole 8 seconds before she landed back onto the cloud. “Wow, great job Scootaloo!” Rainbow commended her, smiling proudly at the filly. Soarin walked over to Scootaloo and put his wing on her back. “I’m really proud of you, and I know you’ll be a flying in no time.” He said, still hugging her with his wing. Rainbow sat with them, placing her wing around Scootaloo as well. Scootaloo hugged them both with her hooves, smiling brightly as the sun warmed the three of them. Relaxing after a flying session never felt better than this.