Scootaloo watched the heartwarming sight of her sisters hugging each other, thinking back to that moment for herself where she had asked Rainbow Dash the same thing. Rainbow Dash had reacted much the same way. A little surprised, but quick to accept. Rainbow had told her about being an only child and glad to have a little sister to take care of and teach.

She truly felt glad for the two of them, but… she was ashamed to admit it to herself, but she couldn’t deny that a part of her also felt jealous. She thought she understood why Rose had gotten so possessive yesterday. She didn’t want to lose Rose to Rainbow Dash. She knew she was overreacting, given that she lived with Rose and that her sister would never abandon her, but she couldn’t squash the feeling inside of her.

She sighed. Even Rose had taken it better than she had. After initially getting jealous she had decided she didn’t mind sharing her sister with her classmate because it was necessary.

Rose looked joyful as she and Rainbow Dash hugged. When Rainbow Dash let her go she raced over to Scootaloo, nearly knocking her sister over as she jumped at her. “Whoa, Rosie!”

“Scootieloo! I have a second sister!” she said ecstatically. “This is so amazing! Now I’m definitely going to be the most awesome filly to come out of Ponyville since you. I’ll have the two best teachers around to help me get all the skills I need. The number one flier and the number one scooter rider. Give me a few years and I’ll probably get better than both of you.”

“Excuse me?” Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash said at almost exactly the same time.

Scootaloo rubbed her hoof through Rose’s mane with a laugh as she said, “Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Rosie? But that’s a good attitude. Fight hard for success. You’re at least right that with the two of us you can’t go wrong.”

“Rose!”

She turned around as a voice called her name. She saw Rock Climber riding toward her. He skidded to a stop nearby. “Hey, you made it!”

“I got lucky. I got out of my house quick before my brother could try giving me a hard time again.”

“You must be the little trouble maker, huh?” said Rainbow Dash.

“Trouble mak-” He stopped speaking, his eyes going wide. “I-I-I… hi?”

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, an eyebrow going up.

His face went red, and he let out a strange noise as he suddenly ran away, hiding behind a tree.

The three girls looked at each other, not understanding his reaction. “I’m gonna go talk to him,” said Rose Blossom. “He’s my friend, after all.”

Going behind the tree she saw him panting and looking like he was hiding from a terrible monster. “What was with that?”

Rock Climber said, “D-did you see who that WAS?”

Her eyebrow rose. “That’s just Rainbow Dash. What’s the big deal?”

“W-what’s the BIG DEAL?”

“Yeah, she’s Scootieloo’s big sister. And as of today she made me her sister too.”

His mouth hung open, and it took him a few seconds to reply. “Are you serious? How did you manage to nab two heroes as sisters?”

“Well, the three of us aren’t birth sisters, but it doesn’t make us any less family. So why are you freaking out so much over Rainbow Dash? Scootieloo is just as much a hero as she is and you didn’t freak out over her.”

“Well… back when I was just a baby, like one or two years old, my parents took me to the Best Young Flier’s competition. When she pulled off the sonic rainboom I was so amazed. That sonic explosion was so powerful as it went across the ground. The rainbow trail following her that she traced across the sky was so pretty. It’s stuck with me a long time. When I would get scared sometimes at night I would think of that rainbow and how happy I felt, and I would feel better.

"I’ve seen her around town many times saving and helping other ponies. I’ve tried talking with her a bunch of times, but I was always too nervous. I love riding my scooter, and I don’t want to give it up for anything, but my big dream for the future is to become one of the Wonderbolts, just like her dream.”

“Rainbow Dash is just a pony, like you and me. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

Rose pulled at him, and reluctantly began walking. He blushed the whole way there, excitement and nervousness coursing through him. He looked at the ground until he could see the blue colored legs of Rainbow Dash. Only then did her look up, forcing a smile. “H-hello.”

Rose spoke up. “This is Rock Climber. He’s one of my classmates and friends. The reason he ran away is because he secretly has a huge crush on you.”

Rock Climber’s face went beet red. “I didn’t say that! Don’t lie!”

Rose was laughing hysterically at her friends distress, and even Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash couldn’t suppress a few giggles.

When Rose got her laughter under control she wiped away the few tears that had formed and said, “I’m kidding. He’s just a bit shy on meeting his hero. He was there when you performed the sonic rainboom at that competition. Even though he was only a baby he remembered it all the time and it helped him sleep at night.”

Rock Climber spoke now. “I… I really admire you and your skills. I want to be a Wonderbolt too when I grow up, so I’m going to work really, really hard so I can have a shot.”

Rainbow smiled. “A hope for a future Wonderbolt enrollment? You’re a kid after my own heart.” Getting a little more serious she said, “I heard about your 'activities,' and I can’t say I approve.”

He blushed again, looking over at Rose. “I thought you promised not to tell anyone.”

“Oops!” Rose responded. “Well, you never got to tell me before your brother showed up, so I didn’t really remember that that was what I promised not to tell. You only told me after everything happened, and you didn’t ask me not to tell again.”

Rainbow said sharply, “I’m speaking! And I expect you to look at me when I’m talking to you!” Rock Climber quickly snapped his head towards her, and her gaze softened. “Better. Now, I can understand a bit of how you felt. I also let my pride get to my head and began acting irresponsibly so I can’t judge you too harshly. However, if you want training you better hold onto your new way of thinking. I’m not going to train an unrepentant hoodlum.”

“Y-YOU’RE going to train m-me… personally?”

“I’m already about to help train Rose. What’s one more pony?”

Rock Climber’s legs went weak. “Pinch me. I must be dreaming,” he said joyfully.

“You shouldn’t be convinced you’re dreaming just yet. Come here.” Her statement confused him, but he walked forward until he was in front of her.

Rainbow Dash put a wing over him. “Scootaloo told me how she’s acting as your big sister for the time being to help build you back up and reteach you how to behave. So if you need any further incentive not to go back to the way things were how would you like to add me to your list of temporary big sisters? After all, those who have me as a big sis always turn out awesome, because I myself am awesome.”

Rock Climber went stone still, unbelieving of what he had just heard. His childhood hero wanted to be his big sister? Now he was sure he was dreaming. He suddenly felt like he was made of putty as he slipped to the ground, his face resembling Pinkie’s “nervicited” look.

“So I’m guessing that’s a yes?”

He nodded, a dreamy look overtaking his features.

“Good. So now the first order of business…” She coughed a few times to clear her throat, then said loudly, “GET UP AND GET READY TO TRAIN!”

Her sudden change in attitude shocked him out of his reverie. He quickly got back up on his hooves.

“Rose Blossom, go stand next to your friend!” When she did Rainbow said, “I’m going to say the same thing to you two that I said to Scootaloo back when I trained her. This is training, not super easy fun time. You should work hard, and have a little fun if you can, but I’m going to tell you how it is. If you make a stupid mistake or slack off then I’m going to let you know it. Only by pushing you to your limits will you break past them and reach the pinnacle of your abilities and get strong like the two of us.

“Buuuuuutttt… I think I’m going to hand the reins over to Scootaloo for the time being. After all, she is the one who planned this training session, and I want to see if she can actually be tough on her family for the sake of helping them. So let’s see what you got, kid.”

Scootaloo walked forward until she was next to Rainbow Dash. She took a deep breath. She felt a little nervous. “Okay, um… students.” She shook her head, feeling annoyed that she was getting so worked up over impressing Rainbow Dash again. That was something she thought she had left behind a long time ago. Trying to ignore Rainbow she said in a calmer voice, “Okay, today we’re starting your joint lessons. I’ll be helping out mainly with scooter training, and Rainbow Dash with flying training, but I at least can teach both if Rainbow isn’t available, since I’m a good flier. I’ll try and teach you the way I was taught, so I may have to get a little tough on you both.

"Really, though, I think you won’t need my lecturing to excel. After all, the two of you both have someone you want to impress, do you not? So naturally you’ll want to beat the other one to show how impressive you are. After all, as Rainbow told me all those years ago, ponies grow by leaps and bounds by trying to catch up to someone they respect. My goal was to surpass Rainbow Dash and beat her in a race, so I tried my hardest to get stronger.

"As for you two, you can still strive to catch up with me and Rainbow Dash, but I think you’ll work even harder than I did back then to make sure you keep the edge on each other.”

Rose Blossom and Rock Climber shot each other a smug, defiant look, as if to say, “Bring it on!”

“So to start with we’ll do something Rose at least is familiar with. Breathing exercises.”

“Gotcha,” Rose said easily. She had that down pat by now.

Rock Climber raised his hoof. “I already know how to breathe,” he said, barely suppressing the exasperation in his voice.

Scootaloo laughed. “Of course you do, but this is controlled breathing.” Closing her eyes she said, “Follow after me. Take a deep breath… slowly and calmly...” She inhaled, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it. “Count to three in your mind, and then let it go. Then repeat this for about ten sets.”

Rock Climber complied at first, but irritation quickly set in. On his third out breath he let out an annoyed grunt as he expelled the air. Impatiently he said, “Can we just get on with the lesson? This is boring and lame.”

Before Scootaloo could respond Rainbow Dash said angrily, “Is that right? Then I guess you must think I’m boring and lame too, as I just happened to be the one to teach her these exercises.”

Rock Climber blushed brightly and quickly backtracked. “I-I mean… um… I…that was great. In, out, in, out.”

Rose Blossom laughed, and then Scootaloo said sharply, “Rose Blossom!” She quickly stopped giggling, looking contrite. “Since you seem to find this so amusing, why don’t you inform your buddy over there what the purpose of the exercise is to see if you’ve been paying attention.”

Eager to prove herself and that Scootaloo was a good teacher she said, “Breathing is the way to get yourself in the right state of mind for training. If you’re angry or upset or overly confident or excited you’re more likely to make a mistake. The steady breathing helps to calm yourself and get yourself focused on the task at hand.

"I haven’t started flying yet so I don’t know about this part, but she told me that the breathing also is a necessity when you’re learning to fly because new fliers always get nervous about crashing. If you focus only on your breathing you stop focusing so much on the thought of screwing up and falling, so you don’t get distracted.

“So how was that?” Rose Blossom asked with a grin.

“Very good, Rosie,” Scootaloo responded, smiling too. Turning to Rock Climber she said, “So there we are. It’s a training skill that is invaluable in your arsenal. If panic begins to set in then you need to go back to basics and focus on your breathing. But enough about the reasons. Go back to your practice and see if it doesn’t make you feel calmer when you’re done.”

So the two children started the exercise over. This time Rock Climber made it all the way to the end. When he was done he said in a gentle voice, “Yeah, you’re right. I do feel a lot lighter.”

“Good. The next step is wing stretches. It’s the next vital step that you should always take before flying. It helps to see if you have any injuries that may hinder your ability to fly.”

Following her example the two kids stretched out their wings and rotated them in their sockets.

“So now it’s time to learn to fly. Don’t get discouraged if you fall a bunch of times. It took me several hundreds of tries before I could actually get off the ground and actually fly. Of course I did have stunted wing, so the two of you should have your first fly a lot quicker than I did. Hmmm?” She noticed Rock Climber looking away out of the corner of his eye, like he wanted to say something. “Yes, Rock Climber? I can see you have a nagging thought pulling at your lips.”

He turned his eyes back to her. “I’m not saying anything. I don’t want anyone getting upset at me again.”

“Just speak your mind. I promise not to get mad.”

He shrugged. “Fine, then. I admit I didn’t know about flying warm-up, but I can already fly.”

Rose Blossom turned towards her classmate. She did vaguely remember Thunder Storm saying that his brother was a better flier than her, but she thought he was just trying to be a jerk. “Are you any good?”

“I said before that my dream is to be a Wonderbolt when I grew up, didn’t I? So I’ve been practicing flying for a long time. Of course it was only last year before I had developed the strength to get off the ground for more than a few seconds.”

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “This sounds interesting. So you claim you can fly? I doubt it’s anything special. Let’s test you, shall we?” Unfurling her wings she turned to a cluster of trees. “See if you can do what I do.” She took off, weaving in-between each tree until she had wound up on the other side of the patch.

Rock Climber’s heart was pounding. Rainbow Dash wanted to test him already? He let out a heavy breath, feeling way too nervous to even attempt such a thing. He’d just make a fool of himself.

Just when he thought he was going to snap from his raging emotions he called to mind the lesson he had been taught just a few minutes ago. He forced his breathing into a pattern. At first it was very short because of his nerves but after about thirty seconds his breathing started to get deeper and deeper until it was normal. Then he continued until he felt calm enough to proceed. After that he tested his wings again.

Both Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash clapped their hooves, proud that he at least had learned from the experience and was already applying his lessons.

In a calmer state of mind he took one last breath and jumped off the ground, flapping his wings. He wobbled a little at first, but then he began flying forward at a slow but steady pace. As he came upon the trees he headed to the right and then began alternating wings to help him make the curves around. The pattern was almost like infinity symbols that didn’t end but instead pushed forward. When he hit the peak of the upward movement he would tilt his body the opposite way, then when he reached the bottom he would tilt his body again and focus on the wing that was going up. He looked like he might fall at any moment, his movements very jerky, but he made it to the end without hitting anything, landing in front of Rainbow Dash.

The three others were momentarily speechless. Rose Blossom found it hard to believe he was that much better at her at flying despite being the same age. Scootaloo was comparing how good he was compared to how hard she had had to work to make anything of herself. And Rainbow Dash was just plain impressed. She honestly hadn’t thought he’d be able to do it. When he had said he could fly she thought he just meant he could hover a bit, but he was way above that.

She found herself getting excited. Although she wouldn’t say it out loud to avoid insulting Scootaloo she thought that Rock Climber showed far more promise in flight ability than her sister did. If this display was any indication then she was sure that when he was properly trained and given a few years of practice he would be a formidable opponent indeed.

“Good job, kid!” Rainbow said, patting him on the back. “I guess I do have to admit you can fly.”

Rose Blossom was frowning now, feeling jealous. “Hey! I can fly too. I can be just as good as he is!” She had just unfurled her wings and was about to jump when the sharp voice of her sister stopped her in her tracks.

“Rose Blossom!” Scootaloo said warningly. “After the discussion we had yesterday are you really going to put yourself at risk by doing something reckless when you yourself know you don't have the skill?” Rose Blossom growled, folding her wings back up and pouting as she sat and crossed her hooves.

"Scootaloo suppressed a laugh. “Don’t sulk, Rose! Everyone has different talents. I mean, don’t forget that you’re still much better at scooter riding and tricks than he is. Isn’t that why he got mad at you yesterday, because he knew he couldn’t compare to you in that regard and felt embarrassed in front of his brother?”

Rose’s eyes shifted between Rock Climber and Scootaloo, and she slowly uncurled herself with a grin. “That’s right! I did do that.”

Calling the other two over Scootaloo said, “So it seems we’ve seen where each of your talent resides. Rock Climber already has a knack for flying, and Rosie is better at scooter riding. If you don’t like that then work to change it. Besides being a sister and a friend, Rainbow Dash was also my rival and I was determined to beat her. Until recently though she certainly didn’t consider me a rival because I didn’t yet have the skill. By the time I began my training Rainbow Dash was already at her peak. You two are both young and the same age, so you shouldn’t have such a big gap to clear to beat each other. If each of you puts your whole heart and soul into your training then I don’t know who is going to be better at either scootering or flying.”

“Let’s do our best,” said Rose Blossom. “I’m not going to let you get better than me at scooter riding. After all, my older sister is the best one around and I live with her.”

“So?” said Rock Climber. “I’m not gonna let you get better than me at flying. With some skill already and Rainbow Dash teaching me I’ll surely keep the lead over you.

“Good luck. You’re gonna need it.” She put her hoof out.

“Right back at ya!” He pounded her hoof with his.

Once more the two kids met eyes, a challenge burning within them. Both of them not only wanted to impress one of their teachers, but to beat each other as well.

“So I guess…we’re rivals now,” said Rose Blossom.

“I guess we are,” he said with a laugh.

Next Chapter: Chapter 14: The next generation Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 43 Minutes