Rather than panic, though, Scootaloo just got annoyed. When this was all over, she'd have to lodge a formal complaint somewhere.

So what if the cloud blocked sound? There was more than one way to get a message through. Unbuckling her helmet, she held it out at hoof's length and dropped it. It vanished through the cloud in a puff of misty tendrils, cute little pink hearts and all. She stood there with baited breath, but should have spent that time scooting back.

The cloud erupted in front of her, knocking her over. The jarring motion sent a fresh jolt of pain through her body, and she laid on her side, gasping erratically.

“Scootaloo? Is that you?”

Scootaloo's eyes popped open at the sound of a very familiar voice. “Rainbow Dash! Boy am I glad to see you!” She twisted around, wincing as she did so, and stood up to greet her honorary sister.

“Wow. I never expected to find you up here.” Rainbow Dash held out the helmet. “This is yours, I take it?”

“Yes, thank you.” Scootaloo grabbed it and, lacking any other place to put it, strapped it back on her head.

Rainbow Dash snickered. “Those little pink hearts sure are cute.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Ugh, yeah. It was was gift from Sweetie Belle. You know how she is.”

Dash shrugged. “It looks good on you. I think she made a fine choice.”

Scootaloo frowned. She held her helmet with both hooves. “I never said I didn't like it.”

“But, uh, enough about that. What are you even doing out here? How did you get up here in the first place?” Rainbow Dash looked around. She narrowed her eyes and squinted over the rolling dunes of cloud.

Scootaloo's eyes sparkled. She put on a huge smile and even wagged her tail. “I flew up here all by myself!”

“What? No way!” Dash's eyes popped open. She flattened her lips, then pointed at Scootaloo with a sly grin. “Now this I've got to see.”

Scootaloo's mouth hung open briefly. He eyes watered and her lips started to quiver. She threw herself at Dash's feet. “Dash! You've got to believe me! I really did fly up here all by myself. I just can't do it right now because my wings are so sore a-and...” Her voice trailed off, choked off by a sob.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down there, squirt. If you said you did then I believe you.” Rainbow Dash reached down to lift up Scootaloo's chin and stare into her eyes. Despite her words, Dash still had a critical look on her face.

Scootaloo fought back her tears and narrowed her bloodshot eyes. She returned the gaze with a look of defiance.

Dash couldn't help but grin. “You've sure got spunk, kid.” She opened her eyes wider and looked at Scootaloo once more, as if she were looking at a stranger. When she spoke again, her voice was much softer. “You really did fly up here all on your own.”

It wasn't a question, but Scootaloo nodded anyway.

Rainbow Dash sniffled and turned her head so Scootaloo couldn't see her face. She raised a wing and used it to wipe something from her eye. “Heh, I guess you won't be needing that thing of Twilight's after all.”

Scootaloo groaned. “Does it, by any chance, happen to look like a giant kite?”

“Huh?” Dash swung her head back. Her chin was ruffled and damp under her eye. “How did you know that?”

“Uh... lucky guess?” She hurt too much to shrug, so Scootaloo had to settle with grinning.

Dash tapped her chin, then shrugged. Twilight had wanted to keep it secret, but there were so many ponies coming and going from the castle over that water thing that any one of them could have spilled the secret. If Scootaloo didn't want to reveal who told her, that was her business. Besides, she had another question she really wanted to ask.

Rainbow Dash frowned then tapped on her chin. She was probably wondering how Scootaloo knew so much.

Quickly changing the subject, Scootaloo pointed at a bulge in Dash's saddlebags. “What's that?”

Rainbow Dash blinked, drawn out of her thoughts. “This?” She bit the lightning bolt clasp to pop it open and stuffed her muzzle inside. She pulled out a round, metallic container and held it out in front of her. “Sorry, but it's not a birthday present. It's just a canteen that Twilight gave me. She didn't want us to go thirsty while they were still working on fixing the water at her—”

Scootaloo was so thirsty that she didn't even bother to ask. The canteen was tantalizingly close and full of blessed water. She snatched the bottle from Dash's grip and popped the cork with her teeth.

“Hey!” Dash snorted as the wooden stopper fell through the cloud. She furrowed her brow. “What's the big idea? You...uh...”

Scootaloo didn't care. She just drank. The water was warm and metallic and stale and the best thing she had ever tasted in her entire life. Even after guzzling the whole thing, she held her tongue out and shook the canteen, trying to get every last drop.

“Huh. I guess you really were thirsty.” Dash put a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. “It's still a lot better if you ask, kiddo. I might have wanted some too.”

“Sorry.” Scootloo frowned as she passed the empty container back, which Dash put away.

Shrugging, Dash snapped the clasp shut. “Eh, don't worry about it. What I really want to know is this: how did you do it? How did you finally figure out how to fly? I mean, I'm glad Fluttershy was wrong and all, but from what she said it sounded impossible.”

“Well...” Scootaloo perked up, but her words stalled on her lips. The question brought back to mind her time in the starry realm with her mother. She wasn't ready to confide something like that to Rainbow Dash yet. “How did you know it was my birthday, anyway?”

“Fluttershy told me and—” Dash blinked. She frowned. “Hey! Don't change the subject. C’mon! I really want to know.”

“It's... well...” Scootaloo had a hard time gathering her thoughts with the older pegasus hovering in front of her gnawing at the ends of her hooves. Scootaloo glanced back at her wings. “I finally realized that my wings are a lot stronger when I'm moving forward than when I was I trying to go up. So all I had to do was just approach the problem from the right direction.”

“What? Really?” Rainbow Dash flew in close and squinted at Scootaloo's back. “That's strange. I've never heard of anything like that before.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “Well it's true. I even did the math and everything.”

“What? I'm not doubting you, squirt. They're your wings, after all. It's just odd, is all. Hmm...” Dash rubbed her chin. “Unidirectional wingpower... That's got to make it hard to steer.”

Scootaloo shuddered. “Uh, yeah. I noticed.”

Dash laughed. “Don't worry about it. The finer points of control aren't something just anypony can learn in a day. It takes a lot of time and practice to get right. It might look easy from watching us adults, but it really isn't. You have to keep in mind that most pegasi fly every day, so we're all very experienced.”

Scootaloo sat down and looked up at Rainbow Dash with rapt attention.

Dash blinked. “Oh, sorry. I've been studying too much and that kinda slipped out.”

“Huh?”

With a huge smile on her face, Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her honorary sister's shoulder. “I think it's about time that I gave you your birthday present.”

“What? But you said you didn't have anything.”

“What? No. I said the canteen wasn't it. Here, check this out.” Rainbow Dash rummaged through her saddlebags and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. It was pink, floppy, and had serrated edges. It had a single blue balloon printed in one corner and had a white streak down the center that looked suspiciously like frosting.

Scootaloo snorted. “A napkin? You got me a used napkin?”

Dash's eyes popped open. She spat it out and grinned sheepishly. “Whoops. Sorry, that wasn't it.” She went back to rummaging through her saddlebags and pulled out a scroll which she unfurled while holding it in her mouth.

Scootaloo squinted her eyes to read it in the bright sunlight. “It's... uh...” She looked up. “You're a certified coach?”

“Yep!” Dash caught the piece of paper and rolled it up, carefully placing it back in her saddlebags. “I finally finished the course today. That little certificate proves that I'm qualified to be a fitness instructor. You can expect to see a lot more of me around the schoolhouse now.”

“Uh, that's great and all, but—”

“It also means that I can offer private tutoring for most physical exercises. This includes flying lessons.”

“Really?” Scootaloo's eyes sparkled.

“Yep! And since it's official and all, you won't have to worry about going away for flight camp, either. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. It's just that I thought you'd be happier if you could stay in town closer to your friends. Speaking of which, heh, I have plenty of exercises lined up for them too. I'll keep them busy enough that you won't have to worry about leaving them out or turning flying practice into a spectator sport. By the time I'm through with you, you'll all be honed athletes.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much! This is the best birthday present I could have hoped for!”

“Yeah. I know I'm awesome.” Dash leaned back, hovering in the air. She snickered and plopped down next to Scootaloo, who grabbed Dash for a great, big hug. Her eyes popped open and she glanced around, then leaned down to give Scootaloo a warm nuzzle. “Aw, Scoots, you're awesome too. I can't wait to tell the others what you did today. Hey—you wanna race?”

“Race?” Twisting around to look at her back, Scootaloo's wings twitched and she winced. She gritted her teeth. “Uh...”

“What?” Rainbow Dash grabbed a wing and Scootaloo yelped. “Whoa, sorry. You really did a number on them. How did you even...?” Looming far above them, the mountain's ice-capped peak glinted in the sunlight. “Wait, so the first thing you did when you learned to fly is try to conquer Deadpony Peak?” Despite herself, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but chuckle. Scootaloo frowned. “Aw, kid, I'm not laughing at you. It takes a lot of guts to try something like that even for experienced flyers. There's fierce wind up there that can slam you into the mountain and bust you up pretty good. They don't call this Deadpony Peak for nothing. To make an attempt on your first flight.” Rainbow Dash whistled. “Now that's what I call some serious spunk.”

Scootaloo grinned sheepishly and rubbed at her mane. “Uh... yeah. That's totally what I was doing.”

“Don't worry, kiddo, you'll get there someday. Heh. When I'm done with you, we can race to the top!” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and smacked her hooves together. “But for now, let's get back to our friends, okay? They're going to love hearing about this!” Rainbow Dash hopped up and grabbed Scootaloo, wrapping her foreleg around the filly's chest. Before Scootaloo could even blink, Rainbow Dash flipped backwards and dove straight down with a leg outstretched.

The twisting motions disoriented Scootaloo, but she had time to wince and bury her face in Dash's chest before they hit the cloud. It went poomf, and she felt like she'd been buffeted by air vacuumed out of refrigerators. A sinking knot twisted in her gut as Rainbow Dash accelerated, flying down with tremendous force. The wind whipped at her face, beating her with invisible punches. She longed to open her wings and fight against the descent, but also feared what would become of them in this wind.

“Daaaablbl—” Scootaloo tried to say something, but it was a mistake to open her mouth. Her cheeks billowed out and flopped in the relentlessly driving wind; her eyelids fluffed out as well. Dash's outstretched hoof whistled in the wind. A sonic bubble formed, rippling out like a fountain. As she continued to accelerate, the bubble elongated and constricted into a cone.

Despite her best efforts to keep her wings closed, Scootaloo's right one got caught in the wind and started flopping around. Thankfully, that was her less-injured side but it was still enough to send streams of tears out of the corners of her eyes. Scootaloo had to get Dash to slow down, and did the only thing she could think of: punch Dash in the chest.

Dash made a strange noise. They slowed down abruptly and the sonic field wrapped around her leg sprang back, tossing both of them back up like a giant spring. Dash let go, and Scootaloo tumbled freely. She had most of the wind knocked out of her, but still managed to scream.

“I got you!”

Legs wrapped around her, two this time, and her erratic motion was brought to an abrupt halt. Rainbow Dash didn't try anything fancy this time and simply lowered her to the ground. Rainbow Dash panted as she hit the ground. They were still outside of town standing next to a groove gouged through the earth. The grass was damp and a light breeze blew through the air, bending the stems of poppies.

“Dash, that was really rough. What were you doing?” Scootaloo asked.

“Uh, well, I wanted it to be a surprise but you slipped at the last moment.” Dash averted her eyes and frowned. “I guess I should have known better than to try a sonic rainboom while carrying somepony.”

“A sonic rainboom!?” Scootaloo mentally kicked herself for interrupting Dash. “That would have been so cool.”

“Yeah, and I almost had it too! I guess the surprise is ruined now, but if you're feeling up for it, we can try again sometime.”

“You bet!” Scootaloo reared up in excitement. Her eyes popped open when something wet smacked her in the nose. She blinked and both ponies looked around as the ground made pattering noises and droplets splattered on their hides. “It's raining!? Oh, come on! It was supposed to be a bright and sunny day!”

Raindow Dash winced and stared up at the sky. “Oh right, the weather... I, uh, kinda forgot I was supposed to take care of that today. Fluttershy told me it was your birthday, and then we all got together at Twilight's—”

“Dash!” Scootaloo covered her face with a foreleg to keep the rain out of her eyes. With her other hoof, she pointed up. “Can't you, well, you know.”

“What, are you kidding? I can take care of that in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow Dash launched herself off the ground like a cyan missile. Even in the rain, Scootaloo was buffeted by a cloud of dust. A rainbow streak tore through the clouds in a sewing pattern. The serrations perforated the stratus sheet, creating rows of tiny sunbeams. Dash dove low, then reversed, flying up and carrying a mass of air behind her. This wasn't a pony, but a living gale.

“Wow.” Scootaloo's jaw dropped as she watched Rainbow work.

When the gale hit the cloud layer, it split apart along the perforations and peeled back like the lid of a sardine can. Dash swooped down and kicked it, sending the entire mass rolling. When it hit the mountain, the entire thing dissipated in a puff. The sun shone down from directly overhead and the wind calmed. There was a brief moment of silence, as nature itself was confused at the change of weather. Then birds started chirping and a flock of butterflies flew by. One landed on Scootaloo's nose.

That didn't last long, as it flew off when Rainbow Dash thudded to the ground. She landed on three hooves and with her wings spread wide. She held the forth hoof above her to strike a cool pose. “Oh yeah! Ten seconds flat! Nopony can clear the sky faster than—”

In less than two seconds, the sun plummeted beneath the horizon and the moon popped up. Rainbow Dash's left eye twitched.

Scootaloo couldn't help herself and burst out laughing. Princess Celes—er, her mother, sure had impeccable timing. Of course, seeing the moon in the sky reminded her of the long day she'd had and just how tired she was.

Once Rainbow Dash stopped blinking, she snickered as well. “Yeah, that was pretty funny. Say, uh, Scootaloo, I guess this means that we should... Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash stopped. The little filly had curled up and was softly snoozing. “Asleep already? Well, I guess you did have a big day, even if I didn't know what you did for most of it. We can talk to your friends tomorrow. C'mon, kiddo. Let's get you home.”

And with that, Rainbow Dash gently picked up the sleeping filly and flew her back to Ponyville. Next Chapter: Epilogue: Fossilized Rainbow Estimated time remaining: 12 Minutes