Flightless

“There you go Firefly, good as new!” I grinned as I finished shining the handle bar of my prized scooter.

She had suffered some minor damage the previous day, having tackled yet another one of Apple Bloom’s famous ‘Apple-Farm-Race-Track-and-Obstacle-Course-Combo’s’ but it was nothing that I couldn’t fix, and in no time at all she was glistening and ready to roll!

Firefly was my pride and joy. She had a snazzy metallic violet deck, with a cool white lightning bolt streaked down the centre. The handle bars were solid steel, and the grip work was impeccable. I had owned a lot of scooters in my life, but Firefly was special. She was a birthday gift from my parents in Cloudsdale, and a symbol of the love and pride they have for their one and only daughter - Ponyville’s number one scooting sensation.

I applied my helmet, which matched perfectly with Fireflys’ design, and then mounted my ride and set off out the second story window - doors are so last season after all. I rode boldly down the jagged old wooden ramp leading from said window, and scooted a little along the dirt track which surrounded my home.

Scooting was my life. So much so, that I had designed my entire house to be scooter-friendly. There were two ramps leading outside, one which descended from my room on the second floor, and another much shorter ramp coming from the window of my work space downstairs. My friends had even helped me to create a dirt track around the exterior of the building.

I paused for a moment upon reaching the ground, and gave my wings a good stretch. My wings had developed magnificently over time, without a feather out place. Some pegasi are not so fortunate; sometimes they grow crooked and you get bits and pieces sticking out everywhere, looking ruffled and tattered. My wings weren’t at all like that, my wings looked fantastic ...it’s just too bad they didn’t work.

My name is Scootaloo. I am the only pegasus in Ponyville who cannot fly.

It’s a disability that has been with me since birth, and the whole reason I came down to Ponyville to begin with. It’s pretty hard for a young flightless Pegasus to live safely in Cloudsdale.

As I sped down the streets on Firefly, I couldn’t help but look up and see all the pegasi with fully functioning wings out on weather duty. I admit; it does kinda suck that I can never be part of that, but I have my own job fixing and repairing scooters, along with other vehicles such as skateboards, bikes, and carts - I even worked on a carriage once.

Despite everything, I've made quite a good life for myself in Ponyville, but I owe a lot of my success to one very special pegasi who is close to my heart. I studied the sky near the town, and finally saw her; Rainbow Dash, the most incredible pony in existence, and my sister. She was darting through the air, kicking those clouds away faster than any other pegasi in the area. No wonder she’s the leader of the entire Ponyville weather team.

Rainbow’s shift was almost over, and after work, she hangs out with me.

“Hey Squirt!” The blue pegasi noticed me almost immediately; Rainbow Dash is always observant. “What took ya?” She joked.

“Rainbow Dash! Have you finished work?” I asked, hopefully.

“Almost done!” Rainbow gave a confident grin, and then flew over toward the final cloud at the speed of light.

It was huge, and a few other pegasi had been working on that cloud for a while now, knocking bits and pieces off here and there, trying to break it down. When Rainbow Dash intervened, they all knew to step aside and let the master do her thing. Rainbow kicked her hooves furiously at the cloud, and in a matter of seconds, it had been destroyed. The other pegasi looked at her in amazement and admiration; as did I.

Rainbow Dash then swooped down to greet me for a second time.

“You got Firefly all fixed up!” She said proudly, admiring my scooter - What did I tell you? Always observant.

“Yeah, it was a snap.” I replied.

“Nice job Squirt!” She patted my helmet; Rainbow Dash had always called me Squirt, ever since I was a filly. I had grown to quite like the nickname, as it made her feel more like my big sister. After all, me and Dash weren’t actually related by blood.

“Looks good!” She praised me, “Ready for a race?”

“Always!” I nodded,

Rainbow Dash spread her sky blue wings, which were even more impressive looking than my own. I gripped Firefly’s handle bars, and readied my hind leg for a vigorous primary kick. Rainbow quickly counted down from three, then shouted “Go!” and we dashed off at lightning speed.

Me and my sister raced through the streets, along the riverside, and across the open fields. Rainbow Dash was much faster than me, but I was getting a little better at catching up to her with ever passing day. When we first started hanging out, it would be a matter of seconds before Rainbow disappeared over the horizon, leaving nothing but her colourful tracks for me to follow. Since then, my speed had improved immensely, and now I could keep Rainbow in sight until we reached the outskirts of Ponyville, but I’d always lose her over the fields. Rainbow Dash never went easy on me; she had big hopes for me after all.

It wasn’t long before the uneven countryside landscape got the better of myself and Firefly, and I struggled to reach the brow of a steep hill before realising that I’d lost my sister. I came to a halt, and took a moment to catch my breath. As expected, after a mere few seconds, a rainbow appeared and was heading right toward me from the distance.

I gave a disappointed smile, realising that I’d once again lost the game, but Rainbow Dash landed beside me, looking surprisingly proud.

“That was pretty good! It must have been pretty difficult scooting up that hill. I’m impressed Squirt.” She then gave me a hug, with both her hooves and her wings.

I love Rainbow Dash’s hugs. She always tries not to get too mushy, but her affection shines through whenever she’s holding onto me. It's almost as though she can't help but squeeze me tightly, like I'm the most precious thing in the world to her. It makes me realise just how lucky I am to have Rainbow Dash as a sister - I couldn't imagine life without her.

I hope with all my heart, that nothing, and nopony, will ever take Rainbow Dash away from me.

My name is Scootaloo. I am the only Pegasus in Ponyville who cannot fly …and I couldn’t be happier.