Standing alone on a windswept field, Scootaloo gazed longingly at the beautiful blue sky above. Her senses reeled as the wind blew her mane away from her face and ruffled through her feathered wings. Closing her eyes, it was almost too easy to imagine that she was soaring among the clouds.
She was as attracted to the bright circling sky as a moth was to a flame. Her heart was filled to the brim with the desire to reach it, her mind burned with the need to touch it, and her soul yearned to become one with it.
Tears filled her eyes as she grinned at a flock of birds that flew by overhead. Spreading her wings, she began to flap them furiously as she watched them fly out of sight.
Her parents had sat down with her the evening before and had a long, serious talk with her. They told her that her wings weren't growing in proportion to her body, and that they might not ever fully develop. They then suggested that it was time to start considering the possibility that she was never going to fly.
Scootaloo had listened to all of this with a heavy heart, and after reassuring her parents that she was okay, she had headed off to bed. Crestfallen, she had stared up at the ceiling for a long time.
She had never wanted to fly more badly than she had in that moment.
Now, as she lifted several feet off the ground, Scootaloo was filled with a newfound determination. She had been grounded her entire life, but all of that was going to change. She was going to fly. Right here, right now. And nothing was going to stop her.
Abruptly, she dropped back down onto her hooves.
Disappointed, she turned and looked at her wings. She understood that they were too small, but she wanted them to work so badly.
Giving them a few hard flaps, she glared at them and whispered, "You can do this. I know you can!"
Flapping her wings furiously once again, she turned her gaze back to the sky as she felt her hooves leave the ground. Gritting her teeth as sweat began to run down her face and fully extending her neck in an attempt to get closer to the clouds, Scootaloo focused on her desperate need to fly.
Like the jaws of a steel trap, the need clamped down on her mind. It burned through her very being. It seared every nerve ending and alighted her muscles with a strength that she hadn't known they possessed.
As she closed her eyes, she fantasized that every wing beat brought her a little closer to her destination, and imagined the ground slowly dropping away beneath her.
Suddenly realizing that something felt different, she opened her eyes and found that she was in the air. Glancing down, she found the ground was several yards below.
She was doing it!
A rapture the likes of which she had never felt before swept through her as she turned her gaze to the clouds high above and jetted toward them. Smashing through the closest one, she relished the sight of it exploding into wispy white tendrils before dissipating in the air.
Scootaloo laughed and shouted with excitement as she soared across the sky.
There was no sensation that could compare with the way the wind felt as it whipped through her mane, how the air currents seemed to lift her body effortlessly, or the sight of her shadow as it crossed over the clouds below. Her eyes watering and her face breaking out into a broad smile, her mind slipped into a state of pure bliss.
Scootaloo heard the chiming of the clock tower as she gazed at the vast forest below. Marveling at how small the trees appeared from her current altitude, she didn't notice the other Pegasus until she spoke.
"Scoot, you're doing it!" Rainbow Dash cried, her face a mask of delight.
Beaming at her honorary sister, Scootaloo was filled with an overwhelming sense of pride.
"I'm so proud of you." Rainbow reached out a hoof and roughly ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "You never gave up, and you did it!"
"Thanks Rainbow!" Scootaloo replied as tears of joy streaked down her face. "I never would have done it if you hadn't taken me under your wing."
Pulling her close, Rainbow hugged the little filly tightly, and then whispered in her ear. "Let's see what you can do."
Without warning, Rainbow launched her high into the air. Shrieking with glee, Scootaloo smashed through a half dozen clouds before looping around and angling herself back toward the ground.
Suddenly, Rainbow was soaring right beside her, and the two of them laughed as they began corkscrewing around one another. Gripping Scootaloo's hooves, Rainbow led her into three quick, tight loops that ended in a corkscrewing zigzag pattern that left her equilibrium reeling.
Once she got her bearings back, Scootaloo exclaimed, "That was awesome!"
"This is gonna be even better!" Rainbow shot her a crooked smile. "You ready?"
When Scootaloo eagerly nodded, Rainbow abruptly released her and sped away. As she watched the Pegasus and wondered what she was about to do, Scootaloo's right wing unexpectedly went numb.
Her blood running cold, Scootaloo flapped as hard as she could, but within seconds she was plummeting toward the ground below. Screaming in pure, unbridled terror, she kicked her hooves frantically, as if her legs could somehow do what her wings could not.
Just then, Rainbow swooped by and snatched her out of the air. Clutching to the older Pegasus's warm chest, Scootaloo buried her face in Rainbow's mane and caught a strong scent of waffles.
Holding the little filly tightly, Rainbow spiraled down and landed gently in the middle of a large field.
As soon as her hooves touched the ground, Scootaloo began to cry. "Why can't I fly, Dash?" Sniffling pitifully, she flopped down on her rump and lowered her head, unable to face her idol after failing so miserably. "What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing," Rainbow answered as she placed a hoof under Scootaloo's chin and raised her eyes to meet her own. "You're perfect just the way you are."
Unable to pull her gaze from Rainbow's, Scootaloo stammered, "B-but, w-what if I never fly?"
"Then we deal with it." Rainbow smiled amiably. "Together. You'll always be my number one squirt. And nothing is gonna change that."
"Really?" Scootaloo asked uncertainly.
"Really." Rainbow nodded, wiping a tear from the little filly's cheek. "You don't have to face this alone, Scoots. I'll always be your big sister, and I'll always be here for you."
Her words failing her, Scootaloo lunged forward and hugged her sister fiercely. "I love you, Rainbow Dash."
Without warning, the sun became overbearingly bright, and when she opened her eyes, Scootaloo found herself lying in her bed.
Squinting against the sunlight that was pouring in from her window, Scootaloo heard the clock tower begin to chime. Stretching with a huge yawn, she found that her covers had entangled her right wing and had caused it to go numb.
Slowly climbing out of bed and giving her wings a few gentle flaps to get the blood flowing once more, Scootaloo reared up on her hind legs and opened the window. Smiling as the wind blew through her mane and the sun's warmth spread across her face, she deeply inhaled the scent of the waffles that was wafting in from the kitchen downstairs.
As she replayed the wonderful dream again in her mind, she realized that she wasn't worried about her wings anymore. Whether they grew properly or not, she would face everyday as the same fearless and courageous filly she knew she was. And she would do so with all of her friends and family by her side.
Just then, Rainbow Dash flashed by and busted a dozen clouds in the span of ten seconds. Noticing the little filly looking out the window, she jetted over. "Hey, Scoots, you have a good night?"
Thinking back to the conversation the two of them had shared in her dream, Scootaloo smiled pleasantly. "I sure did!"
"That's great." Rainbow roughly ruffled her mane. "Don't forget, your flying lesson's at one o'clock sharp. Don't be late!"
With a small backflip, Rainbow rocketed off as Scootaloo called out after her. "Hey, Sis!"
As quickly as she had gone, Rainbow returned to the window. "What's up?" she asked, sounding concerned. The only time Scootaloo ever referred to her as 'Sis' was when she was upset about something.
"I love you."
Her face turning a slight crimson and her ears drooping self-consciously, Rainbow scratched her head as she quickly glanced around. Finding that they were alone, she hurriedly leaned forward and kissed Scootaloo lightly on the forehead. "Love ya too, squirt."
Then, without another word, she raced off into the sky. Watching Rainbow go, Scootaloo felt her spirits soaring along with the Pegasus as a single tear of happiness ran down her face.
Finally turning from the window, she left her bedroom and headed downstairs.
She was ready for some waffles!
