My greatest wish was to fly. Fly with Rainbow Dash. But my wings prevent this from happening. My name is Scootaloo, and I'm a flightless Pegasus, and I'll probably never live my dreams. But I can still dream. Ever since I can remember, she's been my idol, hero, and recently my mentor. She has the generosity to take me under her wing, and I can't even live up to her expectations of me. How I wish, how I wish I could fly! I try every day to take flight, but I can't. And every day the conversation rages in my head.

"Hey Scoots, you'll be able to do it one day."

"But Rainbow, I tried for three years already!"

"You'll get it, just keep trying."

And then it fades to black, and I wake up. The dream always leaves me with doubts, but it leaves me with even more shame. How can I ever live up to her? How can I ever hope to fly by her side? My wings clearly despise me, and flight seems to me as likely as a turtle taking wing. But I still feel as if I've betrayed Rainbow Dash's trust, even though I can't control my flight. But she expects me to, so it will always feel this way.

Even when I was younger, my parents ridiculed me for not being able to fly. My parents were wealthy, had a stable lifestyle, and ate well. But I always received the scraps. And my lodgings were anything but livable, for they kept me in the cellar. It was always damp, moldy, and dirty in that place, but they kept me there nonetheless. We got my father arrested, and my mother too. But it won't take away the pain. But back to the topic at hoof.

My dreams, though unlikely, are not impossible. There is an operation to heal my wings, or to have a transplant, but nopony would ever help me. I'm a faceless, wingless shadow, shuffling about in endless agony. My dreams, my dreams! Never to be accomplished. But all may not be lost just yet. There's still a chance. If I can find somepony willing to help, then I have that chance. But it was long ago that the damage was done. My daddy abused me, and since I was younger, the tissue in my wings were more likely to damage. And they did. He made sure of that. In his drunken states, he would throw things everywhere, especially at me. But it finally ended. We stopped him.

But in my dreams, I see a strange stallion, dressed in feathers and painted red like a bleeding corpse. Its appearance suggests my father, but when I catch his eyes, he turns into a different colt. One I do not know. As I walk the street in my dreams, a thought comes to me. If I had never had my wings damaged, would Rainbow Dash accepted to take me? Would she have seen it worth her time? I walk a lonely path in my dreams, and it never ends. But there are forks. I have a meeting with Rainbow Dash today, I should get going.

:::
I walk up the cloudy steps to her house, and knock. The house is lit, and evening is falling. The picnic we planned is going to be at the hill, outside town. But plans may change. Her door creaks open, and I see her face. She smiles, and embraces me in a hug. Her breath on my neck brings comfort, but not security, nor completely.

"Hey squirt, you ready?"

"Sure Rainbow, let's go."

As she flies, I on her back, I think of her possible reactions if I told her my dreams, or my doubts of if my life is worth living. The whispers in my dreams advise against telling her, but she'd understand. I know it. A flash of white in my eyes tells me that the heights are dizzying me, which is unnatural. I'm a Pegasus, supposed to be immune to vertigo. But we land, and she unrolls the blanket. As we eat, she glances to me.

"Scoots, are you doin' okay?"

I stammer, trying to find an answer. "Y-yeah, Rainbow Dash, cool as a cloud over here, yep."

She clearly knows I'm lying, but she just finishes her meal. As we gaze at the sunset, she finally sighs. "Scoots, I know something's up. You can tell me, I'm always here for ya."

I sigh, thinking about her rejection of me, why would she want a partner who can neither fly nor be strong. Tears well in my eyes, and I sob out my words. "I d-don't know what to do!"

I sob into her arms, and she tries to soothe me. "Scoots, tell me what's happening." She wipes my eyes, and I try to look in hers. But the words won't come if I do.
"How can you accept me? I can't fly, I'm a coward, I'm a nopony. If I can't fly, how can you say I'm a Pegas-"

She shoved her hoof on my mouth. "Scootaloo, don't you dare call yourself a coward or a nopony. Flight's not the only thing that counts, and you've shown great courage by coming out and telling me what bothered you, and being able to look me in he face doing so. Don't let your fears and doubts stand in the way of your happiness. I didn't, and look at me! Fastest flier in all of Equestria, member of the Wonderbolts, and an Element of Harmony. You're gonna go far, just stick with me, please, Scoots."

I look up at her, and I wipe my tears away. I smile slightly, and hug her tighter. As we embrace, a star swirls from orbit, and shoots across the sky towards the horizon. When it disappears, a small flash of white appears. It seemingly says to me, there's always hope, and you'll never be alone. Just listen to your heart, not what others say. And it brings me some comfort, and I close my eyes. My family may not have cared, but they don't matter. Rainbow Dash is my true family, and I couldn't ask for a better one.

Author's Note

Just a small little "sentimental but sweet" or something dooda I cooked up a few days ago. I try to touch the minds/hearts of my audience, and I know some of my readers that don't have accounts have gone through similar situations, as have I, so I decided "Why not use Scootaloo? She's got a mysterious background, not much is known of her." Thus, this story was born.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, at least as much as I enjoyed writing it. See you all in the next story. (obligatory outro music plays)