Hang in there Kid
By: Sorren
“Come on you slow pokes, hurry it up!” Scootaloo persisted as they climbed the steep hillside.
“What’s this plan of yours again?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo shot her friend a look. “I already told you; you’ll find out when we get to the top.”
“Yeah,” Applebloom panted, “well the top is a really long ways up. Can’t ya’ just tell us now?”
Scootaloo ignored the yellow filly, buzzing her wings excitedly as they pressed on. She wasn’t going to back down this time. This time, she was going to show them. All her life she’d wanted to do this, but had lacked in both her ability and courage. Today however, was different. There was a certain feel in the air. Something was telling her, today would be the day.
Scootaloo bounced the last few feet to the top and poised herself on the edge of the cliff. The sun beat down on her face, and a cool breeze ruffled her mane.
This was just about the highest point around. In the distance, she could spot Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres. Far below her stretched a band of trees, so far away that they appeared to be no more than green dots. From this point on the ledge, it was a straight shot to the ground far below.
Sweetie Belle appeared next to her, panting. “Okay... what now?”
Applebloom approached the edge and peered down cautiously. “Whoa,” she awed. “That’s a long way down.”
“You bet it is,” said Scootaloo excitedly.
Sweetie Belle sat down and cast a look around. “I hope you didn’t haul us all the way up here just to show us the view.”
“Nope,” Scootaloo replied. “Even better.” She paused, savoring the moment.
“Well go on,” Sweetie Belle jabbed.
Scootaloo stuck out her forelegs and brought her two friends into a tight embrace. “I’m going to fly!” she declared gleefully.
Sweetie Belle pulled herself free of the orange filly's grasp and rolled over onto her back, giggling. “What are you talking about you dodo? You know you can’t fly.”
Applebloom gave Scootaloo a cross look. “You dragged us all the way up here just to make a joke?”
“I’m not joking,” she replied defensively. “Really!”
Applebloom caught the sincerity in Scootaloo’s face and her eyes widened in surprise. She reached over and prodded Sweetie Belle, who was still rolling in the grass. “She’s not joking,” Applebloom told her.
Sweetie Belle sat up and scrunched her face at the orange filly. “Are you crazy?”
“I have a feeling this time,” Scootaloo insisted. “I know I can do it.”
Sweetie Belle met her pegasus friend’s gaze. “Are you really serious about this?”
Scootaloo nodded vigorously.
The white filly rolled her eyes. “I can understand the wanting to fly thing. But why can’t you like, do it off a roof or out of a tree or something? Why do you have to do it off a bajillion foot cliff?”
“Because,” Scootaloo replied, having anticipated the question, “if I jump from a low place, I know I’ll just land and be okay. If I know I’m going to be fine then I won't have any reason to fly. But if I jump off here, then I’ll have to fly.”
Applebloom grabbed her crazy-talking friend on both sides and looked into her violet eyes. “Scoots,” she said seriously, allowing a small pause to add effect. “You’ll learn to fly eventually. But ah’m tellin’ you; if you jump off’a that ledge you’re gonna’ be a Scootaspot on the ground.”
Scootaloo shrugged her off. “I knew you weren't going to help.”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom both tried to avoid their friend’s sad look. “We aren't going to help you kill yourself,” Sweetie Belle protested.
Scootaloo folder her ears and sat back, hanging her head. “You two don’t understand. Everypony else always makes fun of me. What’s the point of having wings if you can’t even use them?”
“Ya’ can do that thing with the scooter,” Applebloom suggested. “That’s pretty cool.”
Scootaloo waved the compliment away. “But that isn't flying.”
“Are ya’ crazy girl!?” Applebloom burst in. “Ya’ can’t just go an’ jump off a cliff!”
Scootaloo stood up determinedly, flaring her wings for what they were worth.
“Scootaloo, you can’t!” Sweetie belle cried, her voice cracking.
“Sorry girls,” she declared, taking a few backwards steps. “I’m doing it this time whether you want me to or not.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, readying herself. What if she didn't fly? What if she jumped off and couldn't? She quickly quelled any such thoughts. If she started thinking bad things then she wouldn't fly for sure. She had to do this; she absolutely had to. They would all understand soon.
Scootaloo opened her eyes and braced her front hoof ahead. “This time it’ll work,” she whispered.
“It ain’t funny anymore Scoots,” Applebloom said quietly. “Cut it out.”
Scootaloo didn't even spare her friend a glance. She wriggled her haunches and sprang forward, flaring her wings in an attempt to catch as much air as possible.
The world seemed to freeze around her. This was it—she was doing it. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stood poised on the edge, faces contorted in fear and awe. The wind whipped at the orange filly’s mane as she soared out over the ledge. She could feel the tug of the air on her wings.
“Yes!” Scootaloo cried out. She was… falling. She was falling! Her stomach turned over as she began to drop, wings flailing uselessly. She panicked, losing what little control she had. Turning over in the air, she spotted her friends’ horrified faces as she dropped away from them.
Falling was terrible. She couldn’t see a thing. Scootaloo writhed and twisted in the air, trying to coax even the smallest amount of lift from her wings. Her mane whipped painfully at her face as the wind threw her around like a paper bag. She began to drift towards the cliff face. Hurriedly, she repositioned herself, allowing the wind to carry her back out into the open. At least she could steer. But there was still one more problem; the ground.
“Help!” she cried out. It was obvious there would be no help, but yelling was the only thing she could think of. The trees were steadily growing larger. Scootaloo got an idea. If she could aim for the trees, maybe they’d stop her before she hit the ground.
The filly flapped her wings, repositioning herself in the air. At the rate she was falling, it would be hard to hit a single spot. But there were also a lot of trees; they would be hard to miss if she managed to get over the thickest of them.
She allowed herself a scream of terror as the green masses rushed up to meet her. Right when she was expecting to crash into the unforgiving branches, she was whisked to the side to find herself flying horizontally over the treetops.
Happiness spread through every limb in her body. She was flying! Actually flying! “Yes!” she cheered. “I’m flying. I knew I could!”
A thought struck her. She wasn't even flapping her wings; they were pressed tight to her side. Scootaloo looked to the left and right to find a pair of legs clasped around her belly. “What the hay?” she wondered aloud, looking up at the pony carrying her. She could see nothing but a cyan coat.
She hadn't really been flying. The triumph in her heart deflated like a balloon.
She was struck by such a sudden and powerful realization that it felt like she had gotten the wind knocked out of her. “They were right,” she said, heart sinking. “I can’t fly.” All this time she had been telling herself, ‘It’s okay. You’ll be able to. You can do it.’ But now, even after being threatened with her own life, she still couldn’t fly. It wasn’t that she was lacking initiative; she just plain couldn’t fly.
She couldn’t think of anything more pathetic. She was a pegasus that couldn’t fly. For the love of Celestia, a two month old foal could fly before she could. The most she could do was buzz like a bee.
She was a disgrace.
The pony carrying her brought them both down in a small clearing. Her savior let go of Scootaloo a foot above the luscious green meadow. Not expecting the sudden drop, Scootaloo missed her landing and somersaulted through the grass, ending the tumble sprawled on her belly.
Scootaloo looked up to see the pony who had saved her, unsure whether or not she should thank them. She wasn’t exactly happy to be saved at the moment. Sure, she was glad she was alive, but she didn't feel like the facing the embarrassment that came with the probable reprimand of the pony who saved her.
The filly looked up to meet the gaze of a familiar cyan mare. “Rainbow Dash?” she awed. “What are you doing out here?”
“Moving clouds out of Ponyville,” she answered, cocking her head. “What were you doing falling through the air?” she questioned, equally surprised. “And aren't you normally hanging out with those other two?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo murmured flatly. “Usually... How’d you see me fall?”
The cyan mare picked Scootaloo up off the ground and dusted a spot on her orange coat with a forehoof. “I didn't see you, I heard you.”
Scootaloo hung her head. “Right.”
Rainbow Dash seemed to notice the hurt tone in the little filly’s voice, because she scrunched her brow. “Is something wrong? You know, other than the fact that I just saved you from a nasty fall,” she clarified.
“No.” The small filly averted her gaze from the cyan mare’s. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Rainbow tilted her head and looked own at Scootaloo. “It certainly doesn't seem like nothing.” She gave the young filly a look that seemed to say, ‘Spit it out.’
Scootaloo wouldn’t have said anything about this to any other pony, but this was Rainbow Dash. She felt that she could tell her idol anything. “I wanted to see if I could fly,” she said, hanging her head as if fearing criticism. “So I jumped from a cliff.”
“What were you thinking?” Rainbow asked, though not in a scolding tone. “I mean that’s like, totally radical. But that’s really dangerous. You’re lucky I saw you, otherwise you would have gotten hurt…” She cast another quick glance at the cliff. “...or killed.”
Scootaloo scoffed. “I wouldn’t say lucky.”
The older pegasus noticed the scorn in the filly’s voice. “Something’s wrong Scoots,” she declared. “You’re not bouncing all over the place and asking me to tell you a bunch of stories. So I know something's up.”
“Nothing,” she replied resiliently.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and lay out on her belly. She stretched with a groan of delight and rolled over onto her back, hooves poised in the air. “Come on, tell me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Scootaloo looked at the cyan mare’s upside-down smile and couldn’t help but feel the beginnings of a smile herself. “Fine, but only for you Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo thought for a moment about how to put it. “I just feel like I’m a reject. I couldn’t even fly to save my own life.”
Rainbow gazed intently up at the orange filly from the ground.
“A lot of the other ponies make fun of me at school about it too. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to fly with wings like these.” She flared her wings to add emphasis. “You shouldn't have even saved me.”
Rainbow rolled back onto her belly and sat up. “You aren’t a reject,” she said matter-of-factly. “And don’t you ever say I shouldn't have saved you. There is no way I would ever let you fall, even if Celestia herself told me to.” She trailed off awkwardly, looking around as if the conversation made her slightly uncomfortable. “But you’re right about that last part,” she added after a moment, breaking the tense silence. “You’ll never be able to fly with wings like those.”
Scootaloo balked. “What!? Aren’t you supposed to say something motivational like, ‘You just have to keep trying,’ or something like that? Telling me I’m right isn’t going to make me feel better.”
The pristine flier sighed. “Sorry Scoots. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But I’m not going to lie to you. Right now, your wings are way too small. They just don’t have enough surface area to get you off the ground.”
“Well gee, thanks,” she muttered sourly, dropping her gaze to her hooves.
“They should grow though,” Rainbow added. “You aren’t done growing yet. You’re still small. I’m pretty sure your wings will grow into you, eventually.”
Scootaloo smiled and looked up at the rainbow mare. “You aren’t very good at motivational speeches, are you?”
Rainbow shook her head. “What gave it away?” she asked sarcastically.
“Really though,” Scootaloo continued, determined to stay downhearted. “It’s the worst thing ever having wings and not being able to fly. It’s like being a unicorn and the only thing you can do with your horn is pick up dog poo.”
Rainbow Dash snorted at the filly’s analogy. “I can’t really relate to you there. All my life I’ve kinda’ just been good at flying. I just remember that one time I hurt my wing and ended up in the hospital. So I can sorta’ imagine how you feel, but not really.”
“Well it’s not fun.” Scootaloo stood up. “I mean look at me. I’m a pegasus and I’ve never even walked on a cloud.”
Rainbow cocked her head. “Really?”
Scootaloo shook her head sadly. “Not once.”
The cyan pegasus cracked a wide grin. “Well I can help you with that one.” She flipped a lock of her rainbow mane from her eyes and sat up taller.
Scootaloo blinked. “What—wait really?”
Rainbow nodded energetically. “Well yeah. Of course I can. Don’t forget who I am you know. I’m Rainbow Dash.” The rainbow mare seemed to perk up now that the topic was turning into a lighter one.
Scootaloo tried to ignore the anger and sadness bottled up inside her and bounced in joy. “You’d really take me up to a cloud?”
She nodded again. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like I ever have anything really important to do around here. Push some clouds here and there, then enjoy the rest of the day.”
Scootaloo scampered forward and hugged the mares’ legs. “Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Deep down, she still felt sad, but pushed it away the best she could. There was no way she couldn’t be filled with joy after an offer like that.
Rainbow took a step back and pulled free of the little filly’s grasp. “Easy Scoots. Don’t try and crush my legs.”
Scootaloo flushed. “Sorry.” She shuffled her hooves. “So when can we do the cloud thing?”
Rainbow stood up and unfurled her wings. “I’ve been feeling a little antsy,” she said slowly, an inviting tone in her voice. She stooped down shot Scootaloo a look that seemed to say, 'Well, what are you waiting for?’
Scootaloo suppressed a squeal of delight. She thumped herself across the head with a hoof to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. This was both the best and worst day of her life. First she had nearly died and figured out there was no way she would be able to fly. And now Rainbow Dash was actually taking her up to the clouds. Any minute she expected to wake up on the ground at the bottom of the cliff, having never actually met her idol, let alone having Rainbow actually take her to the clouds!
Scootaloo bolted forward and hopped on the cyan mare’s back.
Rainbow turned her head and cast Scootaloo a glance from below. “You better hang on. It’s not like I’m going to go easy on you or something.”
Scootaloo hurriedly wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck.
“Easy with the hooves,” the mare said in warning, but not heatedly. “If you choke me out while we’re in the air then we both crash.”
Scootaloo tried her best at modesty. “Rainbow Dash, you know you don’t have to—whoa!” She was cut off as Rainbow sprang into the air. The mare hadn’t been joking when she said she wasn’t going to take it easy. Scootaloo hung on for dear life as the cyan pegasus flew nearly vertically, towards the sky. After a moment, they leveled out.
Scootaloo noticed Rainbow seemed to have a more specific flight method; she wasn’t just flapping her wings. If Scootaloo examined closely, she could see Rainbow’s patterns were much different from her own. The cyan mare didn’t just move her wings up and down. She had a solid down stroke, but the upstroke was the interesting part. Instead of just bringing her wings back up, Rainbow pulled them forward a little before whipping them upwards and backwards at an angle.
Scootaloo pondered if that was what she had been doing wrong all this time. She shook her head. Her wings weren’t even big enough to do that.
“Having fun!?” Rainbow called back.
“Yeah!” the excited filly yelled. Scootaloo decided to focus on having fun and not the cyan mares’ flying methods. She whooped and laughed as Rainbow did a barrel roll. She was terrified and excited at the same time. Not being able to fly came with a minor fear of heights.
After a moment, Rainbow slowed. She flew them gradually over to a medium-sized, fluffy white cloud. Rainbow appeared to have chosen that one over a gray one, which had been a little closer. She landed on the cloud and furled her wings.
“It’s a little harder to pull off tricks when there’s a little filly on your back,” Rainbow commented idly, sitting down. She looked back at Scootaloo, who was still clinging to her back. “You can get off now.”
Scootaloo looked down. “Are you sure I’m not going to fall through or anything?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You’re a pegasus aren’t you?”
Scootaloo nodded.
“Well then you’ll be able to walk on it. All pegasus ponies can walk on clouds. Even if you can’t fly, you’re still a pegasus.”
Rainbow wasn’t the most tactful of ponies. She didn’t seem bothered to mention Scootaloo’s inability to fly. Scootaloo ignored it the best she could, but it was still like a little jab in the stomach every time it was mentioned.
Tentatively, Scootaloo slid from Rainbow’s back to touch down on the cloud. She hopped up and down on it a few times experimentally. “It’s like a bed, but softer.”
“Yep,” Rainbow stretched and rolled onto her back. “They’re great for naps.”
“Don’t you normally have to push all the clouds away?” Scootaloo asked, nuzzling part of the fluffy white mass.
Rainbow just closed her eyes and waved a hoof dismissively. “I normally keep a few around. But if I don’t, I can always come out here. This is a ways away from the town; there’s almost always clouds out here.”
Scootaloo sat down and burrowed herself a little soft spot on the cloud. They were the strangest things. You could move and mold it like a sandcastle, but it was much lighter.
“Oh, but you gotta’ be real careful with clouds,” Rainbow added. “Once I fell asleep on one, then the wind picked up. Woke up in Baltimare.”
“Really?” Scootaloo laughed. “How’d you get back?”
Rainbow blew air between her lips. “Easy. I just grabbed a cloud and floated back on the southern winds.” They had a brief silence. “So how do you like clouds?”
Scootaloo sat up and looked at Rainbow, who was still on her back with her eyes shut, hindlegs crossed and forelegs folded behind her head. “I love clouds! They’re awesome.”
Rainbow dash suddenly sat up. In an instant, she was on her hooves. “Well, it’s been fun,” she declared, flaring her wings. “But I gotta’ go now. See ya’ later Scoots.”
Scootaloo barely had time to think before the pegasus sprung into the air and disappeared. Having realized what had just happened, Scootaloo ran up to the edge of the cloud. “Wait!” she screamed. “I can’t fly Rainbow!” Her heart plummeted. Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen.
A hoof prodded her in the back. Scootaloo whirled around to look into the smiling face of Rainbow Dash. The multicolored mare flopped onto her back, laughing. “I totally got you!” she chortled. “That was hilarious!”
Scootaloo glared. “No it wasn’t! I thought you actually left me.”
Rainbow sat up, no longer laughing. She reached out a hoof and tussled the little filly’s mane. “I wouldn’t leave you Scoots. You should know that.”
She hung her head. “Sorry, I guess I was just thinking about how high up I was.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Rainbow pulled the filly into a close embrace. “I’m the one that pulled the joke… don’t go getting all sad now. It was just a joke.”
Scootaloo looked up at the pegasus. “Rainbow Dash?” she asked.
“Yeah?” The older mare flicked a lock of hair away from her face.
“Do you think I’ll ever be able to fly?” Scootaloo didn’t want to hound her with the question, but she had to know. She had to hear what Rainbow thought. Rainbow Dash was the best flier in all of Equestria; the multicolored pegasus had to know something.
Rainbow was quiet for a long time. After a while, she heaved a sigh. “I don’t know Scoots… I’m not going to say yes if that’s what you’re asking. I can’t say something and make it come true. We’re just going to have to wait and see.”
Scootaloo’s ears perked. “We?”
Rainbow grinned. “You got it kid.”
Scootaloo balked at the cyan pegasus, stumbling over words. The little filly pulled free from her idol's grasp and pranced around in a little circle. “Reallyreallyreallyreally!? We get to be friends!?”
Rainbow laughed. “Yes really. I actually want to spend more time with you. You seem like a really nice pony. I want to get to know you better.”
Scootaloo felt like her grin was going to split her face in two. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that.”
Rainbow looked the small filly over and cracked a smile as well. “Definitely not a chicken,” she declared. “I’m going to teach you how to have real fun.”
Scootaloo ran up to her. “What can we do first!?”
The pristine flier pondered the thought. “Hmmm, let’s see… We could visit someplace.”
Scootaloo frowned. “What’s there to go visit?”
Rainbow flopped down on the cloud and closed her eyes, yawning. “Maybe Baltimare.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She ran up to the older pegasus and tried to push her onto her hooves. Rainbow just made fake snoring sounds. “Get up,” Scootaloo grunted, trying to position herself under the cyan mare so she could lift her weight.
“Sorry,” Rainbow murmured, rolling over onto the little filly. “Can’t hear you, I’m asleep.”
“Get off,” Scootaloo half laughed, half complained as she drug herself out from underneath the rainbow mare.
She sighed. “Fine Rainbow.” The little filly flopped down on the cloud beside the colorful mare and nuzzled into her flank. Her eyes drooped almost immediately. Clouds were the best. Today was the best.
Rainbow opened one eye to peer at the orange filly. She unfurled a wing and placed it over the little shape, allowing herself a little smile. “Hang in there kid.”
<= Thanks for reading this story and such.
<= I've been so fed up with writing dark and comedy. I wanted to try my hoof at something... nice.
<= A huge thanks to MillennialDan for helping me fine tune this. There were more errors than I thought.
~Sorren
