There Are No Shortcuts, Scootaloo

by Shimmering Thunder

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Sad, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Scootaloo
Length: 2488

Scootaloo's dream has always been to be able to fly. That's why she has to practice. One day, after yet another secret training session, she comes to think about something that might work.

Scootaloo's dream has always been to be able to fly. That's why she has to practice. One day, after yet another secret training session, she comes to think about something that might work. She knows that Twilight Sparkle's got the library full of different books and spells... Maybe she could make her fly, even for a day.

Huge thanks to OneStrangePegasister for editing this story!

Published 2016-09-26 18:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-09-26 18:40:01 UTC

The dream of flying

Flying is an important skill to any pegasus, but even more so for the little filly who happens to admire a certain blue mare with a rainbow colored mane and tail. Scootaloo's dream had always been soaring through the skies with Rainbow Dash. However, that dream would not become a reality until she would learn to fly. But to fly, she needed to practice, and practice she did.

Scootaloo was sitting on a cliff outside Ponyville, staring at clouds drifting above her as the wind slowly pushed them forward. One day; one day, she’d learn to fly. One day she’d fly higher than anypony else and dive towards the ground, just to shoot up again and feel the wind in her mane and ruffling her wings. She wanted to do all those tricks she had seen Rainbow Dash doing. She wanted to see the world from high above.

However, her practice proved to be almost for nothing. She didn’t feel any different after her secret training sessions. No improvement in her flight distance, height, or stamina. All she could do was try again. And again. Try again as many times that was needed to succeed.

The little filly stood up again and headed to her vehicle of choice. She put on her helmet and narrowed her eyes and stepped on the scooter. It would be a long way down, but fortunately, there was a large pile of hay to soften her landing. She knew she’d hit it, but hitting the hay pile always meant that she didn’t achieve her goal; being able to fly.

Rapidly flapping her wings, she took off and drove downhill, where the small ramp-like cliff would launch her into the air. She flapped harder and just when she was on the edge, she jumped off of her scooter and took the flying position. For a brief moment, she felt like she was flying. She flapped her wings as fast as she could, but the cruel force called gravity pulled her down once again.

She landed in the hay pile head first, hind legs flailing in the air. Another failure. That’s all this was. Scootaloo pulled herself free and sat there for a moment, wiping some hay off her orange coat. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she took the helmet off.

“It’s no use, I’ll never learn to fly,”

The little filly saw her scooter sticking out from the same hay pile a few hoof steps away. It looked intact. She was not sure if it had hit the ground first or landed straight into the pile. It was deep enough to make her go with the latter option.

She got up and walked to the scooter, dug it up and hung the helmet on the handlebar. Without a further ado, the filly headed back toward Ponyville.

Nopony knew about her secret training sessions and it was that much harder to slip away from her crusader friends. If anything happened, nopony would come to help her, but she paid little mind to it. She just wanted to fly and was more than happy to take the risk. She’d give anything for a chance to fly, even for a day.

Then she got an idea.

She stopped her scooter, braking a good distance before falling over and tumbling to the ground.

“That’s it! I’ll ask Twilight if she knows a spell that would make me fly!” she exclaimed while lying on her belly.

She hopped back on her scooter and drove towards Ponyville, a hopeful glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Scootaloo reached the Golden Oak Library in a record time. She parked her scooter on the side of the tree and took a deep breath while heading for the door.

At the front door, she heard a familiar voice coming from the inside. It was Rainbow Dash, and by the sound of it, Twilight wasn’t exactly pleased with her visit. The little filly was about to go inside, but fate had decided to play at her expense today.

SMACK!

The door suddenly flew open and hit Scootaloo on the head as the cyan pegasus stormed out of the library, leaving a rainbow colored streak behind her.

“Come back Rainbow Dash and clean up this mess!” Twilight screamed after Dash from the doorway.

Scootaloo tried to get back on her hooves, neglecting the spinning world around her. Good thing she had put her helmet back on.

“Oh, dear Celestia, are you okay Scootaloo?” the purple unicorn asked the teetering pegasus.

“I’m okay, I guess. What happened?” Scootaloo mumbled.

“Well, apparently Rainbow Dash thought that it was funny to smuggle a storm cloud inside the library and zap me with a lightning bolt while I was reading,” Twilight Sparkle grunted, “I panicked and shot the cloud with my magic, but Rainbow moved the cloud away, causing me to hit the bookshelves instead! Then she pushed the storm cloud around the library, wetting everything while I tried to hunt her down.”

Scootaloo put a hoof over her muzzle, stifling her amused laugh. Twilight was indeed wet as her mane hung straight, still dripping water.

“It’s not funny,” Twilight frowned, shooting a harsh stare at the filly, but softened her gaze a notch. “Anyway, what are you doing here?” the librarian asked.

Scootaloo took off her helmet and circled her hoof on the ground. What she was about to ask, wasn’t something Twilight faced every day. She also knew the answer she was going to get, but that wouldn’t prevent her from trying.

“Uh, would it be possible to, you know, make me fly? Even for one single day?” the little filly asked, eyes glittering with hope.

Twilight just stared at the little filly in front of her before tilting her head in confusion.

“Please, Twilight! I will do anything to fly,” Scootaloo pleaded, but the unicorn stayed silent. “Sure you have some book or spell that will make me fly?” the orange filly continued anxiously.

She looked exhausted and desperate. More desperate than anypony else Twilight had seen for a while. Her mane was slightly tangled, and there was some hay too sticking out. Soon enough, Scootaloo lowered her head and turned away and Twilight spotted a small tear running down her face as she did.

“Wait, Scootaloo!” Twilight spoke, stopping the little filly in her tracks. “Come inside.” she suggested.

Scootaloo turned around and looked at Twilight Sparkle excitedly. Her eyes glowed with happiness. Twilight didn’t say she’d do it, but that was insignificant. She wanted to believe she was going to help her.

She followed Twilight inside and noticed the havoc Rainbow Dash had caused in the library. For a brief moment, she felt bad for Twilight. This was actually a pretty serious mess: soaking books, a wet floor and charred spots caused by either lightning bolts or unicorn magic.

“Sorry for the mess,” the purple unicorn muttered, starting to clean up the place already.

“Why are you sorry? It wasn’t your fault.” Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow for the librarian.

Twilight peeked at Scootaloo for a moment. She was actually on her side, not defending Rainbow Dash like she used to. The little filly then took a book in her mouth and put it on the table, helping Twilight clean up. That really made the unicorn smile.

“Thanks, Scootaloo.” Twilight smiled.

The filly didn’t reply anything, just helped cleaning. She didn’t want to take any chances of upsetting Twilight. Her request was unusual, she knew it, but she was ready to try anything.

After an hour, the library was clean again, thanks to some unicorn magic. Scootaloo had been working hard too as she was panting on the floor, exhausted.

“Thank you so much for the help, Scootaloo,” Twilight cheered. “I don’t know how I would have done without you.”

“No problem, but where’s Spike? Doesn’t he usually help you?” Scootaloo inquired.

“Spike is running some errands for me today, so he’s not here,” Twilight replied, earning a nod from the orange filly.

“About your request...” the librarian continued quietly. Scootaloo’s ears sprung up immediately and she looked at Twilight as the unicorn spoke. “Why are you asking such a thing?”

The little filly pressed her head down as she thought of what to say. She’d have to say something that would make her do it. She needed it. She needed to fly.

“I want to fly, Twilight. No, I need to fly! I want to feel the wind beneath my wings and see the world from high up. I want to soar through the skies and walk on the clouds,” Scootaloo pleaded, her eyes glittering from the pure excitement of the thoughts alone.

“But you are just a filly, you have your whole life ahead of you to do all those things when you grow up,” the librarian whispered softly.

“But what if I don’t have?! What if I’ll never fly?” the poor pegasus panicked. “Please, Twilight, you must help me, even for a day,”

Twilight looked at the filly for a while. She was desperate. Deep inside of her purple eyes, was a burning passion for flying. Twilight couldn’t quite explain it, but she understood her. Was it even possible in the first place? That she didn’t know.

“I don’t even know if there is such a spell, Scootaloo.” the unicorn pointed out.

“Don’t worry, Twilight, I’ll help you to find it!” the orange filly exclaimed happily and ran to the closest bookshelf.

Twilight watched in amusement as the filly took a book after another from the shelf and read each of them, trying to find whatever she was looking for. What exactly was she looking for, remained a mystery for her.

Soon, Twilight decided to help the poor filly in her search and gave her a knowing smile. Scootaloo smiled back and continued the hunt.

After what felt like an hour, Scootaloo noticed Twilight eyeing one book with increasing interest.

“Did you find something?” she asked

“Yes, I think I did,” Twilight answered, continuing to read the book.

Scootaloo stared at her motionlessly, noticing a growing concern on Twilight’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid this isn’t the one we are looking for after all,” Twilight Sparkle sighed.

“What do you mean?”

Twilight walked closer with the book and started reading it aloud.

“‘This spell will grant an ability to fly for the target. The spell is only meant for the ponies who are not able to fly due to physical disability or loss of their wings. The spell will only work on pegasi and will give them fully working wings. However, the effect will be permanent and the caster must be a well-experienced unicorn. Due to the rare use of the spell, side-effects are still unknown and possibly dangerous if not casted correctly. Can only be used on older pegasi, not fillies or colts.’”

“A permanent effect?” Scootaloo stared at Twilight excitedly.

“Yes, but this spell is only for those who are not able to fly when they are older,” Twilight reminded the filly.

“B-but, Twilight, I need to fly!” Scootaloo cried, tears running down her face.

“And you will when you are a little bit older," Twilight added softly.

“NO! I want to fly NOW! Scootaloo screamed as she collapsed on the floor, crying even harder.

Twilight’s heart was about to break, she couldn’t stand to see her like that. She was the one now standing in front of the filly’s dream, but she knew she couldn’t do it. The risk was too high and the effect was permanent. It would have been simply unnatural to give a little filly fully working wings. She’d be a freak, not to mention she’d eventually learn to fly on her own. And in case she didn’t, they’d then use the spell.

“Please forgive me, Scootaloo, but I can’t do it. It’s just not natural. Not many of the pegasi of your age have learned to fly yet. You’ll fly on your own in a no time, trust me,” Twilight pleaded, also dropping a couple tears.

It was a heartbreaking moment to stand in the way of her dreams. Her crying was even worse, though. What else could she do? If she casted the spell and something went wrong, she’d be one to blame.

The pegasus sniffled, her crying slowly changing to a sobbing as she watched Twilight questioningly.

“W-wh-what if I’ll never fly?”

“You will, Scootaloo. You’ll be the best flier in the whole Equestria,” Twilight Sparkle cheered up the little pegasus.

“Not the best,” Scootaloo smirked through her sobbing, causing the unicorn to raise her eyebrow. “Rainbow Dash will always be the best.”

Twilight tilted her head and smiled heartily at her. Fortunately, the little filly started to calm down and Twilight walked and laid down next to her.

“I’m really sorry, Scootaloo, but you must understand that I only want the best for you.” The pegasus nodded. “The spell might be dangerous and if something goes wrong, the effect would be permanent. You will learn to fly eventually, and even if not, we can then use the spell,” Twilight said with a wink and stroked Scootaloo’s mane.

Scootaloo smiled softly. “I understand, Twilight. Thank you,” she said and circled her hoof on the floor as a small blush grew on her face. “Could it be possible that you didn’t tell Rainbow Dash that... That I cried like that?”

Twilight smiled widely while nodding, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her.”

“Thanks, Twilight! You are the best! I mean, after Rainbow Dash, of course,” the little filly stated proudly.

The pair talked a moment longer as Twilight wanted to be sure the little filly was going to be okay.

After a gentle hug, Scootaloo left the library and drove away on her scooter. Twilight Sparkle watched her go in the doorway, smiling widely. I know you’ll fly one day, Scootaloo. I just know you will.

She walked inside and started to write yet another letter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I’m writing you about the special little filly I met today; Scootaloo. Her dream has always been able to fly and she came to me, looking for a spell to fulfill that dream, even for a day.

I found one spell, but it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for and decided not to use it, as it was risky and the effect was permanent. Scootaloo didn’t take it too well and it was a really heartbreaking moment for the both of us. I managed to calm her down and encourage her to wait until she’d be older. Eventually, she understood that I was only thinking of her best.

Being a good friend is tough when you have to say no to somepony, but it was for the greater good. Nopony should risk another’s safety to make their dreams come true.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.