A young foal opened her eyes, looking up to see who was holding her in their arms. She saw a mare with magenta eyes, a light blue coat, and a rainbow mane with an exhausted smile on her face. Beside her was a lighter blue stallion with a dark blue mane and with eyes as green as an emerald.

“Hello,” said the stallion, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. “She’s perfect.”

The mare chuckled softly as she struggled to keep her eyes open. An overwhelming fatigue was taking over and she couldn't wait to go to bed, but a joy remained present as she looked at the foal in her arms. “Of course she is. Any kid of ours has to be totally awesome.”

Nurse Redheart entered the room to check up on the couple who had just had their first foal. She was an orange pegasus filly with a purple mane. Her eyes were a different shade of purple making it match beautifully.

“Miss Rainbow Dash?” Nurse Redheart asked. “Soarin? How are you two doing?”

“They did wonderful, nurse,” Doctor Stables replied. “Their little filly was just born.”

“Thanks for everything, Doc,” Soarin said.

“Have you decided on a name for the young foal?” Doctor Stables questioned. “We’ll need a name tag for her when we put her in the nursery.”

Soarin paused and thought for a moment before exchanging a glance with Rainbow Dash. “We haven't really thought about names yet.”

“Well, there was this name I always liked as a filly,” Rainbow Dash claimed. “What about Fire Flight?”

“I'm not sure if that name really suits her,” Soarin replied. “She doesn't look like a Fire Flight.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You're right. Hmm… what other cool names are there?”

“Cloudy Haze?” Soarin suggested.

Rainbow Dash put an end to the idea by shaking her head and scrunching up her face slightly.

“I named my first foal Tigerlily,” Nurse Redheart said. “It looks like it’d be a great name for her.”

“I don't want to name my foal after a flower,” Rainbow Dash said. “I want to name her something… cool.”

“I do too, but what name should we give her?” Soarin inquired.

Everyone in the room began to think of names for the little foal. As they did, the little foal began to scoot over to reach out to her Dad. She had gotten to know her mother. Now, she wanted to be held by her father.

“Wow, she just scooted along, didn't she?” Doctor Stables said with a playful chuckle.

The doctor's statement gave Rainbow Dash an idea. “I know!”

“What is it?” Soarin wondered with anticipation as he picked up the little foal in his arms.

“What about Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash suggested. “It sounds cool, but it's also a memory to this day.”

“I like it!” Soarin exclaimed. “Scootaloo.”

Soarin grinned at the foal who seemed to laugh in agreement at her name.

“Scootaloo,” Doctor Stables repeated. “Great pick! We’ve never heard of a unique name like Scootaloo before.”

Nurse Redheart picked Scootaloo up in her arms to take her to the nursery.

“We’ll be right back for you, Miss Dash,” Doctor Stables declared. “Congratulations.”

Nurse Redheart and Doctor Stables left the room. Rainbow Dash lied back in the hospital bed and felt her eyes begin to grow heavy. Giving birth had taken everything out of her. All she wanted to do now was sleep.

“Tired, huh?” Soarin teased her.

Rainbow Dash yawned and nodded. “Sure am.”

“Well, I’ll let you sleep then,” Soarin told her. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Rainbow Dash exhaled in relief. “Thanks, Soarin.”

Soarin lightly kissed her forehead before walking over to sit in a nearby chair. Something about Soarin's kisses always made Rainbow Dash feel on top of the world. Rainbow Dash smiled as she dozed off to sleep.

Only minutes later, frantic hoofsteps were heard in the hallway. Soarin’s heart began to race and he silently pleaded that the bad news the doctor was about to deliver wasn't addressed to them. Unfortunately, it was. The door opened and a frazzled, confused Doctor Stables entered the room. “Soarin!”

“Is something wrong, Doc?” Soarin worried.

Doctor Stables sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Soarin… there's something wrong with your baby.”

Soarin was galloping down the hallway as fast as his hooves would carry him. He needed to make sure that his newborn daughter was okay.

When he entered the room the doctor led him to, Soarin looked around for Scootaloo. Scootaloo was lying in a crib, safely tucked in the covers. Her breaths were steady and healthy and a small smile sat upon her lips. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her.

“Doc… I don't see the problem,” Soarin admitted.

“We have some x-rays we need to show you,” Nurse Redheart replied.

As Soarin sat at the desk across from Doctor Stables, Doctor Stables reached for two x-rays. They were both x-rays of a pegasus foal. However, something seemed off. The first x-ray had light, airy bones showing as a pegasus should have to easily take flight. The second x-ray had thick, stronger bones that would weigh a pegasus pony down.

“What's going on?” Soarin asked.

“The first x-ray is of a normal pegasus pony with lighter bones to carry them off the ground,” Doctor Stables explained. “The second x-ray is of your daughter. You see, she was born with the bones suitable to that of an earth pony. Earth ponies need stronger bones to be able to lift heavy things and pull a lot of weight, but pegasi can't have earth pony bones. It disrupts their flight. Soarin… your daughter may never fly.”

There was a stunned silence.

Soarin would never admit it, but he felt his heart ripping into pieces. His daughter would never experience the joy of flight that he and his wife felt. “B-but---”

“I wish there was something we could do, but it's not possible to switch bone type,” Doctor Stables said, sadly. “I’m sure there are other things your little filly will be great at.”

Soarin only nodded. He would need to tell Rainbow Dash the horrible news and he knew Rainbow Dash wouldn't take it lightly. Rainbow Dash had been looking forward to teaching her daughter how to fly.

Nurse Redheart picked Scootaloo up and made her way over to the nursery.

“We are so terribly sorry,” Doctor Stables told him.

“It's not your fault,” Soarin assured.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash didn't know what was in store with a filly that they were told would never fly, but a lot could happen in the years to come.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone! It's Midnight Song VA here with a brand new AU story!

I wanted to call it the "Scootaverse", but I bet ya that's been taken already because of the abundant amounts of fanfiction of MLP. Maybe all of you creative geniuses can come up with a name for it.

I hope you enjoy what this story has to offer! I had a lot of fun with it!