“Mom, Dad, I’m home!” Scootaloo announced.

“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash greeted. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute!” Scootaloo replied. “Let me just go up to my room real quick.”

Scootaloo ran up to her room and smiled at the poster Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich made her sitting on her nightstand. Scootaloo held it in her hooves and smiled at the thoughtful gift. She turned it over to see the message written legibly on the other side: Never give up. Love, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich.

Scootaloo looked at their message now with a newfound determination. She hung it up on her wall as she looked at it on exhilaration.

Scootaloo turned to the stuffed rabbit Sweetie Belle had given her, still lying on her bed. It was old, ratty, and looked like it had landed in the mud once or twice. She still talked to the worn-out rabbit like it was a live-in best friend. “This is it, Bouncy! I’m really gonna fly this time!”

Bouncy fell slightly to the right.

“I'm excited too, Bouncy!” Scootaloo picked Bouncy up in her hooves and showed the plush rabbit the poster she had just stuck to the wall. “Isn't it amazing?!”

Scootaloo shook Bouncy to make the rabbit slightly bob its head up and down.

“Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash called. “Come on!”

“Coming!” Scootaloo tossed Bouncy back on her bed before running downstairs.

Scootaloo sat down at the table with a grin on her face.

“Someone looks happy,” Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle. “What's up?”

“Nothing,” Scootaloo claimed. “I just met a stallion who’s going to teach me how to fly!”

“To fly?” Rainbow Dash was shocked.

“A stallion?!” Soarin exclaimed.

“Yeah, his name is Rumble,” Scootaloo announced.

“Thunderlane's son?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo clarified. “He found me when I crashed my scooter into the side of Sugarcube Corner and he's going to teach me to fly! Although… he never said where we would meet again. Maybe I could wait in Sugarcube Corner tomorrow.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Soarin said. “We’re just going to let her see this stallion she just met?”

“Thunderlane's a nice guy,” Rainbow Dash told him. “I'm sure Rumble is great too. You're just worried that your little girl is growing up.” She smirked at her husband.

“Of course I’m not!” Soarin replied. “I'm just trying to make sure that she's safe.”

Rainbow Dash snickered. “Okay.”

“If he really does teach me to fly, I can do all I want to and more!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Isn’t that awesome? Aren't you happy for me?!”

“We sure are!” Rainbow Dash replied. “I'm proud of you, Scoots. Your determination will inspire many other ponies.”

Rainbow Dash playfully ruffled Scootaloo's mane.

Soarin smiled warmly. “And I’m proud too. I’m sure you’ll be an excellent flyer one day.”

“Thanks, Mom and Dad,” Scootaloo said. “I love you guys!”

Scootaloo embraced both of her parents with glee. The family shared a tender embrace before Scootaloo pulled away.

“I’m hungry,” Scootaloo declared. “What do you say we eat some dinner now?”

“I say that's a great idea,” Soarin said.

The family exchanged a laugh.

The next morning, Scootaloo entered Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie greeted her when she walked through the door, “Hiya, Scootaloo! What brings you here?”

“I'm meeting someone,” Scootaloo said. She looked around. “Do you have a customer named Rumble by chance?”

“Yes indeedy!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Rumble comes in every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“Wow, I’m lucky I happened to show up on a Thursday,” Scootaloo said.

“It must be fate,” Pinkie Pie told her mysteriously. “Can I get you anything?”

“I don't have any money,” Scootaloo replied.

“That's okay,” Pinkie Pie said. “You’re a friend! It's on me.”

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I’ll have a slice of the chocolate chip cookie dough dream cake.”

“Great choice!” Pinkie Pie said with a wink. Pinkie Pie placed it on a paper plate before passing it over to Scootaloo. “Here you are!”

“Thank you,” Scootaloo said.

“You're welcome,” Pinkie Pie returned.

Cheese Sandwich came out of the kitchen covered in flour. He sneezed and a cloud of flour was released into the air. “Pinkie, there's been a situation!”

“Again?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“They just won't relax!” Cheese Sandwich cried. “Either they're in the kitchen helping me bake or they're not in there at all!” He flicked some flour out of his mane.

Pound and Pumpkin Cake, the twins of Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, ran out of the kitchen, tossing around a chef's hat as if it were a playground ball.

The five-year old colt and filly ran around out of control. Over the years, Pinkie Pie successfully got pregnant with twins. When the fraternal twins were born, they were two different pony types than Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich. Pound Cake was a pegasus and Pumpkin Cake was a unicorn. They didn't know it was possible for them to carry the genes of other pony types, but they loved the twins even more than they loved parties. However, they were rowdy and hard to control, even for the two crazy party ponies.

“Heads up!” Pound Cake hollered, flying up into the air.

Scootaloo sighed. Even the son of two earth ponies can fly, she thought.

Pumpkin Cake used her magic to toss the chef hat to Pound Cake. He swooped down and caught it in between his teeth.

“Pound, Pumpkin! Please calm down!” Pinkie Pie pleaded. “Why don't you go help your Dad in the kitchen?”

“But Mom! It's boring!” Pound Cake whined.

“No, baking can be fun!” Pinkie Pie replied. “Think of it like… potion making! You need all of the ingredients mixed in correctly to make a scrumptious cake!”

“Cool!” the twins marveled.

“Let's go help Dad make potions!” Pumpkin Cake shouted.

“Yeah!” Pound Cake cheered.

The two twins ran eagerly into the kitchen. Cheese Sandwich sighed in relief. “Thanks, Pinkie.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before going back into the kitchen.

“Twins giving you trouble?” Scootaloo asked with a laugh.

“A little bit, but you just have to know how to make chores sound fun!” Pinkie Pie explained. “Cheesy and I can get them to do anything!”

The tinkling of a bell drew Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo's attention to the door.

“Hi, Rumble!” Pinkie Pie greeted. “Right on schedule!”

Scootaloo smiled and blushed as Rumble’s features brightened when he saw her. She didn't know what it was, but something about Rumble made her heart skip a beat.

Rumble sat down next to Scootaloo. “Hey, Scootaloo! I hoped that I would run into you. I want to start teaching you to fly.”

“I would love that!” Scootaloo claimed. “I can't wait!”

“Great!” Rumble replied. “After I have a little something here, we’ll go out and begin chasing your dreams!”

Scootaloo smiled and closed her eyes as she imagined herself finally being able to lift herself off of the ground. She saw the blue of the sky and heard the rush of the wind. She felt the adrenaline rushing through her body and she tasted the clean, fresh air. She smelled the blissful smell of fresh fallen rain. It was amazing. Scootaloo enjoyed every second of it.

“Scootaloo?” Rumble asked.

Scootaloo was snapped back into reality by the sound of Rumble's voice, but it didn't make her sad. By Rumble's side, all of her dreams would turn into reality. She made a mental note to give credit to Rumble when she became a Wonderbolt.

“Pinkie Pie, I need some Prench Bread and some cream cheese!” Rumble said.

“Coming right up!” Pinkie Pie said.

Pinkie Pie reached under the table and placed some bread in a package. She grabbed a container of cream cheese and passed Rumble’s order over to him. “That’ll be three bits, please.”

Rumble passed three bits over to Pinkie Pie and she put them in the cash register. “Thanks, Rumble!”

“No problem,” Rumble replied, mouth already full of bread.

After Rumble finished off the bread and cream cheese, he tossed the empty container in the garbage can. He turned to Scootaloo. “Ready to fly?”

Scootaloo felt her heart jump inside of her chest. “Am I ever!”

Scootaloo felt a nervousness begin to rise up in her chest. Rumble and Scootaloo stood in a desolate field, flowering with plants of all kinds.

“Okay,” Rumble began. “Spread your wings.”

Scootaloo spread her wings and took a deep breath, preparing herself to take off into flight.

“Now, just lift your hooves off of the ground and flap your wings,” Rumble instructed.

Scootaloo groaned. “Don't you think I’ve tried?!”

“Scootaloo,” Rumble said patiently. “Just do it, okay? I’ll tell you what to do next.”

Scootaloo hesitated before lifting her hooves off the ground and flapping her wings. She attempted to rise higher, but she yelped as she fell back to the ground.

“Is that as high as you can go?” Rumble wondered.

“Yes,” Scootaloo said in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don't be,” Rumble assured. “I get that your bones are weighing you down. You’ll have to work and get stronger, so you can carry that weight. You’ll get stronger as we go along. For now, just go as high as you can.”

Scootaloo went as high as she could. She sighed in embarrassment when she realized she was no more than nine inches off of the ground.

“Okay, now the trick is to make your wings work together in unison,” Rumble continued. “Instead of focusing on getting yourself higher into the air or the speed of your flight, try to focus on flapping your wings simultaneously. That's the first thing you start with. My Dad taught me this when I was a young colt.”

Scootaloo focused on flapping her wings together in unison. Suddenly, Scootaloo felt herself begin to move forward. Slowly, but she was moving. “Wow!”

“Great job, Scootaloo!” Rumble cheered. “That's it! That's flying!”

“That's all?” Scootaloo questioned.

“Pretty much,” Rumble said. “There's a little more to it like learning how to go faster and doing tricks and stunts. Once you learn to carry your weight and get higher off of the ground, we can work on that.”

“Thank you!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

She landed on the ground and wrapped her arms around Rumble affectionately. Rumble felt himself blush slightly and laughed nervously as he awkwardly returned the embrace.

Scootaloo smiled to herself. She promised herself that she would work to get better at flying.

Author's Note

And I promise it's only going to get more interesting from here! Especially with Twilight and Spike! There's a lot of hurdles they'll have to leap over.