When Pain Becomes Strength

Losing her mother was a devastating blow to a young Scootaloo. Only seven years of life on this god-forsaken planet called Equestria and she'd already lost everything. To try and summarize her emotional state would be in and of itself insanity. All that surrounded her were the four walls of the hotel she would soon be evicted from. She didn't really care. Where she was was nowhere near as important as how she was, and how she was was an indescribable low; the kind only a tragedy survivor would recognize. Tragedy was the best word to use for this whole situation. It affected everything about her down to her most minute motions. She didn't run around or try ridiculous ideas to get her cutie mark anymore. Her stony face masked a dark feeling of unrelenting rage. What did cancer think it was taking the last pony who cared about her on a deep level!? It was evil! Even though these angry thoughts ran through her mind, she appeared calm. A thought crossed her mind.

"Maybe I can see mom again if I go too..."

Scootaloo instantly pushed the thought out. She remembered the letter her mother had written her before she passed away. If she gave up and died now, she would never accomplish the things her mother wanted for her. Like it or not, she had to keep living. But what was she supposed to do now? Come next month at the latest, she wouldn't even have a roof over her head. That's when she remembered something her mom told her not long before she got sick.

"Being strong in mind, heart and body will get you through even the worst times. Learn what you can, love everyone with an open heart, and make your presence known."

If Scootaloo put these words into practice, she might just discover a way to cure the vile disease that had stolen her mother from her. Without thinking, she dropped to the floor and did 50 push ups.

The morning after, Scootaloo was sore and stiff, but she could still move. Not only had she exercised for a full hour using nothing but her own body weight, but she'd read through every magazine in the room, some of which were packed with survival skills like growing her own food and training tips. Being that she didn't want to bother her friends by asking them to feed another mouth, that was really going to come in handy. Her plan for today was to study as much for school as possible. She was given two weeks off to come to grips with her mother's death. Using that time wisely was going to make things the smallest bit easier, even if it took a while to yield results. In order to give herself time to wake up, she studied the easiest subject for her first; social studies. She committed each line of text to memory and practiced answering the questions at the end. She spent about an hour doing this before moving on to her least favorite subject; math. Thankfully, the concepts she was dealing with were very basic multiplication and division. Practicing the problems was a cakewalk. Again, she spent an hour studying before moving on.

After five hours of studying, Scootaloo finished studying for the day and went out to stretch. The sound and feeling of the wind against her reminded her of her mother. Thinking of those memories was as painful as anyone could expect. Her heart felt heavy. She tried to hold back the tears, but they couldn't be stopped. She stifled the sobs so no one would hear, and kept moving.

By the time she'd stopped walking, Scootaloo had reached the ocean. She was sitting down, watching the waves move to and fro. Collecting her thoughts had become increasingly difficult since yesterday. The grief was clouding her mind over.

"Hey, kid," she heard a voice say from behind her.

"Hey, Rainbow..."

"Why so gloomy."

"I lost my mom yesterday."

"So it won out, huh?"

"Yeah."

"What are you gonna' do?"

"Change."

"Come again?"

"Change."

"Can you clarify?"

"I'll let what I do speak for itself."

"Fair enough. What happened to your eye?"

"Hm?"

"There's a whole trail of blood here."

Rainbow pointed to the top of Scootaloo's left eye and motioned downward from her cheek to her chin.

"I dunno'."

"You gonna' be okay?"

"Not at all, but I think that's why I should try."

"I'd offer to take you in, but I can't really afford it. You get it, right?"

"Don't worry about it. I'd probably say no anyway."

"You're going the hard road, aren't you?"

"The hard road?"

"Doing it all yourself."

"I guess so."

"Hope it works out."

"I'll make sure it does."

Rainbow was somewhat bewildered by the bold proclamation, but went with it.

"Anyway, take care. I'll see you around."

"Maybe..."

The somber tone of the filly's voice caused Rainbow a great amount of visible concern, but there was nothing she could do.

"Bye, kid."

"Bye."

Rainbow left Scootaloo to what thoughts she could muster.

After making adjustments to her exercise plan and studying both school material and nutrition, Scootaloo returned to the class building she shared with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but there wouldn't be any talk of cutie marks or bullies today. Only one thing was on her mind; survival. For the whole day she barely said a word. This fact didn't remain escaped by Cheerilee for long. When the day was over, a conversation between the two ensued.

"Scootaloo, can I talk to you for a minute."

"Sure."

"You were so quiet today. Are you feeling alright?"

"Not at all, but it is what it is."

"I'm very sorry about your mom."

"I was holding her hoof when she died. I felt her last breath. The doctors tried, but they couldn't bring her back."

"I know. I just want to make sure you're calm enough to focus."

"Yeah. I can think a little clearer now."

"Okay. Go ahead and try to enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks."

Scootaloo got up to walk out the door, but stopped. There was still something she wanted to say.

"Ms. Cheerilee, do you remember when you asked us if we knew what we wanted to be when we grew up?"

"Yes."

"I think I know now."

"What do you want to be?"

"...A mom."