Never Give Up On Yourself
Scootaloo tossed and turned in her bed, trying to go to sleep, but it was almost impossible for her to do so. She let out a groan and rolled onto her right side, facing her bedroom window. The moon shone brightly, and the stars twinkled lightly; it was a beautiful night in the small town of Ponyville, a night to have good and sweet dreams.
Scootaloo held a Rainbow Dash plush close to her chest, hugging it tightly. She closed her eyes and imagined that Rainbow Dash was there with her, helping her go to sleep. Soon, the filly felt herself drifting off to sleep the more she imagined that…
…and then she found herself riding on her scooter, rolling through the streets of Ponyville. Her wings flapped in the breeze as she accelerated, driving her scooter faster. Suddenly, her scooter hit a ramp, and she soared through the sky and let go of her scooter, jumping off of it and closing her eyes, taking a deep breath. She opened her wings and flapped them hard.
Before she knew it, she was flying. She was actually flying! She couldn’t believe it. She finally had the ability to fly! She couldn’t wait to tell Rainbow Dash about it, and she definitely couldn’t wait to tell Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about it either. If only they could see how happy she was at this moment… she felt so happy she could cry.
“Look, everypony!” she shouted, a bright smile on her face as she flew through the air. “I’m flying! I’m actually flying!”
Rainbow Dash gasped as she looked up at her little sister. Tears welled up in her eyes; she was so proud of her little buddy! Now that she could fly, Rainbow Dash could teach Scootaloo some of her neat flying tricks - and maybe show her how to be a great flyer.
Scootaloo’s eyes flew open as she sat up straight in her bed. She let out a yawn and stretched her forelegs above her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked out her bedroom window, noticing that it was still nighttime. She let out a sigh and glanced over at her alarm clock; it was only 3am, which meant it was too early for her to go out and try to fly again.
She laid back down and hugged her Rainbow Dash plush tightly, slowly drifting off to sleep again. This time, Scootaloo had a pleasant, dreamless slumber and didn’t have any more dreams that night.
The next morning, Scootaloo woke up bright and early. She hurried downstairs and sat at the dining room table, waiting for Rainbow Dash to arrive. The cyan mare always brought her little buddy a meal to eat so that way Scootaloo wouldn’t go hungry.
“Morning, Scoot!” Rainbow said as she stepped inside Scootaloo’s home, holding a bag of fast food for her little sister. She set it down on the table and sat down in the chair across from the orange filly. Opening the paper bag, she pulled out a Hayburger and a side of Hayfries, handing them over to Scootaloo.
“Wow, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “This looks so good!”
Rainbow chuckled and handed Scootaloo a cup of apple juice. “I know how much you wanted to try ‘The Hayburger’,” she said, smiling at the filly. “So I thought, ‘why not?’ and decided to get us some, you know, brunch!”
Scootaloo smiled and took a bite of her burger. “Thank you,” she said. “You remember what I like! That makes me so happy, Rainbow Dash.”
“Aww, kid…” Rainbow said, reaching a hoof across the table to gently pat her little sister’s head. “Don’t mention it. I just want you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” Scootaloo said. “And I’m hungry, too! Let’s finish our breakfast- oops, I mean brunch. I gotta get to school soon. Miss Cheerilee is teaching us about the weather today!”
“Awesome!” Rainbow said. “Sounds like a cool lesson, if you ask me.”
“You bet!” Scootaloo took a sip of her juice and set it down in front of her. “But for now, let’s finish eating so I can get going,” she said.
Rainbow nodded her head in agreement, and the two Pegasi ate their meals in peace.
Scootaloo happily sat down at her desk, eager to learn about the weather. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced over at their friend and smiled, wondering why Scootaloo was so excited to learn about something today.
“Hey, Scoot,” Apple Bloom said, getting her friend’s attention. “What’s on your mind today?”
“Yeah, you’re not normally this excited when we learn something in class!” Sweetie Belle remarked, grinning at the orange filly.
“I’m just curious about the weather,” Scootaloo replied, smiling at the white unicorn. “I want to see how it works, and I know for a fact that Pegasi control the weather.”
“That’s right!” Sweetie Belle said. “You’re so smart, Scootaloo.”
“Yeah… I know.” Scootaloo sighed and looked down at her desk, her good mood suddenly disappearing.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at each other and looked at their friend, who was now sad all of a sudden. “Oh… what’s wrong, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I had a dream last night,” Scootaloo replied. “And it felt so real.”
“What was it about?” Sweetie asked, curious.
“It was about me… finally being able to fly,” the orange filly responded. “I wish dreams come true, girls…”
“Don’t worry, Scoot!” Apple Bloom laid a reassuring hoof on Scootaloo’s back. “You’ll fly one day,” she said.
“Yeah!” Sweetie interjected. “Or maybe you won’t…”
“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom glared at her friend. “That’s not helpin’ her any,” she hissed.
“Sorry,” Sweetie said, looking down. “What I meant to say was… don’t give up on your dreams!”
Scootaloo sighed. “Thanks, girls…” she said, getting up from her seat. “But Rainbow Dash tells me that all the time.”
“Where are you going?” Sweetie asked. “Class hasn’t started yet!”
“I just… I need to be alone,” Scootaloo replied before hurrying out the school building, ignoring the snide comments from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, concerned. Something was wrong with Scootaloo, and as their jobs as Cutie Mark Crusaders, they needed to know what was wrong with their friend and why she was feeling sad all of a sudden.
“Come on, come on!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she jumped into the air for the umpteenth time this morning. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get herself to fly. Suddenly, she remembered her amazing dream from last night and smiled as she got an idea.
She hopped onto her scooter and zoomed towards the same exact ramp in her dream. She hit the ramp and soared through the sky, letting go of her scooter and closing her eyes, opening her wings. She flapped them as hard as she could, but she felt herself falling towards the ground. “No…” she thought as she continued to fall towards the ground. ”I have to fly! I just have to…”
CRASH!
She landed in a pile of apples and slid out in front of her big sister, who stared in shock at what just happened. “Scootaloo!” she gasped as she immediately helped the filly up. “Are you okay?”
Scootaloo sniffed and looked away from Rainbow Dash. “No,” she whimpered. “I’m not okay.”
“Are you hurt?” Rainbow asked.
“No! I’m just… really upset.” Scootaloo sat down on the ground, refusing to look at her sister. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said, sighing sadly.
“Do you want to come over to my place and talk about it?” Rainbow asked, placing a reassuring hoof on her little sister’s back.
Slowly, Scootaloo turned her head towards her big sister and responded with a simple nod. A moment alone with Rainbow Dash was just what she needed.
Rainbow wrapped her wings around Scootaloo as she let the orange filly cry her eyes out. Her little buddy must’ve had a really bad day, or at least that’s what she thought.
Scootaloo stopped crying for a moment and glanced up at Rainbow Dash, her eyes all red and puffy from crying.
“Feeling better?” Rainbow asked, a sad smile on her face.
“A… a little,” Scootaloo replied.
“Scootaloo… do you want to talk about it?”
“About… what?”
“Tell me what’s upsetting you?”
Scootaloo took a deep breath. “I had a dream last night,” she replied. “It felt so real. That’s why I wanted to try to fly again, but I… just… can’t… fly… no matter how hard I try.”
Rainbow frowned and held her little sister closer. “Don’t cry, squirt,” she whispered in her ear. “You’ll fly one day. You just have to be patient.”
“I guess,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “But Rainbow Dash… will I ever fly, or will I never fly?”
Rainbow sighed. “Scootaloo,” she began. “Maybe you’ll fly one day, or maybe you won’t… but that doesn’t change how much I love you as a big sister.”
Scootaloo wiped her tears away and glanced up at Rainbow. “R-Really?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow replied. “Scootaloo, I’m gonna tell you something that my mom told me one day. Never give up on yourself.”
Scootaloo smiled. “Okay,” she said. “I won’t, Rainbow Dash.”
“You promise?” Rainbow asked.
“Promise.” Scootaloo nuzzled her face in the soft tuft of Rainbow’s chest. “I love you, big sis,” she whispered.
“I love you too, little buddy,” Rainbow said, wrapping her wings around her little sister.
For a moment, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo held each other close. Scootaloo closed her eyes and smiled, ignoring the happy tears falling down her cheeks. Rainbow Dash was right; Scootaloo would fly one day.
All she had to do was be patient.
And never give up on her dreams… and herself.
The End
Author's Note
Man, now I need a box of tissues.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little sad/slice of life fanfic! This is actually my first ever sad story, so… please tell me what you think!
Until next time!
CookieKait01
