It was a relatively normal day in Ponyville. Ponies went about their daily lives, shopping, eating, and hanging out with friends. No creature had attacked them in quite a while, and no villain had come on the attack either.
But of course, when you have not one, but two alicorns living in your fair city, perhaps those last two parts were a given.
Scootaloo watched from her front yard as Twilight, having finished a conversation with a unicorn mare, took to the sky. The filly's little wings flapped with admiration and hope, but they didn't get her much of anywhere -- just a few inches off of the ground before she fell back down. A sigh escaped her lips, and she stayed in her collapsed position for a few minutes, watching the illustrious mare flap her wings of glory and freedom before she became unidentifiable in the sky.
Her stomach growled, putting a brief halt on any more flying attempts she might have wanted to try. She slowly got up and trudged back inside the house whose only occupant was one.
But not even the crying need of hunger could keep her inside, and once she made a sandwich, she headed right back outside to watch the pegasi.
Yes, the Pegasi. With their wings aflutter, taking to the sky with ease, treating the act of flying as though it was natural, like a baby foal crying when it wanted something. She knew that many Pegasi worked and lived in Cloudsdale, some as weather ponies and others situated in other occupations. Ever since she had been told of the locale, one of her greatest dreams was to see it.
Not like she could go there now. Not with her tiny, useless appendages. All she had was her unicorn horn and some magic, her knowledge of which didn't extend too far. What was an alicorn if they couldn't perform a whole slew of advanced spells? Especially since she had a cutie mark! Years of attempting to get one, and for what reward aside from finally being like everypony else her age?
She kicked the grass with her hoof as hard as she could, gritting her teeth and letting a growl rumble about in her throat. I need answers! I need to know how I can fly. I need to know how to go to Cloudsdale.
I need to talk to...some winged ponies!
Realization striking her, she finished the rest of her sandwich and galloped off to the first pony she knew would help her.
"Help you fly?"
"Yeah! I don't wanna be known as the alicorn who's bound to the ground for her entire life. I wanna see the skies, feel the wind in my face, go wherever I want to!"
"Uh...don't you already know a teleportation spell to go wherever you want to?"
Scootaloo groaned at Rainbow Dash's question. "I'm talking about the journey there. It's boring just teleporting from one place to another all the time."
The older pegasus tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, if you wanna fly, then I'm your mare, Scoots. Just follow my lead."
She soared off from the cloud she had been laying on and landed on the ground gracefully, deciding to walk the way to her intended destination out of respect for Scootaloo.
The pair eventually arrived at Ghastly Gorge, as strikingly pure (and deep) as ever.
"Now, let's see...you can hover a little off the ground, right?"
"Yeah, but that's all I can do."
Dash's face lit up with an idea. "Can I carry you? Just down to that rock over there?"
Scootaloo glanced at where she was pointing. It looked like nothing more than a slab of rock jutting out from the gorge that could easily fit two ponies. She gave a nonchalant shrug. "Sure."
Dash took flight, grabbing the filly in her hooves and soaring towards the rock, barely flapping her wings as she let the wind currents of the gorge guide her flight. Scootaloo watched intently, her brain absorbing every single aspect of her big sister's actions.
After landing, Dash said, "Did you see what I just did?"
"Yeah. You were barely even flying! You were gliding!"
"Uh-huh!" Dash nodded. "Try using wind currents to guide you. Don't flap your wings. Just open them, and let the wind do the rest of the work!"
Scootaloo wasn't quite sure about this. She let her gaze sweep the gorge with uncertainty flickering inside of them.
But Rainbow has huge wings. I just have these tiny ones...will the wind even catch them?
...
Guess it couldn't hurt to try. I'll do anything!
"Don't worry, Scoots. I'll be by your side the whole time!" Dash said. "After all, I'm your big sister."
She was still nervous. Dash's words weren't exactly reassuring, although maybe it was just her nerves talking. She licked a hoof and held it out, trying to test what direction the wind was blowing in. As she swallowed the lump in her throat, she spread her tiny wings, adjusted her position accordingly, and galloped, leaping off of the rock and allowing the wind to carry her.
...She was really doing it. With nary any flaps of her wings, she was actually flying! The wind was really going to guide her towards-
Wait, why did she feel herself falling?
She glanced down and saw the ground moving closer to her. Almost on instinct, a scream came out as she helplessly flailed her hooves. Dash immediately took action, saving her before she even had a chance to activate her horn on the off chance a miracle would happen.
"You okay, Scoots?" Dash asked as she set her down onto the rock they had been standing on, a panicked tone edging into her voice.
"I-I-I'm...fine..." The alicorn filly felt like passing out in that moment, her heart racing and her lungs taking in and pushing out air so fast that not even Dash could beat the record she was setting. (Maybe. Probably.)
"I'm really sorry. Using the wind currents to glide usually helps me when I can't fly. I thought it could help you too, but I guess not."
Scootaloo calmed down. "It's all right. I appreciate the help, but..." She smiled. "I think I need to ask more winged ponies. You know anypony who could help me?"
After getting out of the gorge, Dash and Scootaloo made their way to Twilight's castle.
"You want to learn how to fly?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah." Scootaloo nodded. "I wanna go to Cloudsdale someday, on my own wingpower. Rainbow Dash already tried helping me with no luck."
Twilight tilted her head, then nodded, as though getting an idea. "Sure, I can help you out. Follow me."
The three mares made their way through the castle's corridors, Scootaloo admiring every aspect of the walls and ceiling. Admittedly, she had only been in the castle a hoofful of times before, but each time was like a whole new experience for her. They soon arrived at a small room, where a table was set up with all kinds of hor d'oeuvres and a white tea kettle. Sitting at one end, telekinetically levitating her cup of tea up to her lips and taking a sip, was none other than Princess Celestia herself.
Scootaloo's eyes shimmered. Very few times had she met Princess Celestia in-pony -- the only notable time she could recall was during her birth, when she arrived to witness the creation of new and rare life, an alicorn brought into the world. She had to admit, she had been rather envious of Twilight, having been Celestia's personal protege. She wanted to be Celestia's personal protege -- if she had, maybe she could have learned how to fly better from her instead of her parents making her learn it from random Pegasi (and magic from random unicorns, by extension).
But instead, she had to settle for Twilight's lessons here and there, particularly on unicorn and Earth pony magic. Which were fine and all, but she didn't have the vast range of spells that her glorious supreme ruler had.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo. How lovely to see you." Celestia greeted. "What is the occasion?"
"I..." The filly's throat began to close up. She struggled to find the words to say. Sure, she was an alicorn, but she didn't have the title of princess. She was just a run-of-the-mill pony who happened to possess all three equine races of magic. So what business did she have speaking to such a higher being? "I, um...I-I wanted to ask...i-if...you could..." She kicked the floor with her hoof. "...teach me to fly? I mean...what's an alicorn if they can't even fly?"
Celestia closed her eyes for a moment in thought, giving a solemn nod. "Yes, I do remember the nurses at Ponyville Hospital telling me you might have trouble flying as you grew older..."
"I already tried teaching her." Rainbow shook her head. "No luck."
"Um, Celestia, if you could, I-"
A raised hoof shushed Twilight as Celestia continued to think. The silence felt awkward and stiff, and Scootaloo could swear she heard her own heart beat in anxiety and anticipation.
Finally, Celestia opened her eyes again. "I have an idea. Scootaloo, how skilled are you at magic?"
"Uh, well...if you mean unicorn magic, Twilight's been teaching me some stuff. Some of it is a little boring, but I know a good bunch of spells!" the filly chirped.
"I see." Celestia arose from her seat and headed for the double-doors. "Follow me outside, if you will."
Although she addressed Scootaloo, who followed her eagerly, Twilight and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but follow as well, wondering what the Princess of the Sun had up her sleeve.
And speaking of the sun, it met the four ponies with its bright rays as they exited the castle, as though welcoming them to the outside world. They rounded the structure and headed for the back area, where there was more room and far fewer ponies.
"Now, has Twilight ever taught you about self-levitation?" Celestia asked.
Scootaloo rummaged through her memories for a moment, trying to see if such a spell was in her arsenal. She shook her head. "No. What's 'self-levitation'?"
"It is telekinesis, but used on yourself rather than on another creature or object. Using this spell effectively allows you to move about in midair." Celestia smiled. "Almost like-"
"Flying?!" Scootaloo's face lit up in a way that could cause instant diabetes in a pony. "Oh please please pleeeeeease teach me!"
Twilight couldn't resist chuckling as she caught her mentor's knowing eye. "All right, all right. We'll teach you."
"YES!" Scootaloo cried out, her tiny wings flapping as she leaped into the air. Of course, it didn't give her much lift, and she dropped to the ground just as quickly as she had leapt up.
Unfortunately, as excited as she was, many an attempt was tried at the feat, and many an attempt was unsuccessful. Although she was a small filly, she just couldn't levitate herself long enough to really have a chance to move about in the sky -- it was more akin to being abducted by an alien on her own power, moving straight upwards as though she were caught in a tractor beam.
After a half-hour of trying, she was close to giving up.
"It's no use." she muttered, glancing at the sky. "I'm skilled in other spells, but anything to do with flying...it's like Celestia hates me!"
Celestia widened her eyes. "I can assure you that is certainly not the case, Scootaloo." she soothed, before Rainbow Dash whispered into her ear. "Oh. I see. My apologies."
"Why is it that Twilight can fly, and Princess Celestia can fly, a-and even Princess Luna can fly...even Princess Cadence...AND I CAN'T?!" the filly wailed, feeling water brimming in her eyes and threatening to overflow.
"Scootaloo...this might surprise you, but I didn't suddenly become skilled at flying when I got my wings." Twilight made her way over to her and took a seat beside her, extending a wing and pulling her closer to her body. "I had a lot of trouble simply just flapping them and getting myself to move in the sky. Luckily, I had a good friend to teach me all about flying." She gave a wink to Rainbow Dash, who smiled and winked back. "And guess what?"
"What?"
"I got the hang of flying, in time." Twilight said. "I can't really attest to Celestia's experience, though."
"It's true that I struggled with flying as well." the eldest Princess said, sitting down and flanking Scootaloo's other side. "But like Twilight, I too had a good friend who was willing to help me."
"Princess Luna?"
"How did you know?" Celestia chuckled and ruffled the filly's head with her hoof. "We helped each other to fly, and even helped each other with self-levitation when Star Swirl taught us how to perform the spell. It was...very rough going, but with how magically gifted we were, we learned rather quickly." The alicorn smiled. "Always remember, my little pony. There is more than one way to fly."
Scootaloo was starting to understand now. Yeah...I have friends. Princess Celestia, Twilight, Rainbow Dash...Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, too. Aww, they're gonna be so excited when they see what I can do! Her mood instantly lifted as she imagined her other Crusader friends, whooping and hollering and cheering her on as her horn and body became bathed in a grayish-purple hue, magic allowing her to perform new feats and stunts that only the most skilled of the skilled could do.
The smile came back to her face, and she stood up. "Okay. I'm ready to try again." She took a deep breath. "I wanna master self-levitation, no matter how long it takes!"
Cheers erupted from the three mares, all of them offering various words of support.
For the rest of the day, Scootaloo practiced.
Over and over and over again, as long as her body was eager and willing to go. With each attempt, she could swear she got a little further off the ground. Not by a substantial amount, mind -- only by an inch or so -- but she was really doing it, and each success was like fuel for her motivation.
However, Celestia had apologized and stated that she needed to return to Canterlot so she could lower the sun and get some well-needed rest. Rainbow Dash had Wonderbolts practice. And Twilight still had to clean up from the tea session earlier in the day.
Which left her all alone, in the dark haze of the night, with nopony around to help her or cheer her on.
Still, keeping her friends in her heart, she kept practicing. She lit up her horn again and again, moving through the sky and attempting to match the speed of Pegasi that flew by her. She had to admit that, although she was encased in a magic aura, it felt rather freeing to be up in the air, to feel the wind on her face without it threatening to knock her off course or send her plummeting to the ground for a permanent date with sudden death.
A small gut feeling told her to seek out Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Maybe she would find them by pure random chance, and they would see her and be in awe, and ask her a whole slew of questions. Maybe Sweetie would even ask how she could do the spell, and Rarity would lecture her on how self-levitation isn't for the faint of heart and how she's not too magically skilled to perform such a spell yet.
But that would all be for later. Right now, she was getting hungry.
She landed on the front yard of her home, stumbling a little and falling on her rump. She made a mental note to work on smooth landings -- somehow, she still hadn't quite gotten used to being like Rainbow Dash and landing with all four hooves poised perfectly on the ground. The door opened and she made her way inside, her stomach growling something fierce as she made her way to the kitchen. Her gaze moved upwards to the pantry, where she knew she had a box of mac n' cheese she could cook up.
Only twenty minutes later and she was eating her meal outside, looking up at the stars that Princess Luna had so kindly brought out to greet Equestria. After swallowing her bite, a sigh escaped her lips, remembering Twilight's words of advice to her back when she was just taken under her wing.
"Make sure you give your horn and your magic a break every now and then. Overusing it can have disastrous consequences. It can lead to burnout, illness, and even a temporary loss of magic in some cases!" she had warned.
It sucked to be an alicorn sometimes.
She mindlessly ate the rest of her pasta as she thought back to years past -- how her parents had panicked and hastily resorted to just asking strange ponies to teach their daughter how to fly instead of taking her to Celestia. They really didn't know how to handle raising an alicorn, and she understood that as she grew older. For all of her powerful abilities as the top-tiered pony race, her circumstances sucked, but there was little excuse to mope over them for her entire life. She had Twilight to thank for that little tidbit of life advice.
Still, she didn't want to dwell on the past for very long.
After all, she had achieved her lifelong goal of being able to fly.
And tomorrow, she was going to achieve another lifelong goal.
She gazed at the sky, just for a little bit longer.
As soon as her eyes flew open the next morning, she got ready.
It took her no time at all to perform her morning routine and eat breakfast. She felt like Rainbow Dash in that instant, rushing about in the morning after realizing the thing she had put off due to procrastination was about to bite her in the rump.
But Rainbow Dash could do all that...there. She could not. Not until today.
That was the difference.
Closing the front door behind her with her back leg, she took a deep breath and stared at the sky. The sun was out again, and it looked to be incredibly clear weather. The situation really couldn't be better. Even though it was a silly thought, she had to wonder if the weather ponies did this just for her, her brain only thinking about that for a brief moment before returning to the task at hoof.
Letting her horn light up in its typical grayish-purple glow, she felt her hooves touch nothing as she soared up into the sky, letting her tiny wings flap furiously and become that of a hummingbird's -- her own personal touch on the self-levitation spell. She could see the City of Clouds move ever closer to her, and she decided to pick up speed, not caring about anypony she passed or what was in her way.
It didn't take her long to reach the city with how fast she was going. Her heart raced with excitement as her cerise gaze took in the view.
Oh, the view. There was really no one word to describe it. If anypony asked her to pick one, she would tell them she couldn't answer.
From what looked like the weather factory, to the many homes where Pegasi resided, even to the colosseum which she thought was the place Rainbow Dash and Rarity took place in the Best Young Flyers competition...it was all so wondrous. She wasn't sure what place she wanted to go to first.
Eventually, an idea formed in her head, and she quickly made her way over to the Cloudominium, using tips from passing Pegasi to find her way there.
Three hard knocks on the door marked her arrival as she hastily landed, remembering what Twilight had told her about Pegasi being able to walk on clouds but still wincing at the foreign feeling of cloud on her hooves. She said nothing at first, simply wanting to let actions speak louder than words and let the mare's jaw drop when she saw the filly she viewed as a younger sister right on her doorstep.
Nothing happened. She couldn't hear anything when she pressed her ear against the door. Tilting her head, she tried knocking again thrice.
Still no response.
Her mouth scrunched up in frustration. She opened the door and let herself in, eyeing the living room of Rainbow's home. It was then she realized something that really should have been obvious.
She had never been here before.
It felt wrong to intrude, and so she scuttled back onto the porch, eyeing the interior of the home nervously.
If Rainbow Dash is out, then I dunno if she'd appreciate coming home and finding me waiting for her here. But at the same time...what if something's happened to her and nopony's noticed? Then what?! Ohh, I should check on her and make sure she's okay!
It was a war of attrition between her common sense and her concern, and as much as she hated to admit it, her concern won out.
She quickly rushed inside and closed the door behind her, her gaze sweeping the living room. She dashed to the kitchen, and still, nothing and nopony was there.
A muffled rumbling noise filled her ears, and some of the fur on her back spiked up in fear. Her breathing quickened. The noise was rather routine, only occurring every few seconds. Still, that didn't help her situation very much, nor did it help her anxiety.
Keeping her wits about her, she crept out of the kitchen and into the living room. The noise grew closer, although it didn't seem like it was in the living room.
Is it...upstairs? she pondered, standing at the foot of the cloud staircase and gazing upwards where the second floor lied. A lump settled in her throat and she attempted to gulp it down as best she could, to no avail.
Carefully, one hoof stepped on the first staircase, then the other hoof on the second one. From there, she made her ascent, the rumbling sounds getting louder but still being muffled.
As she internally resented not having Twilight teach her some kind of cool "super-hearing" spell, she roamed the hallway, letting her ears swivel towards where she thought the sound was coming from. It grew closer and closer, and she thought she was going to pass out with how fast her heart was beating.
Finally, she came to the last room in the hallway, marked with Wonderbolts stickers and other paraphernalia. There was absolutely no doubt about this being Rainbow Dash's room, but that didn't mean Scootaloo wasn't scared for her life with the loud but muffled rumbling noise.
She telekinetically grabbed the handle and slowly, eeeever so slowly, opened the door. She stuck her head inside, and the first thing she laid eyes on was her big sister in her bed, laying askew and actively attempting to cause the downfall of Cloudsdale with her snoring.
It was just her snoring! Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. Thank Celestia it wasn't some strange pony trying to...to...
Yeah no, I don't wanna think about it.
Now that the worry and concern inside of her had fizzled out, excitement came back to rear its not-so-ugly head, and she entered the room fully. Her hooves took her across the soft cloud floor and towards the snoozing Pegasus, who was completely unaware of what was about to happen.
"Psst! Rainbow Dash! Wake up!" Scootaloo laid a hoof on her shoulder and shook her gently, a grin splitting her face as she watched her give a couple snorts and slowly open her eyes.
"WAH!" came the mighty cry from Rainbow Dash, who promptly flew backwards and out of bed. "Who are you?!"
"I-it's me!"
Rainbow blinked and let her eyes adjust to the blurry orange-and-purple figure that was in her line of vision. "Scootaloo...?"
"Yup! Thaaaat's me!" Scootaloo gave a giddy giggle. "You surprised?"
"What're you doing he-"
Rainbow stopped. She blinked. The realization finally clicked into her fatigue-addled brain.
"You're here!"
"Yeah I am!" the filly said. "I flew myself all the way here! Mostly to see Cloudsdale, but I thought I would visit you while I'm here."
"Heh. Wouldja look at that." Rainbow got back into bed, taking a sitting position this time. "All these moons, you've been telling me how much you wanted to see Cloudsdale, and now, here you are. How do you like it?"
"It's awesome!" Scootaloo practically screamed. "Oh my gosh, where do I begin?! There are soooo many Pegasi, and soooo many buildings that I-I can't even visit them all in a single day! There's just so much to see and to do and- and- and-"
"Calm down there, Scoots. We don't want ya collapsing before we have a chance to see the sights."
The filly went rigid. "...'we'?"
"Duh. Of course, 'we'!" Rainbow made her way towards the door. "When I'm ready, we're going on a tour. I'll take ya to all the best stuff Cloudsdale has to offer!"
Scootaloo couldn't help but give an excited squeal as Rainbow dipped into the bathroom and shut the door. She quickly raced downstairs to wait in the living room, her entire body radiating with enough excitement that she felt like she could burst.
Soon, both sisters were hitting the cloud streets. Scootaloo got a chance to try out some new self-levitation stunts, impressing Rainbow Dash and earning her lots of praise for just how much she managed to accomplish in the span of a day. The Pegasus equated it to alicorns being fast learners, since "Twilight's a fast learner, and look where she's at!" Scootaloo, however, secretly doubted her reasoning -- maybe it was luck, or maybe it was just good old-fashioned commitment and perseverance, but who was really to say.
Together, they visited all of the spots Scootaloo had seen previously, and more. They met some ponies who knew Scootaloo from seeing her around Ponyville, and other ponies who knew her by way of just having received the news of the second alicorn moving into the town. She got a chance to try out her stunts to a whole crowd of Pegasi, much to their amazement. It almost felt like she had become a celebrity, and she reveled in it. They even visited the Wonderbolts Academy, although since Rainbow had the day off, Scootaloo couldn't meet Spitfire or any of the other Wonderbolts in-person. Still, they vowed to make it a go-to destination for next time.
At the end of the day, Scootaloo was almost completely wiped out. Neither her magic nor her hooves could take her all the way back to the Cloudominium, and Rainbow had to carry her halfway back.
"Hey." the mare said, as she was cleaning up a mess of salt of her own doing in the kitchen. "You wanna stay here tonight?"
"Mm..." Scootaloo attempted to sit up. "Could I really?"
"Sure. That way, you can see what sleeping on a cloud feels like."
"Yeah. That would be awesome."
Hearing the tired voice of her younger sister made Rainbow smile, and she quickly finished cleaning up the rest of the salt so the two of them could get to bed.
"That's the guest room." Rainbow pointed to a room that was, perhaps conveniently, right next to hers. "I still have to make the bed and stuff, though, so just hang tight, okay?"
"Thanks." Scootaloo nodded and opened the door. "And, uh...thanks for showing me around Cloudsdale today."
"Hey, coming here was your dream, wasn't it?" Rainbow asked, hovering over to a nearby cabinet and grabbing the spare bedding. "Or, uh, one of them, anyway."
"Yup. I learned how to fly, and see Cloudsdale." Scootaloo smiled. "Pretty awesome day, if you ask me."
"Well, if you liked today, you'll love what's gonna happen tomorrow."
"Why? What's happening tomorrow?"
"We've only scratched the surface of Cloudsdale, squirt." Rainbow flew into the guest room and began to fix up Scootaloo's bed. "There's still a ton more to see."
"Really?" The filly's eyes sparkled. "Are you really gonna take me?"
"After Wonderbolts practice, I will!" Rainbow said. "You can watch me perform with the coolest ponies in all of Equestria!"
Scootaloo would have done a happy dance if she wasn't already dead-tired. Instead, she settled for as big of a smile as she could get.
When the bed was made, Scootaloo happily crawled inside it, feeling herself melting at how warm it was. Her eyes began to close involuntarily, but not before she let three words slip from her lips.
"G'night, Rainbow."
As the filly descended into dreamland and began eliciting loud snores of her own, the Pegasus mare chuckled. "'Night, Scootaloo. Sleep tight."
She closed the door and climbed into her own bed, closing her eyes and letting Celestia's words ring in her head before she, too, descended into dreamland.
"There is more than one way to fly."
About three months had passed since Scootaloo had first visited Cloudsdale. And it was in those three months that she had made one of the most important decisions she would ever make.
With help from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she finished packing the rest of her stuff in boxes. She levitated it outside, where Twilight took it and carried it up to Cloudsdale and Rainbow Dash's Cloudominium.
"Thanks for helping me, girls." Scootaloo said.
"Aww, it's no problem." Apple Bloom smiled. "I'm really happy for ya."
"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "I can't believe Rainbow Dash decided to let you live with her!"
"Well, she is my big sister." Scootaloo shrugged. "And I've wanted to live in Cloudsdale ever since I visited it for the first time. It's just that fillies can't really buy houses..."
"Ain't that the truth." Apple Bloom sighed. "But anyway, I hope you'll come t' visit us."
"Of course! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo posed. "Nothing's ever gonna stop us! Even though I'm moving, there's always work to do!"
Sweetie stepped forward. "Oh, and don't forget about our promise. I wanna learn that self-levitation spell too!"
"Well, keep up the good work with Twilight and maybe you'll get there someday." Scootaloo said, a smug air to her voice.
"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle!" Applejack distantly called. "We gotta go!"
Tears began to well up in all three fillies' eyes, and seconds later, they collapsed into a fit of sobs as they shared a group hug. It felt like they were glued to each other, the tears serving as a good adhesive. However, the hug didn't last as long as they would have liked it to, and was eventually broken by Apple Bloom.
"I should go. Applejack's not gonna be happy if I'm late." she said. "Take care, Scootaloo."
With that, she rushed off, the alicorn giving her a friendly wave.
"I-I have to go too..." Sweetie broke free and sniffled, using her hoof to wipe tears from her eyes. "R-Rarity wanted me to get some supplies for her a-and it's already been a half-hour...I'm sorry."
"It's okay!" Scootaloo nodded. "See you and Apple Bloom tomorrow?"
Sweetie sniffled once more. "Definitely. Good luck!"
Then the unicorn filly raced off, leaving Scootaloo the last filly standing.
"So." Rainbow walked up, watching Sweetie Belle run off. "That's the last of it?"
"Yup!"
"Y'know, I think you're really gonna like livin' with me, squirt." Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "I know my home isn't in Cloudsdale, but it's pretty close. And it's up in the sky."
"Yeah. It doesn't take long to get to Cloudsdale from your house, anyway. Suuuuper close by." Scootaloo waved a hoof and glanced behind her. "Besides, it was getting pretty lonely in there. Ever since my parents had to leave, it's been..."
She didn't finish that sentence. Both filly and mare watched Pegasi soaring in the air and going about their daily lives as a pause hung over them.
"Will I still be able to ride my scooter?" Scootaloo broke the silence.
"Of course!" Rainbow smiled. "You can ride it as much as you want. Just not on clouds, though. Unless they're solid."
Scootaloo nodded, her brain immediately coming up with all sorts of scooter stunts she could do that she could combine with her new self-levitation abilities. "Maybe Twilight can modify my scooter to make it cloud-friendly!"
Rainbow simply gave a lighthearted shrug to that, not knowing if such a spell existed and not wanting to get her little sister's hopes up too high by speaking on something she had little knowledge of.
"Okay." Twilight descended and landed in front of the pair. "All your stuff is moved."
"Awesome!" The filly couldn't help but trot in place a little. "Thanks so much, Twilight!"
"It's no problem. Just don't forget to come to the castle every day for your studies."
She smiled, but it quickly dropped after she processed what Twilight had said. "Huh?"
Twilight touched a hoof to the filly's chest. "I know you've been coming to me for help with spells and flight advice ever since your parents...left." She bit her lip, not wanting to touch on the subject of Scootaloo's parents further. "But when I saw you practicing self-levitation today, with me and Celestia and Rainbow Dash by your side, it made me realize something."
"What's that?"
"For all the times you've come to me, I don't think I've ever fully understood your potential." Twilight said. "Alicorns are special. They possess the abilities of all three pony races. And when taught correctly, those abilities can be used to their fullest extents."
"What are you saying. Twi?" Rainbow asked.
The alicorn mare sighed. "Scootaloo, I'd like for you to continue as my personal protege."
Scootaloo's eyes widened. Like...how she was to Princess Celestia? she thought. She wants me...to...to...even though I'm moving?
"Yes."
The word tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it, and she clapped her hooves to her mouth. She stayed like that for a while, until she removed her hooves and sighed. "Sorry. I-I wasn't thinking."
"It's all right." Twilight said. "If you don't want to, then I won't try and change your mind."
"But that's just the thing, I..." Scootaloo began to mentally berate herself for just spitting out words without actually thinking. She took a slow, deep breath, then nodded once. "Yes. I'd like to still be your personal...uh..."
"Protege. It means student." Twilight explained. "And thank you. I promise I'll help you every step of the way, if you promise to keep up with all my lessons."
Scootaloo had to fight to not stick her tongue out and go "blugh". For pony's sake, she was already bored enough in Cheerilee's class. This, however...this would be interesting. So she simply gave a "Sure."
"Heh, nice goin', Scoots!" Rainbow praised. "Even in the sky, you're gonna become an egghead!"
"She will not be an egghead!" Twilight retorted. "She will be the finest alicorn Equestria has ever seen!"
"And what if she becomes a princess? Are you gonna make her the Princess of Eggheads?" Rainbow couldn't help but begin to snicker, which caused Twilight's expression to twist into one of anger.
As the two mares went at it, Scootaloo glanced to the sky once more. I wanted to become Celestia's student...just like Twilight was. But I have to admit, she's pretty cool. And maybe she could help me learn some more awesomely cool spells...spells that'll make me the coolest pony in all of Cloudsdale!
...Nah, better than that. The coolest pony in all of Equestria!
She smiled and self-levitated herself into the air high enough to grab a piece of cloud and admire it.
Being an alicorn is tough work. But as long as I can fly high...I think I'll be okay.
Author's Note
Ah snap...another story where Seren procrastinates too much and then real life gets in the way.
No, but in all seriousness, I was working hard on this story, but then I have Solar and Lunar and The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy, then my Internet blew out, then I saw other entries that had species swaps and not race swaps ~~which IMHO are two very different things thank you very much and also there were some~~ really ~~big names in there~~...so I took a burst of creativity and motivation I had one night and ran with it.
Hopefully you enjoyed the story even in spite of its clunkiness. I'm a fan of race swaps, so I might make a couple more of those stories in the future when I'm past the other two current projects. We shall see. 
