Finding your Wings

Scootaloo pulled her crusader cape down from the closet and wrapped it around her shoulders. It had beed ages since she'd worn this thing, and it was a little small, but it covered her wings.

"I stole Spike's wings," she whispered to herself, rocking back and forth. "How could I have stolen Spike's wings? Literally, how?!" She buried her face in her hooves. "And after he was so nice to me yesterday! What a shitty thing to do to a friend..."

There was a knock at the door. "Scootaloo, are you okay in there?"

"Just fine, Aunt Holiday!" she lied.

"Are you sure? You ran back to your room so fast that you forgot to turn off the tap."

Scootaloo smacked her forehead. "Sorry. I forgot..."

"Hurry along, dear. I made breakfast. It's waiting for you downstairs."

Could she even go to breakfast? She couldn't take off her cape, that would let her aunts see her stolen property. A felon, in their home... Even if she hadn't done it on purpose, would they really be willing to house a criminal? She shook her head. She couldn't bear the thought of being labeled a thief.

With a deep breath, she steeled herself. She'd just give the wings back... somehow... and apologize to Spike. That was the right thing to do. That's what Rainbow Dash would do.

Wiping her face, she stood up and adjusted her cape. Spike would be at the Castle of Friendship with Twilight. He was always there in the mornings. She just had to go meet him there and give back his wings.

As she came to the bottom of the stairs, she was waved over to the breakfast table, but she went no further than the door. "Sorry, aunties, but I can't stay for breakfast, I have something really important I have to do, I'll see you at dinner, bye."

As she tried to walk out, Auntie Lofty barred her path. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Scootaloo. If you intend to skip it, I'm going to need to hear a very good reason."

Scootaloo swallowed. "Well, uh..." she scratched the back of her neck. She didn't really want to lie. But perhaps she didn't have to. "Yesterday, after hanging with a friend, we parted ways, and I left with something really important to them and didn't realize it. They're probably looking all over for it now that they know it's missing, so I thought it best to return it right away. That way, they're not tearing up their bedroom looking for something that's not there, because I have it by accident."

Auntie Lofty pursed her lips. "What did you take?"

Scootaloo shrunk down. She didn't want to say it.

"Oh, come off it, Lofty," smiled Aunt Holiday. "She said it was an accident, and I believe her. If she'd taken it on purpose, she wouldn't have told us she'd taken it, and she wouldn't be trying to give it back to the pony she took it from." She reached into her purse and pulled out two bits. "Make sure you eat something healthy for lunch."

"I will," promised Scootaloo, dashing out the door.

As she rolled through town on her scooter, she moved very slowly. Normally, she'd rip through the streets as fast as her wings could blow air behind her, but today, she didn't have her wings. She had Spike's wings. They were covered by her crusader cape, so going slow would keep the cape from blowing back and revealing her mistake. Because of this, she was only able to go as fast as her leg could propel her without blowing her cape back. This, of course, drew a lot of attention to her, as her behaviour was definitely odd today.

When she finally arrived at the castle, she parked her scooter and went inside. She was already fed up with having to take extra care to hide her wings. The sooner she could fix this problem, the better off she would be.

"Oh, good morning, Scootaloo," greeted Twilight, coming around a bend. She reached up and wiped a small dollop of mustard off her face from the soft pretzel she was carrying with her. "Sorry for the mess. I had a late breakfast. Was there something you needed?"

"Yeah, where's Spike?"

Twilight pursed her lips. "That's a good question. He should be back by now. Why do you ask?"

Scootaloo sat back on her haunches. "I kinda, sorta accidentally stole something from him yesterday. I didn't realize I had it until this morning, and I wanted to give it back."

Twilight shook her head. "You really shouldn't steal things, Scootaloo."

"I didn't mean to!" she insisted. "I know it's wrong, and it happened by mistake, and now I just want to make it right."

Twilight nodded. "I see. Well, he hasn't been complaining about missing anything, so if you want to return it, you can probably just leave it in his bedroom. He'll see it when he comes back, and he might not even know it was missing."

"It's not so simple as that," sighed Scootaloo. "I have to give it back personally, and I want to apologize for taking it."

Twilight smiled. "That's a good attitude, Scootaloo. Taking responsibility for your mistakes is just as important as trying to correct them. Since you're demonstrating good behaviour, I'll let it slide this time. It was just an accident, right?"

Scootaloo nodded emphatically.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you. But do try to make sure you don't make that mistake a second time. Other ponies may not be so forgiving."

Scootaloo smiled. "I'll try really hard."

"You can wait for him in the library," directed Twilight. "You can read a book while you're waiting for him to come back. Like I said, he should be along soon."

"Thanks."

"By the by, what was it you took?"

Scootaloo froze. After a moment, she lowered her head. "I'd rather not say, if that's alright with you. It's kind of personal."

Twilight nodded. "My lips are sealed, then. Will there be anything else?"

"No, thanks, I..." Scootaloo trailed off for a moment. She still didn't know how she came to take Spike's wings, or how she would give them back. "Actually, can you direct me to your books on dragons?"