Scootaloo and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

As the glorious light of a sunny Saturday morning filtered through her window, Scootaloo awoke with a flutter of excitement in her heart.

"At last!" the pegasus filly exclaimed, "The weekend is here! The day is mine!"

The promise of adventure lay ahead. She could already picture it: a day of exploring, practicing scooter tricks, and perhaps even a new attempt at getting her cutie mark with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

With a determined hop, Scootaloo eagerly jumped out of bed—and painfully stubbed her hoof against the edge of her bedside table.

"Oww!" she cried out, cradling her sore hoof.

Though Scootaloo didn't know it yet, this would be just the start of her problems for this day.

"Scootaloo! Breakfast!" she suddenly heard her Aunt Holiday call from downstairs.

The thought of breakfast quickly got Scootaloo back on track. She wasn't going to let a sore hoof ruin her day, and the sooner she got herself fueled up, the sooner she could get started on it.

As the pegasus filly made her way downstairs, she found the kitchen in its usual morning chaos as her aunts both greeted her with a smile.

Taking her seat at the breakfast table, Scootaloo was a bit disappointed when Holiday placed a box of plain oats before her instead of her favorite cereal.

"Huh? What about my Rainbow Puffs?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, dear." Holiday replied, "We're all out."

"We'll pick some up the next time we go to the marketplace." Aunt Lofty put in.

"It's fine..." Scootaloo finally said, trying not to let her dismay show.

But then the pegasus filly perked up a little as she reminded herself that there was still a silver lining inside the cereal box itself. Pouring herself a generous bowl, she excitedly dug inside, fully expecting to find the free prize that often lingered at the bottom of the box.

But instead, she discovered...nothing.

"What? No prize either?!” she exclaimed, disappointment now washing over her.

"Oh, that's too bad." Aunt Holiday sympathized, "Maybe next time."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Scootaloo reached for her orange juice, but her hoof slipped, sending the glass tumbling to the floor with a splatter that painted the kitchen in a sticky mess.

"Aww, not again!"

Her Aunt Lofty quickly grabbed a cloth to clean it up, "It's all right, Scootaloo. Just try to be more careful. That's the second time this month."

"Sorry..." Scootaloo muttered.

This hadn't been the greatest start to her day.

After breakfast, Scootaloo finally made her way out the front door to find her trusty scooter lying next to the porch. Strapping on her helmet, she promptly made her way over to it and prepared to set out, for she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had all agreed to meet at the park today.

C'mon, Scootaloo, you got this, she thought, We're not gonna let a bumpy start ruin our day, are we?

Flapping her wings, Scootaloo shot forward on her scooter, a grin spreading across as she began to feel like herself again. But she'd only gone a few yards when her scooter suddenly pitched forward, causing her to flip headfirst over the handlebars to land flat on her back on the ground.

"Ouch..." she groaned.

Thankfully, other than having the wind knocked out of her, she was okay. Getting back to her hooves, she quickly turned her attention to her fallen scooter, and her heart sank when she saw the cause of her crash: one of its front wheels had broken off.

Whatever had happened, she wasn't going to be the one to fix it.

“Guess I'll just have to get there the old-fashioned way...” she sighed, the path to the park looking long and dreary.

Frustrated, but determined, Scootaloo set out.

Unfortunately, fate wasn't making things easy for the pegasus filly. The streets leading from her house to the park were very crowded that day, making it a bit difficult for her to make headway. Trying to weave her way through the mass of ponies, a somewhat annoyed Scootaloo realized that she probably wouldn't be making much better progress even if she actually had her scooter.

At this rate, it would probably be Hearth's Warming Day by the time she met up with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!

"Come on, I'm in a hurry!" she complained to no one in particular.

Then all of sudden, Scootaloo couldn't move, for her hoof seemed to be stuck to the ground.

"What the..." confused, she looked down, and to her shock, she saw that she'd stepped in some gum that somepony had discarded on the ground, "Oh, seriously?!"

Why did ponies have to do this? And why did SHE have to be the one to step in it?

Gripping her stuck hoof, Scootaloo pulled, but the gum stuck fast to both her and the ground. By now, she was starting to get rather annoyed. Putting all of her strength into one final tug, the pegasus yanked with all her might.

In the end, there was some good news, and there was some bad news.

The good news was, Scootaloo finally got her hoof free. The bad news was, the momentum of her backwards tug sent her stumbling backwards directly into a passing Cranky Doodle Donkey, causing him to drop the heavy box he'd been carrying, scattering its contents all over the ground.

"Oh! I'm sorry...! I-I..." Scootaloo trailed off when she saw that Cranky Doodle Donkey was now looking even more cranky than usual.

"For Pete's sake, young lady! Watch where you're going!" Cranky scolded.

"I'm sorry..." Scootaloo flinched slightly, her voice getting small, "Do... Do you need any help?"

Seeing her distress, Cranky's expression and tone softened a bit, "No, forget it. Go on, kid."

As Scootaloo turned to make her escape, leaving Cranky to gather his scattered items, she started to feel a little discouraged as well as embarrassed.

But then, a few minutes later, the pegasus's filly's eyes lit up when she saw a hole open up in the crowd of ponies, and she quickly made a run for it, eager to be free from the press of the masses. With a lunge, she burst through the hole, and finally emerged out into the open.

She'd made it!

"Yes!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "Free at last!"

But her triumph was short-lived, for barely a moment later, Scootaloo heard the sound of laughter, and her heart sank when saw none other than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing in the same street just a few yards away from her.

The bullying duo were no strangers to Scootaloo and her friends, having already had multiple run-ins with them, suffering their snarky comments and quick jabs. After her already rough morning, the pegasus filly really wasn't in the mood to deal with them today and wished that she could just walk past them without a word.

Too late now though, as they'd both already seen her.

"Well, well, well, look who it is, Silver Spoon!" Diamond Tiara said, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face.

Silver Spoon giggled beside her, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Funny to see you walking instead of zipping around on that precious scooter of yours, Scootaloo."

"What the matter?" asked Diamond Tiara, "Did you finally crash and burn?"

Scootaloo felt her cheeks heat up, irritation churning within her, but she forced herself to stay calm. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her upset.

"Not that it's any of your buisness." the pegasus filly shot back, trying to sound confident, "My scooter has a broken wheel."

"Oh, that's horrible!" Diamond Tiara said with mock sympathy, "You must be so fast that it couldn't take it anymore!"

"What's it to you?" Scootaloo started to walk around them, "There's nothing wrong with taking a little stroll."

Silver Spoon giggled, "Well, it's just that since now that you don't have your scooter, calling you 'Scootaloo' feels kind of wrong."

"Yeah." agreed Diamond Tiara, "Maybe you should now call yourself 'Hoofaloo' instead!"

They both laughed, and Scootaloo felt a flush of anger rise in her cheeks. A part of her wanted to retort, but she didn't give in.

"Ha-ha, very funny." She finally said, forcing herself to keep walking, "I’m going to meet my friends, with or without my scooter. You two can just stand here and-”

Suddenly, Scootaloo froze in mid-sentence as well as her tracks as her hooves sunk into something wet and mushy. Looking down, she saw to her exasperation, that she'd stepped into a mud puddle, getting mud all over her hooves.

"Oh, come on!" she groaned.

"Actually, forget about calling you 'Hoofaloo'!" snorted Diamond Tiara, "How about 'The Mud Monster'?!"

Dejected, Scootaloo could only scurry away in embarrassment as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's howled with laughter behind her.

When she finally arrived at the park, breathless and frustrated, Scootaloo stopped for a moment at a nearby pond to wash the mud off her hooves. By now, the excited mood she'd woken up in had all but vanished.

Today had NOT been going the way she had hoped; in fact, it had been going quite the opposite.

Then, she heard the distant sound of laughter again, and for a moment, she thought that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon might have followed her. But no, for when she turned to look, she spotted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They were flying a kite, running and laughing together as the colorful fabric flapped in the gentle breeze.

There they were, her friends, having fun without her...

Scootaloo quickly tried to push that thought away; after all, it wasn't their fault that she'd taken so long to get here. But even so, it was still disheartening.

With her hooves now clean, Scootaloo finally began to make her way towards her friends. After a few moments, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom finally noticed her, and they both quickly rushed toward her with welcoming smiles.

But their expressioons quickly turned to concern, when they saw Scootaloo's dreary expression, not to mention the fact that her scooter was nowhere to be seen.

"Scootaloo! You finally made it!" Sweetie Belle greeted.

“Are ya all right?” asked Apple Bloom, concern evident in her voice, "Ya look like ya just lost a race against a snail!"

Scootaloo tried to force a smile in spite of her low spirits, "My scooter is broken; I had to walk all the way here, and...and... "

"And what?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo sighed, "I don't even know where to start. This just hasn't been my day..."

Scootaloo proceeded to recount all of her day's frustrations to her friends from the moment she'd woken up that morning up until her encounter with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. All the while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both listened intently and exchanged worried glances.

"Geez Louise, you have had it rough." Sweetie Belle sympathized.

"Ah'll say..." Apple Bloom agreed, before trying to sound reassuring, "But hey, yer here with us now Scoot, an' that's what matters. Now ya can forget all o' that."

"Right!" Sweetie Belle quickly added, "Especially Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon; they're just a couple of big meanies!"

Scootaloo nodded slowly, "Yeah, I know..."

"Oh, c'mon!" encouraged Apple Bloom gesturing to the kite, "Sweetie Belle an' Ah were just flyin' this kite. Why don't ya join us?"

"Well..." Scootaloo began to say.

"It'll be fun!" Sweetie Belle urged, "And who know? Maybe we'll even get our Cutie Marks in kite flying!"

Scootaloo found herself smiling in spite of her problems. She really did appreciate her friends trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, okay." she said at last, feeling a glimmer of hope that maybe her day could still be salvaged.

A few minutes later, it seemed as if that hope was actually being fulfilled as the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran in circles all around the park, laughing and each taking turns flying the kite as it soared majestically in the sky. For a short time, Scootaloo was able to forget all of her troubles and actually have fun with her friends.

At last, it was her turn to as Apple Bloom passed the kite line to her. Taking it in her mouth, Scootaloo sprinted forward with a joyous rush, her spirits rising as high as the kite itself.

Unfortunately, the moment of happiness wouldn't last, for in her excitement, Scootaloo suddenly stumbled over her own hooves, tumbling forward and landing flat on her face with a thud. The kite line slipped from her mouth; her eyes widened in horror as she watched the kite break free from her grasp and begin to fly away into the wind.

"Oh no!" Sweetie Belle gasped.

"Get it!" Apple Bloom cried, her voice laced with urgency.

Scootaloo scrambled back to her hooves as she and her friends chased after the escaping kite, even fluttering her wings in a desperate attempt to take off—only to be met with the reality of her undeveloped wings holding her down.

The Crusaders raced faster, determination burning in their chests, but the kite danced farther away, carried off by the wind. But just as despair began to creep in, a familiar streak of sky blue zipped through the sky ahead of them with a whoosh.
It was Rainbow Dash, her rainbow-colored mane flowing in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the sky blue pegasus sprang into action, reaching out to grab the runaway kite just before it could disappear into the clouds.

Handing the skite line back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rainbow grinned. "Thought you three could use a little help!"

"Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie Belle beamed as relief washed over her and the other Crusaders.

"We were lucky ya'll were here!" Apple Bloom put in.

"Yeah." Scootaloo almost halfheartedly added; while she was glad Rainbow Dash had saved their kite, she knew it'd only happened because SHE'D messed up again.

What was wrong with her? Why was she being such a klutz today?

"Don't mention it, kids. I was just passing by." Rainbow Dash said, happy to help, but also slightly pleased with her own efforts; but then she noticed Scootaloo's unenthusiastic expression, "You okay there, Scoot? You seem a little off."

"Yeah, I'm fine, Rainbow Dash. Just fine." replied Scootaloo, not sounding especially fine.

Rainbow Dash gave Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle a questioningly look; she wasn't totally convinced.

But before either of them could say a word, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew through the park, causing Apple Bloom’s red bow to fly off her head.

“Oh no! My bow!” she exclaimed as she watched it flitter through the air before finally landing high in the branches of a nearby tree.

Before Rainbow Dash could make a move to retrieve it as well, Scootaloo immediately darted towards the tree.

“I’ll get it!” Scootaloo said quickly, determined to both redeem herself for the kite mishap, and to impress Rainbow Dash.

Once at the base of the tree, the orange pegasus filly again flapped her undeveloped wings, even more vigorously than before, but again it was in vain; her flapping still like that of a fledgling attempting to fly.

Exhausted and frustrated, she gave up on trying to fly up to the bow, “Okay, I’ll climb up!”

She tried to scramble up the trunk but was quickly met with adversity as a mischievous squirrel above in the branches took offense at her incursion and began to throw acorns at her, each one landing with perfect accuracy.

"Hey! Cut that out! Hey!" Scootaloo protested, just before another acorn hit her in the face, causing her to lose her balance, "Whoa! Whoa!"

With a yelp, she tumbled back to the earth, landing with a thud in the grass. Barely a moment later, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were at her side asking if she was okay. But Scootaloo didn't anwser. For a moment, she just lay there, staring up at the sky, ready to scream as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Then, before the Crusaders' eyes, Rainbow Dash once again swooped in like a hero in the sky, darting up effortlessly to pluck Apple Bloom’s bow from the branches while the squirrel scampered away in defeat.

“Here you go, Apple Bloom.” Rainbow Dash handed the bow back to Apple Bloom, who squealed with delight.

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash!” Apple Bloom chirped, her eyes gleaming.

But Scootaloo's heart only sank further as she looked on. Rainbow Dash made it all look so easy, while she couldn’t even retrieve a simple bow! Slowly, she began to walk away, feeling more like a failure than ever.

"Scoot? asked Rainbow Dash, now certain that something was indeed wrong with the orange pegasus filly.

"Where are you going?" a concerned Sweetie Belle inquired.

"Nowhere." answered Scootaloo bluntly.

"Aw, don't feel bad, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom tried to reassure her friend, "Y'all tried yer..."

"I'm FINE, okay?" Scootaloo said, growing increasingly irritated, "You don't have to keep worrying about-"

Then, out of nowhere, she slipped on wet patch of grass and landed directly in yet ANOTHER mud puddle, this time splattering mud not just on her hooves, but all over her small body.

That was the last straw.

At last, all of Scootaloo's frustrations that'd been building up over the course of the day finally boiled over, bursting from her mouth in a scream of anguish.

"AAUGH! This is the worstest day of my life!" she wailed, her voice cracking with emotion.

“Uh, Scootaloo? ‘Worstest’ isn’t even a word,” Sweetie Belle said, trying to restore some logic to the situation as well as lighten the mood.

“Seriously?! What are you? A dictionary?!” Scootaloo snapped, her eyes brimming with tears, “I’m just—I’m just going home!"

Without even waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and walked away, her spirit crushed.

"Scootaloo, wait!" her friends all called after her.

But she didn't answer, nor did she even look back.

By the time Scootaloo had reached the park entrance, she was so angry and frustrated that she felt like she was going to explode. She wanted to scream, to lash out at this terrible day. Today was supposed to have been the start of a great weekend. All she'd wanted when she'd woken up this morning was to have fun, but it instead, it seemed as if the whole world was against her.

"How could this day possibly get any worse?" she wondered aloud.

As if on cue, dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead, and within seconds it began to pour down rain.

For a long moment, Scootaloo just stood there in stunned silence. But at last, her shoulders slumped, and she let out a resigned sigh as all the fight drained out of her.

Yeah, I really should've seen that one coming...

But by this point, she hardly cared anymore.

Soaked to the bone and feeling utterly defeated, Scootaloo trudged on home, her heart heavy with disappointment.

Everything after that past by in a blur of rain and misery.

Scootaloo wasn't exactly sure how long it took her to get home, but when she finally reached her house, her Aunt Holiday and Aunt Lofty both gasped as they took in their niece's drenched, and muddy appearance, as well as the deep sorrow in her eyes.

“Oh, Scootaloo, what happened?” Aunt Holiday said, her voice filled with empathy.

Rushing to her side, Holiday and Lofty quickly wrapped their niece in a warm towel, showering her with love and trying to soothe her with gentle words and soft pats.

Scootaloo said nothing. Not that she needed to, because it was pretty obvious to her aunts that she'd had a very bad day.

"Aw, sweetheart, we're so sorry..." Lofty consoled, wiping the water from her face, "Things will be okay, we promise."

“And we’ll get somepony to fix your scooter to." Holiday added.

“Thanks…” Scootaloo could only murmur half-heartedly.

Once Scootaloo had been completely dried off, she slowly began to make her way upstairs towards her room, with each step feeling heavier than the last.

"Wait, dear!" called Holiday, "You missed lunch; would you like us to..."

"Not hungry." Scootaloo bluntly replied before her aunt had even finished.

As the little filly disappeared into her room, her aunts ultimately decided not to press the matter, understanding that their niece really wanted some time alone.

Once inside her room, Scootaloo miserably flopped down onto her bed, feeling utterly defeated. Today should have been the beginning of a fun weekend, but instead, ever since she'd woken up, absolutely NOTHING had gone right, and now, she didn't want to do ANYTHING anymore.

What would be the point anyway? It would all just go wrong like everything else had.

Tears of frustration trickled down Scootaloo cheeks as she buried her face in her pillow, wanting to just cry and cry and cry...

Time slipped by, and the world outside continued to bustle and hum, but all Scootaloo could hear was the sound of her own crying, and the sad beating of her little heart as it ached for a glimmer of happiness. How long she laid there, wallowing in self-pity, she couldn't say.

But then, just as Scootaloo was finally begining to doze off, she suddenly heard a gentle knock at her bedroom door. She didn't anwser it; she knew that her aunts probably wanted to try and talk to her, but right now, she just wanted to be alone.

However, Scootaloo heard the door open, followed by the sound of somepony stepping inside the room to stand beside her bed. She almost flinched when they placed their hoof on her shoulder.

She tried to ignore them, burying her face deeper into the pillow and hoping that maybe Aunt Holiday or Aunt Lofty, whoever it was, would just go away...

"That's it, Scoot; just let it all out..." said a comforting voice that wasn't EITHER of Scootaloo's aunts, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin when she recognized it.

Looking up in shock, she cried, "Rainbow Dash?!"

Yes, it was indeed Rainbow Dash, who nearly jumped in surprise herself at Scootaloo's sudden reaction.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." the sky blue pegasus quickly said.

"I-I... Y-you..." stammered Scootaloo, "What are you doing here?"

Rainbow's expression softened, "Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were worried about you. And to be honest, I was to; I heard that you kinda had a rough day."

"Kinda? Rough day?!" Scootaloo repeated, burying her face into her pillow again, "It was terrible! Nothing went right! Nothing! it was just one thing after another!"

Rainbow Dash sat on the edge of Scootaloo's bed, “Do you want to talk about it?”

"What's there to tell?" Scootaloo sadly looked up again, "I stunk up the whole day..."

Just as she had with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo recounted all of her day's troubles to Rainbow Dash: Her morning mishaps. Her broken scooter and trouble in getting to the park. Her encounter with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Her failures at the park. Falling in the mud. And finally, getting rained on while walking home.

Each word poured out like a flood, and by the end, her cheeks were once again soaked with fresh tears.

And now, to top it all off... she thought bitterly, I'm bawling my eyes out in front of Rainbow Dash. My hero. She must think I'm such a baby...

However, sky blue pegasus just listened to her intently, and Scootaloo saw how Rainbow's magenta eyes were soft with concern and sympathy. Once Scootaloo had finished, she took a deep breath, and placed her hoof on the little filly's shoulder again.

"I get it, Scoot." she said gently, "Really, I do. And it's perfectly okay to feel upset about it. It can be really tough to watch everything you were looking forward to fall apart right in front of your face. But you're not alone; everypony has bad days, even me."

Scootaloo sniffled. "You do?"

"Oh, yeah..." confirmed Rainbow Dash, looking slightly embarrassed as she recalled some of her own bad days, "I’ve had my fair share of wipeouts and embarrassing moments too, and believe me, sometimes they wanted me to scream and tear my mane out. But no matter what happened, I never let it stop me, because I wasn't a quiter. And I don't think you are either. It doesn't matter whether or not you fall, what really matters is that you get back up and try again."

Giving Scootaloo a warm, reassuring smile, she continued, "Don’t let today bring you down, squirt. No matter how bad today was, tomorrow will always be a new chance to try again, and for things to get better. And things WILL get better, I promise."

"You... You really think so?" Scootaloo wiped at her tear-streaked face, a tiny spark of hope igniting within her.

"Of course I do!" Rainbow Dash winked at her, “You’ve got this, Scoot! I know you do! After all, who's the coolest Cutie Mark Crusader in Ponyville?"

She still thinks I'm cool... Scootaloo thought.

Her idol's words felt like a warm embrace finally lifting her out of the cold, dark cloud of disappointment that'd been increasingly hanging over her ever since morning. Without even thinking, she lunged forward to hug Rainbow Dash.

Once her thoughts caught up with her, Scootaloo feared for a moment that she might've crossed a boundary, but to joy and relief, Rainbow Dash tenderly returned the hug.

At last, they ended the embrace and Scootaloo finally gave Rainbow Dash a smile.

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash." she said gratefully, her confidence returning, "And you're right; I'm NOT quitter, and I'm NOT gonna let one bad day keep me down!"

"There you go!" Rainbow Dash encouraged.

Scootaloo jumped up from her bed, "Tomorrow is a new day!"

"There's the Scootaloo I know!" grinned Rainbow Dash, "But todays not over yet. What do you say we end your bad day on a high note?"

"How?" asked Scootaloo

"Mmmm..." Rainbow Dash playfully mulled over, "How about we go get your scooter fixed, and then go grab some ice cream with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle before it gets dark?"

Scootaloo's eyes lit up, "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would; it's the least I can do for my #1 fan." Rainbow Dash said, patting her head, "Besides, I don't think your aunts would mind if we had desert BEFORE dinner just this one time!"

Scootaloo laughed at her hero's joke, her spirits finally lifting as she hopped off her bed and followed Rainbow Dash back out into Ponyville.

She might’ve had a terrible day, but she knew that tomorrow would be a brand-new day filled with new possibilities, and with friends like Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and especially Rainbow Dash at her side, Scootaloo knew she could tackle whatever came next.

For even on the most terrible of days, friendship and courage could always lead the way toward brighter tomorrows. And that was more than enough to make even the worst days worth living.

THE END.