Everything was fuzzy, as if looking through an evening fog. Scootaloo took a look at what she could see, realizing that she was in the clouds. Looking yonder, she saw the outline of two pegasi. She wasn’t sure why, but they seemed… familiar.
“Scooooootalooooo….” She heard someone call from afar. The pegasus couldn’t help but feel drawn to them, whoever they may be. What started as a trot soon became a full-blown gallop. “Scooooooootaloooo…?” She heard the call again. The orange filly tried ran faster, but it appeared that she was never getting closer.
“Wait!” She called out to them. “Don’t go!” Just as she was about to get to them, when they turned to look at her. Their outlines were engulfed as the sun shined brighter than ever, setting the sky aflame!
“Scootaloo! Hey Scootaloo!” The young filly opened her eyes, woken by the shouts of her friends. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, trying to reorient where she was. She soon remembered she was in the Cutie mark Crusaders clubhouse, taking a quick nap after hanging out with her surrogate sister, Rainbow Dash. Blinking a few times to regain focus, her thoughts shifted back to the fading images of the ponies in her dream. Just who were they? Why could she possibly be calling to them? There wasn’t any reason for her to call out to two strangers… unless they weren’t strangers. Her attention was drawn back to her fellow crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Both looked at her with worried looks.
“Are you okay?” Asked Sweetie Belle, her voice filled with concern. “You were talking in your sleep.”
“I was?” Asked the pegasus, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Was I saying anything weird?”
“Nah, not really,” Commented Apple Bloom, whose expression changed to a more, relaxed one. “Although you did look… “
“Look what?”
“… Sad.” Scootaloo looked confused for a moment, not sure why she would even look sad.
“Sad, me? Ha, do I look sad to you?” Retorted the pegasus, starting to become defensive. “I was just having a weird dream, that’s all.”
“How was it weird?” Ask Apple Bloom, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. Scootaloo was silent for a moment, trying to recollect her thoughts from what had occurred as she slept. Who could they possibly be that they were her…? No way, why would she be possibly be thinking about them? She was very happy with how things were, why would she go looking for something that could change it? The purple maned pony took a breath and asked her friends what has been occupying her thoughts.
“Hey girls, have you ever thought of where you came from?” She asked finally after a minute of mulling it over. The two looked at each other, a little confused about what their friend have asked them.
“Well,” began the young unicorn. “Rarity told me that when a mare and a colt love each other very much, they-“ The yellow filly immediately put a hoof to her friend’s mouth before she could finish her statement.
“Ah don’t think that’s what she meant, right Scootaloo?” The orange filly shook head vigorously, silently thanking her friend for her quick thinking.
“I don’t know why, but I’ve been having these weird dreams lately….” As she trailed of, the two fillies once again exchanged worrisome looks, still sure not sure what their fellow crusader was asking.
“Scootaloo, are ya okay? You’re startin’ to scare us.”
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about …” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath for what she was about to say. “… My parents.” For the third time, the pony and the unicorn exchanged looks. But instead of worry, it was confusion.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Replied Sweetie Belle, noticing that her friend seemed very down.
“What? No!” Responded Scootaloo, jumping slightly in the air with her wings fluttering. “It just feels… weird.” She stated defensively. Scootaloo hated showing any kind of weakness or being sappy. Seeing it as being uncool.
“There’s nothing wrong about that.” Said Apple Bloom, being reassuring of her friend. Scootaloo hovered in the air for a moment, caught off guard by her friend’s response. She landed and took a seat on the floor, although it was a bit too hard. “I mean, ah think about mah folks from time to time as well. Ah can always talk to mah Sis or Granny about them if ah want to talk about them.” As the pegasus rubbed her throbbing flank, she couldn’t help but admire her friend for being able to speak her mind, no matter what it is.
“Yeah, but you have your family to talk to. Who am I going to talk to about that?”
“What about Rainbow Dash? She would be good to talk to.” Scootaloo lowered her head and stared at the floor.
“I don’t think she would understand. She’s not the kind of pony to talk about that kind of stuff.”
“Well, why don’t cha just ask the orphanage? I’m sure they would know who you’re folks are.” Asked Apple Bloom, hoping that her advice would cheer her friend up.
“That won’t work. One of the other ponies asked them, and they said that they don’t know anything like that.” Responded Scootaloo, her head now hanging low to reflect her rising frustration.
“Well then, what about the hospital?” Chimed the unicorn, a hopeful smile on her face with shining eyes. “They would have to put down who your parents are in your file.”
“They would never let me look in it, it’s only for doctors.” Scootaloo began to feeling even more depressed than before. She never realized that this topic would have such an impact on her.
“Well… why don’t we borrow it?” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both stared at her, wondering if she was serious.
“Sweetie Belle, we’ll get in a lot of trouble if we’re caught!” Rebutted the young pony, knowing full well what would happen if her sister found out about her taking something that didn’t belong to her.
“Don’t worry, I have an idea!” The pegasus and earth pony both exchanged looks of concern, since not all of Sweetie Belle’s plans have been entirely successful in the past. But they soon noticed that she was sitting in the designated spot for good ideas. So far, the spot has not failed anyone yet, so why doubt it now? “It’s perfect!” She said, bringing the other fillies in for a huddle. “Alright, this is what we have to do.”
At Ponyville General, Nurse Redheart had been taking a moment to reflect on her day so far. She had fed all the patients, gave out the medication, organized the pharmacy, checked on Screw Loose to see how she has been doing on her own, and refilled Dr. Horse’s lollipop jar for the foals that came in for appointments. The mare took a moment to enjoy the peace that has fallen upon the hospital, since it is a rare occurrence. She couldn’t help but be a little happy that everything was quiet.
Suddenly, the doors burst opens, shaking the white mare from her daze.
“Quick, mah friend’s sick!” She shouted, tears about to burst from her eyes. The nurse pony quickly rushed to the two fillies, preparing herself mentally for whatever the situation may be. Upon getting a closer look she noticed the young unicorns face was green, something she hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“What happened to her?” She asked, hoping it wasn’t what she was thinking at the moment.
“She ate one of Pinkie’s surprise cupcakes.” Redheart rolled her eyes. This was the fifth one this month to come in since Pinkie Pie had begun experimenting with different ingredients to put in her confections. While her attention was focused on Sweetie Belle, she failed to notice Apple Bloom give a signal. Getting the all clear, the purple maned filly tiptoed across the room without being noticed. Distracted by unicorns moaning and groaning, she hardly saw the young pegasus.
It seemed that no matter how many files she went through, none of them were hers. She saw Rainbow Dash’s, Cheerilee's, and oddly enough Pinkie Pie’s at least three times, but she could not find hers for Celestia’s sake.
“Scootaloo?’’ The orange filly jumped a little and gave a small yelp in surprise from her friend’s unannounced presence. She turned to the red maned pony, frowning in disapproval. “What is taking so long, Sweetie Belle is running out of noises to make.”
“Well sorry for not finding my file.” She responded in a sarcastic tone. “I’ve looked through this thing twice, and can’t find it anywhere!” Apple Bloom looked at the assorted piles of folders and files strewn across the floor. After a moment, she picked up one and showed it to the flyer.
“Is this it?” Sure enough, in her hoof was the file, scrawled across the top in blue lettering, Scootaloo. The winged pony couldn’t help but give a sour expression. Somehow Apple Bloom was always the best at finding things.
“Hey! What are you doing?” The two fillies looked up to find one of the doctors looking down on them, his expression certainly not a happy one. “You’re not suppose to be back here!” Acting fast, Apple Bloom reached into her saddlebag and pulled out an apple. Reaching back, she threw it at the colt, hitting him right between the eyes. With a dazed look, he collapsed on the floor, eyes spinning wildly.
“ABORT! ABORT!” Shouted the yellow filly, waving her arms fervently to let her friend know that they were caught. Immediately, Sweetie Belle got up and ran out the door along with the other two crusaders. Nurse Redheart looked on as the group charged back to town. Looking back at the doctor, knocked out ironically from an apple, she could only sigh and walk over to the fallen medic to make sure he didn’t get a concussion.
Back at the clubhouse, the crusaders were catching their breath for what seemed like an hour. But they managed to get what they wanted: Scootaloo’s medical file. And within it, the answer that she had been looking for.
“I can’t… believe… we did… that.” Huffed Sweetie Belle, completely sprawled on the floor of the clubhouse. “We’re going to be in so much trouble!”
“Yeah, but it was totally worth it!” Smiled Scootaloo, reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out the folder. All three fillies gathered around it, ready to examine the contents within.
“So… who d’ya think it’s gonna be?” Asked Apple Bloom, looking to her friends for an answer.
“Hmm.” Pondered the orange filly. “Not sure, but I bet they are totally awesome, like me.”
“I bet it’s Wildfire!” Smiled the unicorn.
“Huh, why her?” Asked Scootaloo, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Well… she has a wheel for a cutie mark, and you’re really good with your scooter.” Commented Sweetie Belle, shrugging and giving a joking smile. Scootaloo frowned at her friend, even though she knew she means well. Taking a deep breath, she once again turned her focus onto the folder. She hated to admit it, but she was starting to feel nervous. Calming down and taking a deep, slow breath, she opened the file.
All three ponies looked at the various papers collected in the container, scanning for anything that would have the answer they are looking for. After a moment, Apple Bloom began to chuckle a little.
“What?” Asked Scootaloo, eyebrow still raised.
“You had the chicken pox.” Snickered the yellow pony. The pegasus blushed slightly and dragged the folder closer to her. That was when she saw it, her birth certificate. She scanned it quickly and saw on the top of the page in bold the information she wanted.
Father: N/A
“Well that’s weird, who puts down ‘N’ and ‘A’ in for that?” Asked the unicorn, unsure of what the term meant. “What do you think, Scootaloo?” She didn’t respond, the orange filly didn’t even hear her friend. Her eyes were fixed on the next line, and it said all.
“Scootaloo, what is it?” Asked Apple Bloom, her voice filled with worry. She looked down and realized why the pegasus was in such a state of shock. It was there, clear as day.
Mother: Spitfire
Scootaloo continued to read the line printed on the sheet, still in disbelief of what was written on the piece of paper in front of her. But sure enough there it was.
Mother: Spitfire
She knew she should be excited, but for some reason her heart wouldn’t give in. She felt like there were still so many questions left.
“Oh my gosh!” Exclaimed Sweetie Belle, jumping for joy at the good news. “This is amazing, your mom’s a Wonderbolt!” The young unicorn was jumping for joy at the news.
“Yeah… it’s totally awesome.” Said the pegasus, forcing a smile.
“Of course it is!” Beamed Applebloom, just as excited as Sweetie Belle. “She’s one of the best flyers in Equestria.”
“She’s captain of the Wonderbolts! Chimed in the unicorn filly.
“She can perform some amazin’ acrobatics.” Continued the earth pony.
“And…” Sweetie Belle stopped for a moment and began to ponder what to say next. After a few seconds she continued with new vigor. “I really like her mane!”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel a swell of joy for her friends, how they are so supportive of her. But she couldn’t feel the same joy they were experiencing. She knew that they wouldn’t understand, even she wasn’t sure she could understand what is going on inside her head. She needed to think about this, sort it all out and make sense of it. She knew that it would be better if she is alone.
“Yeah, she’s like, totally the best.” She began, starting to put her helmet on. The two other fillies gave each other concerned looks.
“Are you okay, Scootaloo?” Asked Sweetie Belle, her voice filled with worry.
“Yeah, ya don’t seem that excited.” Added Apple Bloom
“I’m fine, just… really excited.” She lied, climbing down the steps. She paused for a moment, realizing she had one thing left. “Could you guys not tell about this?”
“Of course.” Said the earth pony with the unicorn nodding in agreement. Scootaloo was thankful for their help, she just didn’t want them to tell anyone just yet.
When the orange filly was out of earshot, Sweetie Belle turned to her friend with worried eyes.
“Apple Bloom, do you think she will be okay?”
“I don’t know, Sweetie Belle, she just found out a big part of who she is. If it was me, ah would be a bit shakin’ up as well.”
Scoottaloo barreled down the dirt path, serpentining to avoid the occasional rock that was protruding from the ground. But her mind was filled with thoughts of Spitfire, the wonderbolt, her birth mother. Why would she have her and just give her away? Why didn’t she just get rid of her? Her vision began to blur, and realized that her eyes were beginning to tear up. She blinked a few times to clear her line of sight, only to see her heading towards a large rock. She tried to veer out of the way, but couldn’t make it and time. The front wheel of the scooter collided with the stone, flinging the young filly forwarnd and landing a few feet away with landing with a hard thud. She laid there for a moment, thinking of what happened to lead to this very moment.
“Hey Scoots, whatcha’ doing?”
“Oh! H-hey Rainbow Dash.” Said the young filly, scurrying up off the ground and trying to pretend she didn’t take a spill. “Nothing really, just… trying out a new move.” The older pony slightly raised an eyebrow, not sure she believed her.
“Are you sure? You seem a bit… off.” Scootaloo felt heat rising in her gut, she was starting to panic.
“N-no way, I’m like, totally on!” She feinted a smile, hoping that it would be enough for Rainbow Dash to let her go.
“Scootaloo, something’s up. What’s bothering….” The azure pony’s eyes locked onto a piece of paper lying on the ground. She dropped down and was about to pick it up, but Scootaloo screamed and grabbed the document.
“Nooo!” Rainbow Dash reeled back, a bit shocked by her reaction.
“Scootaloo! What has gotten into you!? This isn’t like you at all.” The orange filly looked up, seeing a very concerned pegasus. She took a deep breath, and began to tell her tale.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. It’s just…” She struggled with the last part. She looked up into her mentor’s eyes, a pair of quizzical magenta eyes looking back at her. Swallowing, she continued her sentence. “I found out something… and I’m not sure what to think about it.”
“Is it something bad?” Asked Rainbow Dash, now becoming a bit more curious than concerned.
“No, not at all. It’s just…” Once again, Scootaloo took a deep breath, and let it all out. “I found out who my mother is.”
“Oh… Oh!" Said the pegasus, realizing the importance of the words. “That’s pretty big news! Is it Wildfire?”
“No, it’s-“ Scootaloo stopped, realizing what Rainbow Dash had just said. “Why does every pony think that Wildfire is my mom?! We don’t even look alike!”
“I dunno, I think it’s the whole wheel thing you two have going on.” Scootaloo could only frown as Rainbow Dash started to get back to the topic at hand. “Okay then, who is it?”
“It’s… Spitfire.” Scootaloo shut her eyes and braced herself for whatever reaction Rainbow Dash might have. She waited, but after a few moments there was nothing. She slowly looked up to see the blue pegasus hovering a few inches off the ground, her pupils constricted and her jaw hanging low. The filly expected her to be surprised, but she wasn’t sure if her reaction meant something good or bad. “Rainbow Dash… Are you okay?”
“That. Is. AWESOME!” She shouted, rocketing herself into the air and performing several celebratory somersaults. Zooming back to the ground, she picked up the young filly and spun her around. “It’s so cool that your mom is a Wonderbolt!”
“Well… I guess.” The older pegasus stopped and looked at the filly with a quizzical look.
“You guess? Do you know what it means to be the kid of a Wonderbolt?” She placed Scootaloo back on the earth and took to the sky once more. “You get to learn from the best. Go to any air show you want.
“But… she gave me up.” Rainbow Dash can see that this had really affected her little sister. She flew down and placed a wing around her.
“Hey, I have an idea. Do you want to meet her?” Scootaloo became rigid. She slowly looked up until her eyes met with Rainbow Dash’s.
“Meet who?”
“Who else? Spitfire.”
“How?”
“Well, I’m a cadet at the Wonderbolts Academy, and I see Spitfire all the time. So I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem for you to meet her.” She looked down and saw the orange filly, tears slowly welling in her eyes. She embraced her mentor and cheered.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash, thank you!”
“By the way, how did you find out Spitfire was you mother?”
“I stole my medical file from the hospital with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s help.
“… Wait, what?!”
After a long flight clinging to a cloud being pulled by Rainbow Dash, they both made it to the Wonderbolt Academy. Scootaloo was in complete awe at the facility, with so many different courses and buildings. But what really took her breath away was seeing all the pegasi flying in the sky. She had never seen so many before in one place. For a moment she forgot why she was there in the first place.
After touching down, Scootalo began to feel anxious. She started to play with some of the dirt in front of her with her hoof, hoping that the little distraction would help. The Azure pony seemed to pick up on this, and knew she had to be the ‘big sister’. “Nervous?”
“Yeah … I mean, no! I mean….” The filly gave a heavy sigh and sat down, having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Rainbow Dash was right, she wasn’t acting like herself at all.
Taking another look at her surroundings, Scootaloo couldn’t help but be amazed at all the sights. Everywhere she looked, there were pegasi performing aerial acrobatics and heart-stopping stunts. For a moment, she forgot all her problems and worries, and just let her mind drift off. She was pulled back to reality when Rainbow Dash put a wing on her shoulder. She jumped a little in surprise, and the older pegasus couldn’t help but give a small chuckle.
“I know, there’s a lot here to take in. “
“Yeah, it’s completely different from Ponyville. I’ve never seen so many pegasi in one place before.”
“You haven’t been Cloudsdale, right?”
“Nope, I’ve lived in Ponyville most of my life. The only time I’ve ever left was to go on field trips or with the rest of the Crusaders.” Rainbow Dash began to ponder this information, since it wasn’t very common for pegasi to have children outside of Cloudsdale. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh! Nope, just was thinking about the weather. We might have to move some clouds around to keep everything warm for tonight.”
“Aha! There she is.” Said the cyan pony, pointing a hoof over to a figure in the distance. Scootaloo had to squint a little, but she soon realized who it was. The captain of the Wonderbolts herself, Spitfire, barking orders at a group of new recruits. She seemed much different from what the young filly had imagined.
“C’mon, let’s go reintroduce yourself to her.” Said Rainbow Dash, ready to take off. Scootaloo’s eyes widened in surprise, she felt panic rising quickly in her chest.
“No!” she shouted, grabbing hold of her sister’s hoof. The cyan pony stopped and looked back, feeling a little annoyed that somepony is touching her hooves. But as she turned around and saw a very shaken Scootaloo, that anger just left her. She turned and began to comfort the filly.
“Hey, calm down. What are you worried about?”
“I don’t know anything about her. I don’t even know if she is really my mother.”
“Hey, don’t say things like that. I bet you two have a lot in common.
“Like what?”
“Like… you both are fearless! Also, you never give up. So, are you going to give up when you see the goal right there?” She asked, pointing a hoof to the yellow pegasus. Scootaloo felt the courage rise in her chest, her wings fluttering in response.
“No, I’m going to finish what I started!” Declared Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash smiled as the filly march forward towards the Spitfire.
As she got closer, she noticed how brightly Spitfire shined. Her coat seemed to be glowing like embers in a fireplace, and wings that were strong enough to brave through hurricanes. But despite all this, she seemed to eminate some kind of warmness to her, something that can put one at ease. That was, until Scootaloo heard her shout.
“You call that a barrel roll?! I’ve seen a fox do better ones than all of you!” Scootaloo stooped, finding the captain’s encouragement not so encouraging. She tried to retreat, but bumped into something as she was backing up. Turning around, her eyes met Rainbow Dash’s. A look of confusion in them.
“What’s wrong? Retreating already?”
“She’s a bit tougher than I though. Maybe now isn’t best time to meet her.” She said, lowering her head a little.
“Don’t worry, that’s just her captain face. She’s actually pretty cool once you get to know her.” Scootaloo looked up again, feeling a little less stressed. “Plus, she’s coming over here anyway.”
“What?!” Scootaloo turned around and sure enough Spitfire was walking right to them. Scootaloo couldn’t do anything but just stand there and wait for the inevitable to happen
“Oh, hey there Rainbow Dash, didn’t expect you to be done with your break for another week. Are you trying to set another academy record for shortest vacation?” Joked the pegasus. Scootaloo couldn’t understand why, but at that moment she was star struck in the presence of a wonderbolt. Not any regular wonderbolt, but one that has set more records than any other pegasus. It was then that the yellow pegasus noticed her admirer. She gave a small smile and greeted the filly. “Hey there, kid.”
The filly gave a small yelp in surprise and hid behind the rainbow mane pony. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh a little, fonly remembering the first time she met her heroes after she won the Young Flyers competition. She took her wing and pushed the orange filly from behind her. “Don’t be shy, say hi!”
“H-hi there.” Spitfire gave a kind smile, letting the filly know she wasn’t as intimidating as she appeared to be a few minutes ago. At the moment, she felt very warm and happy for some reason.
“Hey there, kid. What’s your name?” Scootaloo felt the joy slowly escape her, but she knew that this was a possibility. After all, it has been a very long time since she had last saw her. Plush she was also a wonderbolt. She knew if she reintroduced herself, Spitfire would remember her.
“I’m Scootaloo!” She said, feeling more confident in herself. She looked in anticipation, waiting for her mother to see her daughter had returned. Spitfire smiled down at the orange filly.
“Scootaloo, huh?” Scootaloo smile grew even wider, anticipation killing her. “That’s a cool name.”
The young filly’s smile slowly began to fade, realizing that the mare had no idea who she was.
“Oh… thanks.” She said, forcing a smile. Spitfire had noticed the activity behind her was getting a bit out of hand, and had to turn her attention away.
“Hey! You think you can slack off while I’m not paying attention? Just because my back is turned, doesn't meen I can't see you. Get going!” As the yellow mare turned back to her trainees, Scootaloo took that chance to walk away, her head hung low. Rainbow Dash picked up on this, following closely to see what was going on in the young filly’s mind.
“What’s wrong, Scoots? Why are you walking away?
“She doesn’t remember me, I don’t think she even had me. This whole thing was a mistake.”
“Don’s say that!” Shouted the multicolored maned pegasus. “You came here with a plan, a goal. And you think it was a mistake?!”
“She doesn’t know that I’m her daughter.” Said Scootaloo, her eyes slowly welling with tears. “And she’s so busy being captain of the Wonderbolts, why would she bother with a nopony like me…”
“This isn’t like the Scootaloo I know. She wouldn’t give up on something when she runs into trouble. She fights to get it done, no matter how hard it is!” Rainbow Dash was right, she was tired of running away from her fears, and now had to face them head on
“Um… Spitfire?”
“Oh, hey kid. What’s up?”
“Rainbow Dash brought me here because I found something out… and I wanted to meet you.” She said, dragging her hoof in the dirt.
“Oh cool! What did you find out?” She said, now turning her full attention to her, giving a small smile. The young filly took a breath, letting all the fear and hesitation go.
“I’m… your daughter.” She said,
It took a moment for the Wonderbolt to register what Scootaloo had said, but when it did, her expression changed instantly. Spitfire’s smile became a grimace, her eyes became wide and pupils restricted. She stood there for several moments, staring at the orange pegasus. Finally, something clicked. Her expression changed to a blank look and her pupils became constricted. It was like something snapped, and all she could do was make one, simple response.
“…Oh.”
