What makes Scootaloo an interesting character.

I should be writing chapter four but I'm exhausted so instead I'll pontificate a bit on my reasoning behind this story. Scootaloo is the most interesting member of the CMC. The reason for this is raw narrative potential. We have a great grasp of her personality, goals, and dreams but we are told absolutely nothing about her background. We even had a whole season 3 episode about her that was wonderful in advancing her arc but told us none of the answers we really wanted to hear. I'll get to why this is in a moment. For now let's look at the rest of the CMC for comparison.

We know the most about Apple Bloom. We had several episodes featuring her before the CMC existed. We know she is extremely grounded. Hell, she's an Apple. Even with the suspicious lack of parents she grew up with a warm close knit loving family and a small army of extended relations she sees every year. She has a sense of place. Her family is rooted in the ground not only in their role as farmers and providers but as staples in Ponyville history. This is what gives Applejack, Big Macintosh and particularly Granny Smith their practical, laid back attitude.

Apple Bloom curiously lacks these qualities, however. We can see she is comfortable at Sweet Apple Acres but she is tassiturn, impatient, and extremely impractical. While she will work on the farm she isn't sure of her destiny, but she wants it NOW. So much effort is put into trying out possibilities that she never settles down on any specific talent and ignores the two she possesses: her natural leadership, crafty deal-cutting skills, and her talent at engineering. She is so unlike her siblings sometimes its almost like she is a cuckoo's egg but when work on the farm needs doing she can buckle down and harvest those apples better than anyone. It's very strange.

So what are the sakes involved in her arc? Well, maybe she won't have an apple-related cutie mark. Maybe something like a hammer and wrench. But she's an Apple to the core; no doubt her family would shower her with the same love and affection and she would have a place at Sweet Apple Acres for as long as she wants. So pretty low.

What's up with Sweetie Belle. She's freaking adorable. That's what you first notice. She's headstrong (like her sister). Sort of a proto-moody teenager sometimes. At other times she can be spacey and air headed. She sees the world through her own prism, not understanding puns because she is very literal. She has the artistic drive of Rarity but underdeveloped aesthetic taste. She is shy and demure. You get the feeling that she doesn't want her cutie mark par se, just to not be teased anymore.

Sweetie is the get along girl. Does she really want to go zip lining or spelunking or to be with her friends while they all do it? Like Rarity she is skilled at manipulation; she played her sister like a fiddle to get her to go camping. I have a feeling she does the same with her peers without them noticing, hiding behind her airhead persona.

She lacks vanity and is unembarrassed by her parents quaint behavior and can go from that world to the Carousel Boutique quite easily. The get along girl.

But she lacks goals and stakes. Whatever happens Sweetie is going to be fine if she becomes a big pop star or raises a family as a small town voice teacher. Pretty zen. I do think fan fiction can add a lot of potential and complexity to Sweetie and I often search for stories centered around her.

Scootaloo, though. OMG.
We know she's a tomboy who craves adventure and action and loves doing stunts. We know she idolizes Rainbow Dash and wants to be just like her. Not that she dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt, she dreams of being Rainbow Dash by proxy. It's kind of Single White Female to use an outdated cultural reference. And we know she can't fly. We don't know why she can't fly or how common such a problem is (season 4 may answer this) but we see foals much younger and even babies fly so it stands out. Some bronys check out here, deriding her as the fail pony, being very unEquestrian by linking success with worth. But think of the narrative potential here! How awesome will it be when she finally does soar? How tragic would it be, and what a great lesson is she never flies. It's a huge flaw with such high stakes! So many directions are possible. What if she can't have her dream and has to totally reevaluate her self image? Oh the feels.

And we know absolutely nothing about her family. I don't think this was on purpose. I think DHX wrote themselves into a corner, neglecting telling her story until it became too late, too embarrassing to have to backtrack. Same thing made the Apple kids orphans. They always meant to explain where they were until they has told too much else about them. George Lucas always intended to set the finale of Return of the Jedi on the Wookie home world but as time went on we got to know Chewie so well as a character that it would seem awkward if there were a hundred like him. So we got Ewoks instead.

This leaves a big void that is perfect for fan works and arguably makes Scootaloo the most intriguing of the three. We have the result but not the context. I chose a divorced family with a loving but busy father and distant self-absorbed mother. This explains the tomboy personality and the idolization of a strong female figure. I chose single child. Notice how fragile Scoots is when teased by Apple Bloom. This is not a girl who has siblings to work up calluses to good natured abuse. I've read good foster home origins but while this fits this seems a bit too obvious. My solution explains the insecurity, bravado, and attention seeking.

On the whole I'm really fond of her and can't wait to see where the show takes her but until them I'll keep speculating, writing, and avoiding the scootabuse. Just the existence of that term in the fan community disturbs me.