//------------------------------// // 2 - A Trip to the Doctor // Story: I'll Fly Higher // by PageTurner //------------------------------// When Scootaloo's parents came home from work, they found that their filly was sobbing uncontrollably in her bed, buried deep underneath her sheets. In Scoot's bedroom, every single wall was plastered with photographs or drawings of Rainbow Dash, so that nopony was able to tell what the colour of the walls were originally. Some of the drawings also featured a certain orange and purple filly flying alongside Dash. There were even a few Wonderbolts posters, all with additions of Dash in crayon, showing just how dedicated Scootaloo really was to her idol. Despite her parents' every effort, Scootaloo refused to be comforted. Even when her mother, Candy Mane, went and got her a cookie from the cookie jar in the kitchen, her only response was to cry harder. Her father was the one to finally ask her what had happened. "All right, my little pony, tell Daddy why you're so upset all of the sudden. You're scaring us, Scootaloo." He nuzzled the sobbing lump of sheets, and Scoot finally consented to poking out her muzzle. "I-I can't ev-e-even FLY, Daddy! Even F-Featherweight c-can fly! My wings are too sm-small." A fresh wave of wails escaped Scootaloo's mouth, and she ducked back under her covers. Scootaloo's mother pitched in. "Sweetheart, your wings are actually a pretty average size for a filly your age. In fact, I think your father's wings were smaller than yours when he was about your age." These words didn't help at all. In fact, her mother's words probably made things much worse. Her wing span was average for a filly her age? This made her inability to fly even more embarrassing in her own opinion. Candy winced when she realized what she had just told her daughter. She quickly tried to amend her statement. "Scootaloo, if you're really that worried about it then I'll make an appointment with the doctor to see about your wings. But don't get so wound up about it; you're probably just a late bloomer, and that's nothing to be ashamed of." Scootaloo put her whole head out from under the sheets this time, her face still covered in a mixture of dried and still-wet tears. "Do you really think that the doctor'll know what's wrong with me, Mom?" There was so much hope in her daughter's eyes, Candy whispered a silent prayer to the Diarchs as she forced a smile. "Scootaloo, sweetie, I know so." "Well, Miss Scootaloo, you seem to be a very healthy filly. You're getting lots of exercise and fresh air, and it looks like you're eating fairly healthy." Scootaloo sat on a cold table with a thin sheet of paper covering it. Doctor Hippocrates took a look at her x-rays for a moment, squinting his eyes. He looked almost... confused. Then the expression of his face disappeared, and he regained his borderline irritatingly complacent composure. Candy Mane caught the face as well, and figured that he had seen something important. "What is it, Hippocrates? Did you see something important?" Candy tried to look at the x-rays herself, but he blocked them from her view with a sweep of his hoof, covering them with papers filled with medical jargon. Mother and daughter gave him the exact same annoyed glance. "It looks like her wings are fine, Ms. Mane. Scootaloo's development is actually right on schedule." "Then why can't I fly?" Scoot stomped her hoof on the table, making a small tear in the weird, scratchy paper. Hippocrates winced before continuing. "As I said, your wings are fine. It's the rest of you that's a bit of a puzzle, medically speaking." Scootaloo was confused at this. "The rest of me? Whaddya mean, the rest of me?" Scootaloo's voice rose slightly with every word until she was nearly shouting. Candy draped her hoof over her filly's shoulders to encourage her to calm down. She didn't need the whole office hearing her daughter's tirade. "Miss Scootaloo, has your teacher taught you yet about how pegasi are able to fly?" A blank stare. "You see, pegasus ponies, like birds, have hollow bones that make them lighter. If pegasi didn't have hollow bones, their wings would have to be huge in order for them to fly the way they do. That's why alicorns tend to have larger wings. Alicorns possess all three kinds of pony magic: earth pony strength, unicorn magic, and pegasus flight. If an earth pony had hollow bones, it would be much harder for Miss Applejack to apple buck without breaking her legs, for example. And Mr. Snowflake, as comical as it looks with his small wings, is able to fly because his bones are hollow and he's gone through rigorous training to strengthen his wings and back muscles. The last I heard, he even managed to get accepted into the Wonderbolt Academy." Scootaloo was confused. "What does any of this have to do with me, though?" Hippocrates slowly took off his glasses. "You have a rare condition, Miss Scootaloo. For some reason, your bones are completely solid. Unless your wings grow about twice the size of a normal pegasus pony, it's a possibility that you may never fly much higher than a foot or two in the air for short periods of time." Scootaloo was absolutely heartbroken. How was she going to get her wings to grow big enough to get her truly airborne? She barely even registered as Candy Mane pulled her into a tight hug and nuzzled her. She felt completely numb. "Come on, Scoot. Let's go home and bake a new batch of cookies." The word cookies struck a bit of a nerve with Scootaloo, but she didn't let it show. Her mother said something else to the doctor, but Scoot's ears didn't take in any sound. She was shut off. As she and her mother left, Scoot looked at Doctor Hippocrates. He had the most apologetic look on his face that anypony could muster.