Birthday Wishes

by StarFall825

Chapter 8

Scootaloo rolled over in bed, groaning at the pain going through her head. She breathed in sharply to try to clear her nose, but it stayed clogged up. Sighing in frustration, she pried open her eyes, peering up at the silver-grey blur sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Mom?” Scootaloo murmured. She felt her mother’s hoof brush a few sweat drenched hairs out of her face. “Mom, I’m trying to sleep.”

“I know, hun, I just need to give you some medicine.” Dawn’s hooves wrapped around Scootaloo, helping her to sit up. “Here,” Dawn said, holding out a small paper cup with a couple pills inside. “Take these, I promise they’ll help.”

Scootaloo popped the pills in her mouth, then took the glass of orange juice her mom passed her. She slowly sipped the juice, letting its strong flavor sit on her tongue, enjoying the way it cleared her head of its cobwebs.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said as she passed the glass back. “I already feel a little better.”

“Better enough to go see what your dad got you for your birthday? He’s waiting for you out by the shed.”

Scootaloo tilted her head with a sleepy smile. “Presents? Yeah, I might be good enough for that.”

Dawn chuckled for a moment before reaching behind herself. “Good, but first, here’s my present.” Dawn held out a thin rectangular package wrapped neatly in paper decorated with smiling faces.

Scootaloo took the present with a knowing look. “Really, Mom, another book?” She broke into a wide smile as Dawn lightly blushed.

“Yes another book, but honestly, I think you’ll like this one.”

Scootaloo tore open the wrapping paper, flipping over the book to reveal the title. “Oh, wow, a new Hamster Huey book! I didn’t even know there was a new one out yet. Thanks, Mom.” She set the book next to her bed and threw her arms around Dawn.

“You’re welcome, Scoot,” Dawn replied, holding onto her daughter tightly. She let go and stood up, walking for the bedroom door. “Now, go see what you dad got you, and in the meantime, I’ll see about getting you some food if you feel up for it.” Dawn raised a brow questioningly until Scootaloo nodded, and Dawn smiled once more before leaving. With a final sharp sniff, Scootaloo hopped off her bed.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, she walked out the front door to the house. The sun was just coming up over the top of the houses across the street, and Scootaloo stood on the front steps, enjoying the warmth of the sun and a gentle morning breeze. The cool air felt refreshing, especially after being in her stuffy room. After relaxing there for a minute with her eyes closed against the bright light of the sun, she sighed in contentment and walked around the side of the house to the shed in the backyard.

Standing out front of the shed was her dad, who looked up at her with a grin. He was waiting next to an object that came about up to her shoulders, wrapped in a white sheet. Whatever was under there was definitely an odd shape.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said as she walked over, a confused look on her face. “Happy Birthday! Guess you want to know what’s under the sheet, huh?” Cypress bent over and gave Scootaloo a tight hug, making sure to keep their faces apart from one another.

“Thanks, Dad.” Scootaloo nuzzled softly into her dad’s neck. “Yeah, what did you get me?” Cypress let go and walked back over to the sheet covered gift. Striking a self-important pose, he gestured to the sheet.

“Under this sheet,” he said in a lofty voice, “is the one thing you have been waiting for all your life.” Scootaloo raised a brow in such dubious disbelief that Cypress broke character to smile at her. “You look just like your mom when you do that,” he said, making Scoot blush slightly, but she kept her brow raised. With a slight readjustment to his pose, Cypress continued.

“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for!” With exaggerated precision, he grasped the sheet in his teeth and pulled, hard. The sheet flew off in a flurry of white, revealing... another sheet, still concealing the object beneath. “Tah Dah!”

Scootaloo just sat there, staring at her dad in exhausted annoyance, making quiet sniffling sounds. Cypress held his pose for several long seconds, hoping for some kind of reaction before giving up and dropping the sheet with a frown.

“Tough crowd,” he muttered.

“I’m sick, Dad.”

“Yeah, yeah.” With a disappointed sigh, Cypress reached out and pulled the next three sheets off without fanfare, Scootaloo groaning slightly louder with each one.

Finally, he pulled off the final sheet. Scootaloo stared at the mystery gift. She blinked a few times, then stared some more. After a minute, she gave up.

“What is it?”

“It’s a scooter. You’re telling me you’ve never even seen one before?”

Scootaloo shook her head while taking an extra long look at it. There was a wooden base, painted a light-blue, with a metal pole coming out of one end. It was T-shaped, with shiny red grips attached to the ends of the branching part. Attached to the bottom were some more metal spokes sticking out.

“I don’t get it; what does it do?”

“It’s a toy. You stand on the wooden part and push off the ground, making it roll.”

“Roll? Like skates?” Scootaloo asked. Cypress nodded in affirmation. Scootaloo took another close look at the scooter. “Where are the wheels?”

“Oh, yeah.” Cypress smiled sheepishly. “This was kind of a last minute idea, so it isn’t quite finished yet. I’ll be home later tonight with the wheels. Actually, this used to be my scooter when I was your age.”

Scootaloo tore her gaze away from the scooter to look up at her dad, who nodded. “This was mine way back when.” Scootaloo moved closer and took a tentative step on the wood board. “I replaced everything except the handlebars. The wood’s new and freshly painted, the grips are brand new, and when I get the wheels home tonight, you’ll have a completely refurbished scooter.”

Scootaloo stood up on her back hooves, placing her front ones on the grips. She wiggled the bars around, getting used to how it would work. After another minute studying the toy, she looked up at Cypress, hesitation written on her face.

“Um, Dad, it’s not that I’m ungrateful or anything, but—”

“—but why am I giving you my old scooter?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you asked, even if it is going to be a long story.” Cypress sat down, motioning for Scootaloo to join him. She got off the scooter and walked over to sit in front of him. “Now, you’re finally getting to that age when you start to worry about your cutie mark. That fight you got into at school got me thinking back to how I got mine. When I was your age, I didn’t just want a cutie mark, I wanted the coolest cutie mark.” Scootaloo grinned at that.

“Now, when I was your age, scooters were very popular. That’s why I’m so surprised you haven’t heard of it. So I decided that I was going to get my cutie mark in skateboard stunts. You might not be able to tell by looking at this thing, but you can pull off some really cool tricks on a scooter. I had this rickety old scooter my parents had gotten me, and I spent hours practicing on that thing.

“Until, one day, I landed a jump wrong and, bam!” Cypress clapped his hooves together for emphasis. “The wooden base split right in half.”

“What did you do?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, I went to my dad, but he said there was no way they could afford another scooter, not with my mom’s medical bills. So, I had to come up with my own solution.”

“You made your own,” Scootaloo guessed.

“Heh, knew you were smart,” Cypress said while ruffling her mane, coaxing another grin from her. “So I asked Rough Hew, who was the town carpenter before me to teach me some things about woodworking and craftsmanship. He agreed to teach me and provide me with the supplies I would need if I helped him out around the shop.

“It took all summer long, but I finally earned the parts I would need, and the skills to make my very own scooter. And, I’m sure you already guessed, as soon as I finished, my cutie mark appeared: a chisel with wood shavings.”

“So... you didn’t get the cutie mark you wanted?” Scootaloo asked, worry creasing her brow.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Scootaloo. I love what I do. I thought I knew what I wanted my cutie mark to be, but after working in the wood shop all summer, I can honestly say I was more than happy that this was what I was destined to do.

“Seeing what you have to go through now just got me thinking about what I had to go through. I guess I wanted to give you my scooter for a couple reasons. One, because scooters are fun; and two, just to let you know that your future is out there, even if it’s not what you’re expecting now.”

Scootaloo nodded, though she wasn’t sure she really understood, and then sat quietly waiting for a few moments before speaking up.

“So... is that everything?” she asked with nervous anticipation.

“Why?” Cypress asked with a raised brow. “Were you expecting something else?”

“Oh, uh, I thought that... um,” Scootaloo stammered out before standing speechless with indecision for a few moments. Eventually she heaved out a disappointed sigh. “Oh, it’s nothing, Dad. Thanks for the scooter.” Lowering her head in sadness, she turned to walk back to the house.

“Huh, well, I suppose you could have this if you want something else.”

Scootaloo half-turned, not really expecting much, and froze for a second before a huge smile split her face and her eyes lit up with joy.

“You did it!” Scootaloo cried out, jumping for joy back to her father and taking the picture from him. “You got Rainbow Dash’s autograph!” The picture was black and white, with the pegasus mare looking cockily at the camera over one of her wings. To my #1 fan! was scrawled messily on the corner, with an equally messy signature under that. She let out a decidedly girlish squeal that she quickly turned into a cough. “Yes, um, thank you, Dad.” She carefully tucked the signed picture under her wing, then stood up on her back legs to wrap her hooves around Cypress’s neck. “Thank you so much, this is the best present ever.”

“Glad you think so, kiddo.” Cypress returned the hug until Scootaloo let go, then turned to head towards the road. “I have to get to work, Scoot, say bye to your mom for me. Get plenty of rest today, okay?”

“Bye, Dad, have a good day!” Scootaloo waved goodbye until he disappeared around the corner of the neighbors house, then took one last lingering look at the scooter before heading back inside the house.

Dawn was standing next to the stove in the kitchen, boiling some water. “Hey, hun,” she said as Scootaloo walked in. “Did your dad get you something nice?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo answered as she sat at the kitchen table. “What are you making?”

“Oatmeal with apple slices.”

“Can you put some brown sugar in the oatmeal?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.

“Of course! That’s the best way to eat oatmeal after all.” Scootaloo smiled before resting her head on the table with a soft groan. Dawn walked over to her and put her hoof on Scootaloo’s forehead.

“Hmm, you still feel warm. You need to go lie down in bed. You can show me what Dad got you when I bring you your breakfast.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said, disappointed. She jumped off the chair and walked down the hall to her room. After pinning the signed picture over her bed, she climbed under the covers and lay back with a sigh. Reaching over, she grabbed her new book, lifting it up to read the cover. “Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie.” Smiling, she opened the book to the first page and started to read.

Comments

[MadHighlander]

Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie.

Nice Calvin and Hobbes reference.

[StarFall825]

3389352 I forgot to put this in the author's notes!
i.imgur.com/6dyQuBy.jpg

[BronyWriter]

Somebody reads Calvin and Hobbes.

[StarFall825]

3389373 That was my childhood! I now own the full set in hardback. Really nice three book set I gave my dad years ago.

[BronyWriter]

3389377 own the whole collection myself. Love it, love it, love it. You seen this yet?

[StarFall825]

3389391 Hadn't even heard of it! Definitely going to have to check that out sometime.

Edit: Ah, it isn't out yet. Well, hope it plays where I live

[ShootingStar81]

Heh, I caught the Calvin and Hobbes reference as soon as I read that book title. Awesome. ^_^

So's the story, too! Was great to come home to an update after work. Keep up the good work!

[Cold Spike]

A very weird story read for me so far. It is sad and yet not overly so.. anyway MOAR!

[KrishnaKarnak]

Poor Cypress, his kid's barely interested in that rickety old scooter! At least the autograph went over well. Her birthday is off to a good start, so there's that!

I got a horrible feeling that something's going to go wrong, though

[Mahna]

Hamster Huey!!!!

[Kuraimizu]

so hoping for a quick wait on the next chapter

[Sirius_Face]

It took me a while to get to this cause I was honestly afraid that this was going to be a sad/tragic chapter. I just know it's coming.

But this chapter turned out very well. Great job, and I hope you write another one soon!

[StarFall825]

4355311 And I have to say I admire your taste in music

[twidash1993]

I really wish you'd do another chapter :( This is one of the first stories I remember loving!

[StarFall825]

10652731
I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen, I’ve moved on from this by now.