Scootaloo becomes a schoolyard celebrity - but can she put her popularity aside to help a young changeling in need?
Rainbow Dash is staying in Canterlot for a few days to perform in a Wonderbolts show, and she decides to take Scootaloo with her. Scootaloo finds herself becoming a celebrity of sorts at Central Canterlot School and begins basking in her new-found glory - but she soon notices a young changeling, Pupa, is being left out and tormented by the other students. Will Scootaloo be forced to put her popularity aside to help a filly in need?
(The prequel isn't necessary reading, all you need to know is changelings and ponies aren't enemies anymore, and the changelings live in Canterlot now, alongside the ponies :3)
Rainbow Dash strolled into Scootaloo’s room to see the filly dangling over the edge of the bed, having managed to turn about ninety degrees during the night. She was snoring loudly, her leg occasionally twitching.
A small beam of light made its way through the window, failing to reach Scootaloo by a few centimetres.
“Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash called out.
No response.
“Scoots!” she called out louder.
She got a twitch and a yawn, then the filly went back to sleep.
“Time to wake up, squirt!” Rainbow Dash called out, loud enough to wake up half of Equestria.
Finally, Scoots opened her eyes and stretched, before rolling over to face Rainbow Dash.
“Aww come on Dashie,” Scootaloo groaned, still half asleep, “it’s not even a school day.”
“I know, it’s Sunday, don’t you remember what’s happening?”
“No” Scootaloo said tiredly, trying to wriggle her way out of the blanket prison she’d managed to wrap herself in.
“We’re going to Canterlot, remember?”
Scootaloo’s ears suddenly perked up
“Oh yeah, the show” she realised as she managed to break herself free. “It’s gonna be so cool! Spitfire will be coming through the sky, going WHOOSH!”
She moved her hoof around, imitating a pegasus spinning in the air.
“And then Soarin will be all ZOOM!”
She did the same with the other hoof.
“And then you’ll come in, NEEEEAOOOW! And you’ll dodge heaps of obstacles, and fly way up into the clouds, and do the most awesome, epic, amazing sonic rainboom ever! It’ll be so cool!”
“Heh, yes it will be, squirt. I am pretty awesome” Rainbow replied, giving her adopted sister a noogie. “Now it’s time to get packing, is there anything you’ll need while you’re there?”
“Wait?” Scootaloo’s eyes practically doubled in size and her wings began buzzing. “I’m coming too?”
“Well of course you are, I said we’re going to Canterlot, not I’m going. I wouldn’t leave my favourite sister behind!”
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it squirt, come let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!”
With that, Rainbow Dash trotted out of the room, leaving Scootaloo to run around fangirling for the next ten minutes.
--✈--
Apart from nearly missing the train at the start, the trip to Canterlot was mainly uneventful. Rainbow Dash spent most of the time laying back and relaxing of course, while Scootaloo watched through the window as Canterlot’s skyline gradually grew closer and the familiar, open farmland of Ponyville disappeared into the distance - though not before thanking Rainbow Dash several times for being “the most awesome sister ever”.
Eventually, after an hour or so of travelling, the two ponies arrived at their destination with a screech of the brakes and a loud thud.
“Well, we’re here, Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash announced. “Stay close to me okay? It’s easy to get lost.”
“Don’t worry, I’m too cool to get lost” Scootaloo boasted with a giggle as she lifted her bag over her shoulders. A teddy bear could be seen sticking out of it, and what appeared to be a rolled up Wonderbolts poster.
“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow chuckled as she trotted towards the end of the carriage, Scootaloo following close behind.
“I think the hotel’s this way” she said, more to herself than Scootaloo, as she made her way off the train and onto the platform. She turned to check Scootaloo was still safely following her. Sure enough, there she was, following along happily, though she did seem to be falling behind.
“Hey Scoots, want a lift?” Rainbow Dash offered.
Scootaloo nodded, skipping over to Rainbow Dash happily and climbing up onto her back.
“Whoa, you’re heavy” Dashie laughed, nearly falling over as Scootaloo shifted too much weight to one side of her, “what’d you bring, the kitchen sink?”
“Nah, just the first seven Daring Do novels. They’re the best!”
Scootaloo’s awesome sister smiled proudly. “You’ve got good taste in literature, kid.”
Scootaloo smiled back.
--✈--
The Central Canterlot Hotel was a small but luxurious establishment, tucked away between the tall rows of shops and houses on one side and the Central Canterlot Schoolhouse on the other. The hotel itself was a big, rectangular building with a domed gold-coloured roof, typical of Canterlot.
The main entrance had a lush, circle-shaped garden out the front, populated with a whole variety of flowers arranged in a rainbow pattern, red at one end, then orange, yellow and so on until it reached violet.
“This place is pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked her little friend as they headed for the reception.
“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed, admiring the garden.
“I picked it cause it’s so close to the school, plus it’s got a cool rainbow out the front! I had no idea you could make flowers so cool!”
A look of dread overtook Scootaloo’s face. “Wait, I’m going to school here?”
“Well yeah, I can’t let you miss out on your education just so I can perform in some show. I have to be responsible for you now.”
“But I don’t know anypony! What if they bully me? What if I can’t make any friends?”
Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks and turned her head around, gently picking Scootaloo up and placing her on the ground.
“Now listen here” Rainbow Dash instructed, sitting down herself.
Scootaloo sat down on the grass and looked up at Rainbow Dash intently.
“If anypony gives you any trouble, at all, they gotta answer to me, got that?”
Scootaloo smiled and nodded.
“And as for making friends, don’t fret it - you’re the coolest filly I know. You’ll make friends in no time, alright?”
Scootaloo nodded again. “Alright.”
“Good. Well, I’m off to see how comfy our couch is,” Dash laughed, "catch me if you can!"
With that, Scootaloo chased Rainbow Dash into the reception area, stirring up a big cloud of dirt and dust, which found its way onto the newly washed white hat of the next guest.
Scootaloo frantically searched through her schoolbag a fifth time, contorting herself into positions she never thought possible as she scanned every nook and cranny.
“Calm down Scoots, I’m sure you’ve got everything” Rainbow Dash attempted to reason with her.
“But what if I show up without my pencil case, or without lunch, or without my Daring Do action figure? Everypony’s going to think I’m totally lame!”
“Whoa, hold on to your feathers there, who would think the coolest filly in Ponyville was lame?”
“Someone who isn’t from Ponyville! I have to make a good first impression!”
“Hey, just be yourself squirt, everything will be fine” Dash assured Scootaloo, giving her another affectionate noogie. “Now, I really better get going, or Spitfire’s gonna take away my lunch breaks for the next week. See ya round, okay? Good luck.”
“I’m gonna need it” Scootaloo muttered to herself as her sister dashed out of the door.
--✈--
Scootaloo trekked towards the schoolhouse with an ever-increasing dread. Crossing the road felt like walking halfway to the Badlands as she approached the sounds of laughter and chatter from a hundred or so complete strangers.
In her head, she went through everything that could possibly go wrong. She might drop her lunch on the floor, in front of everypony - or she might get a super easy question wrong, in front of the whole class - they might even find out she couldn’t fly, then what would she do?
The schoolhouse itself, like Ponyville’s, was one building, but that’s where the similarities ended. Rather than a playground, there was a huge garden out the front. As pretty as it was, it looked like the opposite of fun - not a swing set or teeter totter in sight.
As if the garden wasn’t off-putting enough, the inside of the building was a complicated labyrinth of corridors going every which way. Scootaloo knew she was in room “B3”, but in Ponyville there were only three classrooms. Here, there were at least thirty - all hidden somewhere in the bizarre mess of hallways and meaningless signs.
After ten minutes of searching, she finally found the right place, only to find that the door was locked. She was late.
Scootaloo took a deep breath, before knocking on the door.
A few, painful, seconds later, the door swung open.
“Hello, sorry I’m l-”
“You must be the filly from Ponyville!” the teacher said with a smile. “I’m Miss Rosette, nice to meet you.”
Her kind demeanour reminded Scootaloo of Cheerilee, except with a fancy outfit and a refined Canterlot accent. She couldn’t help but feel a little comforted by the sense of familiarity.
“Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?”
Any sense of comfort drifted away as Scootaloo nervously stepped into the classroom and turned to face the impatient eyes of about twenty foals.
She gave a quick glance around the room. About half the class were unicorns, many of whom were wearing fancy hats or bowties. A group of rough-looking pegasi could be seen to one side of the room - they had shifted the desks so they could all sit together. A few earth ponies were mingled among the various groups. Finally, up the back, there was a single, quiet changeling, studying a textbook intently, with a puzzled but determined expression on his face.
“I-I’m Scootaloo, n-nice to meet you” she finally spoke up.
No response.
“Where are your manners?” Miss Rosette complained. “You’re representing Canterlot, and I expect you to be on your best behaviour.”
Reluctantly, a few of the ponies up the front, out of time with each other, said “good morning Scootaloo”.
This seemed to be enough to satisfy the teacher, who walked up to the chalkboard and began writing a maths question.
Scootaloo quietly found her way to a table in the middle of the room and hoped for the day to be over. She wanted to hang out in Canterlot with her awesome sister, not in a totally un-awesome classroom.
--✈--
Maths class was boring, but nothing went particularly badly. In fact, Scootaloo learned about a new type of maths called long division - she couldn’t wait to tell Twilight about it when she got back to Ponyville.
English was just as dull - the class were part-way through reading Sir Bridle and the Dragon - it was like a super lame version of Daring Do, where the characters spent half the time sitting around using fancy words instead of actually fighting the awesome dragon.
Finally, the class was cut short by the bell ringing across the school. Scootaloo jumped to her hooves, ready to bolt out the door.
“Sit down please,” Miss Rosette instructed, “I would like the front row to leave first, then the rest of the class in an orderly fashion.”
Scootaloo sat down.
Great, she’d managed to break a school rule before lunchtime even started.
One by one, each group of friends in the class made their way out.
“Excuse me, could I stay with you -” Scootaloo tried to ask as one group left.
“Would it be alright if I -” she asked another.
Eventually, she and the changeling were the only ones left.
“Hey,” Scootaloo asked, turning to the changeling, “what’s your name?”
“Me?” the changeling replied, surprised. “I-I’m Pupa.”
“Would you mind if I hang out with you for lunch?”
Pupa’s eyes lit up, and he jumped out of his chair happily, causing it to go tumbling over. “Really, you wanna spend lunchtime with me?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“You don’t mind that I’m all, uh, changelingy?”
“Nah, you seem cool, changeling or not.”
Pupa’s wings buzzed happily and he gave Scootaloo the tightest hug of her life.
“Pupa,” the teacher interrupted, “are you going to pick that chair up?”
“Oh, right,” Pupa giggled, embarrassed, as he released Scootaloo and skipped over to the chair, carefully placing it back in its original position.
Pupa’s hooves clip-clopped as he raced to keep up with Scootaloo as she galloped down the hallway, almost sending the intricately decorated posters on the walls flying off in the hurricane-force wake behind her.
“Wow! You’re fast!” Pupa called out in amazement.
Scootaloo turned her head to see Pupa drifting into the distance.
“Am I going too fast?” Scootaloo called back.
A slight hint of fear crept into Pupa’s voice. “Um, j-just a little.”
“Heh, sorry, I’ll slow down for ya” Scoots replied, spreading her wings to stabilise herself as she skidded to a halt, leaving a long scratch on the polished wooden floor.
Pupa was panting breathlessly by the time he caught up. He looked up at Scootaloo with a mixture of gratitude and confusion on his face.
“You’re not… teasing me, for being slow?”
“Why would I be teasing you?” Scootaloo replied, equally confused. “Plenty of ponies are slow.”
“N-no reason. Nevermind.”
“Alright” Scootaloo smiled.
Pupa smiled back, reassured.
“Uh, by the way,” Scootaloo continued, “which way’s the exit? I kinda forgot.”
“The exact opposite of the way we’re going” her changeling companion said matter-of-factly, pointing back down the mile-long hallway the two of them had just finished running through.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier, you silly filly” Scootaloo laughed playfully.
“I thought you were going on a tour of the school” Pupa giggled back.
“Hey, that’s not a half bad idea. But… you might have to show me around. Since I can’t even find the front door.”
Pupa giggled again. “Alright, follow me!”
--✈--
“So, what’s it like being a changeling?” Scootaloo asked as the two friends wandered into the gardens out the front of the school, passing through a brightly coloured maze of exotic plants from Saddle Arabia and Moo Zealand.
She glanced briefly at the Pegasi from earlier, flying around and passing what looked like a soccer ball between them. A few metres away were a group of unicorns, gossiping and giggling. There were a few sheets of homework sitting next to them, as if they’d tried to get some study done, then given up when they realised it’d take actual effort.
Scootaloo turned back to Pupa.
“It’s alright, I guess” he answered. “I don’t know what it’s like to be… not a changeling, so I don’t really know what to talk about.”
“Fair enough,” the pony answered back. “What about mealtimes? Do you have mealtimes? Dinner and stuff?”
“Kinda,” Pupa explained. “Mummy goes out and makes friends with lots of ponies, and then she gives me a big hug when I get home, to share the love she collected.”
Scootaloo froze in place for a second, clutching her chest.
“Are you alright?” Pupa squeaked, concerned.
“Huh?” Scootaloo gasped, trying to downplay the incident. “Oh yeah, right, I’m fine. That’s, uh, cute… ish… I guess.”
“Okay” he smiled. “I guess it’s kinda like those birds you have here in Equestria. You know the ones that collect food, then vomit it into their babies’ mouths?”
“Eww!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“I thought ponies liked love?” Pupa inquired, tilting his head to the side.
“Yeah, we like love, but not bird spew!”
“Oh, okay.”
Pupa made a mental note. Avoid the bird analogy in future. “So, what about being a pony?” Pupa asked back as the two of them passed a particularly large palm tree, with bright orange flowers. Beneath it was a wooden bench.
“It’s alright too, I guess” Scootaloo chuckled. “Ponies are usually easy to get along with. Emphasis on usually.”
“I bet since you’re so fast, you’re a really good flyer.”
Scootaloo stopped in his tracks, this time staring at the ground.
“Are you alright?” Pupa squeaked a second time. “Did I say something?”
“N-no” Scootaloo lied, “I’m great at flying. Super great.”
“Cool!” Pupa smiled.
“So, I guess we’ve seen most of the garden now - and I’m getting kinda bored of this tour thing. Wanna introduce me to your friends?”
“Well, actually… they’re away at an… event… somewhere” Pupa lied back. Miraculously, Scootaloo bought it.
“Alright. I bet you’ve got heaps of them though - you’re pretty cool. Hey, speaking of cool, you want me to show you my scooter? It’s awesome!”
“Sure!” the little changeling exclaimed, clapping his front hooves together excitedly.
“Alright, I just gotta get back to class, I left my b-”
“SCOOTALOO!” a loudspeaker interrupted, nearly blasting the filly’s ‘awesome’ ears off. “YOU’RE REQUIRED AT THE FRONT OFFICE!”
Scootaloo sighed. “Ugh, probably some meeting or something. We have that for new students at my school too. Nevermind. I’ll show ya tomorrow, alright?”
Pupa nodded eagerly. “Alright Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo turned towards the building behind her and started to race off. She skidded to a halt seconds later at the sound of Pupa’s voice.
“Wait!” he called out, racing to catch up to his new friend. “S-sorry, I was just wondering - do you think we could make a secret hoofshake?”
Scootaloo giggled. “Why?”
“All the cool ponies have them! Can we make one? Please?”
“Sure I guess. Repeat after me.”
Scootaloo slowly hoof-bumped Pupa with one hoof, then the other. Then she buzzed her wings, hovered a few centimetres off the ground, and hoof bumped both hooves at once.
“You got all that?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yeah!” Pupa squeaked.
“Awesome. See ya round!”
Pupa nodded, practicing her side of the ritual over and over as Scootaloo raced off into the distance.
--✈--
Scootaloo, now carrying her backpack, arrived to find the office completely crammed full of students. The line stretched several metres into the corridor. Camera flashes were going off in the distance, and the fillies at the front were chattering and squealing with excitement.
Flustered teachers were scattered throughout the crowd, trying desperately to keep the rowdy foals under control.
“What’s going on?” Scootaloo asked a foal at the back.
“Haven’t you heard?” she replied. “Rainbow Dash is at our school! As in the Rainbow Dash! The newest Wonderbolt!”
Scootaloo’s ears perked up with realisation. She was leaving early today, to catch the Wonderbolts during their break time.
“Rainbow Dash!” she called out. “Over here!”
“Wait your turn, it’s not like she’s gonna come all the way over here, just to - EEEEE!”
Scootaloo heard a thud as the filly fainted next to her. She turned her attention back to the door to see Rainbow Dash, zooming towards her in full Wonderbolts costume, about to tackle hug her to the floor.
Scootaloo giggled wildly as the two of them got back to their hooves and shook off the dust. She turned to see the crowd gathered around staring at her, wide-eyed.
“What?”
“She… hugged you” a colt at the front of the mass of ponies said in disbelief.
“Well yeah!” Scootaloo replied. “She is my sister!”
“Your… what?”
“Her sister,” Rainbow Dash confirmed as Scootaloo casually climbed up onto her head. “I’m here to pick her up early, we’re gonna catch up with the Wonderbolts this afternoon.”
The crowd stared in stunned silence.
One lone filly up the back took the opportunity to quietly step forwards with a pen and a notepad in her mouth, but another filly shushed her and stopped her in her tracks.
“Well, uh, nice meeting you all!” Rainbow Dash said awkwardly as the crowd continued staring. “I’ll see you at the show, I guess.”
With that, Dashie went speeding out the door, Scootaloo and all, leaving the teachers to hold back about two hundred ponies, all chasing after her in a massive stampede of fangirling.
Scootaloo hopped towards the schoolhouse with ever-increasing excitement. She couldn't wait to talk to Pupa again! She wondered if he remembered their secret hoofshake, or if his friends would be there today, or if -
She was sent tumbling back to reality when she crashed face-first into another filly, sending books and feathers flying in every direction.
“Sorry!” Scootaloo cried out in shock, as she scrambled to clean up the books, “I didn't mean t-”
“OH MY GOSH!” the filly squeaked with joy. “Are you Rainbow Dash's sister?”
“Um... yeah?” Scootaloo answered cautiously.
“That's awesome! We're, like, so gonna be besties!”
Scootaloo suddenly recognised the filly – one of the well-to-do unicorns up the front of her class. She had bright pink fur and several accessories – she was pretty much what you'd get if you multiplied Diamond Tiara by ten. The unicorn began investigating Scootaloo's bag without permission.
“You know we barely know each other, right?” Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
“Well, we can at least be friends, right Flutealoo?”
“It's Scootaloo.”
“Right, Scootaloo?”
“Well, sure, I guess” Scootaloo answered with a smile.
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, girls, you'll never believe what just happened,” Diamond Tiara 2.0 squealed as she practically dragged Scootaloo towards her friends.
Scootaloo dusted the grass off her hooves. That was weird... but she could get used to it.
--✈--
Scootaloo was almost late again by the time she finally made it to class, surrounded by what was now effectively a mob of tiny fangirls. They were chattering about fashion lines, pop music singers and pretty much anything else Scoots couldn't care less about – but she still felt included, even if she didn't follow a word of it.
“Hey, you should come sit with us,” one of the fangirls suggested as they walked through the door.
“Seriously?” one of the pegasi called out – a fairly small colt with a fake tattoo on his leg and a pair of sunglasses. “We're way cooler.”
“Yeah,” the much larger colt sitting next to him added, “I once flew all the way from my house to school, and back, in five seconds!”
“That is pretty cool” Scootaloo admitted.
“Isn't your house right next to the school?” the first pegasus whispered.
“Shh, Scootablue doesn't know that.”
“Scootaloo,” the pony in question interrupted. “Know what?”
“Uh... that... anyone who sits with us gets to learn our special secret hoofshake!”
The other pegasus nodded.
Suddenly, Scootaloo's eyes widened, as if she remembered something.
“That sounds cool and all, but I think I should sit up the back for now” Scootaloo answered, briefly glancing at Pupa, who was sitting alone again, drawing something in a notebook.
“With the changeling? Eww!” one of the girls called out.
“Nopony cool sits with him” the pegasus added.
“Yeah, I thought you were cool!”
Scootaloo stared at the ground for a moment before walking over and sitting next to the pegasi. She turned towards Pupa and whispered the word 'sorry'. Pupa nodded understandingly, before scribbling out the picture he was drawing in frustration as soon as his friend looked away.
--✈--
“So you must be pretty much the coolest foal in Ponyville, huh?” the 'tattooed' pony from earlier asked as he guided Scootaloo to the far edge of the gardens, filled with thorny plants and vines.
“Well, I don't know about tha-”
“You don't have to lie to us Scootaloo, modesty is for babies. We know you're totally the coolest!”
“I bet you know some sick flying moves” the larger pegasus added.
“Yeah! Why don't you show us?” the smaller one agreed. “You could try out our awesome aerial obstacle course we made out of the garden!”
Scootaloo looked up above her to see a tangle of thorny vines, forming a series of ramps, hoops and walls, reaching almost as high as the schoolhouse itself.
“Well, I don't wanna make you feel bad” Scootaloo explained nervously, “since I'm so...great at flying and all. But I could try doing it on my scooter!”
“Dude, that's impossible! It's an aerial obstacle course! You'll end up with your wings broken or something!”
It was too late – Scootaloo was already zooming towards the first ramp.
Her friends looked up in terror. Rainbow Dash's sister was about to get splattered on a thorn bush, and it was all their fault. They covered their eyes as Scootaloo went flying into the sky, only to see her zooming through the hoops in mid-air, completely un-harmed.
Scootaloo smiled widely as she jumped from one wall of vines to another, sparks flying from the wheels of the scooter and entire chunks of the obstacle course collapsing behind her. She made one final jump into the air, then came spiralling down towards the ground, spreading her wings like a parachute and lifting the front of her scooter ready for impact.
She skidded to a halt as her scooter hit the ground, stirring up a massive cloud of dust behind her. She turned to see the pegasi cheering and applauding in awe.
“That was so awesome!” one of them called out.
“You're the coolest filly ever!” added another.
“Yeah, you're way better than the dweeb factory over there” a third added, pointing to the unicorns from earlier. They were gathered in another corner of the garden, surrounded by flowers, seemingly making some crazy plan.
Scootaloo smiled again. “Thanks.”
“Hey, wanna learn our secret hoofshake?” the tattooed pegasus offered. “Since you've proven your awesomeness?”
“Alright!” Scootaloo answered eagerly.
Scootaloo watched as the pegasus in front of her hoof-bumped her up high, then down low, then backwards, before flailing his hooves like a jellyfish.
Pupa watched from behind the bushes as Scootaloo repeated the gesture. He practised the hoofshake Scootaloo taught him with himself, before walking away, his head hanging down sadly.
“...and then they said I was the coolest filly they’d ever seen!” Scootaloo squeaked, leaping into the air, wings buzzing and a massive grin on her face.
Rainbow Dash gave her a worried frown in return.
“What’s wrong?” Scoots asked as she hovered back to the soft, carpeted ground.
“Well, it’s great you have so many friends and all, but are you sure they’re real friends?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not saying they’re not - just, well, it’s a little suspicious that none of them cared about you before, and now, suddenly, you’re ‘Rainbow Dash’s sister’ and everyone loves you. Don’t you think they might be using you?”
“You’re just jealous!” Scootaloo shouted defensively, racing into her intricately decorated hotel room and slamming the probably extremely expensive door behind her.
--✈--
Scootaloo sat on the ground miserably, death-staring at her backpack as if it was the physical embodiment of all her problems. This was the worst trip ever! And it was all her own fault. How could she yell at her own sister? She let out a deep sigh and slumped over her bag.
Her ears perked up as the door creaked open beside her.
“Hey Scoots,” the raspy voice of her sister asked, “everything okay?”
“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash” Scootaloo muttered sadly, not moving an inch.
“It’s alright, I shouldn’t have been so confrontational. I’m still learning this whole ‘sister’ thing.”
“Well, you’re pretty good, for a newbie” Scootaloo giggled.
Rainbow Dash smiled and sat next to Scootaloo quietly. “So, you wanna talk, or would you rather just forget this whole thing?”
“I can talk.”
“Alright. Well, I’m just a little worried. I knew a group of ponies like your pegasus friends back at flight school, they always acted like the ‘cool’ foals, and called everyone else ‘dweebs’. The truth was, they were actually really uncool.”
Scootaloo chuckled. “I don’t think my friends are like that. They can do all kinds of cool flying tricks, and they think I’m really awesome.”
“Well, it’s nice that they think you’re cool. I told you they would didn’t I? And it’s nice you’ve got friends to hang out with. Just, be careful little buddy, that’s all. Don’t let them talk you into doing anything, well, uncool, ‘kay?”
“Okay” Scootaloo smiled.
“Now, are you ready to visit Canterlot Skate Park, or are you READY?”
“I’m READY!” Scootaloo announced at the top of her voice.
“And what’s seventy multiplied by five?” Miss Rosette asked the class.
“Ooh! Ooh!” Pupa called out up the back. “I know!”
“Yes Pupa?”
“Heh, this’ll be good” the tattooed colt snickered sarcastically to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo frowned uncomfortably and shifted her seat away slightly.
“Gee, what’s up with her today?” the colt mumbled to himself.
“T-Three hundred and fifty” Pupa finally answered, once he finished some strange method of multiplication using his leg holes.
“That’s right Pupa, well done!”
Pupa smiled proudly, while Scootaloo’s ‘friend’ stared at her indignantly. His thoughts were suddenly blasted out of his head by the bell.
“Lunchtime!” Pupa called out up the back of the class, jumping up and down, before bounding over to Scootaloo, toppling at least two desks on the way and causing a filly to squeal as he spilled the contents of her pencilcase.
Miss Rosette considered trying the ‘orderly fashion’ speech, but Pupa had already started the stampede – half the class was out the door.
“Scootaloo, can we hang out again, we never got t-” Pupa started.
A menacing look from the Pegasi sent him darting to hide under a desk.
“Unlikely,” a large Pegasus growled, “Scootaloo is our friend.”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t hang out with a dweeb like you, you’re –” the colt tried to add.
“Stop it!” Scootaloo interrupted, physically standing between the Pegasi and Pupa. “I talked to him the other day, and he’s way cooler than he looks. I say we should give him a chance.”
Pupa’s eyes brightened and his spiky ‘ears’ perked up slightly.
The colt rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll give him a chance, but only if he can prove himself.”
--✈--
“When you said prove himself, I didn’t know you meant this!” Scootaloo protested as she gazed up at the back wall of the schoolhouse.
The building was only three stories high, but it looked like the side of a castle, with a very unstable-looking rusted staircase zigzagging its way to the roof. At the very top was a tiny, closed window, about Pupa’s size.
The ground below the building was a slab of cement that looked about three millennia old. There were cracks all over it and stray rocks and thistles had turned it into what was basically a miniature Everfree Forest.
“Anypony who’s tough enough to be friends with the coolest ponies in the school, is tough enough to climb up to that window” one of the Pegasi argued, forcing a permanent marker into Pupa’s trembling hoof, “besides, he can just fly if he falls.”
“I-isn’t it against the rules to draw on school property?” Pupa tried to reason. “What if I get caught?”
“If you’re too wimpy to break a few rules, you’re too wimpy to be friends with us” another added.
“I’m scared, Scootaloo” Pupa whimpered.
“I’ll take his place!” Scootaloo declared, taking the marker from Pupa’s hoof, then gulping with fear almost instantly afterwards.
“Wait, no –” Pupa tried to plead.
“Is that allowed?” one of the Pegasi asked over the top of him.
“Quiet!” the tattooed one snapped. “Who cares? We get to see Rainbow Dash’s sister do something epic.”
Scootaloo took a deep breath and lifted her front hoof onto the first step.
It creaked a little, but stayed there.
She lifted a second hoof.
Then a third.
All four.
“Scootaloo! Scootaloo! Scootaloo!” the Pegasi started chanting.
Scootaloo tuned them out, and jumped up to the second step. It stayed stable.
Pupa covered his eyes as Scootaloo cautiously hopped her way up.
One story.
Two stories.
“HELP!”
“Scootaloo!” Pupa cried out, opening her eyes to see a step giving way below Scootaloo.
The filly grabbed onto the rail with one hoof, swaying back and forth with the breeze.
“Just fly!” the colt called out.
Scootaloo closed her eyes.
“This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening” she whispered to herself.
“What’s taking you so long?”
“I CAN’T FLY, ALRIGHT!”
Scootaloo nearly lost her grip, dropping the marker as she switched hooves.
“You lied to us!” the colt called out.
“If it makes you feel better,” Pupa offered, “I lied about having friends!”
“I had to! I wanted to be cool! I wanted somepony to like me!” Scootaloo called back, missing Pupa’s comment entirely.
“Well you’re not cool, you’re mega uncool! I bet Rainbow Dash is ashamed of you!” the colt called back.
Tears began to fill Scootaloo’s eyes. “That’s not true. Rainbow Dash thinks I’m the coolest! Sh-she said so!”
“Whatever! We’re outta here! You two losers play tea party or whatever you like to do!”
Scootaloo held on to the rail with both hooves, as tightly as she could, and cried.
What if they were right? What if Rainbow Dash was just pretending to like her? What if she was totally lame?
Her hooves began slipping.
She closed her eyes tighter. This was it. Nopony was going to save her.
She felt a cold, hard hoof tap her gently on the back – and heard a faint buzzing sound behind her.
Scootaloo smiled. No pony was going to save her.
“Pupa!”
She let go of the rail and threw her arms around her friend.
Suddenly, they both began falling.
“You’re too heavy!” Pupa gasped.
“Let go! Let go! I’m not worth –”
Scootaloo was interrupted by a bright green flash, before finding herself riding… Rainbow Dash?
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo called out. “How’d you know we needed you?”
“Nah, still Pupa”, ‘Rainbow Dash’s raspy voice answered, “changeling, remember?”
Scootaloo’s ears perked up with excitement. “Whoa! That’s so cool! Who else can you be?”
Pupa transformed into a purple alicorn, and pretended to spin out of control. “Twilight Sparkle, for a start.”
Scootaloo giggled hysterically.
Another green flash, and Scootaloo found herself riding a small dragon.
“That’s so cool!”
“Rawr,” Pupa replied, gaining more giggles from Scootaloo.
The young changeling smiled, flashing back to his own form as the two of them safely touched down.
Scootaloo hugged Pupa a second time, almost tight enough to squish him out of his exoskeleton. “Thanks.”
“Let go” Pupa gasped.
“Woops, too tight?” Scootaloo giggles as she released Pupa.
“No, you just gave me way too much love at once, now I don’t feel too good.”
“Oh right, that. Woops.”
“It’s okay,” Pupa giggled, his eyes reaching maximum levels of sparkle, “it was the best love I’ve tasted in ages!”
Scootaloo found herself clutching her chest a second time.
Pupa raced to Scootaloo’s side. “Are you okay, did I do something?”
“No no, it’s just, I was up high for too long… or something” Scootaloo answered, breathing a sigh of relief as her heart slowed to its normal pace.
“Okay.”
“Hey, uh… about yesterday,” Scootaloo started, “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have left you like that. It was actually uncool.”
Pupa gave him a puzzled expression. “I don’t remember you doing anything wrong.”
“Well, I said I was gonna hang out with you… and then I didn’t. That was a really low thing to do.”
“So you’re sorry for not doing something?”
“I guess you could put it that way.”
“You ponies are weird!” Pupa giggled.
“Says mister bird vomit” Scootaloo giggled back.
“Hey, you just gave me ‘bird vomit’ a few minutes ago.”
Scootaloo’s face went a little pale. “Eww.”
“So… you still wanna show me your scooter?”
“Do I ever!”
Pupa’s eyes lit up as Scootaloo lifted her front hoof.
“Remember our hoofshake?”
Pupa nodded and tapped Scootaloo’s hoof, then the other, then both.
Then… the end of lunch bell sounded.
Scootaloo sighed. “I’ll show you tomorrow. Actually tomorrow.”
“And then he turned into a dragon! It was so cool! Pupa is the best friend ever!”
Rainbow Dash tried to not giggle at her over-enthusiastic sister. “What about Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?”
“Oh, right... Pupa is the equal best friend ever!” Scootaloo corrected herself, leaping into the air with just as much energy as before. “I can’t wait to show him my scooter today!”
Rainbow Dash’s face was suddenly overtaken by a frown. “Um… Scoots… today is the show, remember? You’re not going to school today.”
“But I promised…”
“Sorry little buddy. It’ll still be fun, right?” Rainbow Dash asked hopefully.
“Of course... I get to watch my awesome sister… and stuff”, Scootaloo lied, before quietly slipping back to her room, her ears down and her tail between her legs.
--✈--
“I can’t just tell you where somepony’s - um - someling’s parents live, Wonderbolt or not”, the school secretary told Rainbow Dash dismissively in a thick Canterlot accent, before levitating the glasses back onto his nose and turning towards a pile of paperwork.
“Come on, it’s not like I wanna rob them or anything, I just want to ask if Pupa can tag along. Scoots was so happy about meeting him today, and -”
“I said no, Rainbow Dash. Good day.”
“Well, can you ask them for me then?”
“I’m getting paid to keep this school running, not to help ponies invite their friends to acrobatics shows.”
“Acrobatics? Excuse me, it’s a flying show! W-”
“Good day.”
Rainbow Dash gave the secretary a dissatisfied snort and stormed off. No pony stopped her being a good sister.
She returned a few minutes later, carrying a decree from Princess Twilight Sparkle.
--✈--
“This is so so so cool!” Scootaloo squeaked as she climbed onto her seat. Pupa nervously scampered onto the seat next to her.
The noise of the crowd was deafening for the little changeling - they weren’t being particularly rowdy, but thousands of ponies casually chatting at once was still quite something. The scent of cider and hayburgers drifted through the air, overcrowding it almost as much as the ponies themselves.
“Pupa, you okay?”
Scootaloo turned to see Pupa attempting to hide behind his transparent wings. He nodded unconvincingly.
“You don’t have to lie, I get scared of stuff too” Scootaloo said with a smile, wrapping her arm around Pupa.
Pupa smiled back. “Th-thanks Scootaloo. It is pretty noisy. You ponies are really loud.”
Right on cue, Scootaloo squealed out “OHMYGOSHRAINBOWDASH” at the top of her voice! Her wings started buzzing, and she almost fell snout-first onto the next row of seats.
Pupa stared wide-eyed at his friend. He wondered if she was broken or something.
Down in the stadium below, Rainbow Dash and three other Wonderbolts - Fleetfoot, Soarin and Spitfire by the looks of it - began walking out into the centre of the grassy field, waving at the cheering crowd. Above them sat a labyrinth of ramps, hoops (on fire of course) and stormclouds, that put the school foals’ course to shame.
The crowd finally settled down when Spitfire walked up to a microphone, and began speaking.
Some light muttering was heard, followed by Spitfire tapping the microphone slightly too hard, sending it crashing to the ground with an ear-piercing shriek. She rushed to pick it back up.
“Woops!” Spitfire laughed, the crowd chuckling along with her.
“What I was meaning to do was to say how awesome it is to be here in Canterlot!” She added, getting a massive roar of support from the crowd. “You all looking forward to the show?”
More roaring.
“Great! Well, we’d better get on with it then!” Spitfire turned to her fellow Wonderbolts and quietly asked something. They nodded, Spitfire took off, and the show began.
Pupa couldn’t believe his eyes as the Wonderbolts soared into the air, spinning wildly as they zoomed past each other. He covered his eyes a couple of times when it seemed like the flyers were about to crash, only to see them zip past each other with perfect timing as he peeked out through his leg holes.
Then, it was time for the obstacle course. Spitfire led the way, living up to her name as she raced through the hoops, leaving a trail of flames in her wake. Rainbow Dash was next, making sure to spin around every hoop twice to show off just how awesome she was.
As the others made their way through the hoops, Rainbow and Spitfire took on the thunderclouds, bouncing off each one and setting off a series of huge lightning strikes. It seemed as if they were racing each other, seeing who could make the most noise the fastest, but it soon became apparent they were working together.
“Whoa!” Pupa gasped, his eyes larger than usual, watching on as the clouds began to join into a massive cluster above the stadium, like a changeling army in the distance.
“I know right? This is so cool!” Scootaloo answered, standing up on his seat to get a better view, with a massive smile plastered on her face.
Fleetfoot and Soarin joined in with the giant thundercloud, flying round and round the edge. The cloud began to form into a funnel shape, and Spitfire and Rainbow Dash started flying away.
“What are they doing?” Scootaloo thought out loud.
A few seconds later, the answer became apparent. The two pegasi zoomed straight into the cloud, a massive trail of fire behind them, before racing out of the top. Seconds later, a massive tornado of fire was spinning in the centre of the stadium.
Pupa and Scootaloo were practically glued to the row of seats in front of them as they leaned forwards to get a better view.
The four Wonderbolts flew around the tornado, making it faster and faster, larger and larger, until Rainbow Dash left the group, and flew straight up into the sky.
Scootaloo knew what was about to happen…
Seconds later, Rainbow Dash went hurtling straight into the centre of the storm, and the entire thing exploded in a brilliant rainbow-coloured flash! The Wonderbolts regrouped above what was now a big patch of charcoal in the middle of the stadium and bowed, and the audience went crazy!
Rainbow Dash seemed to whisper something to Spitfire before the ‘victory lap’, and Spitfire nodded and smiled. With that, the Wonderbolts zoomed around the edge of the stadium, high-hoofing the masses of fillies and colts gathering in the front row. After a full lap, Rainbow Dash broke away from the group, and flew up in the direction of Pupa and Scootaloo.
“Hey, Scoots, Pupa, want a ride?” Dashie offered.
The two foals’ eyes lit up, and they jumped up onto Rainbow’s back.
“Alright, hold on tight!”
With that, Rainbow Dash took off, flying full-speed towards the stadium floor. Pupa closed his eyes and held on to Scootaloo, who was whooping with delight. Just millimetres from the ground, Rainbow turned 180 degrees and zoomed straight back up.
“That was so cool!” Pupa squeaked.
“This is officially the best day of my entire life, ever!” Scootaloo added.
--✈--
“Did I tell you you’re the best sister ever?” Scootaloo asked as she skipped along behind Rainbow Dash on platform one of Canterlot Train Station, Pupa following closely behind them.
“Only about twelve times,” Rainbow laughed.
The two ponies’ ears lifted up at the rumbling sound of a train approaching.
“That’ll be us. Better say bye to your buddy, Scoots.”
“Will we get to see him again? He still needs to see Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom! And I still haven’t showed him my scooter!”
Rainbow Dash gently petted Scootaloo’s head. “Don’t get your tail in a twist, you can come back in the holidays, ‘kay?”
Scootaloo nodded, and turned to his new friend. “Bye Pupa!”
“Bye!” Pupa called out, waving as Scootaloo hopped on board the train, and continuing to wave as the train made its way back out of the station.
As soon as Scootaloo was out of sight, his head drooped down again. This was going to be a long term...
“Hey, Pupa” a familiar voice called from behind the changeling. It was one of the pegasi from school.
Pupa nervously tried to slip away. If he could just get outside the station, his mother would be waiting for him. He’d be safe with her.
“Pupa, wait up!”
The little changeling sighed. There was no getting out of this.
“Can I hang out with you?”
“Wait… what?” Pupa asked, baffled.
“I said, dweeb - I mean, uh, Pupa - can I hang out with you? I saw what happened at the show, Rainbow Dash chose to take you for a ride, out of all the fillies and colts in the stadium. You must be pretty awesome.”
“Thanks for the offer, but… I think I’d rather not.”
“Look, I know my friends and I were, well, jerks. But seeing what Scootaloo did made me realise what jerks we were being. Can you just… give me another chance?”
“Alright. Deal!”
The pegasus smiled, somewhat awkwardly - he hadn’t practiced for a while. “So, what stuff do you do then? Got any hobbies?”
“Uh… I like drawing… I guess?”
“Cool. The best thing I can draw is a pair of sunglasses!”
The two of them giggled as they headed for the front door of the station. Perhaps this would turn out okay after all.
