Hey there, Eric Reed here.
Ever since I found myself in Equestria and Princess Twilight Sparkle found me, she's done her best to help and be there for me, and to send me back to my old world. While she'll never be able to do that last part, she's done just about everything else she could do for me, and then some. From taking me under her wing and giving me a place to live in Equestria, to becoming my big sister here, to even saving my life multiple times. Twilight ended up caring about me even more than I thought she might, and she'd do anything for me. And I'd do anything for her, too.
At one point, I didn't think I deserved to be able to look at her as my big sister, especially when I hurt her by lying. But Twilight herself told me otherwise, and is proud that I do.
Today, I was about to help a filly that was feeling the same way I was, about a pony that she looks at as her big sister.
While out and about in Ponyville, I saw Scootaloo sitting on a bench. She had her head down, looking really upset. It's the first time I've seen her look so down, so I asked, "Hey, Scootaloo, what's wrong?"
"Oh, hey, Eric. And it's nothing."
"Nothing, huh? I've said 'nothing' like that a million times, so I know when it's 'something'. Please, talk to me. Maybe I can help."
"Well, earlier I ruined one of Rainbow Dash's Daring Do books, and I don't want to tell her I did."
"Oh, you did huh? How it happen?"
"I was riding on my skateboard while reading it, trying to show off in front of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. I lost my balance and fell, dropping the book in some water."
She showed me what was left of a Daring Do book. It was completely soaked, and most of the pages were unreadable.
"Oh, I see. Rainbow sure can't read this anymore."
Scootaloo took up from the bench and yelled, "I know! I messed up bad! I ruined her favorite book, and she's gonna be so mad!"
I hold up my hands up in a "hold on!" position. "Wait, calm down, Scootaloo, I have an idea. Maybe I can ask Twilight or Starlight to fix this book. With the magic they have, they could probably make this as good as new! Rainbow wouldn't know you ruined it!"
Scootaloo smiled and perked up. "Oh, yeah, they probably could!"
"There, see? I told you I could help! Let's go find one of them, and get them to fix this thing, all right?"
"Okay! But..." Scootaloo sat back down on the bench, and looked down again.
"Scootaloo? What's wrong now?"
"It's just that...I wonder if Rainbow dash deserves a better little sister than me."
This completely caught me off-guard. Scootaloo's always looked up to Rainbow Dash. And even though they're not "technically" sisters, Rainbow treats and loves her like she really is her little sister. Twilight, as well as Starlight, are like that with me. Why would Scootaloo suddenly start thinking she's not worth being Rainbow's sister?
"Huh? What do you mean by that, Scootaloo?"
"I mean, think about it, Eric. Rainbow Dash is like the best Pegasus, ever! She can do Sonic Rainbooms without even trying. She's not just a Wonderbolt, but she's one of the best fliers of the Wonderbolts! She's saved Equestria so many times, and is an Element of Harmony! She's not 'awesome' but beyond awesome!"
"Well, true, Rainbow can be pretty awesome. But why do you feel like you don't deserve her all of a sudden?"
"Well, it's just...no. You wouldn't understand, Eric."
By how Scootaloo was looking, and how her voice when she said that last sentence, I could tell why she was feeling the way she is. I went through it myself with Twilight, when I thought she deserved better than me. I knew that, if I tried to press the filly, she'd just not want to say anything even more, and I had to pick my next words carefully.
"Hey, Scootaloo, you might be surprised. But, if you really don't want to talk about it, I can drop it, okay? I won't make you say a thing that you don't want to."
Scootaloo looked up in thought, then looked back at me. "Well, I mean, look at me, Eric. I'm not an Element of Harmony. I've never saved anypony. I can't fly! And I can't even take care of her favorite book without ruining it! I don't deserve a pony as awesome as her! I just feel so useless, and I..."
I moved my hand to Scootaloo's right cheek, and made sure she looked me in the eyes. I softly told her, "Scootaloo, listen to me. I know you feel like you're useless, and that you feel bad about ruining Rainbow's book, and believe me, I get it. You sound just like I did over a few months ago, when I was feeling useless and horrible about lying to Twilight and the others, and especially when I realized it really hurt Twilight. But, here's some advice I myself was told by a really good friend: you sitting there feeling sorry for yourself won't help anypony, if you don't do anything about it. And I'll even tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell anypony, especially Twilight."
"Okay, I'll promise. What is it?"
"You know how I think of Twilight as my big sister, like you do to Rainbow Dash, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
I looked around us, to make sure that nopony was nearby, then I confessed, "Well, as you already know, I once felt I didn't deserve to think of Twilight as my big sister, or even to be her friend at all. But, here's what you're about the be the first to hear: a part of me still don't think I deserve being able to think of Twilight as a big sister."
"Really?" Scootaloo's mouth opened up a bit, but she kept looking in my eyes. "But you've done so much! You've saved Twilight's life, and have a Pink Heart of Courage given to you from Twilight and the other Princesses! Why would you feel that way?"
"Because she's Princess Twilight Sparkle, Scootaloo. Even though she likes just being called 'Twilight' and not 'Princess Twilight', doesn't carry herself like you might expect a princess would, but much more like a regular pony, and might freak-out over a list, it doesn't change the fact that she is a princess.
"Oh...wow. I never thought of it like that, Eric."
"And not only is Twilight a princess, when I was still stuck being bite-sized all the time, I depended on her for so much more. Especially when Starlight or one of the others wasn't nearby, and she has not once complained about it."
"Well, I guess I understand, Eric. But you still saved her life, so it's not the same for you than it is for me!"
"Well, maybe now. But, three months before I did that, when I thought I was done for in the caves, I told her how I felt. That I didn't think I deserved her, and that she deserved better. Do you want to know what she said later, when I was visiting her in the hospital?"
"What?" Scootaloo moved a bit closer to me, and I still had my hand on her cheek. She was never more interested in what I had to say than at that point.
"Twilight didn't just tell me, she told me that not only did I deserve to be her friend, and to think of her as my big sister if I want, but she's happy and proud of it. She even said that she wondered if it's her that don't deserve me, and this was less than two weeks after that Alicorn jumped into fire, so she could save my life a third time. And again, this was before I saved her life from Queen Chrysalis. And, even then, I couldn't had done it without Starlight there with me, and with her spells active on me."
"Wow, really, Eric?"
"Yep, really. and there is no comparison to how I was back then, and you. I was almost nothing."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes a bit. "Oh, come on, you're just saying that, Eric."
Still with my hand on Scootaloo's cheek, I shook my head. "No, I'm not, Scootaloo. Think about it. Compared to what I can do at four inches tall, you can do way more. Not only that, you're a Cutie Mark Crusader. You, along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, help colts and fillies find out their purpose in life, and get their Cutie Marks. That is something that not even Rainbow Dash does, and is something you'll always have over her, even if you'll never fly. Your Cutie Mark is all the proof you need for that to be fact."
"Well...when you put it like that Eric, I guess I do."
"Yep, you do. As for me back then, other than maybe being a little bit more forgiving than Twilight, I didn't have a thing over her, when I was feeling that I didn't deserve her. And yet she still said that I deserved her. Maybe she saw something in me that I didn't know, or yet know. Or she just simply cared about me so much, and that was all she needed to want me as her friend and little brother. So if Twilight would've still felt that way about me, don't you know that Rainbow Dash feels that way about you?"
"Wow. I didn't know about all of that, Eric. I knew some of it, but not the full story, or how you felt. And you still feel like way a bit? Even now?"
"Yep. Even though I've saved Twilight's life once, she's saved mine three times. Add that to everything she's done for me, and still does, I still owe her a lot. So that's why a part of me still don't think I deserve Twilight. And now, Scootaloo, you're the only one that knows this because I've never told it to anypony, not even to Starlight. So, trust me when I say that I understand how you feel."
"Okay, and I trust you, Eric, and I won't tell anypony, not even Rainbow Dash. And you really think she would feel the same way about me?"
"Yep, I know she will. But, maybe it'll mean more if you hear it from her, so you want to go see her, and you can tell her all that?"
"Yeah, I want to. Can you come with me, Eric?"
I finally took my hand off Scootaloo's cheek. "Sure I will, but do you know where Rainbow is? Or would we need to just track her down?"
"I think she's at her place."
"All right, then let's go there and see her."
Scootaloo and I headed over to Rainbow Dash's place, and she explained what happened to her Daring Do book. And, more importantly, tell Rainbow Dash how she was feeling about her not thinking she deserved to think of her as her big sister.
Hearing it hit Rainbow hard, and she even started shedding a few tears, and flew up to pick up and hug Scootaloo.
"Okay. Scootaloo, first you shouldn't had been trying to show off on that skateboard, and I've told you about that the other day, when you was about to try to show off on that thing."
"I-I know, Rainbow Dash, and I'm so sorry."
"Hey, it's all right, squirt, just try not to do it again. But I want to tell you something else, and it's important. You definitely deserve to think of me as your big sister. I couldn't ask for a better little sister than you! Even if you never fly, you'll always be the best Pegasus ever in my book! You hear me?"
Scootaloo really broke down in tears in happiness hearing Rainbow say that about her. "Thank you, Rainbow! And thank you for being my big sister, and I couldn't ask for a better one! I love you!"
"And I love you too, squirt. Never forget that, okay? And if you need to hear it again, come to me, and I'll say it was much you want! You're the best, Scootaloo!" With that, Rainbow held Scootaloo up in the air, like she wanted to show the world that her little sister is the best Pegasus ever. Or, maybe even best pony.
Shedding tears myself, I tried to sneak out, thinking those two sisters should be alone. But before I did, they spotted me, and Scootaloo asked me to wait. Rainbow sat her down, and she ran to give me a hug, and told me, "And thanks a lot of talking to me earlier, Eric! No wonder Twilight said you deserve being her little brother, cause you do!
"Yeah, Scootaloo's right, Eric. You yourself could make a really good big brother, you know that?"
"Oh, I guess I could. But, the advice I told Scootaloo was just advice that I was told, so it's not like I thought of it myself."
"Well, it doesn't matter, because whoever told you that probably got it from somepony else, right?"
"Hmm. Maybe they did, Rainbow. But wherever they got it from, I'm just glad it could help here. But I'm gonna head back to Twilight's castle cause I'm getting hungry, so I'll see you two later, okay?"
"Okay, Eric, and thanks for talking to Scootaloo earlier."
"Yeah, thanks!"
I told them no problem, and headed back to the castle to eat. It felt really good to be able to help somepony like I did. Guess I've learned a few things, being Twilight and Starlight's little brother.
Unknown to Eric Reed, when he was talking to Scootaloo, Princess Twilight Sparkle was nearby watching the whole time. She was going to go talk to Scootaloo herself when she saw her depressed. But when the Alicorn saw Eric get to her first, she stayed back and out-of-sight in some bushes, and watched her little brother take care of it.
While watching, Twilight smiled proudly almost the whole time. When she heard him say that part of him still didn't think he deserved thinking of her as his big sister and why, she could understand why he still might feel that way, first hoof. Twilight herself still feels that she wasn't truly worthy to had been Princess Celestia's protege, despite that she went on to become the Element of Magic, saved Equestria time and again, and is now a Princess herself, the Princess of Friendship. Twilight couldn't blame the young man for sharing traits that she has too. He is her little brother, after all.
She didn't need to know everything Eric might have on his mind, so she didn't mind it at all that he didn't want her to know it.
But there was one thing the Princess of Friendship still didn't know. It was where Eric got the advice, about how blaming yourself without doing something about it won't help anyone. She never gave him that advice, and thought he learned it from someone else, either in his old world or in Equestria, but didn't know who. Little did she know that it came from her former student, Starlight Glimmer, who got the advice from her, three weeks before she gave it to Eric. Even the part where he placed his hand on Scootaloo's right cheek.
It was the advice that kept on giving.