//------------------------------//
// 338. Different isn't Bad - Part 3 
// Story: Blaze the Pony Tale 
// by Wolven5 
//------------------------------//

Humming to himself as he enjoyed a nice flight o'er town, Soarin had love on his mind. He'd been going out with Rainbow Dash for a good long while, especially after Rainbow Dash invited Soarin to move into her house with her. She was the one, of that he was certain. His Rainbow Dash, his inspiration, his angel.

And maybe one day... he thought warmly when he heard something. 

"AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Focusing his eyes, he looked in the direction he heard the scream coming from... and gasped to see it was Scootaloo falling from high in the sky! 

"Scoots!" He wasted no time as he crouched downwards, remembering the motions... and BLASTED OFF!!!!

Soarin might have resigned from the Wonderbolts, but he remembered his training, especially his signature technique, the Sonic Blast-Off! Faster than even a trained Wonderbolt's eye could follow, he caught Scootaloo and quickly brought her down to safety on solid terra firma before seating her onto a park bench. The filly was panting from all the... excitement while Soarin was giving her a look-over. 

"Are you alright, Scoots? Anything hurt, or don't feel right?" he raised his left wing's primary feathers, "How many feathers am I holding up?"

"I-I'm okay, Soarin, really," Scootaloo finally stilled her breath, "Thanks..."

"How did you get so high and then fall?" asked Soarin.

"...I-" Scootaloo was about to say.

"She was training with me!" 

They both looked up to see Rainbow Dash come down, looking apologetic, "Scootaloo, I'm so sorry! I got blindsided by some errant cloud and-and- Oh, thank you so much for catching her, Soar!"

She went over to give him a smooch on the cheek, which made him smile with a blush as he nuzzled her cheek-to-cheek, Scootaloo going 'Bleh!' at the sight of it. But then Soarin had to ask, "So, if you were training, does that mean Scootaloo's flying has improved any?"

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo shared an uneasy look as the latter tried to respond, "Well, actually-"

"Are you kidding?!" Rainbow Dash interrupted, looking confident, "By the time I'm done with the squirt, she'll be out-flying any new recruit for the Wonderbolts Academy!"

Soarin noticed the dejected look on Scootaloo's face, and Rainbow Dash wasn't paying attention. 
"Uh, Dashie? Maybe we should-"

"No time to talk, Soar!" Rainbow Dash zipped under Scootaloo, putting the filly onto her back, "Still got lots of training to do!"

"Uh- Maybe I should join you!" Soarin quickly responded with a forced smile, "I mean... Two top-class fliers? It's a no-brainer!"

"Sure, Soar, I could always use an assistant coach for my favorite little speedster," Rainbow Dash shrugged, "Now, let's get back to-"

"Um, Rainbow?" Scootaloo spoke up, "I... kinda wanna take a break, if that's okay."

Rainbow Dash looked a little perplexed until Soarin agreed, "Yeah, Dash, nopony should push themselves too hard too fast."

Rainbow hmmm'd before nodding and letting Scootaloo down off her back, "Alrighty, Scoots, why don't you hang with Soarin for a while? I'm gonna take some time to think up your next training exercise. Be back in 15!"

*SHOOM*

Soarin and Scootaloo watched as Rainbow Dash launched skyward and flew off, before the two of them shared a look as Soarin finally asked, "...So what's up?"

Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo explained what she'd found out the other day. That her wings were underdeveloped and had been so long past the stage of being a late-bloomer, that the doctor had told her parents that she would never fly.
"...my friends were cheering me up except for Rumble, because he went to tell Rainbow Dash, and now... here we are."

"Aw, Scoots," Soarin felt so bad for the little speedster as he sat down on the bench next to her, taking a deep breath as he considered his next words before finally getting them out. "Sometimes, Scootaloo? Life just doesn't work out in the ways you hope that it will. I've met other pegasi who couldn't fly, some of them accepted it, others tried to overcome the handicap but just wound up hurting themselves, and I don't mean just physically. They... got hurt kind of like how you felt when you found out about your handicap.

"But you know what? The ponies who have to live with these kind of conditions, the best of them choose not to look at these handicaps or conditions or whatever as weaknesses. They find a way to turn them into a strength!"

Scootaloo perked up a bit at Soarin's words as he went on, "Like you, Scoots. Before yesterday, how have you always used your wings?"

Scootaloo paused to think as it escaped her for a moment... until she realized, "For my scooter! I... I use my wings to give me a boost in speed and airtime when I'm riding on my scooter!"  

"And boy do you zoom on that scooter!" Soarin smiled encouragingly, "I've seen you ride that thing so fast and so agile through Ponyville, Scootaloo, it's all kinds of awesome!"

"...You really think so?" Scootaloo looked up at Soarin with hopeful eyes. 

"I know so," Soarin chuckled as he pulled the filly into a noogie, causing her to cry out in protest and stamp her little hooves against his barrel to push him off. But it had the desired effect of putting a smile on her face and raising her spirits. 

Only for an unfriendly voice to cut into the touching moment, "Wow, and I thought you were a loser before!"

They both startled and looked up to see Hotshot leering down at them with a nasty smile on his face, "Couldn't help but notice you and rainbow liquid for brains doing some training, though after what I just heard two words come to mind. Wanna know what they are?"

"Not particularly," Soarin narrowed his eyes at the young braggart of a colt. 

"Why. Bother," Hotshot then began to laugh cruelly, and Scootaloo folded her ears back as she glared up at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of provoking her.  "This is absolute proof of how lame you really are and in every sense of the word, and the best part?"

He then surprised Scootaloo by zipping down and getting up in her face as he whispered, "There's nothing you can do about it!"

Scootaloo struggled not to cry and to maintain her 'don't mess with me' look but Soarin knew the filly was hurting as he stepped between the two pegasus foals and told the colt, "Back off..."

"Aw, does the flightless failure need a big dashing hero to defend her honor?" Hotshot backed up but peered around Soarin to give Scootaloo a disparaging sneer. 

But then Hotshot zipped away and flew around a nearby tree and came out... holding a familiar scooter, to Scootaloo and Soarin's alarm!
"You're a lame loser, and the lame shouldn't play around with such dangerous toys!" 

"Wait, stop!" Scootaloo cried out but Hotshot ignored her... as he whirled around and SMASHED the scooter into the tree, breaking it to pieces, causing Scootaloo to gasp in hurt devastation!

Soarin was appalled at what he had just seen, a voice inside telling him to do something despite uncertainty stalling him... until he heard a sniffle. He looked and saw Scootaloo had finally broken, tears trailing down her face before she finally began to sob and ran away crying. 

Hotshot narrowed his eyes and smirked with cruel satisfaction-

"Are you proud of yourself?"

He looked and saw the look Soarin was giving him. It was... upset, hurt, disgusted, resentful. But Soarin held his fury in check as he went on, "Are you so bitter about your sister flying off to Goddess knows where that you have to take it out on somepony who had nothing to do with it, who was hurting enough already?!"

Hotshot's smirk turned into a resentful frown, "That had nothing to do with Lightning Dust, a better flier- A better pegasus than Rainbow Crash will ever be!" 

"Obviously it is," Soarin sighed with a look of pity, "why else would you say and do something so awful to a filly your sister's rival loves and considers the sister she never had? I'm sorry that Lightning Dust left after washing out with the Silverbolts, but that in no way excuses what you just said and did. I suggest that you apologize to Scootaloo the next time you see her, like you mean it! Or I just might decide to pay a visit to your parents..."

Hotshot shrank back a bit but maintained his resentful glare, "You expect me to be sorry just because you'll tell on my mom and dad?"

Soarin's look softened, "No. Because whatever rivalry or problems you and Scootaloo may have between you, I think that deep down you know what you just did was wrong. Think about that, Hotshot..."

As Soarin turned and hurried to catch up with Scootaloo, Hotshot stood there, feeling... unsure. Insecure, and...regret? No! He'd put that lame and talentless loser in her place, he wasn't sorry!

But if he wasn't sorry, Why does my chest feel so tight that it hurts...?

He began to shake and felt a tear well up in his eye but he quickly blinked it away before flying off, hoping to leave whatever this feeling was behind. Though he flew as fast as he could, he had no  real destination in mind as the feelings hung over him, weighing so  heavily that it was as if his chest was caught in a vice. He couldn't  escape his feelings, but why not? His sister always told him that if he  flew fast enough nothing could catch him or hold him down. 

What is up with me...?! he wondered as the twinge of regret began to feel like a thorn in his heart.





"Scoots! Scootaloo, are you around?" Soarin was worried as he reached the edge of the park that led to the marketplace. 

Scootaloo had never looked so upset as she did after what Hotshot had said and done. Best case scenario: She'd gone home. Worst case scenario? She'd run off and didn't want to be found.

"Soarin!"

Soarin looked up and groaned nervously to see Rainbow Dash fly down to him, brow raised as she asked with an edged tone, "Where's the squirt?"

"Hey Dashie..." Soarin took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened shortly after Rainbow had left. When he was done, Rainbow Dash's feathers were ruffled with rage!

"That little twerp...!" she seethed, "Well, he's gonna be eating his words after I get Scootaloo into the air!"

"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Soarin raised his hooves in a slow-down gesture, "Don't you think we oughta give Scootaloo a little alone time?"

"How's she supposed to get the training she needs to fly if she's alone?" Rainbow retorted, "I'm gonna find her and we're gonna train double-time!"

"Dash, hold on!" Soarin placed his hooves on his mare, "I know you just want to help Scootaloo, but you're going about it the wrong way!" 

"What's that supposed to mean?!" snapped Rainbow Dash, "If we just keep trying-"

"NO." Soarin raised his voice and furrowed his brows, "You need to stop trying."

Rainbow Dash was struck speechless though she managed to utter, "Soarin...?"

"Dashie... I've met pegasi with the same handicap as Scootaloo," Soarin said gently with a sympathizing voice, "Some of them tried to do just what you're trying to do with Scootaloo. They practiced, they trained, they tried to prove naysayers wrong. But the unfair truth is... it just can't be done."

"But- But... What about Bulk Biceps?!" Rainbow Dash protested, sounding upset. "No offense to the guy, but have you seen him?! How freakishly huge he is compared to his teeny wings?! If a pegasus like him can be good enough to get into the Wonderbolts Academy-"

"It's not the same thing, Rainbow," Soarin shook his head, "Sure, Bulk doesn't have the... ideal pegasus physique. But the difference between him and Scootaloo is something else; Bulk has more pegasus magic than Scootaloo does."

"... So?" Rainbow Dash had an idea of where this was going but she kept hoping that she could debate her side better.

"Pegasi don't fly just because of their wings," Soarin reminded her, "We fly because our magic gives us the necessary lift and propulsion while our wings are what allow us to control our flying and velocity. Scootaloo's wings are underdeveloped and her magic just isn't strong enough to give her the lift she needs."

Rainbow Dash wanted to argue, to say something to defend Scootaloo's potential, anything! 

...but nothing came to mind. Soarin's words made sense, even to her, though she couldn't help but softly say, "But... there's still a chance that with the right training-"

"No, Dashie," Soarin took his mare into his wings, and hugged her close, feeling low as he then said, "Your training isn't going to help Scootaloo. If anything, it's just gonna make her feel worse, not only because it's not working and never will but also because by failing the training you want to give her, she feels like she's letting you down..."

Rainbow Dash couldn't fight the tears as she shook with heartache and buried her face into her stallion's chest. She spoke in a shaky voice that was close to sobbing, "Then what'm I supposed to do?! Tell her that I can't help her, that she should give up? That I was wrong and the doctor was right?!"

"No," Soarin said kindly as he eased back and gently lifted his Rainbow's face to meet his encouraging gaze, "We help her, by getting her to understand that even though she can't fly, she can find her own special way to be awesome."





*Knock-knock-knock*

The door opened to reveal Tackle answering the door, "Rainbow Dash. Back with Scootaloo already?"

Rainbow Dash grimaced uncomfortably, "You mean... Scootaloo isn't here?"

Tackle didn't like the sound of that, "What happened?"

Sighing, Rainbow Dash explained to Scootaloo's father what Soarin had told her and when she was done, "I thought she came home after she ran off. Oh, Tackle, I'm so sorry..."

Seeing the despondent pegasus, Tackle assured, "It's alright, Rainbow. Your heart was in the right place, but we should probably step out and look for Scootaloo."

"I just wish I knew how to maker her feel better," Rainbow Dash nodded as she stepped aside for Tackle to venture out. 

They started walking through town together when Tackle suggested, "Well, maybe a new scooter to replace the one that bullying colt broke will help."

"That's definitely a start," agreed Rainbow Dash, "but Scootaloo's gonna need more than that, something to help her figure out how awesome she can be even if she can't fly."

"One step at a time, Rainbow," Tackle replied as they came to the marketplace, "one step at a time."