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// 08 - School's Daze 
// Story: Do It For Her 
// by Cxcd 
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Scootaloo knew it was common to have first-day jitters.
It was not common to have first-day panic attacks.
That’s what this was, right? A panic attack? She didn’t know why she was feeling like this. Hay, a few hours ago, she was even excited at the prospect of going to school. The orphanage did their best to educate foals, but at the end of the day, it was nothing compared to physically going to a school house and learning.
Sure, there was probably foals that weren’t the nicest of ponies on the planet, but there were plenty more who were nice, and probably willing to befriend her. Did these thoughts mean she was forever predetermined to become nothing more than a social outcast? Of course, she knew the answer. Right? Right?
She hadn’t ever gotten up this early. Miss Cheerilee was more than happy to let Scootaloo attend the morning classes, as school was split into two bodies, being morning classes and afternoon classes. Cheerilee must’ve taken pity on how buddy-buddy Scootaloo had become with Sweetie Belle and let her attend the same classes, and to that she was grateful.
“If I’m so grateful, why can’t I get my heart under control?” Scootaloo said out loud to herself in the mirror. She had been swiveling back and forth on the black stool she was sitting on, aggressively combing her mane for a little more than ten minutes, even though her mane looked fine after the first thirty seconds. The sky was still dark outside her drawn blinds. It was a strange feeling. Waking up meant the sky was supposed to be bright, right? Not dark?
She grit her teeth, letting out an aggressive sigh. She was mentally fine, but staring at herself in the mirror told her she wasn’t physically fine. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears, watching as a bead of sweat dripped from somewhere higher up in her mane. For some inexplicable reason, she felt physically sick, like she was staring down from a skyscraper with her wings tied to her back. Not that her wings would’ve helped her, anyways.
She let the brush drop, clanking against the desk.
“You’re fine.” She said to herself. “It’s just school. Everypony does school.” She put her head onto her desk with a quiet thunk, sighing out. “I’m fine.”
Two knocks resounded through the room, it’s source coming from the bedroom door. She took one more sharp breath in, raising her head and looking at the offending wooden structure.
“Come in!” She said. The door creaked open slowly- which was why she was surprised when it wasn’t a butter yellow Pegasus, but rather a cyan one with explosive mane of colors. Through Scootaloo’s own wild mane, suspended entirely by static electricity, her eyes widened.
“Hey, squirt.” Rainbow Dash said, stopping in the door frame. “How’s my favorite filly doing?”
“O-Oh- I’m doing- um- fine.” Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Really?” Dash asked, meandering into the room casually. The door swung closed via the forces of gravity, making a quiet latching sound as it clicked into it’s closing place. Dash’s eyes glossed over the many drawings on the walls. It was honestly beginning to look a little bit like her old room. Rainbow stopped trotting when her eyes fixated on a heart-shaped container laying open on the bed.
“Did you like those chocolates?” Dash asked. Scootaloo’s gut clenched with shame as she had devoured the box no less than ten minutes ago while combing her mane. She wasn’t even sure why she did it. It’s not like she was particularly hungry.
“Y-Yeah.” Scootaloo nodded, eyeing the container like it had said something profane. Her stomach actually hurt a little bit from the lack of a proper breakfast, and from being filled with chocolate. “Fluttershy said she didn’t have any, but- um- half the box was empty.”
“O-Oh.” Dash coughed, turning away from the box. “Strange.”
“Yeah…”
Scootaloo began, once again, idly swiveling her chair back and forth, looking up at Rainbow. The silence that permeated across the duo was awkward and tense. Almost instinctively, Scootaloo reached out to the comb, picking it up, and starting to brush her hair again. Rainbow furrowed her brow, leaning in slightly, even if she was across the room.
“You sure you’re good?” She asked.
“Yeah! Fine.” Scootaloo quickly stopped her swiveling, now staring at herself through the mirror. “Fine.” She repeated. Dash didn’t say anything further yet, only walking towards Scootaloo with a thoughtful expression on her face. She stopped over her shoulder, staring at Scootaloo through the reflective surface.
“You know…” Dash started. “Is it alright if I call her Mom?” Scootaloo hesitated, eventually nodding. “Right. I’ve been around your Mom for a long, long time, and I know when she’s having a panic attack.”
Scootaloo cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. She let her comb drop to her lap, opening her eyes again. “That obvious, huh?
“Well… you talk pretty loudly when trying to be quiet.” Rainbow put a hoof on Scootaloo’s head, moving it back and forth. “You’ve combed your hair so much your starting to look like Rarity.” It was true. Her hair now descended way past where it would usually sit, curving around her neck and flicking off towards the bottom, much like how Rarity’s did. Scootaloo sighed again, squeezing her eyes shut.
“I’m just…” She let out a harsh sigh. When one hasn’t been using words their whole life, suddenly starting is very painful to do. “I’m scared, I think? I-I don’t know. I-I don’t know why I’m- I’m acting up like- I’m acting up like this- it’s- it’s-” Scootaloo wasn’t even sure when she began hyperventilating.
“Hey- squirt!” Rainbow grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around in the chair. Rainbow sat down in front of her. “Look at me. It’s okay, okay? Follow me.” Rainbow took a deep breath in, holding a hoof to her own chest. “Breathe in…” Scootaloo hesitantly followed. “Breathe out, kay? Okay- one more time. Breathe in… breathe out.” Scootaloo followed, feeling blood rushing from her head. “I did the same thing with Flutters way back when she had severe panic attacks. Keep going.” She ushered. Scootaloo followed as Rainbow began a story.
“I was the only one who could really calm Mom down. Hay, I was the only one who could calm the Shyster down.” She let out a quick laugh. “Keep breathing. Once or twice, I had Flutter’s old man come to flight-camp to get me. Imagine explaining to a very strict principal that this random pony wasn’t trying to foalnap me, and I had to calm his daughter down.” Rainbow rubbed her hoof up and down on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“I-I think?” She still felt a little lightheaded. “I-I’m sorry. This has never… really happened to me like that…”
“Hey, don’t apologize.” Rainbow took off her hoof, standing up. “It’s not your fault.” She rolled her hoof, looking at a nearby clock on the wall. “Hey, we still got a good thirty minutes ‘till school starts. Wanna hit up Mom for some breakfast?”
“S-Sure.” Scootaloo had momentarily forgot her hunger pangs during her momentary freak-out. Her stomach wasn’t very happywith the chocolate she had uncontrollably devoured. She reopened the closed door, following Rainbow out of the room. Her head had began slowly coming off of the metaphorical high she was just surfing. Scootaloo let out a soft chuckle, slowly coming to her senses. “You’re calling her Mom, too.”
“Yeah? And?” Rainbow asked, opting to fly down instead of taking the stairs.
“Are we sisters now?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow made a buzzing sound with her lips, raising her eyebrows.
“Hey, you said it, not me.” Rainbow itched her chin as she landed at the bottom of the stairs. “I think that’s how that works, right?”
Both of them, at the same time, had their senses overfilled with the smell of waffles.Slowly, the two ponies met each others eyes. Then, systematically, both of their faces split into smiles.
“First one there is a rotten egg!” Rainbow shouted, attempting to bolt off. Scootaloo protested by biting Rainbow’s tail, making her fall flat on her stomach. Then, in a moment of clarity, she barreled over the older Pegasus.
This went on for some time as a confused Fluttershy watched from the kitchen.







After a hearty breakfast of waffles and hay-rolls, two ponies walked on a lonely path. The sun still hadn’t risen over the horizon. Instead, the sky was a bleak gray, barely pittering out enough light to illuminate the various clouds that hadn’t yet been cleared out yet. Mainly because the weather captain, who was supposed to clear out the clouds before sunrise, was currently walking an orange filly to class.
The quiet field erupted with two voices of laughter. One higher pitched, and one lower pitched.
“-and this colt’s gotta be twice my size!” Rainbow laughed, turning and looking at the trees dispersed infrequently around them. She gathered her thoughts for a moment, turning to look at the filly bouncing by her side. “I mean- you should’a seen the look on his face. He had this smirk, and then pow!” Scootaloo laughed, stopping her bouncing from pebble-to-pebble as she accidentally began drifting off path. Rainbow shook her head. “I had a prom date in like- ten seconds flat.” Scootaloo stopped her laughing, looking up to Rainbow.
“You went to prom?” Scootaloo asked, her voice much louder than she meant it to be.
“Course I went to prom.” Rainbow fluttered her feathers, looking a little bit uncomfortable at the question. It was unusual to see the Pegasus walking, especially for such a long duration of time. “Lotta’ cute colts in my class. Would’ve been stupid to turn them down.”
“But I thought you hated colts?”
“I hated that colt.” Rainbow gently corrected. “That would’ve been sexist if I hated all colts.”
“But- you said that you liked mares!”
“Shh!” Rainbow extended a wing, forcing it in front of Scootaloo’s face, covering her mouth. Scootaloo batted the wing away, looking back at Rainbow. “Not so loud, squirt. I don’t hate stallions. I just… don’t prefer them, ya know?” She shivered, looking around at the desolate walk path. Luckily, it was completely empty. “Not a’lotta folks around here take too kindly to ponies like me.”
“Why?”
“Just- they don’t. Don’t mention it, kay?” Rainbow bopped Scootaloo on the nose. She scrunched her muzzle, rubbing it as her attention was redirected. “You should’ve seen Mom’s brother. I mean- he was a real piece of work. He just- he didn’t get I swung that way.”
Scootaloo let out a quick laugh. “I have an uncle?”
“You’ll wish you didn’t.” Rainbow ruffled her mane. Scootaloo ducked her head. “Hay, I wonder if Mom wishes she didn’t have a brother sometimes.” Scootaloo smiled at Dash’s antics… before her smile slowly fell.
“You know, I had a brother once.” Scootaloo mentioned quietly. Rainbow blankly stared ahead for a moment before whipping her head down.
“What?”
“Oh, look. We’re here.” Scootaloo pointed ahead. “It’s a little… small.”
Rainbow kept staring for several seconds, before shaking her head and looking up. It was faintly illuminated by the early sun, but it’s general shape was still visible. It was a simple one-room schoolhouse, painted a bright and angry red that reflected even in the darkened sky. Atop the simple black roof was a golden bell that glinted beautifully in Luna’s night. Out the front, groups of foals played and yelled at each other, even if it was dark out.
“Well… it’s a small town.” Rainbow said, stopping in the path. Scootaloo followed suit too, stopping by her sister’s side. “Don’t really need a big school.”
“Yeah…” Scootaloo awkwardly itched her fetlock, looking down at the pebbles. “I-It’s a little… intimidating.”
“Is it?” Rainbow asked, gauging the size. “I’d think it’s about an average sized…” Rainbow looked down at filly, noticing how she had begun shivering. Rainbow held her tongue, crouching back down and grabbing the filly in a hug.
“Wh-”
“Hey.” Rainbow said, wrapping her in a wing-hug. “It’s okay, kay?”
“N-No- It’s just… cold.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No it isn’t.” Scootaloo agreed, leaning into the hug.
“Just… remember to breathe, kid.” Rainbow said, breaking from the hug first. Scootaloo momentarily kept holding, but broke away as the mare pulled. “Your gonna do fine.” Scootaloo looked at the schoolhouse. All those… foals. Groups of them. Which ones would she join first? Did any of them even want her to join?
Breathe in…
She spotted Sweetie Belle, waiting by the white fence out front.
Breathe out.
“Okay…” Scootaloo nodded. “Okay. I can do this.”
“Yeah, you can!” Rainbow held out her hoof. “C’mon, put it here.” Scootaloo looked up with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, rolling her eyes as she childishly bumped hooves. Rainbow let out a smile, ruffling her mane for perhaps the tenth time that day. So much in fact, that Scootaloo began to feel the burning spot where Rainbow had been rubbing.
“S-See you, sis.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow merely smiled, saluting like a royal guard, and taking off in flight.
Scootaloo kept sitting, staring up as the spot that had once been Rainbow began getting smaller and smaller in the distant sky. Scootaloo’s eyes began unfocusing as she became harder and harder to distinguish from the monotonous gray.
Breathe in…
“Scoots!”
Breathe out.
Scootaloo turned around, finding the sight of a white unicorn filly running as quickly as ponily possible kind of funny. Sweetie tried stopping, rolling a few hooves forwards as her hooves dug into the gravel.
“Hey!” Sweetie greeted, quickly hugging Scootaloo. “Ready for the big day?”
“I-I guess!” Scootaloo shrugged with a smile. “I dunno!”
“You don’t know?” She asked. “What, you’ve never been to school before?”
“No?”
“No?!” Sweetie yelled. She relented, just simply rolling her eyes. “C’mon, silly. I’ll show you.” She grabbed Scootaloo’s hoof in her own, tugging her along. Scootaloo, against her will, began following the exuberant white filly.
There were, to say the least, a lot of foals. This was expected, but in all honesty, it wasn’t nearly as many as she thought there would be. Was this a bonus or a negative? She wasn’t quite sure. More foals meant more anonymity among a large group. Less foals meant that everypony knew everypony, and that was a dangerous thing, especially for the potential social outcast.
Sweetie Belle let go of Scootaloo’s hoof, standing on her hindlegs and using her muzzle to unlatch the brown door, letting it freely swing open on it’s own weight. Sweetie trotted in confidentially, and as Scootaloo could guess, probably because this wasn’t her first year.
“Hey, Miss Cheerilee!” Sweetie yelled. The blackboard and the teacher’s desk were at the far end of the room. Cheerilee was busy sitting idly at her desk, using a strange machine with a blade on the side of it to slice through a stack of papers. Probably some kind of worksheet, if Scootaloo had to guess. She pushed down on the handle, the blade making a satisfying slashing sound as she did.
“Hello, kids.” She greeted, pushing the stack of papers off of the slicing platform, and putting the strange machine on the floor next to her, away from any potentially too curious foals. She leaned forwards on her desk, smiling fondly as the two ponies crossed the rows and rows of desks. “Welcome to school, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo wilted under her friendly gaze. It was a strange feeling. Did Scootaloo not like the position of power this pony held? Whatever the case was, it seemed Cheerilee picked up on it almost immediately, turning to look at Sweetie.
“And I assume you’ve been treating her well?” Cheerilee asked, addressing the white Unicorn.
“Oh, yes!” Sweetie nodded. “I was gonna show her the skipping spot later today!”
“The-” Cheerilee leaned back in her chair, blinking rapidly. “The what?”
“Nothing!” Sweetie said, as if nothing had happened. “Hey- do you mind if we pick out our seats?” She asked, standing all the way on walls of her hooves. Cheerilee glanced behind her at the clock atop the blackboard.
“I don’t see why not… you might want to hurry, though.” She stood up from her chair. “It’s about time I call the kids to class.”
“Oh, c’mon, Scoots!” Sweetie turned around, blasting past the confused Pegasus. Scootaloo watched as Sweetie bounced between the rows of seats, stopping every few moments to properly gauge a specific spot she was at, and then continuing to bounce to the next spot.
Cheerilee rolled her eyes, walking past Scootaloo and out the door.
“Right here!” Sweetie said, suddenly sitting down. She pointed to the spot next to her. “Here, I saved you a window seat!” She beamed. “I thought you might like it.”
True, the spot she was pointing at was a window seat. Scootaloo smiled, grateful at her friend. She approached the desk, looking upon it’s wooden surface. It was leaning forwards at a drastic angle by design. The seat looked terrible, if she were being honest, more akin to a board of wood laying on the ground rather than an actual seat.
But, she took it anyways, sitting down. The desk already had supplies on it, being a red folder, a few pieces of first-day paper, and a pencil.
Pencil. Scootaloo let loose a little smile as she picked up the pencil, rolling it around on her frog. A pencil. A gateway into a thousand drawings. A gateway towards a million stories.
But, unfortunately, her thoughts of drawings were interrupted by the sound of a ringing bell. Scootaloo looked out the massive window to her left, watching as all of the foals stopped what they were doing, a range of talking or chasing, to suddenly all bolt towards the classroom.
The first foal through the door was a Unicorn filly. Her coat was an esquissette black, an uncommon color of coat usually found further north, where ponies coats were thicker and darker to absorb more heat in the harsh infinite winter. It was the opposite of why Rainbow’s mane was colorful and bright, to deflect the pounding sun. Dash’s heritage might’ve come from more tropical environments, where bright manes were more common.
The next pony was a colt with a gray coat and black mane. He was a Pegasus, and to Scootaloo’s dismay, was already flying. It made her wings feel even more useless. Would anypony notice hers? She sure hoped not.
The next was a pink Earth-pony, wearing a diamond-
Wait- no, the next was a silver Earth-pony-
Uhh-
Scootaloo suddenly began feeling lightheaded again. The amount of foals, although yes, less than she thought there was going to be, there still was a lot. One after another, they came pouring in. In total, it might’ve only been about fifteen students, but as Scootaloo sat patiently near her window, it felt like a lot more.
Was the floor always that far away? Was her brain just playing tricks on her? Why was it getting so hard to breathe?
Scootaloo slowly looked up, trying as hard as possible to not direct any attention towards herself. Sweetie Belle was sitting in her seat, her back straight, and attention firmly on the teacher, even though she hadn’t gotten up yet.
But Scootaloo leaned forwards. Just a little bit.
There, past Sweetie, was an Earth-pony filly she hadn’t seen yet. And apparently, she was staring back at her, too.
Scootaloo blinked.
She blinked.
The filly, who had a red mane with a large box fixed to the top of her head, observed Scootaloo for a moment. Then, she smiled, nodding her head, as if to say ‘are you okay?’Scootaloo took a moment to respond, also nodding her head.
She slumped back into her sitting position, as did Scootaloo.
She felt… well, not good, but she felt a little better.
Miss Cheerilee got up from her desk, looking at something on it as she walked away. Then, she cleared her throat, waiting for the class to quiet down.
“Good morning, class!” She said cheerfully. Scootaloo was taken off-guard as everypony around her responded with a resounding Good Morning, Cheerilee.Cheerilee laughed at the expense of the few ponies, Scootaloo included, who were taken off-guard by the sudden chorus.
“Who here remembers the tale about the founding of Equestria?” She asked, turning around and gripping a piece of chalk in her frog.
Scootaloo turned once more to look at the tan filly, but she was too busy to notice Scootaloo.
Weird.
Scootaloo let her shoulder’s relax.