//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Her Own Magic // by TheCaptinLove //------------------------------// Chapter 3 If Scootaloo had had her way about it she would have never stopped running, it was the only thing there was to do. However no matter how fast she could run she couldn’t outrun Derpy and Rainbow Dash who had the advantage of flight. Each of the adults tried to explain to her that the situation was not as hopeless as might seem. Twilight especially emphasized the medical expertise of her acquaintances in Canterlot, and that they would surely be able to find a way to help her, Derpy mainly reinforced everything Twilight was saying and trying to give assurances that everything would work out in the end, and Rainbow Dash for the most part just stood there and felt awkward. “I don’t think I should be here” thought Rainbow Dash to herself and wishing she were somewhere else right now. “I’m not family and I don’t have any useful connection like Twilight. There’s nothing I can do to help.” Nothing either Twilight or Derpy said registered to Scootaloo. Her entire attention was on Rainbow Dash, whose eyes went here and there trying to avoid the filly’s gaze. That’s what registered to her. Scootaloo was the sort of pony that might have eventually learned to see this disability as just a challenge to overcome, and even if she never did fly she would have been able to live with herself knowing she never stopped trying. That might have been the case, but now what she saw was that her hero, her idol refused to even look at her. With that her heart shattered. Tears began to flow down her face uninhibited and her small body shook as she began to cry. This was not the wailing cry of someone who is either angry in there sadness or who is crying for some particular reason. This was the passive, pitiful sobbing of the completely devastated. Derpy decided to take her home. The other two fillies, who had been trying to give moral support to their comrade, were also sent home. Scootaloo was lying in bed, face buried in her pillow. Derpy sat next to her, muzzling her mane, trying to be of some comfort to her daughter. After some amount of time Derpy said “a nice bath might help you feel better, would you like me to draw you one”. Scootaloo said nothing. After a while however she did sit up. Her eyes were red and puffy, she rubbed them dry with her foreleg and continued to sit. Then Derpy said “Well listen, Twilight said that she would write to those big shot medical ponies in Canterlot today and that she should get her responses by tomorrow at the most. So why don’t you go have a nice hot bath to perk you up while I fix us some lunch, okay Scooty?” “Don’t call me that” Scootaloo hissed. “What?” “Don’t call me Scooty, I hate that name.” Since learning the terrible truth Scootaloo had become a vortex of negative emotion and now all of the sadness, resentment, bitterness, and disappointment that had built up was evolving into a searing anger at Derpy. Derpy was caught off guard by this outburst, Scooty had always been a pet name for her daughter that Scootaloo had always enjoyed, or at least she did when she was younger. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it bothered you sweetie.” “And stop talking to me like you’re my mom, I know you aren’t” Scootaloo shouted at her.” Derpy was even more surprised by this. “What do you mean, of course I am.” “No you’re not, I heard the part about you just finding me in the woods!” “But why is this upsetting you now? You’ve always known you were adopted, we never kept that from you. And it doesn’t mean anything, you’re just as much my daughter as Dinky or…” “You told me I was adopted, you never said anything about being abandoned!” tears were beginning to build up in her eyes again but Scootaloo held them back. She refused to let herself cry in front of Derpy now. “Honey, we don’t know for sure that’s what happened, Rainbow Dash was only saying that it was a possibility. And even if that is what happened, their mistake doesn’t define you.” “Shut up! Don’t talk to me like I matter, I don’t, that’s why I was left to die in the woods, and why Rainbow Dash won’t even look at me anymore.” “That’s not true, this thing isn’t your fault. And I know Rainbow Dash well enough to know she would never hurt you on purpose.” “Just stop it! I was thrown away because nopony wants me. You should have just let die out in the woods, I hate you!” Scootaloo screamed before burring her face in her pillow again. Derpy’s voice gave out, but before it went completely she managed to say squeak “I want you”. She was unable to speak and Scootaloo was unwilling to listen so she left the room as her own eyes began to fill with tears. Scootaloo spent the rest of the day lying in bed. She didn’t want to do anything, not even listen to her songs as she normally did. She felt a pang of guilt about what she had said to Derpy but she suppressed it. There was a great feeling of relief in being able to throw all the unpleasantness she felt at somepony else. Derpy only came back once to leave a dandelion sandwich on Scootaloo’s night stand. Scootaloo could tell she had been crying. “Maybe I’ll feel like apologizing tomorrow” she thought to herself, although she certainly didn’t’ feel like it now. The day eventually faded into dusk and Scootaloo had not left her room. This was normally the time when she would gaze longingly at Rainbow Dash’s house as it made its pass over the sun. Now she viewed to house as one might view a corpse at a funeral and placed all of her dreams, fantasies, and expectations of flying and all that would come with it to rest. After that she decided that she went to sleep without dinner, she didn’t feel like eating and sleeping felt like the only thing to do now. However it wasn’t restful at all, and she kept waking up all hours of the night so that in the morning she did not feel rested at all. She came downstairs to eat breakfast with everypony at the appropriate time. Normally all of the family meals were filled with lively conversation, but today there was not much talking, or maybe there was, Scootaloo did care to listen either way. She decided that she wasn’t going to go to school today. Mondays were bad enough without all the unpleasantness she was currently feeling. Before she left Derpy said that she had to make a delivery to Baltimare and that she would be home late again. She gave the other three members of the family a hug, a kiss, and an ‘I love you’. Dinky and the Doctor returned the gestures but Scootaloo said nothing and avoided looking at her. Derpy smiled sadly and gave her another kiss before heading out. Scootaloo had intended to stay at home today. But the Doctor wouldn’t allow it. He and Derpy didn’t mind if either of their children skipped school so long as they weren’t wasting their time. So they could skip anytime they wanted on the condition that they were at the library reading. This arrangement normally suited Scootaloo well, the only reason she even went to school was because her friends were there. After yesterday however the library was the last place she wanted to be. She decided the she would just check out a book and go elsewhere. She managed to get a book and sign her name and the title in the registry without Twilight noticing, as she was absorbed in modifying her weekly schedule. Afterward she went went to her private place near the tree where she practiced, or rather used to practice. She read until she got bored and then wished she had brought her scooter. She almost claimed the tree to practice flying out of habit but then recalled that there was no point in it. So she spent the day reading when she could stand it and just being bored when she couldn’t and waited for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to get out of school. She didn’t feel like socializing but she also thought she would like having her friends around. It was nearly time for school to let out and Scootaloo was about to go meet her friends when Fluttershy happened flutter by and stop her. “Hey Scootaloo, did school let out early today?” “Hey Fluttershy, no I just didn’t feel like going today. I was actually just about to go meet my friends when they get out.” “Oh, I was just on my way to meet Rarity for our weekly get together, how about we walk together into town, um, that is if you want to?” “Alright” said Scootaloo as she began walking next to her. The two began to make bits of small talk but the whole conversation soon went to Scootaloo asking Fluttershy all sorts of questions about animals. It felt odd at first, she had never really been interested in animals before and had never thought Fluttershy could have told her all these cool things about animals. Any other time she might have taken this as a good lesson of never judging a book by its cover, but there was another thing that caught her interest. Fluttershy was talking to her, answering her questions, asking her questions, actually paying attention to her. With Rainbow Dash she constantly had to try catch her attention by some means or another and would usually get nothing more than a ‘hey their squirt’ or something to that effect before her hero bolted off to do whatever. In fact now that she gave it serious thought she could not recall Rainbow Dash ever spending time with her, listening to her, giving her encouragement or advice. Adding all these realities together the orange filly was forced to a realization. “Rainbow Dash doesn’t care about me at all” Scootaloo thought to herself. Finally acknowledging what she had long suspected in the back of her mind was both painful and refreshing at once, a feeling that going through some feared struggle and learning one is able to stand it is likely to produce. Her next thoughts were, conventionally enough, for Derpy. She had always done for Scootaloo what she so desperately wanted from Rainbow Dash and more. “Hey Fluttershy” Scootaloo asked as the yellow pegasus finished talking about the migratory patterns of Caneighdian geese. “What is it Scootaloo, was I boring you, I’m sorry” Fluttershy apologized. “No it’s not that. I just wanted to ask about something else.” “Oh, go right ahead then.” “You’ve known Der…my mom for a long time haven’t you?” “Yes I suppose I have. When I first came to Ponyville she helped me a lot. If it weren’t for her I’m not sure I could have made it living on the ground. Why do you ask?” Before Scootaloo could ask her question however the two pegasi heard the Doctor call out to them. He ran up to them, with Dinky running right behind him, and said “Scootaloo, you weren’t at the library” he said. He was clearly distressed over some matter. “I just checked something out” Scootaloo said as she tried to reach into her saddle bag to show him the book. “Fine, it’s not important” he said sharply. “Fluttershy I’m sorry to ask this of you out of the blue but could you please watch Dinky and Scootaloo tonight I’ve got to be on the next train to Baltimare.” “Of course I will but, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the urgency?” “Doctor”, said Dinky after having taken a few moments to catch her breath, “what’s going on, please tell me.” “Right” he said forcing himself to calm down “right I’m sorry. About half an hour ago Rainbow Dash told me that she received an urgent message that your mother was in an accident. Apparently there was an unscheduled thunderstorm around Baltimare today and she was struck by lightning.” “Is she alright” squealed the now terrified filly. “All I know right now is that she’s in the hospital. As soon as I find out more I’ll send word to you both” he said addressing both of the fillies. Scootaloo was in something of a shock from hearing the news and said nothing. Dinky, with tears in her eyes, was begging the Doctor to let her come with him. He explained that she couldn’t and that if it was necessary he would send for them after he had found a place for them to stay. She really wasn’t paying attention to anything that was going on anymore. Her senses only returning to her after Fluttershy had brought her and Dinky back to her house. Fluttershy was eventually able to calm Dinky down enough so that she could be occupied playing with some of the animals. After that she walked over to talk to Scootaloo who had been sitting by herself and trying to fully process everything. The orange filly’s eyes had become moist and her small body had begun to tremble as it all sank in. Fluttershy nuzzled her cheek and asked “are you ok Scootaloo”. “No” Scootaloo replied, with a shaky voice. Fluttershy brought her into a tight embrace. A short while pasted as the two sat together, Scootaloo whimpering into Fluttershy’s chest. She then finnaly said “We had a fight”. “You and your mother” said Fluttershy. “Uh-huh” Scootaloo said between her increasingly frequent sobs. “No, it wasn’t even that, I was just yelling at her. I said that I hated her.” Fluttershy hugged her tighter and said “she knows you didn’t mean it.” “What if she doesn’t come back, that’ll be the last thing I’ll have ever said to her.” “Oh, but…I’m sure she’ll be fine Scootaloo.” “But if she…I’ve got to go to Baltimare, I have to see her” said Scootaloo as she tore herself away from Fluttershy. “Scootaloo the train will have already left, wait!” But Scootaloo was oblivious to her calls. She knew the train was gone by now and so started running as fast as her legs could carry her in the general direction of Baltimare. Her heart beat fiercely as she ran, and as it did there developed a sensation building inside her chest that was alien to her, but she hardly gave it attention. It became more intense with her resolve to get to her mother. “I won’t let that be the last thing I say to her” she proclaimed to herself. The strange sensation that had been building in her chest spread throughout her entire body. She nearly gasped at how much lighter she felt now; it felt like a mound of bricks had been removed from her back after having carried them her entire life. Her wings unfolded and she began to flap them so that she shot into the air and sored across the sky toward her destination like a bolt of lightning. Rainbow Dash was soaring through the night sky just outside Baltimare and was on her way to give the city’s head weather pony a piece of her mind. As head weather pony he should have alerted her and the weather teams in every other city, town, and village a week in advance of any potentially hazardous weather conditions he planned for his area. That policy had been enacted by the Central Weather Bureau so that accidents like this wouldn’t happen. He would no doubt be fired over this serious blunder but not before she was done with him. “I’m gonna kick his flank into the next century when I get my hoofs on him” she muttered to herself, among other things. Her train of thought was interrupted however by a flash of orange zipping past her. “What the hay was that” she cried aloud as she watched the thing fly down and disappear into the city. Scootaloo flew through the city looking for Derpy. The same internal sensation that was giving her lift was urging her toward a certain place in the city, she knew that’s where her mother was. Sure enough she eventually came to a hospital building and made for an open window on the second story in order to land inside. Of course having never flown before she knew nothing of landing and so went through the window and crashed into a supply closet. She broke some mops and brooms but luckily no bones. This floor was dark and quiet. It was apparently just for overnight patients who were being left to sleep. Scootaloo picked herself up and was about to go downstairs when she felt herself pulled toward a room at the end of the hall. As she approached the door she saw written on the tag, Derpy Hooves. She opened the door and stepped into the darkened room. Derpy was lying asleep on the bed, with a number of wires attached to her body and an oxygen mask on her face. Scootaloo was taken aback, seeing her like that, and for a moment there was no sound save for Derpy’s slow breathing and the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Scootaloo then ran over and jumped onto the bed. She was again taken aback by the sight and smell of singed feathers and hair. Now that she was up close she was able to hear how ragged and labored Derpy’s breathing was. “Mom” she said hesitantly, but she received no response the pegasus. “Mommy” Scootaloo said again more pleadingly and again got no response. Not knowing what else to do she curled up next to her mother as her emotions began to get the better of her. “I’m so sorry for what I said” spoke the teary eyed filly. “And I’m sorry for everything else; for blaming you for everything that wasn’t your fault, for being embarrassed by you, and for trying to push you out of my life.” Her voice caught in her throat a moment. “I don’t hate you, I don’t know why I ever thought I did. I love you”. Derpy remained unconscious and unresponsive. The tears she had been trying to hold back began to flow unabated. “Please wake up and hear me say it” she pleaded. She began sobbing profusely and repeating ‘I love you’ over and over again.