Every parent is supposed to love their child to the end of the earth right? They’re the ones that never leave your side, are always there to back you up and will never let you down. They help you out when you’re down on your luck, and they accept you for who you really are. They’re your friend, bodyguard, advisor, confidant and in some cases, taxi driver. That’s what a parent is right?
Scootaloo was always just a little bit different. When she was born, her eyes were slightly larger than other foals, but her parents just passed it off as one of those things that every child has: a birthmark, an unusually large toe, or being left-handed. Nothing to worry about, it’s fine.
As Scootaloo grew older however, more ‘special’ things started to appear; Things like confusing simple words, losing her balance and going into her room for days at a time. While other foals went out to make friends, Scootaloo would usually remain inside, running around erratically. They usually passed it off as her being unique, and nothing to be concerned about, until the day Scootaloo tried to fly.
“Go Scoots!” “You can do it!” Cries like this echoed to Scoots from the ground, which was only about 2 metres below her, but to Scootaloo, it felt like 2 miles. Pegasi are born with an instinctive knowledge of how to fly, it just takes them time to develop the confidence. Her parents knew that there was no chance of her falling, as her instincts would kick in and she would easily pick up the wing movements required to fly.
As Scootaloo trembled on the roof of her small house on the outskirts of Ponyville, her parents began to become slightly disinterested. They kept cheering her on, and they were still excited, but some of the anticipation and excitement had left over time. Finally, Scootaloo took a few steps back, jumped off the roof, and plummeted to the ground...
“Gotcha!” Flying Breeze yelled as Scootaloo found herself in her dad’s arms. Flying Breeze had performed quite a magnificent dive to catch her, and he had caught her with roughly half a metre to spare. “You okay, Squirt?” he asked Scootaloo when he had recovered. He was confused as to why Scootaloo had plummeted, and resolved to check her wings when she had recovered from the shock. “Yeah... just a bit scared” Scootaloo practically whispered back. Flying Breeze had sneaked a look at her wings, and interestingly hadn’t noticed anything wrong with them. “Why don’t we take you to a doctor, Squirt? Just to check that you’re completely okay?” Scootaloo caught none of the worry in his voice, nor the concerned glance he shot at his wife...
“I’m sorry Mr Breeze, but I’m afraid we can’t do anything for her at the moment” Dr Fixem had informed the sad couple, who were at that moment hovering over Scootaloo’s bed, with tears in their eyes. As Scootaloo awoke from the anaesthetic, she had no idea that her life would change in the next words the doctor spoke. “I’m sorry, but your daughter has a severe case of Dowell Syndrome”.
“Hey Kiddo!” Flying Breeze had half-heartedly greeted his daughter when she awoke. Scootaloo didn’t know what was wrong with her, and Flying Breeze had no intention of letting her find out. He would remain the loving parent, and with any luck, they would have a fairly normal life together. He could admit that he hoped for a healthy young filly, that he could go flying with and could help out of scrapes, but he had to accept what he had got, and he was going to be the best damned father he could be...
“Scootaloo! Where are you honey?” Flying Breeze called out, looking around anxiously for the young filly. Ever since, Feather Wind had walked out on them both, he had become very protective of his daughter and wanted to know where she was all the time. He had an annoying habit of checking his watch to see if it was time to pick her up from day care, and he was never late. Ever since that annoying foal Diamond Crown, or whatever her name was, had pulled on Scootaloos wings and mane on her 3rd day, he had always been cautious about sending her to day care.
“Daddy!” Scootaloo cried out excitedly as she raced towards him. “Hey Sweetie, no need to crash tackle me” he joked to her, only to receive a confused frown in response. “Daddy, why do you look different today?” Flying Breeze was very confused. “What do you mean, Sweetie?” he answered cautiously, knowing that at least 11 other parents at day care were eyeing him extremely suspiciously. “You’ve got hair on your face today...” Scootaloo answered, wondering why it wasn’t as immediately obvious to him as it was to her. “Oh!” Scootaloo’s dad laughed in relief. “Sweetie, I’ve already explained to you that my face grows hair overnight, and I simply forgot to take it off this morning”. He laughed again, at the simplicity of that problem, and slung Scootaloo over his back playfully.
At home, Scootaloo usually raced around the house at a million miles an hour, however, today she merely sat on the lounge and stared at the ground. “Hey Scoots, what’s up?” Feather Breeze asked her, being very careful about the words he used. Scootaloo gave no indication that she had heard him, except for a barely perceptible shake of her head. “You don’t want to talk about it?” Another shake of the head. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Another shake. Feather Breeze pondered for a moment, before deciding to leave Scootaloo alone for the moment, and let her recover from whatever happened to her by herself, in her own time. As soon as her father left the room, Scootaloo finally broke down and cried. Outside the door, listening through the keyhole, her father silently cried along with her.