What Needed to be Said
Scootaloo angrily tossed her scooter into the trash as her emotions finally got the best of her. The torment and ridicule she had endured had been too much for her to handle. Not knowing if she would ever fly, her heart began to sink into her stomach.
Creak*
Her bedroom door slowly cracked open.
"Who's there?" she moaned. "Just leave me alone."
Rainbow Dash poked her head inside. "You're throwing away your scooter? Why?"
Scootaloo met her gaze with teary eyes. "Oh what's the point? If I don't give it up now then I might never learn to fly."
Rainbow Dash hovered into her room and shut the door behind her. "Hey don't talk like that, Scootaloo. I know you better than this. We were all worried about you so we came right back here." She planted her hooves on the wooden floor.
"So where's Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?" she asked.
"They're waiting outside, but we'll get to them in a second." Rainbow calmly walked over to the trash can and pulled out the scooter.
With a quick turnabout she gave it back to it's rightful owner.
"Why did they even come back with you?" Scootaloo blurted.
"Because as much as friends argue, you'll still always be friends. They care about you kiddo... whether you want to believe it or not."
Scootaloo set the scooter against the foot of her bed. Gloomily she sat down on the quilted mattress beside it.
"So... are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, patiently waiting for her response.
"It's just that..." she paused, putting her face down into her open hooves, "I just want to fly and be like you. I keep thinking that maybe it'll make the teasing stop or I'll finally feel like a real pegasus, or maybe I'll just feel normal. That's all I want, to be a normal pegasus."
She sighed heavily into her hooves, trying to hold back the floodgates in her eyes.
"Whoa whoa now, why in Equestria would you ever want to be just 'normal'?" Rainbow jumped off the ground and gently landed on the bed beside her, letting her hind end sink into the mattress.
She placed a hoof on Scootaloo's lap. "Do you remember what I told you, back when we all went camping, and had our little 'incident'?
The orange filly picked up her head and turned to Rainbow with a tear hanging from one eyelid. "That you would try... to act like my big sister?" she asked.
"That's right Scootaloo. I made a promise to you and I meant to keep it. That means I'm not leaving here until you go with me, so why don't you just tell me what's eating you kiddo."
Scootaloo smiled faintly in response. Rainbow's spirits started to lift when she saw her words were getting through to her.
"Okay...huff*" The little pony let out a long sigh, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say. "Well I just want to fly and be like you, more than anything."
"But would that really make you happy?" asked Rainbow. "I know I can be pretty awesome at times, but what's to stop you from being awesome just the way you are? You don't need some stupid old wings to get everypony to like you. Believe me, I've tried."
"But, what do you mean by that?" Scootaloo asked.
"I mean that when I was younger I thought everypony would like me more if I could just a fly a little faster or higher. But that's not how you make friends, Scootaloo. I had bullies pick on me all the time but I never let what they said get to me. It actually wasn't until the bullies started picking on others that were weaker than me, for me to realize that to really make friends you have to stand up for others. That's how Fluttershy and I became such good friends, not because I could fly better than everypony else, but because I was willing to stand up for her when she was too scared to do it for herself."
"Wow, that's pretty cool." the little filly grinned at the idea of Rainbow sticking up for others, but it wasn't the exact answer she was looking for.
Her smile began to fade slowly as her eyes dropped to the floor again. Rainbow, seeing that she was losing her, wrapped a leg around her shoulder and pulled her in a little closer.
"Hey I thought we were making some progress here?" asked Rainbow.
"Yeah we were... I mean I get what you're saying but it's just that I'm a pegasus. I'm supposed to fly. What if my wings never grow and I never become a great flier?" she pleaded.
Using her other hoof, Rainbow raised Scootaloo's chin so that she made eye contact.
"Scootaloo, I don't normally get mushy like this, but you're already an amazing little filly. You do everypony in Ponyville a favor every day just by being your upbeat 'go-get-em' self. You've got a heart of gold kid, and the fact that you cared about the success of your friends enough to drop out of your routine show's that. But right now, wings or not, your friends need you, and the Scootaloo I know wouldn't want to disappoint them."
Hearing those few words, from her idol, made Scootaloo tear up in happiness. She quickly wrapped her tiny forelegs around Rainbow's soft chest, joyfully rubbing her teary cheek into her neck. Rainbow, a bit taken aback, reciprocated and wrapped her forelegs around the orange filly's back as as well. She could feel Scootaloo's shaggy purple mane brush right under chin, and the moisture from her tears trickle down into her coat.
"Mmmff...mmmfff...mmffff." The little filly was trying to say something into her neck, but the sound of her voice was completely muffled.
"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." said Rainbow.
Scootaloo pulled her head away slightly, still sobbing ever so softly.
"I said... sniff*...that's all I've ever wanted to hear... from anypony... I'm just so... so glad that it was you, Rainbow." Her voice quivered weakly as she tried to hold back more tears.
The blue pegasus felt something strange in her chest, something she hadn't felt so much before in her life. It was like some overwhelming sadness that she had been trying to bury with equally positive emotions, all for this little filly. For the first time in her life she knew what it felt like, to be a real big sister.
"I'll...I'll always be there for you Scootaloo. Whenever you need me to say something to lift you up, I promise I'll be there..." Rainbow pulled her in more tightly, "as your big sister."
Scootaloo continued to sob for a few minutes, letting it all out. She would hyperventilate, slow down, and then repeat the process.
Every so often Rainbow would gently have to shush her, but eventually she began to calm down.
After a while Scootaloo wordlessly broke the hug, realizing that her time of grieving had run its course. She stared at the floor again.
"So..." said Rainbow, "...do I have my old Scootaloo back?" She stood up from the bed and walked past her, reaching for the scooter. "Cuz you're gonna need this, if you want to win anyway."
Rainbow stuck out the scooter, waiting for her to take it back. She gave the little filly a hearty smile.
Scootaloo let the last tear fall from her cheek and cracked a weak smile of her own. "Yeah, I'm back." She happily took the scooter from her and looked down upon it with new hope welling up inside.
"Good, because if my little sister is going to win like I did, she's gotta do it fair and square, flying or no flying."
"Heheh." The little filly chuckled at the encouragement. She stood up from the bed, holding her scooter close.
"Now, there's two anxious little fillies who I think you need to have a chat with before we leave." Rainbow noted.
"Alright alright, let's go already!" she joyfully cried with a wide smile.
"That's my girl." said Rainbow.
She watched as Scootaloo took the scooter and hurriedly threw open her bedroom door. She bounded down the hallway, eager to apologize to her friends.
Rainbow hopped off the floor to take flight and began to chase after her, not bothering to shut the door behind.
"Maybe I do have what it takes to be a big sister." she said to herself.