“… Thirty! Thirty one! Thirty two!” At regular intervals, the percussion of a ball being bounced on the orange filly’s head could be heard.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, a new Crusaders record!” The little pegasus bounced the soaring ball back to her two friends, smiling as brightly as the clear sun above Ponyville. The three fillies, a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony, ran back and forth on the glistening grass, desperately keeping the toy from touching the ground. Their musical laughter sounded out across the hills.
“I think we’re getting better!” The pale white unicorn cheered.
“Like a pro!”
“Oh! That means- Do y’all think?” The cream-colored earth pony suddenly whirled around to peer at her flank. Her two friends did the same, but a shadow soon passed over their previously sunny faces.
“Blank…” The orange pegasus grunted. As if to actuate their disappointment, the ball landed softly on the grass behind her.
“Don’t worry, Scootaloo,” The unicorn was always ready to break into a big smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anypony getting a volleyball cutie mark.”
“But it shore as sunrise is fun anyway!” Even the earth pony was quick to drop her frown.
“Right!” Scootaloo beamed at her friends. On a day like this, with the gentle icy breeze and the crystal clear mountains all around, it was impossible to stay disappointed for long. Even if this was the fifth failed cutie mark quest this morning.
“Rainbow Dash always said ball volley was her favorite sport, too!” The orange pegasus swept up the ball and began juggling it on her head. “Did you know that she got up to 349 bounces once?”
“You may have mentioned it.” The earth filly rolled her eyes.
“Once.” The unicorn nodded.
“Or twice.”
“A minute.”
“All summer.” The pony and unicorn laughed together.
“Actually, I thought it was 348.” A curl of pink mane bounced lightly as the unicorn cocked her head to the side.
“Rainbow Dash didn’t count the last one because she was interrupted, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo kept her eyes locked on the ball.
“Sure…” The earth filly snickered.
“You two should listen to Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom!” The orange pegasus continued, “She says ball bouncing exercises your endurance, your focus, your skill and…” With a mighty lunge, Scootaloo leapt into the air to meet the ball before it even had a chance to start falling. “Your strength!” A mighty hoof struck the ball, sending it soaring over the other two filly’s heads. They both ducked in surprise.
“Eep!”
“Whoa, Nelly!”
Like a rabbit, the ball skipped across the grass to freedom. For a moment, all three fillies exchanged glances. Then, as one, the Cutie Mark Crusaders bolted after their quarry, cheering and laughing at the chase.
“Ball round-up cutie marks!” Apple Bloom whooped.
“Yeah!” Scootaloo joined in the cheer.
“Wait, what would that even look like?” Sweetie Belle hesitated.
The toy, it’s pink starry hide bouncing merrily, began fleeing down the side of a steep hill, picking up speed until it left its pursuers far behind.
“Not so fast, ball!” The orange pegasus narrowed her pink eyes and licked her lips expectantly. “You’re not getting away that easily!” Her tiny wings hummed to life and beat the air mercilessly, preparing for one final dash of speed. Next to her, Apple Bloom suddenly gasped,
“Hold your horses, Scootaloo!” She shrieked, tackling the pegasus to the ground. The two of them tumbled together in a heap and Sweetie Belle almost tripped on them.
“What gives!?” The pegasus grunted at the friend on top of her.
“Look!” The unicorn filly answered by pointing a hoof at the ball. For an instant, it continued running, skipping as if taunting the crusaders, but it suddenly fell and vanished. Their eyes wide, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom untangled themselves and cautiously crept forward.
One of the vices of being a short filly is that you can’t see a cliff until you’re right on top of it, and all three crusaders soon found themselves tentatively peering over the edge of a rocky gorge. Scootaloo’s heart was beating quickly, but she didn’t know if it was because of her running or because she and her friends almost ran head long over this precipice.
“Thanks.” She whispered to Apple Bloom. “I guess this means we’ve lost the ball, huh?”
“No, it’s right there!” Sweetie Belle pointed a dainty hoof at a tangle of branches; a thorny bush that desperately clung to the rocky cliff wall. Within its greedy wooden fingers, a pink ball with white stars could be seen.
“Like I said…” The little pegasus muttered dryly.
“I didn’t bring any rope…” Apple bloom paced back and forth, judging how far away the ball was and how best to get it back. Her conclusion: Scootaloo couldn’t have picked a worse place to knock the toy even if she had meant to.
“I think I can do this.” Brushing aside her pink and purple mane, the unicorn filly uncovered her horn and leveled it like an arrow at the ball. At first, nothing happened except a little grunting and perspiration coming from Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo had to stifle a laugh as she looked at the twisted face and comical expression that her friend wore, but she knew better than to interrupt a novice unicorn when magic was involved. Finally, sputtering like Spitty Pie, sparks of light began to dance upon the ivory horn.
Sweetie Belle pooled all her concentration, all her training into this one spell, but even her best efforts weren’t enough. Instead of the ball, the entire bush lit up with the unicorn’s magic aura.
“I got it!” She cheered.
“No, you don’t.” Apple Bloom winced as the ragged bush began swaying to and fro. Still clutched in the thorny branches, the ball began squeaking painfully as its endurance was put to the test. It sounded as if it would pop at any moment.
“Put it out! Put it out!” Scootaloo waved frantically at Sweetie Belle’s horn as if it were a candle. Reluctantly, the unicorn relented and the bush returned to normal. The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared hopelessly at their goal. The bush, in turn, seemed to leer back.
“Sorry.” Sweetie Belle whispered.
“It’s alright.” Scootaloo sighed. “This ball had a good run.”
“I was just starting to take a liking to it after Twilight teleported inside our last one.” Apple Bloom moped. “I could ask Apple Jack for her rope, but I don’t think it would help any better than magic. What this calls for is a-”
“Pegasus?” Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up.
“Hey, yeah!” Scootaloo smiled and sprang into motion, dashing back across the grass. “That gives me an awesome idea!” The other two fillies watched her run across the meadow and up onto the hill they had just been playing on.
“Where is she going in such a hurry?” Sweetie Belle wondered.
“Isn’t it obvious? This looks like a job for our friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash! And you know how excited Scootaloo gets when she’s about to see her mentor in action!” Just as the earth pony and the unicorn began to run after their friend, a strange noise pulsed through the air. It was high-pitched, but breathy, like a motor, or a-
“Scootaloo!?” Up and over the hill, her pink mane fluttering from her own speed, the orange pegasus sped down the hill astride her trusty scooter. Her wings beat the air like a humming bird, singing like a lawnmower. In a gamboge blur, she sped past her two awe-struck friends and veered toward the cliff.
Once again, Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed and she pulled her helmet snugly over her ears. This was going to be awesome! Rainbow Dash would be proud! She was going to swoop in on her scooter, snatch the ball from the villainous shrub and use her wings to slow down just before hitting the canyon floor.
This. Would. Be. Aweso-
“Bad idea!” Apple Bloom’s voice was nothing more than a loud squeak. Beside her, Sweetie Belle stood in shivering silence. The sound of beating wings continued to reach their ears, and then the pegasus plunged into the abyss. Silence filled the open air.
“Scootaloo!”
Immediately, a feeling of vertigo seized Scootaloo’s stomach as she left the ground. Her angle was off; she was veering too close to the rock wall. Her speed was off; she was falling short of the bush. Her judgment was off; she couldn’t lift herself and the scooter at the same time. There was an instant where the vertigo in her stomach turned to nauseating fear, when the world seemed to stand still. And then everything was over in an instant.
She clipped the rock wall, spinning headlong into the bush’s brambles before returning to the void of the canyon. Scootaloo beat her wings as hard as she could force them, but she didn’t even know which way was up. She was tumbling, saw the canyon, then the sky, then the canyon then the sky. The pegasus filly closed her eyes and prayed that her scooter wouldn’t land on her when she hit the ground. Every limb tensed for the inevitable.
When the moment of impact came, she felt nothing. Scootaloo remained as a tense ball of muscle, not daring to look at the ground, but the feeling of falling left her stomach. Grimacing, she forced one eye open. There was a moment of panic as she glimpsed the dark canyon floor, but in the very next instant, she realized that it was growing smaller. She was rising. She was flying.
A single piece of metal gripped her around her stomach, lifting her with a smooth and gentle power.
Just as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle forced their rubbery legs to respond, just as they began running down to the canyon to see what had become of their friend, the strangest sight in Equestria revealed itself. Out of the canyon erupted the brass shape of a pegasus stallion.
He flew as if he was one with the air, moving in graceful motions and sternly commanding the very wind around him with his wings. Still, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had never seen a pegasus like this one. He looked as if he had been swallowed and spit out by Ponyville’s clock tower. His left wing was made of metal rods and bronze feathers and his left foreleg was replaced with a twisted puzzle of springs and gears. In this unusual leg, he clutched the shivering form of Scootaloo. In the next moment, the brass pegasus alighted tenderly on the grass and dropped Scootaloo to the earth.
The little pegasus filly was silent for a moment, still paralyzed from the fear that had consumed her only a moment ago. However, the soft grass beneath her hooves and the sound of her friends calling out to her brought Scootaloo to her senses and she dared to look up at her rescuer.
At first, she was startled by the stallion’s eye patch and metal leg, but his good eye smiled at her tenderly and the faintest reassuring grin peeked out from under his crisp mustache. His back was covered by a thick, finely crafted coat that swept behind him like a cape.
“Are you alright, little lady?”
“I… Think so…” The filly pried herself to her hooves in a wobbly stance.
“Scootaloo!!” A pair of voices cried out and two small shapes, an earth pony and a unicorn, crashed into the pegasus, trapping her in a knot of teary hugs.
“Y’re plumb crazy!” One sobbed.
“We were so worried!” The other wailed.
“I’m sorry guys… I thought…” Scootaloo felt her tight throat choke her words. The stallion watched the scene silently, his brow furrowing ever so slightly.
“What were you thinking?” Apple Bloom demanded, breaking away from her hug.
“Indeed, I was wondering the same thing.” The stallion spoke up in his commanding voice.
“I’m sorry, girls.” Scootaloo’s face fell. “I didn’t get the ball.”
“What the hay does that matter? You almost got a one-way ticket to the other side of the grass!” The earth filly scolded, but she still looked like she could burst into tears at any moment. Sweetie Belle didn’t say anything; her face was still buried in her friend’s neck.
“I see… You mean this ball, my dear?” Turning slightly, the pegasus savior revealed a pink starry ball tucked securely under his feathery wing. As one, the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ eyes filled with wonder, then joy.
“You got it back! You got the ball!”
“My pleasure.” The toy dropped into Scootaloo’s waiting hooves.
“Thank you so much, mister! Thank you!” The little pegasus filly was beside herself. Quickly, she gestured around at her friends, “I’m Scootaloo and these are my friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Scootaloo… And your friends.”
“The pleasure is ours, sir.” Sweetie Belle curtsied. “And what is your name?” The stallion hesitated, but complied,
“My name is Drossel Meyer. I was just on my way to town when I saw your unfortunate incident.
“Completely preventable if "Block Head" here wasn’t trying to get her daredevil cutie mark!” Apple Bloom smiled weakly. Subconsciously, Scootaloo glanced back at her flank. Still blank.
“My confusion is why you chose such a risky maneuver instead of simply flying there yourself.” Mister Meyer frowned. “Your scooter would have been better off for it.”
“My scooter!” The orange filly suddenly dashed to the edge of the canyon and peered in. Sure enough, the blue vehicle was lying on the rock floor, snapped in two pieces.
“Inferior to wings, if I may say.” Meyer followed Scootaloo’s gaze.
“You don’t understand.” Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her orange friend’s shoulder. “Scootaloo can’t fly. That scooter IS her wings.” This caught Drossel Meyer’s attention,
“Is that so?”
“Yeah…” Even though she was trying her best to be thankful that she was even alive right now, Scootaloo peered into the canyon with a broken heart. Indeed, the one thing that made her special in lieu of her inability to fly was broken to bits like so much blue firewood. She was now more grounded than any pegasi in the history of winged horses.
Meyer watched Scootaloo’s expression in silence for a moment. Then, with the nonchalant air of someone explaining that the sun it bright, he stepped off the edge of the cliff and plunged to the canyon floor. Before the crusaders could lift their eyebrows in surprise, Meyer was back, carrying the shattered scooter in his hooves. Up close, Scootaloo felt a pain in her chest as she saw how completely the handle axle was torn from the vehicle’s body. She was just about to say, “thanks anyway” when Meyer said,
“A simple fix, really.”
“What!?” The look on the little pegasus filly’s face was enough to coax another warm smile from the stallion. His eye glimmered,
“Yes, I believe I can fix this problem.”
“Oh? Oh! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!” Scootaloo burbled as she hugged the stallion’s leg, her tiny wings humming to keep her six inches from the ground. The orange filly didn’t see, but Sweetie Belle had the distinct impression that Meyer’s smile vanished as he watched the useless wings.
“I’m glad to see you happy, my dear. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be on my way.” The stallion tucked the scooter under his wing and began walking toward Ponyville.
“Hey! You’re new here, right? Why not let us show you around! We’ll give you the Grand Tour of Ponyville!” Scootaloo trotted merrily beside her new friend.
“I couldn’t impose…” He laughed.
“Impose!? After all you’ve helped us with? It’s the least we could do!”
Meyer seemed to consider Scootaloo’s offer carefully, his metallic wing clicked thoughtfully. Finally, he nodded,
“That might actually be very helpful, thank you my dear.” The orange filly beamed at her friends.
“Let’s go, girls! Cutie Mark Crusaders Tour Guides!!” The three fillies rushed over the grass toward town. Now it was Drossel Meyer’s turn to trot in order to keep up. He wore a smile for the sake of his new friend, Scootaloo, but his mind was far from cheerful.
“Perhaps,” He thought to himself, “Yes… Perhaps this is the perfect way to learn about Ponyville.”