//------------------------------// // The Price, Retold // Story: The Price of Flight // by Bro-Nii-San //------------------------------// Scootaloo hummed happily as she pranced down one of Ponyville's many country roads, an extra bounce in each step as the Cutie Mark Crusader club house grew closer and closer. She was still a little tired, but felt much more refreshed after eating a rather large breakfast and cleaning herself up for a big day of crusading with her two best friends. She glanced back at her wings for what must have been the thousandth time that morning, interrupting the song she had been humming to giggle in delight as she admired their new-found beauty. Her wings were still too underdeveloped for flight, but hazy memories of the 'dream' she had experienced gave her hope that they would continue to develop. At first the changes had seemed almost insignificant, but given how small her wings had been, even the small change was noticeable to anyone who looked closely enough. Scootaloo had been so preoccupied with her wings that she failed to notice exactly how far her joyful trot had carried her in the time she had been focused on her wings. She was quickly drawn back to reality as the side of her head made, rather rough, contact with the trunk of the tree the CMC club house rested upon. "Oof!" Scootaloo let out as she reeled backwards from the rather sudden impact. She had walked right past the ramp to the club house without even thinking about how close she should have been, and now her head was aching in complaint as to her lack of focus. "Hey Scootaloo! And umm, what are you doing?" Applebloom asked as she approached from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. "I was just trying to get a lumberjack cutie mark," Scootaloo replied jokingly, though her sarcasm might have not come across very well as she rubbed the side of her head. "With your head?" Applebloom asked again. She had a confused, but also rather amused, look on her face. "I don't exactly have a saw around here, and besides, that would be too normal for a cutie mark. We already tried that anyway, remember?" Scootaloo responded, her sarcasm being carried through properly this time. There was a moment of silence before the duo burst out in laughter as Scootaloo's words brought back a shared memory. "Oh yeah! Zecora wasn't too happy when that tree almost landed on her house," Applebloom said, recalling much of the memory. The three of them had attempted to cut down a tree in the Everfree Forest, the safest area of which was near Zecora's hut. They had failed to realize the tree would fall on the same side they cut it, however. "Applebloom, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle practically shrieked in delight as she trotted towards the two, joining them at the base of the ramp to the club house. "Hey Sweetie Belle," Applebloom greeted as she drew close. "How are you?" Scootaloo asked as the three fillies began to climb towards the club house. "Ready to go crusading!" was Sweetie Belle's response. Sometime later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were ready to set out on their next adventure. Somehow it had been decided that a 'street performer' cutie mark would be their goal today. They had reasoned that since they were such a big hit at the Equestria Games, surely that had some talent for entertaining people. "By the way, Scootaloo, I have been meaning to ask you. Did you fluff your wings or something this morning? They look a bit different than usual," Applebloom inquired, inspecting Scootaloo's wings closely from the wagon they had hooked up to Scootaloo's scooter. Sweetie Belle merely nodded behind Applebloom, as if she had been wondering the same thing. "Oh yeah!" Scootaloo proclaimed. She had completely forgotten to tell them about her dream and the... entity that had helped her. 'Wait; that would be an awfully strange thing to explain. A voice came to me in a dream that wasn't Princess Luna and offered me flight?' Scootaloo thought briefly. In the end, the decided it would be better to come up with another excuse as to why her wings had suddenly started growing. "Well, you see..." Scootaloo trailed off, struggling to think of an excuse that would fit the situation. 'Think, Scootaloo! What would help you to fly?' she thought to herself. Then the idea hit her. "It is kind of a strange story," Scootaloo started to say. "Yesterday, me and Rainbow Dash kind of had an argument. I felt bad about some of the things I had said to her, and so I started to walk around, thinking about how I was going to apologize to her. As it turned out, I had wandered towards the Everfree Forest. As I was walking along, I happened to notice somepony along the treeline, before they walked in deeper. I decided to follow them in, you know, to make sure they were not all alone in the Forest. As it turned out, it was another zebra, like Zecora," she continued, weaving an intricate tale filled with many half-truths. "A zebra, out here? I thought Zecora was the only one that lived in the area," Sweetie Belle argued, cutting Scootaloo off before she could finish her story. "That's just the thing! You remember how Zecora makes all sorts of potions? Well, so did he! Apparently there is some sort of plant that only grows in the Everfree Forest, and he was here to pick some," Scootaloo resumed, continuing to thicken her lie. "I could see that. But what does all of this have to do with your wings looking different?" Applebloom asked, finally pointing out the obvious lack of a clear answer. "Well, he was really nice. Smart too. He took one look at my wings, and said he should have something to help them grow!" Scootaloo said, finally finishing her tale of lies. Already she felt a bit guilty about lying to her two best friends, but much of what she had said was true taken out of context. A stranger she didn't know came to her after an argument with Rainbow Dash and offered something to help develop her wings. "That's great Scootaloo!" both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle responded, giant smiles on their faces. They didn't even seem to have the remotest idea that anything Scootaloo said to them was even possibly a lie, making Scootaloo feel that much worse about having fabricated the story, just to make it seem a bit less creepy. "There is just one thing, though," Scootaloo said, the smile that she had been wearing melting away as she spoke. They deserved more of the actual truth. "What is it?" Sweetie asked, and edge of concern in her voice. "I had to give up ever earning my cutie mark as a side effect," Scootaloo confessed, looking towards the ground as she did so. Applebloom and Sweetie shared a shocked look as they all but stared at Scootaloo. "Scootaloo, are you sure that is what you really wanted? That is kind of a big deal, and the whole reason we are running around Ponyville today," Applebloom said. Sweetie Belle still looked a bit too shocked to speak. "I know, but being able to fly means a lot to me. What if Sweetie Belle couldn't use any magic, or you were not even able to walk properly?" Scootaloo asked in response to Applebloom's concerns. "I don't know, I just-" Applebloom started to say. She wore an almost saddened expression as she struggled to find a response to Scootaloo's words. "Is it something you can at least reverse if you don't like it?" Sweetie Belle asked after a short pause from Applebloom. "I don't think so, as far as I know it is permanent," Scootaloo replied. There was an awkward moment of silence as all three of them stared at the ground, as if many of the words that had been spoken had yet to fully sink in. In the end, it was Scootaloo who spoke again. "But that doesn't mean I can't help you two earn your cutie marks, or that we can't be friends anymore. Right?" Scootaloo asked, looking back and forth between Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "Of course, Scootaloo. Cutie marks or no, the three of us are friends first, and Crusaders second. And if you are truly happy with these changes, then so are we!" Applebloom said, almost seeming to perk up with each word spoken. Sweetie Belle now wore a smile as well as she nodded in agreement with Applebloom's words. "Thanks, that makes me happy at the very least. So, how about we get you both your cutie marks?" Scootaloo suggested. When both of them nodded firmly with smiles on their faces Scootaloo looked forwards and gave her wings a powerful down-beat to get them moving, though something strange happened. For just a moment, Scootaloo felt an odd weightlessness as two surprised shouts emanated from behind her. Less than a second later, the wheels of Scootaloo's scooter fell to the road once more, startling her. Scootaloo looked backwards apologetically, the strong beat of her wings had accidentally picked both her and the scooter up off the ground, causing the wagon to tip backwards, expelling its two occupants. Several hours, and more than a few bumps and bruises later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat exhausted on the steps of Sugar Cube Corner. "Anything?" Scootaloo asked between ragged pants. All three of them looked at their own flanks before looking back to one another with an all to familiar motion. "Nothing," the three said in tandem before letting themselves collapse onto their backs. "You know, everypony always made juggling look so easy. I suppose we should have started with something other than an apple, a wadded up ball of ribbon and my helmet," Scootaloo said, rubbing a particularly sore spot on her forehead. 'And everyone said a helmet was to protect your head...' Scootaloo said mentally, a wry smirk on her face. All of them stayed as they were, slowly catching their breaths as they peered into the sky. Today it shown a very beautiful shade of blue as the sun started its slow decent. As they looked on, a sudden flash of colors caught the attention of the trio, leaving a rainbow in its wake. "Oh, right! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she jumped up. "Sorry girls, I have something I have to do! I will catch up to you later!" Scootaloo called back as she mounted her scooter before taking off to chase the quickly fading rainbow trail. It sounded as though both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had called back to her, but she was in too much of a hurry to catch their words. 'How did I almost forget I had to talk to Rainbow Dash today?!' Scootaloo scolded herself as she raced along, her path taking her towards the edge of Ponyville. It was only a short time later that her journey led her to an unexpected location, though she had thought it a possibility, she didn't really think that Rainbow Dash would be headed to the CMC club house. Scootaloo brought her scooter to a stop as Rainbow Dash was descending the ramp from the tree house. It didn't take her long to spot Scootaloo, who was only a few feet from the bottom of the ramp. Rainbow continued to close the distance, though stopped at the base of the ramp. For a time, the two merely stood their, avoiding each others gaze as they hoped for the other to speak first. In the end, it was Rainbow Dash who opened her mouth to speak, but Scootaloo who spoke first. "I am sorry Rainbow Dash, about yesterday. I know that you were just trying to help, and- Even though it was a really rough day for me, there was no reason for me to treat you the way I did, so I am truly and honestly sorry," Scootaloo quickly rambled on, hoping in some way to convey her genuine feelings. "And here I was, coming to apologize to you, Scoots," Rainbow Dash said after only a moments pause. She almost seemed to visibly relax now, and Scootaloo realized just how tense she herself had been. "You were right about one thing though, Scoots. I really don't know what it is like to not be able to fly; however, I do know what it is like to be made fun of. I mean, by the time I was your age, I was one of the strongest flyers around, and my wings were practically fully developed; however, I had a problem. It was part of who I was, and people made fun of it," Rainbow Dash said as she made her way to Scootaloo's side, gently casting a wing over her before drawing her close to her side in a soft embrace. Scootaloo leaned into Rainbow's warm underbelly as she looked up at her. "You were made fun of?" Scootaloo asked, an obvious disbelief in her eyes. "Of course. Just because I had strong and developed wings didn't mean I knew exactly how to use them. At they time they had developed so quickly it was hard for me to adjust to them. For example, whenever we went out to the obstacle course I would tend to flap too hard and run right into the clouds. They used to call me 'Rainbow Crash' because of that," Rainbow confided, chuckling slightly at the old nickname. "Rainbow Crash? I wouldn't have believed that if you yourself hadn't told me," Scootaloo said, looking up at Rainbow Dash a bit awestruck. "Yeah, looking back it all was kind of funny, but at the time that name really hurt me every time I heard it. It reminded me that I was not perfect, that I was flawed, I didn't like that and it was only worse that basically everyone knew it; however, in the end those same taunts made me work that much harder to fix that flaw, to make me a better pony. Now look at me, I am still imperfect, but I am far from flawed if I do say so myself," Rainbow said, doing her best to comfort Scootaloo with her small speech. "Really? You think that them making fun of you helped you?" Scootaloo asked. She found it hard to believe that the torment she was subjected to could ever help her. "Think back Scoots, how did you meet Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?" Rainbow asked, a sly smile on her face. Scootaloo instantly knew what Rainbow Dash was talking about. It was at one of Silver Spoon's parties, where Applebloom had been made fun of... "I never thought about it that way," Scootaloo responded, trailing off slightly as she thought about that day. Looking back it had been one of her happiest, after all she had met her two best friends that one day. "You see Scoots? In my case they could have been a bit nicer, but they did point out one of my weaknesses. Because of that, I was able to realize the problem, and I worked hard to fix it, and now look at me!" Rainbow boasted, flaring both of her wings out for Scootaloo to observe; however, they seemed just the slightest bit shaky... In fact, if Scootaloo had not been standing right next to Rainbow Dash, she likely would not have noticed. "You are one of the best flyers in Equestria. But, are you feeling alright today Rainbow Dash? Your wings seem a little shaky," Scootaloo asked, pointing out her quaking wings as Rainbow replaced her wing over Scootaloo once more. "Oh, that? I am just a bit worn out. I woke up extra early just to go cloud-bust, and then I have been flying around looking for you, Scoots," Rainbow Dash explained as she gave Scootaloo a small, reassuring smile. It was now that Scootaloo remember her own wings. Perhaps it was about time to give her the good news, now that she herself remembered. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. I actually had something else I wanted to talk about as well," Scootaloo said, her tone a bit more serious now. The air around them was suddenly a bit more tense, telling Scootaloo she had Rainbow Dash's full attention already. "What is it, Scoots?" Rainbow Dash asked, mirroring Scootaloo's serious tone now. Scootaloo proceeded to recount her fabricated tale of the zebra and the potion she had drank to Rainbow Dash, who stayed quite throughout the entire story. "You did what?! Scootaloo, that was a huge decision!" Rainbow practically shouted, still looking at her in disbelief. "I know Rainbow Dash, but... This is always something I wanted far more than a cutie mark," Scootaloo said. She felt a bit ashamed about the choice because of Rainbow's reaction, and guilt about having lied once again, but it was far too late to tell the truth. "Well if you are sure you are never going to regret that Scoots... I guess you are going to need someone to help you learn to fly then? You said it would take a while right? I think I have some free time next week," Rainbow said, pulling Scootaloo even closer to her now. "Wait, really?!" Scootaloo asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash with excitement in her eyes. "Of course!" Rainbow Dash replied in an instant. For Scootaloo, the rest of that day was only a blur, the sheer ecstasy the felt about having Rainbow Dash as a teacher was more than she had ever hoped. Scootaloo was barely able to sleep that night, the anticipation of the up-coming week was nearly unbearable already. Soon, her wishes and dreams would come true, and her new life as a 'true' pegasus would begin.