//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - What Makes You Happy // Story: Rising Above // by Quick Fix //------------------------------// "You were a crusader when you were a filly too?" "Sure was, kiddo. The original CMC was made up of Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Babs Seed and me. We got into just about everything in town trying to find our special talents, which you probably shouldn't. AB'll tell you the same at your first meet, but knowing what you're good at goes a long way. Mix your interests and you'd be surprised what you end up having a knack for. I mean, you like Luna's sky right?" "Yeappers!" "Well, combine that with your artistic skills, use them to map the heavens and bam! Cutie Mark Crusader astronomer." Scootaloo couldn't help but smile at the sight as Stellar Nova started bouncing in excitement at the idea. Such a vigor for the future and anticipation to be her own pony...She missed those days sometimes. There was always today to look forward to though and the rest of today was right in front of them as the two passed through Ponyville's outskirts and toward the farmland to the southeast. Separating the areas was Fluttershy's cottage, though most ponies knew it these days as the Angels wildlife sanctuary. The centre had been founded about twelve years ago after Fluttershy had started to find her home wasn't quite enough to look after all the animals brought to her. Despite a rough start, she had managed to build up a popular tourist attraction with Silent Breeze's help and Discord's...Unique style of publicity. Not that she would ever call it such, Fluttershy was adamant that her only focus was toward the wellbeing of her resident animal, to the point she had made paying to enter optional. Most ponies were more than happy to though, Element of Kindness as she was, she still had animals to look after and a family to care for. "So Stellar, do you want to go see Fluttershy or have a walk in the sanctuary first?" Scootaloo asked the filly, waiting as she calmed down and gave it some thought. "Ooh ooh, Fluttershy. I haven't had a chance to see her in months." "Sounds good to me, lets go," The two ponies turned and headed for the cottage, Scootaloo smiling softly as she started to hear a gentle humming coming from inside. The tune was familiar, like she heard it every week, but she could never place where it came from or what it was called. "Now, Stellar. I should give you a heads up, Fluttershy probably isn't quite the same as you remember her. I'm sure she wont mind but, try not to be too shocked." "Different? Why? What happened to her?" "I, err...It's kinda technical for a filly of your age. I'll explain later." In truth, even Scootaloo thought the hows and whys shouldn't be explained just yet. She looked back up and knocked on the door. "It's open." A soft voice called from inside. Stellar pushed the door open slowly, now a little nervous about what she might see, before stopping as her jaw dropped slightly. Scootaloo followed her in and smiled softly at the sight before them. Laid out on the sofa was Fluttershy and though Stellar wasn't sure what she was seeing, to Scootaloo it was obvious the pegasus was pregnant. Quite a few months along judging by how large her middle was. Nestled up to her asleep was a silver-grey colt with black hair and a shrouded moon cutie mark, both of them recognised him as Fluttershy's first child, Mist Chaser. Stellar slowly stepped closer, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. "Wh-what in Equestria?" "Good morning you two," Fluttershy smiled softly at the sight of the filly blinking in confusion, watching as she slowly brought a hoof up to feel. "Don't worry about me, Stellar. You'd be surprised how nice it feels." Scootaloo couldn't help but smile more at the sight, of course it made sense that the most loving pony around would have as much, if not more love for her own kin and want to let others share it. "Well, congratulations Fluttershy. Sorry I never had a chance to say it sooner." "Thank you Scootaloo, it's been a delight every day. You should have seen Mist's face when he realised he was going to be a big brother in March." She giggled softly at the thought, ruffling Mist Chaser's hair gently as he slept. It was clear even at a glance that Fluttershy put as much care into her parenting as she did her natural affinity for the world. "Well, I've got some more good news for you. I spoke to Mayor Tiara earlier, she's not planning any kind of new taxes, much less anything that'd affect you." "R-really? Oh thank you. I don't know what I would have done if it was true, we put everything into the sanctuary and the kids, I don't know if I could..." Fluttershy tensed slightly and took several deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm. After a minute she visibly relaxed again and looked down at Stellar, who was still looking her over in amazement. "So, miss Fluttershy...I, don't understand what this is." Stellar finally asked, prompting a chuckle from Fluttershy. "It may sound strange, but there's a little pony taking a long nap there. When they wake up, they'll come out and you can meet them. It can be rather confusing for someone at your age, but I promise you'll understand soon enough." Scootaloo could only watch with a smile on her face. Watching a pony begin to discover the wonders of life like this was always something special, especially when somepony as gentle as Fluttershy was doing the introduction. For now she was happy to sit back by the door and watch, making a mental note to donate as much of her last paycheck as she could to the sanctuary tomorrow. The sun was hanging low in the sky by the time Scootaloo was able to start back to Ponyville. Stellar Nova and her had spent the rest of the afternoon with Fluttershy as they helped her with afternoon feeding for the animals. As fun as it was, it was also rather tiring and Stellar needed to be carried home by Scootaloo. "Almost like my picture earlier," Stellar managed to say before yawning loudly. Scootaloo looked back at her and chuckled softly, watching as the filly regained her composure. "Aunt Scoots, can I ask you somthing?" "Of course, kiddo. What's up?" "Did you ever want to have a foal?" "Huh...I guess I never thought about it before. I suppose there'll be a place for that one day, right now I'm more focused on my career, showing everypony a good time with my scooter tricks. I'm still young though, plenty of time." Scootaloo managed to put the thought aside as she dropped off Stellar at Diamond Tiara's house before heading home herself. As she got finally got there, she got the feeling something was, different. She couldn't place it so she headed inside, stopping as she stepped on a note that had been slid under the door. Any thought of dinner slipped from her mind as she picked it up and read through it. I may know why you can't fly, and I might be able to help. Meet me at Rarity's Boutique at three o'clock in two days. QF Scootaloo read through the note three times before she looked up, lost in thought. Was this pony serious? Flight was surely beyond her by now, how could some nopony who didn't even want to put their name know better than the experts? On the other hoof, maybe it wasn't medical, maybe it was something easily overlooked. This was her lifelong dream after all, could she really just refuse even the slightest chance this pony was the real deal? After several minutes of debating it, Scootaloo had made up her mind. She'd check it out, but she was playing it safe and taking somepony with her.