Scootaloo sighed as she lay in a grassy knoll atop a hill outside of Ponyville. The sun was shining, puffy white clouds ever-so carefully arranged by pegasi filled the air and birds sung in the trees and flew through the air. But none of this helped Scootaloo's mood in any way whatsoever. In fact, it only made her sadder. You see, for years Scootaloo had wanted to fly and be up there with her fellow pegasi but no matter how much she hoped, it never had yet to happen as her wings it seemed were just too small to lift her up off the ground except for just a few inches and even that was only for the briefest of moments. Scootaloo sniffed back a tear as she remembered that fateful day when she learned of her problem...
3 years ago... Ponyville Children's Hospital
"So that's it huh?" Scootaloo's mother, a tannish-yellow furred pegasus with a pink mane and three tornados on her flank as a cutie mark sighed sadly once she'd heard the news from Scootaloo's regular physician, one Doctor Horse who was caramel colored with a brown mane and often spoke kindly of his patients. Scootaloo, who was waiting outside the doors, through which only the silhouettes of the two ponies talking were visible leaned in so she could hear the conversation better.
"Yes, I'm afraid so." Horse replied, in that equally sorrowful tone that was full of pity. He could be seen shaking his head as well. He felt truly sorry for Scootaloo, as what she had ahead of her and the news when she got it would break her heart.
"Are you sure, I mean absolutely sure that there's nothing that can be done?" Dizzy Twister asked in the most desperate tone Scootaloo had ever come out of her mother's mouth.
"No, it would take a miracle. In short, your daughter may never be able to fly." Horse said, and Scootaloo's eyes widened and she held back her tears even as Dizzy came out of the doctor's office. Even though in her heart, she knew the news was probably coming, Dizzy still felt the pain when it came. Without flight, a pegasus could never learn to use their full magics that were granted to them. No weather-control, no spectrum creation, none of it.
"You ready to go, Scootsy?" Dizzy asked, and Scootaloo could see it in her mother's eyes. Pity, pity for her and her possible forever boundness to the ground like some common Earth Pony. Scootaloo was bitter and envious towards other pegasi right then, even her own mother and she knew it.
"Y-Yeah, I'm ready..." Scootaloo said, as she and her mother walked off with Scootaloo trying so hard to hide the tears that were coming to her eyes...
Now:
Scootaloo sighed again, there wasn't any point dwelling on the past as you couldn't change it as she'd heard that Autobot Optimus Prime once say. But that still didn't make up for the fact that she WANTED to fly, and the closest she'd ever get to that would be the air she got on her scooter while doing tricks on it.
"Celestia above, why'd you do this to me...?" Scootaloo muttered as she looked to the sky as if expecting the Sun Goddess herself to come down and give her a answer. It never happened. Scootaloo broke down as she curled up into a ball and sobbed into her forelegs. It simply wasn't fair, she was a freak of nature and nothing could change that!
Little did the young pegasus know it, but somepony had seen the whole thing and took pity on her. To understand, we'll have to go back into yet another flashback, this time to a few minutes before...
A few moments before...
ZA-WOOM!
Like a rocket, Spitfire cut through the skies and burst through clouds leaving pony shaped holes in them with a hint of a smile forming on her muzzle. Actually, it was the first real smile she'd given in quite a bit It'd been a week since the attack on the Canterlot Stadium by Starscream and his Decepticons and Spitfire had been in a bad mood about it all week. It had been starting to show and the strain of having been upstaged and her family in all but blood attacked was beginning to get to her, with her barking out orders harsher then normal, putting others through more extreme training regiments and her punishments for anypony who even slacked off duty slightly were actually fairly... well, unfair.
Spitfire didn't want to admit it because of her pride, or hubris if you want to use that particular term, but she was afraid and that fear was born out of what could happen if another attack ever happened again. This time, they'd been quite lucky that the Autobots had shown up and drove off the attackers and nopony was seriously hurt. But next time, who was to say? She could lose a flight partner, somepony who she'd worked with for years. She didn't want that to happen, it would be her worst fear come to life. And the possibility of that fear becoming true seemed to grow more and more every day, as if the world all around her and her family was going to crap and there wasn't anything you could do about it.
Present Time:
It was then, while she flew over the hillsides outside Ponyville she noticed Scootaloo's small form still sobbing. Spitfire wanted to ignore what she saw, she'd never been good with kids but it still nagged at her.
"Aw, damn it. Why do I have to be too nice?" Spitfire grumbled to herself mentally as she did a complete 180 and turned back towards Scootaloo before landing right beside her. Scootaloo took no notice, as she was still sobbing.
"Hey kid, you alright?" Spitfire asked, as she laid a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder and then she finally took notice of the Wonderbolt Co-Captain and looked up at her, wiping away her tears with her left hoof.
"W-What do you think?" Scootaloo stammered out, embarrassed at how she'd been caught crying by one of her idols. Spitfire knelt down besides the younger pegasus and smiled in a kindly manner.
"Listen kid, you can tell me all about it." Spitfire replied, and Scootaloo gaped at her in shock.
"R-Really?" She stammered out. She never expected to even talk to a Wonderbolt, much less have one listen to her problems! With another smile, Spitfire nodded her head.
"Sure kid. Now I may be no therapist, but I'd like to think I'm good at listening to other ponies' problems and helping them deal with them if I can... Or giving them a kick up the ass if necessary." Spitfire explained, before flushing at having cursed in front of a little filly. She really needed to watch herself. If her mother Stormy Flare had caught her doing that just now, she would have washed her mouth out with soap. (Tartarus, Spitfire mused, she'd have probably made the kid help!)
"So, what's your story?" Spitfire asked. Scootaloo sniffled before she replied.
"Well..." Scootaloo began, before she explained the whole story in detail, making sure not to leave anything out...
A half hour later...
Spitfire winced, the filly's tale definitely wasn't a particularly happy one, that was for sure. Spitfire took a look at her own wings, and closed her eyes. She couldn't imagine what'd be like if she had the same problem and her own wings were underdeveloped. Without them, she'd would never have made it to where she was today and reached her dream, entertaining ponies across the Equestrian Kingdoms.
It was then Spitfire decided, that she had to help this filly. Who knows, for all the Wonderbolt knew she might be looking at her future successor! But still, one thing still bothered her so.
"Sorry to ask, but why isn't your mother helping you with this? Shouldn't she be teaching you how to develop your wings properly?" Spitfire asked, and knew at once by Scootaloo looking away from her she'd asked a bad question.
"It's... It's personal okay?" Scootaloo sniffled even as her mind flashed back...
3 years ago, three months after the hospital visit...
Dizzy Twister was racing home, even as lightning flashed from the storm around her. She cursed to herself, she'd forgotten that there was one scheduled today. She should have gone out earlier, or prolonged her grocery shopping for the very next day when the skies would have or be clearer.
"A-Almost home..." Dizzy panted even as rain pounded down on her. Suddenly, a sudden wind from the storm swept her up in it. Dizzy tried as hard as she could to free herself, but her struggles were all for naught as the winds were too strong. Unknown to her, Scootaloo was seeing all of this from her cloud house's bedroom window.
"MOM!" Scootaloo cried, but she could do nothing as Dizzy plummeted to the rocky spikes below and they seemingly rushed up to greet her with open arms. Dizzy closed her eyes, and thought of her beloved daughter one last time as she accepted the embrace. What happened next, I think I don't need to describe.
"...Mommy..." Scootaloo sobbed to herself as she saw what was left of Dizzy, and the spikes that had killed her.
Back in present time...
Spitfire noticed the sobbing come back to Scootaloo as the young filly whispered "Mommy..." and used her wing to draw her into a hug and the Wonderbolt began to whisper comforting words into the filly's ears.
"It's okay, I'm here now... Shh." Spitfire whispered and soon the sobbing stopped. It was then Spitfire had a realization. Even if the world seemed to be going down the toilet all around you and you could do nothing but watch, that didn't mean you could let others suffer. You could help them, help them improve their lives even if it was only a little bit and be there for them when they needed it. You had to treasure these moments, for you didn't know what tomorrow might bring.
"Kid, tell you what." Spitfire said at last, and Scootaloo looked up at her again, even with tears still dripping down her face.
"You want to fly someday?" Spitfire asked, and Scootaloo nodded. At that, Spitfire smirked.
"Then I'll help you get there."
END