So, Back in Season 9, When Scoots Was A Adult In Growing Up Is Hard To Do, Scootaloo's Wings Was Still Filly Sized, This Could Mean Scootaloo Will Have This Disability For All Her Life. What Do You Think?

7259782
I guess I have no place to speak on this considering I didn't watch any of season 9 (Or most of the seasons for that matter) But, I think in cannon she might just be a slow grower on the bases that the show seems to be more happy ending oriented.

7259783
Good Point.

7259782
I hope not, seeing her fly would make a lot of fans happy.

7259782 There are ways around it if she really wants to achieve her dream of flying: Transplants, corrective surgery, artificial wings or even a glider.

Canon obviously goes that way but I am a more charitable author than canon. I do envision that there is a way to fix scootaloo but that the level of risk is higher than equestrian society generally considers.

7259782
Well, that's the thing about disabilities. They don't generally go away because you are a good person or work really hard. They are just something that are there and part of your life and you have to deal with. I'm thinking Scoots will be dealing with it for the rest of her life. I do kinda feel like if you were disabled and identifying with Scootaloo and she suddenly had her disability taken away, you might not feel all that great about it.

It's possible she'll get some prosthetics. Maybe like wing extensions that she can wear and fly for a few hours with, but shouldn't wear all the time or something.

But, you know, she can have a good life without flying, too. She's pretty good on that scooter, too...

--Sweetie Belle

Of course initially sweetie belle was way behind in magic to the point where people wondered if she was in the same boat as scootaloo. She eventually became very proficient at magic, amazingly so indeed considering how far behind she was. By the end of the series she was doing magic most adult unicorns couldn't do.

7259782
I think you should stop capitalizing every word.

7260280
cryso has a point there. You really need to edit that.

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Heck, issue 81 of the comic had her hear the story of an earth pony who became a Wonderbolt after inventing what looked like the perfect piece of assistive technology for her - way easier to carry around than an off-the-shelf hang glider, with just enough lift to compensate for her condition.

I had always thought the "assistive tech" route would be the perfect compromise between leaving her grounded and magic-ing away her condition. Lots and lots of people in real life use various technology to compensate for various disabilities, doing what they want to do with their lives when they otherwise couldn't. Plus it'd be cool to have a cyborg-ish pony.

As for the CMC in general: stick Wind Sock's strap-on wings on Scootaloo, and you could have yourself a CMC buckball team. That'd be fun, yes?

7260154 So, once a cripple, always a cripple?

7376023
Yeah, there's the problem with doing the "disability acceptance" thing from within speculative fiction.

High-level unicorn magic in Equestria is approached more or less scientifically (with Starlight in particular showing impressive skills in developing new magic), and they have conventional medicine (such as surgery) on top of that. And Equestria does NOT strike me as the sort of culture that would tell a disabled child "screw it, you don't really need to achieve your lifelong dream". If Scootaloo isn't an isolated case, then by all logic their medical/wizard community should at least have some research going on into some sort of treatment for whatever's keeping her down (for what it's worth, one would also expect them to have some research going on into prosthetic horns like you sometimes see in Tempest fan art).

Sending the message that people with disabilities shouldn't have to wait around to be cured before they can have lives worth living is good.

Insinuating that people with disabilities should have absolutely no preference for being cured over not being cured, or that doctors and scientists shouldn't bother trying to develop cures for things that can't currently be cured? Not so good.

And speaking of which: Corrective wing surgery could make for a fun story. Perhaps have it so that Scootaloo would have to go up to Cloudsdale to have it done by somepony specializing in wing surgery, and have the other two trying to find a solution to get up there to visit her. I could see Sweetie Belle doing the walk-on-clouds spell (probably not the butterfly wing spell - Twilight looked like she was about to pass out after she cast it on Rarity).

7376051

Corrective wing surgery could make for a fun story.

I might do a story where wing surgery is out of the question, but there's another kind of surgery that would allow Scootaloo to fly. If she's ready to sacrifice her limbs to decrease her weight, she would finally be able to fly.

I know I'm late to this, but I will weigh on this. The fact that Scootaloo wasn't able to fly was mainly done to make her unique to the other pegasi. I know it seems to be strange to have a pegasus that can't fly. Even Flurry Heart can fly despite being younger as can Cozy Glow even though she is pretty much the same age. Part of this reason to show what it's like to have a disability. On a side note, it would be interesting to know if there were any other fanfics besides mine that had Scootaloo finally fly.

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it would be interesting to know if there were any other fanfics besides mine that had Scootaloo finally fly.

Be careful what you wish for, it may come true.

Scootaloo’s First Flight

“Sweetie Belle, it’s time we face the facts,” Scootaloo broke the silence. “Nopony will find us in this abandoned well and we won’t be able to save ourselves as we are. I can’t lift all my weight with my small wings and you don’t know any spell that could get us out.”

“How’s rubbing it in going to help us?” Sweetie Belle sighed.

Scootaloo played with Sweetie Belle's legs, “I never thought that pony’s legs were so heavy.”

“How’s calling me fat going to help us?”

“And everypony has four of them…”

Sweetie Belle scoffed, “I guess that makes you fat as well.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Remember that time at Twilight’s time when the princess taught you that horn-laser cutting spell? You managed to cut down a whole tree.”

“I can’t cut through rocks if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Not through rocks… Through bone!”

Sweetie Belle’s ears shot up, “Whaa?”

“I’ve already lost some weight while we’ve been stuck down here. I’m still too heavy to fly, but I can lose more. A lot more.”

“I don’t like where this is going, Scoots. Please stop talking.”

Scootaloo pressed her head against Sweetie Belle’s, looking at her straight in the eyes, “Remember when I said I’d give anything to fly?”

“You said that a million times…”

“Exactly.” Scootallo lowered Sweetie Belle’s head and brought closer her own hind leg to match it with the horn. “Make my wish come true, Sweetie Belle. Allow me to fly.”

7713771
Now that I know this, I know that I'm not alone, though my fanfic had her actually flying rather than on some wish.

7714311 In the story above, it doesn't just stay on the wish. Sweetie Belle actually makes her fly.

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In a group that is dedicated to Scootaloo, there is a whole section of fanfics that have her either actually flying or at least trying to, though it seems someone added mine in even though I never joined it.

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or at least trying to

That reminds me of another story.

Scootaloo's Last Flight

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle squinted her eyes at the silhouette in front of her.

"Oh, hey, Sweetie Belle. I didn't see you back there."

"What are you doing standing on the cliff. Are you waiting for the sunset? Is that it?" Sweetie Belle asked. ”You’re standing awfully close to the edge, you know?”

"Sweetie Belle, do you know how you sometimes can't do something, but when it matters the most, you end up doing it regardless?" Scootaloo looked forward.

“Umm…” Sweetie Belle puckered her eyebrows. "Like what?"

"Like flying." Scootaloo jumped forth.

"Scootaloo, no!" Sweetie Belle yelled at the empty cliff edge in front of her.

7713755

I know I'm late to this, but I will weigh on this. The fact that Scootaloo wasn't able to fly was mainly done to make her unique to the other pegasi. I know it seems to be strange to have a pegasus that can't fly. Even Flurry Heart can fly despite being younger as can Cozy Glow even though she is pretty much the same age. Part of this reason to show what it's like to have a disability.

What's strange is how they handled it - first Lauren Faust claims that Scootaloo "hasn't figured it out yet" (and as such has nothing medically wrong with her wings), then "Flight to the Finish" uses her for what looks like a disability-related moral while explicitly leaving it open as to whether she'll eventually fly, then we get multiple episodes of her yearning to fly and multiple examples of technology that could help her fly, but never the briefest discussion of her getting any real help there. As if they were reluctant to formally acknowledge her as disabled, but still wanted to bask in praise from fans who had held her up as a quality example of disability representation.

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Lauren Faust claims that Scootaloo "hasn't figured it out yet" (and as such has nothing medically wrong with her wings)

That reminds me of another story.

From Zero to Supersonic

Scootaloo sniffed, trying to hold back her tears as she watched Rainbow Dash fly across the sky. Being groundbound since birth the sky was beyond her reach.

Her favorite Wonderbolt in view performed amazing stunts and tricks that brought joy to the filly, yet every one of them felt like a dagger piercing her heart at the same time. She wished she could be like her role model, but her wings were too tiny. The closest she could ever get to flying was sitting on the cliff’s edge, watching Wonderbolts fly.

Rainbow Dash landed behind her. “Did you see what I just did? Do you approve of it? Am I a decent pegasus or what?”

“Approve? Decent?” Scootaloo raised her eyebrows. “Rainbow Dash, why do you even hang out with me when you could be flying with the awesome Wonderbolts instead? I can hardly call myself a pegasus; I might as well be an Earth pony…”

“I’m sorry. I guess it’s time I tell you about the prophecy of the god of flight.”

“There’s a prophecy about you?”

“Not about me. I’m no god.” Rainbow Dash sat down and bowed her head. “I’ve been selfish. Since the day I first saw you, I knew you were special. I never said anything because I was afraid of living in your shadow. It was obvious that my time in the spotlight was running out. I had no chance against your awesomeness. Only your ignorance allowed me to shine for a while longer. But today, my journey ends, and yours begins.”

“What are you talking about? I can’t even lift off!”

“You weren’t built for slow lift-offs. Your wings are shaped for speed.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I always knew you wouldn’t. It’s why you have to see it to believe it. It’s why I have no choice but to do this.” With that, Rainbow Dash pushed Scootaloo off the cliff. “Fly!”

“Wha—” Scootaloo plummeted. “Rainbow Dash, please save me! I’m gonna die!”

Rainbow Dash lay flat on the rocks, crossed her hind legs and supported her head with both forehooves.

The whole mountain shook as the sound barrier was breached. The sky bathed in rainbow colors. A moment later, a little filly accelerated vertically above the mountain.

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and watched her intensely. She proceeded to count, “Mach 2, mach 3, mach 4,...”

What Lauren had in an early version of the show's writer bible:

Though I would bear in mind that while she created the show, she left during the second season, and anything after that, she had no say on.

--Sweetie Belle

7952975
Yeah, there was also that one convention where Faust stated that she originally envisioned Scootaloo as disabled. It's interesting how much emphasis that thing placed on Scootaloo's flight situation, as opposed to the show where it rarely factored into the plot.

The line about her earning her cutie mark as a result of accepting her limitations particularly caught my attention in light of the fact that:

a. Her cutie mark features a wing and a lightning bolt, features commonly associated with "flies real good".

b. The one time we see Scootaloo accepting her limitations and finding a career which would make good use of her talents, we're given the message that this was a BAD thing (referring to "The Washouts", naturally)

Maybe Pinkie can help Scootaloo fly.