Flight of fancy

by Flutterfan457

Chapter 1

It was a normal day in Ponyville, and as usual, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were busy with another plan to earn a cutie mark.This time, they were trying to gain an archery mark. They had set up a large pile of hay with a bullseye painted on it. Thankfully, they used arrows with suction cups instead of metal points. Sweetie Belle was the first to try. Her magic pulled back the bow, but she obviously didn't know what she was doing. Once she let go, the arrow flew sideways and stuck into a passing cart.

"Good thing we didn't use real arrows."

The others nodded. Applebloom went next. She could barely hold steady against the pull of the bow. Before she even fired, Applebloom lost her grip and fell backwards. The arrow spun in the air for a second and landed on Applebloom's nose. She pulled it off and sighed in annoyance.

"So much for us being bow ponies."

Scootaloo took the bow next. Rather than trying to aim, she simply pulled back quickly and fired. However, the three didn't see where the arrow landed.

"Where did it go?"

"Ahem."

The crusaders looked and saw Iron Will standing over them with the arrow stuck to his eye. He pulled it off with a loud pop and dropped it in front of them.

"Iron Will thinks you need to work on your aim. You hit the wrong bull's eye."

Iron Will walked off. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom giggled at what they just saw and gathered their things.

"There's still lots of stuff for us to try girls. What should we do next?"

Scootaloo, however, was getting ready to leave.

"Sorry girls, but I need to get to Rainbow Dash. She's helping me earn mine."

"Really? How's she doing that?"

"Well, for now, she's just teaching me to fly. But once I can, she'll teach me everything she knows. I'll be able to do a sonic rainboom, join the wonderbolts, and be her wingpony!"

Scootaloo's eyes lit up like stars at the thought of being Rainbow Dash's wingpony and performing a sonic rainboom along side her. The other crusaders looked very curious.

"Rainbow Dash is gonna make you a wonderbolt?"

Scootaloo shook her head to come out of her daydream.

"Well, she didn't actually say she would, but...um...I'm sure once I fly she'll want me to be her partner!"

Scootaloo finished putting on her gear and got on her scooter.

"See you later girls!"

With that, Scootaloo set off at top speed toward her meeting place with Rainbow Dash.

~

In a small valley outside of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was waiting for Scootaloo to arrive. As she sat patiently, Pinkie hopped to her happily.

"Hi Dashie. What are you doing?"

"Waiting for Scootaloo. I'm teaching her how to fly."

"Why does she need help? I thought every pegasus could do it easy."

"She's just a late bloomer Pinkie. Like Fluttershy. I'll get her airborn in no time."

"But Scootaloo tried lots of times to fly before. She might not be able to."

Rainbow Dash felt annoyed at this as she responded.

"Pinkie, there's nothing wrong with Scootaloo. She just needs some guidance and practice. You'll see."

"But what if her special talent is something that doesn't need flying?"

"Like what?"

Pinkie thought hard for a moment before lighting up with glee.

"Maybe it's something with a scooter! Like she could be a racer, or a delivery mare! Cause she's always on her scooter and she can go super duper fast on it-!"

"Hold on, Pinkie. You can't be serious! A scooter for a cutie mark? How many ponies do you know that have a talent like that?"

"Nopony does! That's why it could be Scootaloo's special talent, silly!"

Pinkie giggled while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Well, even if it is her special talent, it doesn't mean she can't fly. Besides, she really wants to learn. If I hadn't offered, she would have begged me to do it."

Rainbow Dash spotted Scootaloo heading towards her and smiled.

"There she is, right on time. Listen Pinkie, I got a lot of work to do with her, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie!'

Pinkie skipped away happily. Scootaloo screeched to a halt in front of Rainbow Dash.

"Hey Rainbow Dash! I got here as quick as I could! I'm not late, am I?"

Rainbow Dash laughed and ruffled Scootaloo's mane.

"Relax, kid. You made it in time. But are you ready to earn your wings?!"

"I'm ready!"

" I said-ARE! YOU! READY?!"

"I AM READY!!!"

The two spent the rest of the day in rigorous training, Scootaloo doing sets of wing ups, flapping exercises and following Rainbow Dash's instructions of keeping good form in flight to the letter for hours. Finally, Rainbow Dash set up a ramp for Scootaloo to jump from to try and glide.

"Ready, Scoot?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Scootaloo made ready to run at the ramp. She held her wings straight out just as Rainbow Dash taught her.

"Get set..."

Scootaloo clawed at the ground a bit, anticipating the feeling of gliding.

"GO!"

Scootaloo ran as fast as she could, keeping her wings steady and straight. Once she hit the ramp, she made ready to jump. At the very last inch of ramp, Scootaloo leapt as hard as she could, sending her into the air. Scootaloo held her lags out in perfect flying form. Unfortunately, her feelings of triumph lasted for only a second as she immediately plummeted to the ground. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash caught her before she hit the ground. Scootaloo grinned sheepishly.

"Whoops."

Rainbow Dash smiled back but felt a little confused. She saw that Scootaloo had done everything right; that should have gotten her airborn.

"Uh, let me check your wings for a second."

"Okay."

Scootaloo held up her wings for Rainbow Dash. She looked over every inch on each wing. Scootaloo seemed to have perfectly healthy wings. The muscles were toned and strong. All the feathers were rich and downy. Even the size seemed right.

"Flap a little for me."

Scootaloo did as she was told., moving her wings up and down in a rhythmic pace. She seemed to have a good form to it. Rainbow Dash didn't understand what the problem was. Scootaloo should have been able to fly no problem. Rainbow Dash took a wing in her hooves to look closer. She found no reason they wouldn't function. After a minute of careful inspection, Rainbow Dash, ceased and scratched her head, feeling stumped.

"Hmm. Let's try a couple more things, then we'll call it a day."

"Got it."

So the two continued their flight training, but in spite of Scootaloo's eagerness and best efforts, she simply could not stay afloat. After the final exercise, Scootaloo slumped to the ground, exhausted and depressed at her shortcomings. Rainbow Dash layed on her back and ruffled Scootaloo's mane.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah. I just...why does this have to be so hard?"

"Relax, Scoot. We just gotta keep working at it. Trust me, it'll be worth it in the end."

Scootaloo sighed wearily. Rainbow Dash smirked and pulled Scootaloo to lay on her back on top of Rainbow Dash's stomach.

"Once you get the hand of it, I'll get you into the weather team. Between you and me, we could clear every sky from Ponyville to Manehatten in less than an hour."

"You think I can do that?"

"Hey, you got me teaching you, right?"

Scootaloo looked hopeful at the thought.

"Maybe...maybe I could be a wonderbolt just like you!"

"You know it, kid! You and me will be wingmates!"

Scootaloo gasped in absolute joy.

"R-r-really?!"

"How else am I gonna teach you the sonic rainboom?"

Scootaloo started jumping and shouting for joy. Rainbow Dash laughed at her excited antics. After a few minutes, Scootaloo ceased her happy dance and sang praises to Rainbow Dash.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Rainbow Dash! You're the absolute best!"

Scootaloo leapton her and gave her a big hug. Rainbow Dash happily returned it.

"Just remember Scoot; it's not gonna happen overnight. It's gonna take a lot of work, but like I said, it'll be worth it."

"How could it not be worth it?! You're the most awesome pony ever and I get to learn from you!"

Rainbow Dash's heart swelled with pride. She playfully booped Scootaloo's nose with her hoof.

"Well, one of the most awesome."

Scootaloo blushed a bit and returned to laying into Rainbow Dash, who wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo in a hug.

"Mark my words, Scoot. Someday...You and me are gonna be on top of the world."

The two stayed that way for some time, enjoying the closeness they shared as adoptive sisters. Rainbow Dash always had high ambitions for herself, but now being able to share it with Scootaloo who was even more eager than she was, made it seem so much better. Scootaloo was simply elated her idol and hero was willing to teach her and work with her dispite her limits. Times like this she didn't even care about her cutie mark. As long as Rainbow Dash was there, Scootaloo feltlike she was perfectly safe. Neither pony left their comfortable position until Ranbow Dash saw the sun was nearly finished setting.

"It's getting late."

"We could have a campout here."

"Sorry Scoot, no can do. I gotta be up early for weather duty."

Scootaloo slumped a bit sadly. Rainbow Dash helped her stand up as she did the same.

"I'll see you same time tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Scootaloo saluted as if she was a soldier. Rainbow Dash smiled proudly and gave a quick salute before flying off. Scootaloo started to daydream about being a wonderbolt as she put on her gear and rode back to Ponyville. The more she thought of flying side by side with Rainbow Dash, the faster she rode, and the more she felt like she was actually flying. By the time she reached Ponyville, it was dark out, but Scootaloo was riding faster than she ever had before. Scootaloo spotted a board leaning on a stand that could serve as a ramp. She gave herself a boost of speed and headed for it.

Scootaloo hit the board and went flying into the air, nearly reaching the clouds. Scootaloo pulled back on her scooter and did a triple flip in midair. She saw a house blow her and turned the scooter sideways. She hit it with a thud and grinded across the shingles to their end and leapt onto another house. After sliding down the building's side, Scootaloo landed on a board with a pile of crates on the other side. The crates jumped up for a split second before coming back down onto the board, sending Scootaloo into the air again. Her stunts had awaken a few ponies in town, including her classmates Snips and Snails. the watching ponies were in awe at Scootaloo's new found skills.

Scootaloo continued to ride across rooftops as if she was weightless. Once she was on top of Sugarcube Corner, Scootaloo decided to make a big finish. As she neared the edge of the roof, she put in the largest burst of speed she could, flying high above Ponville, even over the clouds. Scootaloo held her scooter to the side and let herself fell free, feeling like she was really flying. She set herself back on her scooter as the ground approached and landed hard, kicking up some dirt.

Scootaloo leaned on her scooter, panting heavily but feeling elated. She never had so much before. Suddenly, a bright flash burst from Scootaloo's flank. She looked and saw that her cutie mark had appeared. Normally, Scootaloo would have been overjoyed to discover her special talent, but seeing what her mark was made her feel confused and worried. It was a scooter racing at high speed with a cloud of dust behind it. That meant what Scootaloo just did, performing stunts and riding fast on her scooter, was her special talent. Scootaloo started to panic. Her talent was supposed to be about flying, like Rainbow Dash. She was supposed to learn from Raibow Dash, learn the same skills she had and follow in her footsteps. Using a scooter would never do that. She was supposed to be able to fly-

A thought hit Scootaloo that filled her with horror. What if she couldn't fly? She had tried so many times and even tried to learn from Rainbow Dash, but nothing ever worked. Now that she knew her talent was something that kept her on the ground, that seemed to comfirm she would never fly. Scootaloo began to cry in shame and humiliation. Every pegasus should be able to fly. That was as natural as walking for them. But Scootaloo couldn't, and it made her feel like a failure.

"That was so cool!"

Scootaloo gasped and saw a few young ponies running toward her, all looking excited by her display. Scootaloo felt completely paniced and terrified, not wanting anyone to see her special talent. One of them might tell Rainbow Dash, and she would find out she couldn't pass on what she knew to Scootaloo. Scootaloo jumped back on her scooter and rode away as fast as possible, the ponies behind her yelling for her to stop. After only a minute, Scootaloo saw and heard no one behind her, but she didn't slow down. She kept riding away from Ponyville, terrified she would lose Rainbow Dash as a sister because of her mark.

End of Part 1

Comments

[Lunalicorn]

It's a good idea, but here's the problem.

The reason the cutiemark crusaders didn't get their cutiemarks a long time ago, is because of relization. NOt only they failed at everything, they didn't relize anything they were good at. So, if Scootalo doesn't LIKE her cutiemark, then it wouldn't be possible for her to earn it.

BEsides that, great story!

[Flutterfan457]

3461051 Here's the thing. A cutie mark is supposed to be what will make a pony happy in life. But it is possible that it isn't what they want, per se. Say a pony wants to become an actor, but they are pretty good at painting and even enjoy it, but they never really try to do anything really big or serious with that skill. Instead, they spend all their energy and time taking acting classes and studying theater, but never get the hang of it. Because of that, they never really enjoy themselves and feel miserable most of the time, except when they casually paint, which brings them some comfort and relaxation. So, if that pony turns their attention away from acting and focuses on painting, they would find they have much more success and fun, and might even earn a cutie mark because of it.

[APoeticHeart]

Scootaloo got her cutie mark, but... it isn't one that has to do with flying as her special talent. There is no shame in that Scootaloo, you should be proud of your talent. I feel for her, because I know she is afraid that she would not only be able to fly maybe, but also disappoint Rainbow Dash. I'm liking this so far. I saw a couple of misspellings, but other than that, very good story so far.

[Flutterfan457]

3468967 Thank you. The way I see it is, it's like how Rainbow Dash earned her mark, where hs ehad flown stunts and races before, but only discovered her love for it in the race because she was so engulfed in the sheer joy and exhiliration of it. It's the same with Scootaloo here, being so excited about learning from Rainbow Dash, which she carried into her scooter ride, she finally felt that amazing joy and passion she was looking for.

[TheGreatEater]

Scootaloo seemed to have perfectl healthy wings.

perfectly
_______________

After the final exercose

exercise
____________

Trust me, it'll be woorth it in the end."

worth
____________

Rainb ow Dash

Rainbow Dash
______________

Once she was on topof Sugarcube Corner, Scootaloo decided to make a big finish

on top of
______________

That meant wha Scootaloo just did, performing stunts and riding fast on her scooter, was her special talent.

what
______________

Now that she knew talent was something that kept her on the ground, that seemed to comfirmshe would never fly. Scootaloo began to cry inn shame and humiliation.

confirm she

in
_____________

Decent chapter, and I feel sorry for Scoots.

[Flutterfan457]

3479666 I'm gald you enjoyed. Thank you for pointing out those errors.