Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are well aware of Scootaloo’s trouble flying, but usually they don’t care. They’re Scootaloo’s friends, after all, and her ability to fly has no bearing on that. But this year they’re having trouble coming up with a gift for her birthday, until they get an idea that seems worth a try: Find a way to get Scootaloo into the air under her own wingpower.
Nothing has worked for Scootaloo thus far, but maybe a little friendship can give her a boost.
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Thanks go out to my friend DarkGriffon for being my first Guinea pig and giving my wonderful feedback on the first draft.
This story was begun a while back, just before Season 4 in fact, but I really dragged my hooves writing it, so some of it is a bit dated. I picked at it, but was ultimately inspired to really go for it by another fic, "Light the Sky on Fire" by EquesTRON which does this concept WAY better. Nevertheless, I wanted to write some Scootalove and see if I couldn't generate some feels while getting some practice actually finishing a story. I probably should have found a serious editor for it, but I wanted to just get it out there without making up more excuses to procrastinate. If even one other person enjoys it, I'll consider it a success.
--Edit: Linked to the editor's profile since he finally got an account here.
Wow, I actually inspired a story?
Well, I liked it, anyway.
The potion angle is one I hadn't even thought of... ('course, when I wrote mine during the hiatus between S3 and S4, "Applebloom the potion-maker" wasn't even a thing in fanon, much less an element of canon!)
The only thing I found a bit off -- and it's a minor nit, really -- is that there's no explanation for why Scootaloo's party was moved up a day, so it kind of seems like a forced coincidence to drive the conflict in the 3rd act. A line or two of added dialogue (maybe her parents are planning to take her to a Wonderbolts show on her "real" birthday, or something like that) would smooth that over easily enough, though.
Scootalove is best love.
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Oh! Wow, didn't expect you to actually read this.
And... arghleblargh. I actually had a reason for the party being moved up in mind, but never actually wrote it down! It's still slightly contrived, just going out of town, but I'll make note of that for later. Thanks for pointing it out!
Great story! I enjoyed reading this, and I hope that you plan on writing more.
I kind of wished that Zecora had had more actual dialog, especially in chapter 2 during the first visits, even if she wasn't a huge part of the story. Also, I'd love to see what Scootaloo does while the effects of the potion last. How will she react once it wears off?
It almost feels like you could add another chapter here or even a sequel. Perhaps some ideas could be expanded upon. What if Scootaloo had her magic stolen? What if the potion acts like training wheels for her wings, and she eventually no longer needs it? (Perhaps thinking she still does, but the potions are diluted more and more, and she eventually gets a placebo.) You've got Scoots in the air and teased us with a little bit of her joy. Don't leave us hanging!
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Glad you enjoyed it!
I kept Zecora's speech to a minimum because I've seen far too many other fics fall into the trap of over-using her and then breaking down on writing her rhyming because they couldn't shoehorn everything they wanted to say into good Zecora-speak. One of the things I observed early on while watching the show was that Zecora really doesn't speak a whole lot compared to all the others, so I tried to use that as a guideline instead. Maybe in the future, if I get more confident in my poetry skills. :)
As for the open-endedness... I sort of did that intentionally. I agree, there's plenty of room for more. What I didn't have was a good grasp on what I wanted that "more" to be, so I tried to leave it in a state where it could support a sequel, or could be resolved by someone else's fic, or could be resolved by actual canon if it happens, etc. If I do decide to answer those questions, I'll certainly make it known.
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That's why I suggested something like a Wonderbolts show; that kind of thing would provide a semi-reasonable justification, since something like that would be a scheduled event that can't be rescheduled so as not to conflict with her "real" birthday, so they have no choice but to move the party up by a day. ("I didn't think we'd be able to take you at all, Scoots, but a friend of mine called in a couple of favors and managed to score tickets for us; the only catch is, the only tickets left were for the same day as your birthday, so we'll have to have your party with your friends a day early, unless you want to wait until we get back.")
And yes, a character who speaks all of her dialogue in rhyme is ridiculously hard to write.
(Dropped this into a couple of CMC-themed groups to see if we can get you a bit more exposure on it, BTW.
)
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Yeah, that's a really great idea. I'm going to see if I can come up with something that's not blatantly your idea, but would it be cool with you if I went that route for want of a 'better' idea? :)
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Not at all; if you think it works, feel free to use it.
Awesome chapter, I can totally feel the love everyone has for one another and how deeply Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Rainbow care for Scootaloo.
I cant' wait to see what becomes of the other Crusaders making the Heart's Desire potion for Scootaloo combined with Twilight doing Research!
Nice chapter, but that fog was scary. How dare the forest try to trap two wonderful fillies and the most awesome pegasus in Equestria!!!!
I really want to see Scoots fly without the help of the potion as well as doing some tricks Twilight specifically says Rainbow hasn't taught her yet to show that Scootaloo wasn't suffering from lack of potential. And I wouldn't mind seeing her buzz Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon 'by accident' and show she isn't a chicken, dodo, kiwi, penguin, or other flightless bird they've called her.
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Heh. Glad you enjoyed it! I DID leave it rather open-ended. If I do 'fix' Scootaloo's wings, I'll want to think up a novel, or at least nifty, way of doing it. Scootaloo's a fighter, and she'll get there someday, I'm sure of it!
4422121 ostrich?
4422234 Personally I would go with having to save one of her friends from a serious fall. It makes it a crowing moment of awesome for Scootaloo to save the day and show she can fly on her own.
I'm always glad to see Scoots getting some love. Really, the filly's all right, and she deserves a break. I can easily see this becoming canon. :-)
That was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I'm pro scootalove but I have to admit that I try to be careful around these kind of stories because I get all kind of feels. The relationship between Rainbow and Scootaloo tugs on my heart for some reason.
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I have to admit, I kinda like the sappy-teary feels fics, but I didn't want to get TOO heavy with this one for fear of overdoing it. I love rooting for the underdogs, which is probably why the CMC have grown on me since Season 1. Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)
Oh! You read my story! I'm glad you liked it.
Dawwwwwww! This needs a sequel!
Dawww