Chapter 1
“Come on girls!” Twilight’s voice called from up ahead, insistent. “The train leaves in a few minutes! There won’t be another one until tomorrow!”
Scootaloo slowed a little more, dragging her hooves through the sand. Her wings buzzed against her back, but as usual she remained firmly on the ground.
“We’ll come and visit,” Sweetie Belle said, pausing long enough to give Terramar a goodbye hug. “I’d like to hear your mountains again. Maybe bring my sister along… it’d be great!”
“Might not be for a while,” Apple Bloom added, her voice meek. “Twilight’s whole friendship school thing makes everything crazy in Ponyville. So many new customers… I’m kinda amazed mah big sis let me come down here.”
On the edge of the shore was a gravel path, leading eventually to the Equestrian railroad and their train. The train that would take Scootaloo away from the one place she’d been able to fly. Scootaloo stopped on the sand, trying with her wings again, letting her friends get further and further away.
“You’re welcome back anytime,” Terramar said, his earlier melancholy gone. “My family has two houses, after all. Plenty of room for visitors to stay.”
Scootaloo turned slightly, looking over the beach. Seaponies and hippogriffs were here in abundance. Sharing their happy memories together, rejoicing in a world that was free of the Storm King. The Cutie Map had picked the right ponies for this job—these creatures would all be better off.
So why did she feel so empty?
“Uh, Scoots?” Apple Bloom finally noticed her. She turned, pawing nervously back onto the sand. “Something wrong?”
Sweetie Belle and Terramar both turned to stare at her. They have no idea. How could they? Apple Bloom has her potions and Sweetie Belle has her magic. But what do I have?
“Yeah,” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper. She might’ve cried, except that Terramar was still there. She wouldn’t let a stranger see her tears—Scootaloo was too tough for that. “I think there is.”
Twilight had finally noticed her too. She turned, watching with apparent concern, but she didn’t call out again. She can’t hear me from that far away, right?
Scootaloo kept her voice down just in case. “I’m not sure I want to go back,” she whispered.
“What?” Apple Bloom crossed onto the sand beside her. “I don’t get it, Scootaloo. You want more of that clamshell cake? I couldn’t eat another bite. And that music… you can only have so much of a good thing, ya’ know?”
“It’s not that!” Scootaloo stomped one hoof, so loud that creatures were staring at her. She ignored them, yanking her friends close. Poor Terramar joined them, confused and awkward but not daring to leave. That was good, since she’d need his help if she intended to actually do this. “It’s like…” she sighed. It wasn’t as though her friends didn’t already know what troubled her. She spread her pathetic, useless wings.
“All this time I’ve been trying to fly. Tried everything I could think of—worked as hard as anypony could work. Did all of Rainbow Dash’s remedial exercises, stayed up for night after night. Tried Zecora’s potions, Twilight’s magic… none of it worked.” She sniffed, wiping the moisture away from her face with one hoof. “If I go back to Equestria, I might never fly. But in Seaquestria…” She looked longingly back out over the water.
She could still feel it rushing against her fins. Still remember what it had been like to no longer be trapped in two dimensions. Her fins had worked fine, zipping her along with the speed and energy of the fastest birds. A world where she was surrounded with beautiful fish, with glowing eels and bioluminescent lanterns. For the first time in her life, Scootaloo had been whole.
“I’m sure you could get permission to come back here, Scoots. From your, uh…” Apple Bloom was the only one who dared bring up that subject, and even then, only by implication.
Scootaloo nodded. “In a few months, maybe. If I can find a grown-up to come down here with me, and I fill out a dozen forms, and…” She stomped another hoof. “What are the chances I have another princess to make that go away?”
Princess Twilight Sparkle nudged her way into the circle. Scootaloo hadn’t been watching her, but apparently the princess had been listening. Twilight could be easily pushed to the edge of total breakdown by the suggestion of tardiness, but she didn’t seem upset anymore.
“But if you stayed here…” Sweetie Belle’s voice rose into a pained squeak. “We wouldn’t see you. Not for… the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be separated.”
“What would you even do here?” Apple Bloom’s voice gained a twinge of anger. She shoved past Scootaloo, hard enough that she stumbled, pointing out at the crowd. “There aren’t any cutie marks here, Scootaloo. You couldn’t start up your own little CMC like my cousin did in Manehattan. You’d be…”
Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat, horn flashing for a moment. Their argument fell silent before it could get worse. “Scootaloo… do you understand what you’re suggesting? Seaquestria was wonderful to visit, but you don’t really understand how it works. The hippogriffs have an ancient culture, with traditions as old as ours. Just because you like one part of living here doesn’t mean you would enjoy all that. There’d be no more apples, for instance. You wouldn’t be able to ride your scooter! I thought you were moving towards a career in extreme sports! You’d give all that up?”
Scootaloo hesitated. She thought about her scooter, about the homemade ramps and rails she’d made behind the Ponyville Orphanage. That would hurt, but losing her friends would be worse. Terramar was nice, but he was just one bird, and anyway he’d spend plenty of his time on land. His wings weren’t broken.
So she didn’t look to the princess—but to the hippogriff. This mad scheme would be impossible if she didn’t have a place here to begin with. She probably should’ve asked him about it earlier. “Terramar… do you think Seaquestria has a place for a pony like me? Are there… I guess grown-ups get jobs. And I’d be old enough to move out of the orphanage next year anyway…”
Poor hippogriff. If awkwardness was worth bits, he could’ve made millions. He shifted his wings, lifting briefly off the ground, and glancing back towards his parents. “I dunno. I could ask.”
“Let me come with you,” Twilight said. Scootaloo had argued with her—but she still didn’t seem angry. Only sad. “Equestria is borrowing your sister, maybe Seaquestria wouldn’t mind borrowing one of ours for a little while.” She lowered her head, forcing Scootaloo to meet her eyes. “If you’re sure this is what you want. I know you don’t have… family waiting for you back home, or I’d never even consider this without their permission.”
Scootaloo glanced between her friends. In many ways, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were her family. They’d be the ones she’d be abandoning. After everything they’d done together. It would be like the Equestria Games, except that she would be the one betraying them, not the other way around.
“I… when’s the next time Equestria is sending diplo—… diplo—…”
“Diplomats?” Twilight finished helpfully. “At the end of the quarter. That’s two months from now.”
Two months where she’d be able to fly again. Two months where she wouldn’t be broken. If I stay, will I even want to leave? Probably not, but that was a problem for another time. Scootaloo forced herself to see the tears in her friends’ faces, before nodding. “Yeah, Twilight. Maybe until then.”
The princess embraced her with one wing, very briefly. “Alright.” Then she straightened. “Come on, Terramar. Let’s ask.”
They wandered off, back to the picnic that was half in the water and half on the shore. Scootaloo kept her back to them. She didn’t want to watch if they were going to say no. Now that she had experienced flight—as close to it as she might ever get—she never wanted to give it up. She felt trapped on the shore, even now. When the water was so close…
“You won’t get their powers,” Sweetie Belle said. “You’ll need Terramar or somepony to change you each time, like we did today.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t really plan on leaving the water. It’s… I know you two don’t see flying the same way I do. But I can’t just walk away after finally doing it. Even if it’s not the same sky as I dreamed about. I hope you’ll still be my friends.”
“Of course we will,” Apple Bloom said, voice absolutely confident. “That was never a question, Scoots. It’s just… it’ll be mighty rough to be without ya for that long. Assumin’ the hippogriffs are okay taking ya’ in.”
“I bet I could get Rarity to join that delegation,” Sweetie Belle added. “If I tell her about all the new inspiration she might be able to get here for her fashion. Then I could come with her to visit.”
“I don’t see many apples,” Apple Bloom added. “Maybe my sis will see the potential in a new market? Anything is better than more tuna water.” She made a face, and Scootaloo found herself imitating it.
“Ugh, yeah,” Sweetie Belle agreed.
Twilight returned, though it wasn’t just Terramar beside her. This time it was both his parents, with Ocean Flow on hooves and talons again just to walk over to her. Oh man I’m in trouble. I should’ve kept my dumb mouth shut.
Were they angry? Scootaloo couldn’t tell the difference between hippogriff scents, and seaponies just smelled like ocean all the time.
“You’re… Scootaloo?” asked Sky Beak. “Is that right?”
She nodded.
“Twilight explained your situation to us,” Ocean Flow added. Both of them looked pointedly at her wings. Scootaloo wished she could melt away into the sand. Her friends had discovered her disability naturally, and that had been hard enough. Just kill me, Celestia.
“We’ve talked it over with the princess, and it seems like a great idea!” Sky Beak eventually said. “Our daughter won’t be needing her room until she comes back for the Summit anyway.”
“And just between us, we think ponies could use a little more appreciation for our differences,” Ocean Flow whispered, conspiratorially. Though every one of them would be close enough to hear.
“You’d have responsibilities,” Twilight Sparkle said. “We would make this official, just like Silverstream living at my school. You’d have to go to school here, have to learn everything you could about seapony culture… take notes. Think of yourself like… an informal ambassador. Could you handle all that responsibility?”
Scootaloo whimpered, feeling the weight of expectation on her. Maybe it had been wrong to even bring this up. She should’ve suffered in silence, just like usual. At least that way she wouldn’t have embarrassed her whole country, not to mention her old friends and the new one she’d made today. She might very well be the biggest failure in all Equestria.
A seagull passed overhead, squawking discordantly. It was soon joined by several others—blending with the sound of crashing waves, the smell of salt and seaweed.
Scootaloo could be whole again, if she could only pay the price.
“Yeah,” she finally said. Tears streamed down her eyes, as she nodded once more for emphasis. “I could do that, Princess.”
They missed the train. But Scootaloo was glad for that—that meant a last night with her friends, and some time to get to know her host family a little better. They spent it up on land, since Sweetie Belle didn’t seem eager to go back into the water. Scootaloo was fine with that—it was just one more night.
Then morning came, and they woke at dawn so they could catch breakfast and still make the first train. Twilight had already made it clear that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would not be missing class because of this. But they joined her on a walk down to the ocean, along with her new friend Terramar.
“I’m glad you were cool about this,” he said, as they reached the beach. “I didn’t really expect a pony to be able to… appreciate much about the way we do things.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Thanks for letting me do this. Even if it’s just for a few months… It’s gonna be the awesomest thing I’ve ever done. Maybe the awesomest thing I’ll ever do.”
She hadn’t brought anything on this trip—but it wasn’t as though Scootaloo owned much anyway. “Take care of my scooter,” she urged Apple Bloom. “If I come back, I want it in perfect condition. No broken deck or rusty bearings.”
“On it,” Apple Bloom promised. It had been a somber night—and it was obvious to Scootaloo that her friends still felt a little betrayed. Even if they knew her well enough to know how important flying was to her, it would still look like she was choosing that over their friendship.
She stepped into the water, gripping one of Terramar’s functional wings with her stubby useless ones. Magic passed through her in a wave, energy that washed away her fur and caused her to splash down into the water as her legs vanished.
She resisted the urge to dart off into water deep enough to fly, and to sink down immediately into Seaquestria. The ocean is so big, they can’t just have one town forever. I wonder what they’re going to do with it all. Maybe there would be a place for more ponies—even if they didn’t have any magic to change themselves.
Instead of swimming off, Scootaloo propped herself up on her forelegs in the surf. The air pressed in on her from all around, making her feel like she was starting to bake almost immediately. Scales and gills could be dry for a little while, but she would need to stay wet like this. For the next two months. Last chance to back out.
She didn’t. Instead she leaned forward to give her friends one last hug.
“Ugh, sea water,” Sweetie Belle protested, but without any real malice.
“We’re gonna miss you,” Apple Bloom said. “See a lot of cool fish out there.”
“I will,” Scootaloo said. “I’ll miss you guys too.”
She sunk back into the water, low enough that she could watch them walk away without feeling uncomfortable. Twilight Sparkle kept glancing back at her, a little nervous twitch in one of her eyes. She’s probably thinking about all the paperwork she’ll have to fill out to explain this. Glad that isn’t me.
“You sure about this, Scootaloo?” asked Terramar from beside her in the water, watching them go. “You three seem pretty close.”
“We are,” she said. “That’s why I’m sure. They know how much this means to me.”
She turned away from the shore, and the vast blue ocean stretched out below her. It was like a sky, with foamy white clouds drifting along its surface. There would be no weather magic for her here, none of the life she’d always dreamed of. But maybe she could find something else.
Scootaloo grinned, and swam off to find out.
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Short and sweet. I actually really like this idea given what we know of Scootaloo's flying right now. A bit sad, but still very cool idea
a vary sweet story.
Interesting concept. I feel it could use some more chapters to explore her life underwater, even if it's just a couple. I'm curious to know if you would have her stay or go back. The completed tag just doesn't feel fitting to me.
Wow, this didn’t take long!
You wouldn’t think a few thousand words could be so heavy, but there it is.
Nice alternative veiw on the episode! Good story!
How the fuck did you manage to write this so quickly + get a story image in less than 24 hours? o.O
Very well done, author. Have a Like and a Favorite.
8880211
I wrote it right after the episode and have some good artist friends. It's only 2.5k. It probably would've taken much longer if I wanted to tell more of Scootaloo's adventures.
8880211
Isn't it obvious? Starscribe is a story writing A.I. sent back from the future to kill Sarah Conors.
8880249
That exists and it's terrible.
Is this really complete?
8880211
I draw fast. When I need to.
8880256
Of course thats what a murderous word slinging A.I. would say! Deflecting from the fact that they are programed to write amazing stories!
Edit: Oh yeah... and murder people. Good day sir!
8880211
Go here.
Look at the chapter publication dates.
Look inside the chapters to see that each of them has an illustration in it.
Notice that there's 48 of such chapters.
You may also check the comments to see that the story wasn't pre-written.
Now, you can spend the rest of your life pondering how they've managed to pull THAT off.
Like me.
I'm not sure how to feel here. On the one hand, the Cutie-Mark Crusaders breaking apart like this is kinda out there. It feels like a fundamental Law of the universe was is broken.
On the other, realistically speaking (snorts), Equestria is the kind of place that encourages self-discovery, and if Scootaloo truly feels she would be better off in Seaquestria... Well, there's going to be hurdles, but nothing mind-boggling. Scoots can adapt pretty well when push comes to shove, so I can see her fitting into Seaquestria eventually.
All in all... I think I like this story. An interesting take on the Broken Wings Scootaloo, and one I would certainly like to see fleshed out.
Scootaloo actually lives with her 'aunts' according to the comics. Still, good story.
8880443
Actually you need to go even further than the comics for that particular invention. It's from a pony book called Ponyville Mysteries: Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe.
But like many authors, I treat the canon as the show and only the show. I don't read the comics or any of the side books, so I can't really expect other people to either.
This isn't actually a thing right?, that the cutie mark map I don't really like even takes the cutie mark curssaiders on a mission now?
While I like the show, the map is one of the things I question once in a while, I'm just not that type of that that just consumes all the stuff without complaining/thinking about certain stuff.
8880451
It is. It does. The map rules everyone with a butt tattoo now.
Since the magic works on ponies, I wonder if Scoots could get special permission for one of those necklaces from Queen Novo, after a time.
My heart broke, my heart just seriously broke here. Nice job author.
8880664
The symptoms you describe sound like a case of the feels. Keep back, it's extremely contagious!
Oh... Too late...
Makes me wonder how RD would take it?
Eeyup. This fic was pretty inevitable. Nice read tho.
8880863
Yeah, was wondering about that too.
Especially since Dash's, ya know, the Element of Loyalty.
8880475
And Spike.
8881201
Oh, hm, aye. That's a question. Might be a followup (whether or not it's written) with Rainbow visiting to talk to her? Hm. Did Scootaloo ask them to pass a message to Rainbow during that night on shore? I'd guess Rainbow's likely to understand having to grab the moment before it got away, but I hope that Scootaloo didn't send no word specifically to her.
Constantly being surrounded by molasses-like substance (784 times thicker than usual) that impedes your every move while you "fly" and stops you from quick acceleration must be very annoying, especially after already experiencing rush of speed and sharp turns on a scooter.
8882022
All these comments have given me an idea for another chapter. I might just write it.
And thus begins the adventures of Tunaloo, the chicken of the sea...
8882100
Oh, nice! :D
8882025
Possibly, though seapony biology and magic might also come in there. After all, pegasi already laugh at aerodynamics as we know them, so why should our world's hydrodynamics be ironclad?
8882100
Understood i mean Rainbow would likely still wanna see her little buddy and too hear she might not see her as much as she did might throw her for a loop
8880211
Usually for me it takes about an hour for every 1k words, add to that planning, which might take anything from "a few months of procrastination" to "omg I got the best idea ever and need to write it NOW", and add some time for proofreading, so a 2,5k fic is totally doable if you don't have other stuff to do.
8882450
Well some are more experienced than me then. I actually end up rewriting my stuff so many times that it can take well over a day for me to complete even a short story.
8882463
I've always found that after a certain point all the polish and rewrites you do only serve to make you more frustrated and unhappy with a fic. Usually the thing that comes to mind first for you is probably the best version.
An excellent bit of heartfelt drama... though I suspect Scoots will soon learn that the kelp isn't always greener. Still, I think most pegasi in her situation would take the opportunity to finally move in three dimensions with even less reluctance.
That said, while some people are wondering how Dash will take this news, I'm wondering more about Cheerilee. Silverstream isn't the only one who may need a permission slip...
But yeah, in all seriousness, great Scootafeels.
Hm. Well done.
8882107
oh you. 
This is well worth more chapters.
8880256
So...do you recommend that author, or nah?
8883950
I don't but she's really working hard to get better.
8883953
Neat
Sad and sweet. I wonder if the show will ever address this again, like it did in Flight to the Finish.
I have refrained from leaving responses in a while.
At this point, I think I know what's happening conceptually alone. Doesn't always deter me.
I think the next thing I write... will not be based on this.
I will, I think, revisit that man I briefly mentioned in one of me own works.
I don't think abandoning your blood is wise. It's not that hard a choice. I might encounter cerebral palsy, but I'm not going to Sweden knowing that's the only place they'll offer robotic cars.
nice and cute story, i have to say that it's nice to avoid the cliche of "hero gives up awesome oppurtunity to keeping living their old life"
but as a personal thing, i prefer transformation sequences be written with a little more detail, then again i got kind of a fetish for that thing so.....
I would like a sequel story elaborating on Scootaloo's time in Seaquestria and maybe flesh the seaponys/hippogriffs/the-writers-were-high-when-they-wrote the-movie out a little more,
Seaquestria is a terrible pun BTW
8886053
I thought about a more detailed TF scene, but ultimately I couldn't think of a way to justify it happening. After she went back and forth so many times for the episode, it just didn't make sense for her to focus on it.
8886076
You know what I just realized?
running errands must suck for a sea-pony/hippogriff/can't-they-just-come-up-with-a-name-to-always-call-themselves-in-both-forms
Ohhhh this was good. Sequal please!!!!!
This goes straight into favorites, because it portrays a situation all too common in real life:
Imagine you have a disability that not only cripples you physically, but makes you be looked down by others. If you visit a place/receive treatment that makes you feel complete for the first time in your life (i.e it cures you of your disability) would you want to leave that place/revoke that treatment? Even if you had to abandon everything you know to stay there/keep that treatment?
I like that. So this is straight into favorites.
This was incredible! You have brought tears to my eyes.