The Stub and the Snub

by Wise Cracker

Epilogue: A Pair of Outsiders

A couple of days later, things were quiet around Ponyville again. The map was back to its waiting self, Twilight’s school was running smoothly – barring the occasional incident involving dragons, changelings and noodles, of course – and Starlight Glimmer found herself with some spare time.

More importantly, Applejack was out of town to do a rodeo, and Rarity had left for Canterlot to stock up her shop. Both had taken their sisters along for the ride. Rainbow Dash had Wonderbolts training. She had gone alone.

So Starlight didn’t need a lot of effort to find Scootaloo on her way home after window shopping along Ponyville’s main street. “Hey, Scootaloo. Got a minute?”

The filly stopped, surprised. “Sure. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s the matter, I just wanted to have a word about something.” Starlight saw the house with the Cloudsdale-style columns come into view. She looked left and right, keeping up with Scootaloo’s pace, then lowered her voice and conjured up a bag she’d readied for the occasion. “Actually, I wanted to give you something. Here. This is for you.” She let the bag float down in front of Scootaloo.

Having reached her front porch, Scootaloo looked in the bag and found what appeared to be three bundles of fabric. They felt smooth, and the smell was oddly familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. “What is this?”

“Pyjamas,” Starlight replied. “Pegasus pyjamas, to be specific. They have a little more padding around your extremities and the base of your wings, to keep you nice and warm.”

Scootaloo grimaced with embarrassment. “Umm, thanks, but I don’t need baby peejays.”

“I know you don’t,” Starlight said with a nod. “That’s not what these are. These are specifically designed for Pegasi, and they’re Wonderbolts-approved, the fabric is pretty close to what they wear.”

That explained the smell. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s just a thought I had, you don’t have to wear them to bed if you don’t want to. But it might help, if you’re losing a lot of heat when you sleep. And…” Starlight sighed, looking around again. “Look, there’s no way for me to say this without making it awkward, so I’m just going to say it: if you ever need an adult for anything, my door is always open.”

Scootaloo put the things back in the bag and thought for a moment. “Okay, but… why?”

“You tell me. Doctor’s visits you don’t want Rainbow Dash to know about, consultations with magic experts you don’t want Twilight Sparkle to hear about. I know I’m not related to you or anything, but that’s kind of an advantage, depending on how you want to look at it. If you ever need a grownup to take you somewhere, and you don’t feel comfortable asking Rainbow Dash, or Twilight, or Pinkie Pie, you can ask me. I can keep a secret, and technically it’s my job as a counsellor now. If you don’t need it, forget we even had this conversation. If you do, just say the word.”

“Uhuh. Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Pretty much. I won’t bother you if you’re busy with other things.”

Scootaloo bit her lip. “Wait, Starlight,” she said while the mare turned to leave. “There is one thing. Just out of curiosity, what you said back in Cornucopia, to Hailey, did you mean it?”

Starlight nodded. Something squeezed inside her chest, but she made sure not to show it. “Every word. Me and Sunburst were pretty much in the same situation. He ended up in Canterlot, I didn’t. He was my only friend, everything I used to do with him stopped being fun. The rest is history. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories plenty of times by now.”

“A couple. But what do you know about Pegasi? About the, you know…” Scootaloo looked down at her wings, wriggling them.

She sighed and faced the filly again. “I was pretty big into making everypony equal, remember? I didn’t start my village without preparing, I did research on things. So I know a thing or two about development, I know the standards and the margins, I even know them by age. And I can tell you right now: from what I know, you not flying yet is nothing to be worried about.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Maybe. But it’s not normal either, is it?”

Starlight’s ears fell back. “That’s where it gets complicated. Whether that’s normal depends on what runs in your family.” She nodded to the columns on Scootaloo’s house.

The girl cringed.

“And that’s a sensitive topic, I know. I won’t pry. But if you are concerned about it, really worried, you don’t have to lose sleep over it. I know ponies from back when I was studying, Twilight’s introduced me to some ponies to help me with my problems, I know where to ask. I could take you to Rainbow Falls to see a Pegasus doctor, one who won’t treat you like an Earth pony with wings. I can chaperon to Cornucopia again if you like, you could talk to some of the instructors. There’s all sorts of sports involving flying, different disciplines, different training methods, you could have talents you don’t even know exist.”

Scootaloo blushed, and Starlight realised that this was a thought, or a dream, the girl had had quite often.

“You could also, maybe, even meet a few other Pegasus foals who aren’t flying yet,” Starlight said. “My point is: you can get a straight answer, if you really want one. But if you’re not ready for that yet, if you’re not prepared for what kind of an answer you might get, you don’t have to feel pressured at all. But you should know you can decide to get an answer and I will get you one. You don’t have to deal with not knowing if it really bothers you, but it’s still your decision. Just say when, or if, or say no, if that’s what you want. But it’s your choice, either way.”

Scootaloo gulped and shivered. She looked in the bag, getting another whiff of the Wonderbolt-style peejays, then closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, nodding. “Umm, okay. Six months and one week, how does that sound?”

“What?” Starlight’s ears perked. She hadn’t expected the talk to be quite so effective.

“My birthday is in six months and two weeks. So… one week before that, if I still can’t fly then, you’d do that? All of it?”

Then again, this was Rainbow Dash’s little protégée. “I just said I would.”

Scootaloo shivered. “And you wouldn’t tell Rainbow Dash, or Twilight? Promise?”

“Not a peep.” Starlight made a zipping motion over her mouth. “Not unless you want me to.”

Again, the girl cringed. Those wings bunched up against her sides, hard.

Starlight had anticipated as much. “Because if you did, well, they’d understand, I’m sure, but I think they might end up feeling kinda guilty about not helping sooner. Not to mention the whole big sister thing.”

She looked up and stifled a whimper.

“I mean, I get it: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have their big sisters and their bigshot families. Farmers who helped found Ponyville, a fashion designer working for Sapphire Shores, plus them being Elements of Harmony and all, that's impressive company to keep any way you look at it. Your friends were born into that kind of family, being special like that was always a part of them. You weren’t. No matter what you do, you’re always going to be the outsider compared to them.”

“Were you the outsider with Sunburst?”

Starlight nodded. “His family had a history of producing powerful wizards. Master Red Horizon, the stallion from Cornucopia?”

“His dad?” Scootaloo tried.

“Close enough: his uncle. Me, I didn’t have the same raw talent Sunburst had, not at that early age, at least. I didn’t start getting crazy powerful until I was about, hmm, five years older than you are now, if I remember right. And my family were mostly researchers, wizards weren’t that common. So yes, I always was a little bit of an outsider, just like you. Thing is, me and Sunburst were still friends. We are still friends.”

“That doesn’t change anything, though.”

“True. But outsider or not, you’re connected to your friends by your cutie mark. The Map called on you, too, remember? Besides, you earned your special big sister. You may not be special the same way they are, but you’re special your own way. You had to be brave enough to ask an important pony to take you under your wing. That’s not an easy thing to do, and there are plenty of legends about apprentices like you, just like there are plenty of legends about wizard families. And important ponies like her don’t take just anypony under their wing, believe me. You must have impressed her, and that’s not easy, either.”

“Yeah, that… was kinda scary…” Scootaloo idly rubbed her left arm. “Umm, now that I think about it, if you do take me to wherever, is it going to hurt?”

“Are you in any pain now?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer right away, which Starlight took as a good sign: it meant she was smart enough not to give a kneejerk answer to a question like that. “No.”

“Then an examination won’t hurt, either. All you get is some poking and prodding. Is there any place you want to start in particular?”

The filly bit her lip. “I think I’m gonna leave that up to you, if you know this sort of thing.”

Starlight nodded. “Six months it is, then, I’ll keep my schedule clear and I’ll be sure to make the necessary appointments. Try the peejays if you feel like it, don’t hesitate to ask if anything else comes up. Sneak around the school ninja-style if you think you have to, but don’t get stuck mulling over maybes when you can get a straight answer. Got that?”

“Got it.”

“Good. You’ve got talent, and you’ve got heart. You don’t want to waste either one.”

“Thanks, Starlight.”

Starlight smiled. “Don’t worry about it. That’s what I’m here for.”

Author's Note:

So there we go. A simple appointment, a reason why no diagnosis has been set, the mystery of Scootaloo's family kept intact... another way to deal with Scootaloo's lack of flight in-show. Will they ever do anything with it? I still suspect she'll get the Red X treatment, but we'll see. I've made my stance on it clear enough, often enough, annoyingly so.

This fic did end up hitting a little close to home, in the sense that it's about personal responsibility and owning up to problems you yourself are creating or sustaining.

It's hard to see what is and what isn't within your control sometimes. That's why the topic is better portrayed with magical creatures: when you have magic, the line is far clearer. You either have this magic or you don't. You either write the sigil, cast the spell, write that letter to Santa Claus, say that prayer, or you don't.

You own up and confront your own wants and desires, or you don't. The mechanics do not change, even if their expression does.

Looking back, I feel like I've harped on the same themes and characters enough. I'm going to try to expand things some more again, take advantage of the larger cast, get practice in for the original stuff. But that's a discussion for another time.

Take care, y'all. Be sure to check my blog for updates on the next project.

Comments

[leifj2009]

Not bad, it's like an original episode.

[Wise Cracker]

9415155
Target hit, then. We'll see what the consensus is on the matter.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Fantastic work. The solution was forehead-slappingly obvious in hindsight, which is how you know it's a good moral. And the epilogue was a very nice way to resolve Scootaloo's stake in all of this. Thank you for a great read.

[new55]

That was a good story.