Chicken. Penguin. Ostrich.

Names like these cut her to the core, though she dare not give her bullies the satisfaction of knowing it. Her friends were always there to hurl insults right back, and sometimes she'd even give a few herself. Deep down however, words hurt. It wasn't simply the fact that they were being said, especially by the likes of the two school antagonists. No, it was the fact that there was a modicum of truth in their words.

It's been said often times that the truth hurts. It was no secret she couldn't fly. The only way for her to feel the rush of wind through her mane was on her scooter, and even then the sensation was fleeting. It only lasted as long as the hill she raced down would allow. She craved the ability to speed toward the ground, to pull up at the last possible moment only to use that momentum to dive again.

She found herself atop this grassy knoll outside of town many days after school, when the rest of the crusaders had chores or too much homework to do. She'd never been much for school work, much like her idol. Scoots held a belief that if she could only start flying, everything would fall into place. This one hurdle—this one seemingly insurmountable obstacle—was the only thing standing in the way of happiness. She held this belief very close to her heart, and found clinging to it much easier than having to deal with what was looking to be a more and more obvious truth.

Scootaloo sighed, letting her scooter fall on its side and resting on her haunches. From her hilltop, she could see the prismatic streak of her hero arch across the sky. No doubt she had clouds to clear. Rainbow said it would be clear for the rest of the week. Perfect weather to start flying, if she could only get her wings to cooperate. She practiced one hundred flutters—forward and back—every night like Rainbow instructed, but didn't seem to make much progress. She could hold herself up for a second or two, but it was a herculean effort, and she never got more than a few inches off the ground.

Scootaloo glanced back toward her wings, stretching them as far as she could. The primary feathers barely cleared her sides.

No wonder I can't fly.

Up until recently, she had held out hope that maybe she was just a late bloomer. Unfortunately, as soon as the Cakes brought their twins home, one had already started flying. As good as she was at ignoring what was fairly obvious to most pegasi adults, she could no longer ignore it when it was thrust in front of her like that. A practically newborn foal could fly, and she couldn't.

Many nights she cried into her mother's lap, wanting more than anything to know why everypony else's wings let them fly and hers didn't. Her mother always gave the same answer, though after hearing it all her life, it was beginning to lose effect.

Your wings will grow when they're ready.

She hated that excuse. Most foals her age were already in their first year of flight school. Entrance required basic demonstration of flying ability, which she had yet to demonstrate. So she was earthbound, like the unicorns and earth ponies. Sometimes she felt she may have been born the wrong race. She'd often think that maybe she was simply an earth pony with wing-like appendages. A "faux-pegasus", perhaps.

For all her sulking, there was always one pony who would without fail, be able to rescue her from the self-loathing pits of despair she often found herself mired in.

Rainbow Dash came streaking over the horizon, spotting her from a mile away like she always did. This hill served a purpose. Not only was the grass soft and the dandelions tasty, but it was the only bare hilltop in Rainbow's sector. The orange coat and purple mane stuck out like a ripe apple on a tree.

"Rainbow!" Scootaloo called as her hero approached.

"Hey squirt!" Dash answered, flaring the wings her young friend was so envious of as she landed before her. "How was school?"

"It was okay, we had a math quiz..." she moaned, standing to greet her idol.

"Yeah? You pass?"

"Barely."

"Ah, math's for nerds anyway," Rainbow said casually, knowing a certain egghead would disagree.

Scootaloo sighed. "Tell that to my parents..."

"They just want you to do good in school. All parents are like that, I promise," Dash added, mussing her mane. "So I heard your birthday is tomorrow," Rainbow recalled.

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, where'd you hear that?"

"Where do you think?" she replied. "Been thinking about what you want?"

Scootaloo sat hard on the grass, resting her head in her hooves. "Not really," she answered glumly.

"Hey now, fillies are supposed to get excited about a day when everypony they know gives them free stuff! What gives?" Rainbow asked, taking a seat beside her.

"It's not that I'm not happy, it's just..."

Rainbow spread a wing around her. Scootaloo glanced at the powder blue primary feathers tickling her shoulder in the breeze and sighed.

"You ever want something you can't have?"

Rainbow snorted. "Well duh! You know how long I've waited for the Wonderbolts to let me try out for their squad?"

No sooner had the words left her mouth did what Scootaloo was trying to get across click in Dash's mind.

"Hey, who's to say you can't have it? You just have to give yourself more time, that's all," Rainbow consoled, pulling the filly a bit closer in the warmth of her soft feathers.

"That's all I ever hear. I'm already eight, and I'm no closer to flying than when I was five..."

Rainbow's eyes shifted away from her gloomy pal to the horizon, the sun still high in the afternoon sky. "Listen, Scoots, I'm not a doctor or anything, so I don't know what to tell you," she began. "All I know is that flying isn't something you can rush. It's just going to happen when it happens. And when it does, you'll think about all the pouting and sulking you did before, and laugh."

Though Dash meant well, her inspirational speech did little to raise Scootaloo's spirits. Thinking quickly, she devised a new plan. "Hey, how about I fly you up to a cloud layer for a little bit, just you and me, huh?"

Up until now, she would have jumped at the chance to be in the sky with Rainbow. Especially hanging out in the clouds where she felt the most at home. This time, her self-pity got in the way. "Thanks, but I'd rather fly up there myself," she said, standing up and grabbing her scooter and helmet. "See ya, Rainbow," she said softly, walking beside her scooter down the hill.

As Dash watched her go, she couldn't help but feel a pain in her chest for Scootaloo. It wasn't her fault her wings hadn't grown in yet. Though no one would say anything around her, none of the other pegasi had ever heard of a colt or filly still unable to fly by the time they were eight. Rainbow had performed her sonic rainboom when she was seven, and most were in flight school by six.

So she wants to fly for her birthday, huh? Dash thought, knowing a simple ride on her back probably wasn't going to cut it this year.

Who do I know that would be able to help Scoots fly... she thought, scratching her mane in concentration.

I got it!

A brief series of knocks summoned Twilight Sparkle to the door of her library.

"Hello, Rainbow! The new Daring Do book just arrived! I've been holding it off the shelf for you," she said happily.

"No time for that, Twi, I—really?" She shook her head, remembering why she was here in the first place. "I'll have to check it out later. Right now, I've got a problem."

Twilight stepped aside, allowing Rainbow in. "Okay, what is it?" she asked, pouring herself a cup of tea and taking a seat on her favorite reading cushion.

"Scootaloo's birthday is tomorrow, and I asked her what she wanted," she began.

"Oh that's right! Pinkie reminded me earlier today. I had Spike run out and grab her something. I'm just going to say it's from both of us, because apparently I'm terrible at picking gifts..." Twilight interjected with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Yeah, well when I asked her, she was all sad and mopey. Aren't foals supposed to love birthdays?"

"I suppose," she replied, taking a tentative sip of her tea. "Any idea why she was acting that way?"

"Well... yeah. It's because she still can't fly," Dash said, shuffling nervously.

Twilight nodded. "I see."

"That's kind of why I'm here. I figured if anypony could help her fly, it'd be you," Rainbow explained, nearly causing Twilight to choke on her tea.

"Me? What makes you think I'd know better than you?"

"Because I can't just tell somepony how to fly! They have to just... know it! It'd be like trying to describe color to the blind; it's just something you have to experience."

Twilight set her teacup down and looked sternly at her now seated friend. "That's very... poetic, Rainbow, but I'm still not seeing how I'm the best pony for the job."

Dash rubbed her eyes with her hooves, her ears twitching in annoyance. "Because you've got all that science and junk in here!" she said, motioning to the bookshelves behind her. "You're telling me not one of these books has a magic spell that makes ponies fly or something? You gave Rarity wings, why can't you give them to Scootaloo?"

"Well, I could give her wings, but they wouldn't last forever," she said with a sliver of annoyance in her tone. "Are you sure she isn't just a late bloomer?"

Rainbow exhaled, dropping her hooves to the floor with a clop. "Yes, none of the other pegasi I've talked to have ever heard of a flightless eight-year-old. I'm starting to think her wings may just be too small..."

As much as Twilight would have loved to just cast a spell and fix Scootaloo's problems, she realized the implications both physically and ethically to such a request.

"Tell you what, when Spike gets back, I'll research pegasi anatomy and see if there's any medical reason why she can't fly yet. If there isn't, I'll see if there are any spells that may be of use, but I'd really rather not use magic on a foal if I can help it," she admitted, recalling the last time her magic got the better of the entire town.

Rainbow smiled. "Thanks Twilight. Now about that Daring Do book..."

Daring lept across the gap between the cliff's edge and the mouth of the forbidden temple. Before her lay a seemingly empty hallway, but our savvy heroine knew better than to trust the ancients. Stepping carefully, she...

Rainbow set her book down over her eyes and groaned. For whatever reason, she subconsciously refused to immerse herself in her book. Her wayward thoughts kept drifting back to Scootaloo.

I hope Twilight figures something out. I'd hate for her birthday present to be finding out she'll never fly.

Rainbow glanced at her Wonderbolts clock. It was half past nine. She had to be up early for work tomorrow. Luckily, Scootaloo's party wasn't until that afternoon. The minor twinge in her temples threatened to become a full-on headache if she didn't stop reading. Rainbow dog-eared the page and closed Daring's latest adventure, setting it on her nightstand for tomorrow night.

She flew up to her ceiling and closed the skylight she had created to read by, before gently floating back down to her sheets. Even now she took her ability to fly for granted. She used it every day, for the most mundane and menial tasks. It was as much a part of her life as magic was a part of Twilight's. She couldn't even begin to imagine a world in which she was forced to live on the ground. Especially the cruel joke of having wings, but being unable to fly with them.

Her apprehension was soon replaced with a bold confidence. After all, if anypony could figure out a way to make Scootaloo fly, it was Twilight. That, however, brought with it another unfortunate moral question: Was it right to give a filly a day of flying under her own power, knowing it would only be for a day? Was it their place to tease her with the life they both knew she wanted more than anything? Would that even be considered a gift? What if she hated the two of them for it?

Ethical questions raced through her mind as she began considering why she didn't just get Scootaloo a card with forty bits inside instead. Reaching into her nightstand, she removed a leaf of a plant Zecora had prescribed for helping her get to sleep. Napping all day had done a number on her sleep cycle. She popped it in her mouth and chewed it, while still considering the implications of making Scootaloo fly with magic.

As soon as she finished clearing her sector of clouds, Rainbow zipped straight to Twilight's library. Charging through an open window, she noticed books piled about everywhere, and an annoyed Spike trying his best to re-shelve all the volumes.

"I guess I have you to thank for this?" Spike grumbled, passing her with an armload of books.

"Yeah, but it's for a good cause, trust me. You seen Twilight?"

He shelved the books he was carrying and pointed to a few towers of stacked books still to be put away. "Over there, in Fort Book."

Hovering over, she saw her egghead pal hidden behind a veritable wall of tomes.

"Oh, hi Rainbow!" she said sipping her coffee, not an ounce of fatigue in her voice.

"You haven't been doing this all night, have you?" Rainbow asked, concern evident in her tone.

"Oh no, I slept enough, just all afternoon," she replied, yawning as she stretched her forelegs then back legs while rolling her ears forward and back.

"Anyway, I've got good and bad news, which do you want first?" Twilight asked, stepping out of her book fortress.

"Uh, the good news, I guess..."

"Okay then. I've figured out a way for us to make Scootaloo fly on her birthday!" she said happily, clapping her hooves together.

"And the bad news?" Rainbow asked cautiously.

"Well, there's two parts to the bad news... one, I could find no medical reason Scootaloo is unable to fly. Two, is it really our place to make her fly, knowing she couldn't reproduce the same results by herself?"

Dash sighed. She had just had this debate with herself all night, and all day today. "I don't know... I mean, I take her into the sky all the time, but I just know she'd be happier if she thought she was doing it by herself."

"If she thought she had flown under her own power, what's to stop her from jumping off a cliff because she thought she could fly?" Twilight asked, nailing Rainbow's fears dead on the head.

As silence filled the room, Rainbow had a sudden burst of inspiration. "Wait! What if we made up something to convince her that she would only be able to fly because it's her birthday?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know, like a birthday wish or something! Some mystical magic power that—if you wish hard enough—will give you whatever you wished for!"

Twilight's jaw hung open a bit. "You want us to lie to her?"

"No, no," Rainbow said, waving her hoof and stepping beside Twilight. "It wouldn't be lying, it would just be making something up!"

"Telling Scootaloo something that isn't true is lying, Rainbow."

Dash snorted, "When Rarity wanted you to wear that dress she let Sweetie Belle design out in public, did you tell her it was the ugliest thing you'd ever seen?"

Twilight blushed, recalling the gown. Rarity was as reluctant to ask her to wear it as Twilight was to figure out a way not to.

"N-no,"

"Exactly, you told Sweetie Belle it was lovely and you'd wear it the moment the opportunity came up. You told her something that wasn't true, is that not lying?"

Twilight pawed the ground, her ears folding back against her head. "Well, you see... that's different."

"I don't see how! You were protecting Sweetie Belle's feelings, and I'm trying to lift up Scoots'. Now are you in or not?"

Reluctantly, Twilight nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. I'll get the checklist all planned out. All you have to do is bring Scootaloo to the location marked on this map after her party, I'll take care of the rest. Spike and I will give her this necklace, and tell her it's magic and will grant her one birthday wish. Make sure she's wearing it before you bring her to the field."

"Got it."

With that, Dash sped off to get ready for Scootaloo's party. Pinkie was throwing it, of course, and the start time was four. After running through the plan in her head a few times, Rainbow was confident this would be just the motivation those little orange wings of hers needed to start flying.

Once four o'clock rolled around, many ponies had gathered at Sugarcube Corner to celebrate Scootaloo's birthday. Rainbow was one of the last to arrive. She spotted Twilight standing near the table of gifts as Spike chatted with the other children.

"Ready, Twilight?" she whispered.

"Yes. Spike and I will leave once the party begins to wind down. Once you tell her your gift is out in the field, bring her out and we'll get her flying."

Rainbow smiled. She couldn't wait to see the look on Scoot's face when she was hovering with her in the sky.

From across the room, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat alone at a table eating a slice of cake.

"Can you believe our parents make us go to these lame blank flank's birthday parties?" Diamond asked.

"No, it's definitely not as good as your cutecenera last year," Silver complimented.

"I know that. Ugh, they even made me buy her a birthday present. Like I would willingly spend money on a loser like Scootaloo." she huffed, just knowing that money could have been spent on ice cream or a new tiara.

As she scanned around the room, Diamond noticed Spike setting a folded piece of paper down on the table as he continued to talk to the other fillies in her class. Once his group migrated away, she got up from her place to check the note. She had secretly admired the scaly little guy for a while now, but wouldn't dare breathe a word of it to anypony, not even Silver Spoon.

As she unfolded the paper, she realized it was a checklist of some kind. A checklist with the header: How to make Scootaloo fly Without Using Her Wings.

Diamond was confused at first, but decided to hang onto the list anyway. After all, it had come from her sweet dragon prince. Perhaps she would add it to the shrine later. As of right now, she had to stay at the party until her parents came to pick her up.

"What'cha got there, Diamond?" Silver Spoon asked, startling her.

"What?! Nothing!" she said, stuffing the paper in her saddlebags laying on the table.

Soon, the party was starting to wind down, Scootaloo having arrived at her last present, acutely aware that Rainbow hadn't gotten her anything. As her parents carried all her gifts back to their house, Rainbow trotted over.

"Hey, Scoots! I got you something for your birthday, but I'll have to take you to see it, okay?" Dash whispered as Scootaloo threw on the necklace Spike and Twilight had given her.

"You did?" she gasped excitedly. "Everypony! Rainbow got me a present and it's outside! C'mon!" she shouted, leading her friends out of Sugarcube corner. Rainbow nodded nervously, not anticipating how big the audience her little scheme was about to have.

All of the remaining foals followed Rainbow to the field as she prayed Twilight was in position.

"Alright, Spike, that looks like everypony. Do you have the checklist?" Twilight asked.

"Uh, yeah I... think I..." he said, searching himself. "No."

"You lost it?" Twilight whispered harshly.

"I'm sorry! I must have set it down at the party and left it!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and produced another piece of paper and quill from her bag, hastily creating another list from memory.

"Now don't lose this one!"

As Rainbow positioned Scootaloo in the center of the field and told her of the magic necklace, Twilight charged her spell.

"Ready, Scootaloo?"

The filly nodded.

"Wish as hard as you can, and start flapping those wings, okay?" Dash instructed as the other foals looked on excitedly.

She screwed her eyes shut and began flapping her wings furiously. The necklace began to respond, and sure enough, Scootaloo felt her hooves leave the ground. She was concentrating too hard on flapping to see how high up she had gotten. After what felt like hours, she heard Dash call her name, only it sounded... distant.

She opened her eyes and gasped. She was higher than the treetops! She had done it!

Scootaloo leaned forward as Dash flew up to meet her.

"You're doing it, squirt! You're flying!"

She squealed with delight as she flew forwards and backwards, flying in every direction, though Rainbow kept her in range of Twilight's magic.

As Scootaloo's wings grew tired, she landed before her cheering friends and classmates.

"This is the best party ever! I can't believe Scootaloo flew!" Snips said to Snails, infuriating Diamond Tiara. She couldn't dare be outdone by a nobody like Scootaloo. Her Cutecenera was the best party, and she knew it! As luck would have it, she knew just how to bring down the orange filly's spirit.

Scootaloo settled onto her hooves, adrenaline still coursing through her veins as a mile-wide smile refused to leave her face.

As her friends congratulated her, Diamond Tiara stepped up through the crowd of departing ponies.

"So I guess you think you can fly huh?" she asked, grinning devilishly.

"Well, yeah, I just did!" she answered happily.

"Uh huh, well I just wanted to give you this. Consider it a second birthday present from me," she said snidely. "Happy birthday."

She removed the checklist she had found earlier and set it at her hooves before laughing as she waited for her to react.

Scootaloo slowly read the note before scoffing aloud at it.

"What is this supposed to prove?" she asked, knowing Diamond Tiara would try anything to ruin her good time.

"It proves you can't fly, and without magic, you'd be stuck here on the ground. Some pegasus you are!" she sneered.

"You could have forged this! Rainbow Dash would never lie to me, and I'll prove it!" she snapped confidently.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"By flying off the cliff at the edge of town!" Scootaloo said proudly.

Diamond tiara snorted. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Then watch closely." Scootaloo growled, dashing toward the peak with her classmates and her rival right behind her.

After a few minutes, Rainbow wanted to congratulate her number one fan, but couldn't locate her. Spying two of her classmates, she approached Snips and Snails, the two of them having been more interested in cake than anything else.

"You two seen Scoots?"

"She's gonna jump off Deadpony's peak to prove she can fly!" Snails answered.

"Oh, well that's just—what?!"

Rainbow spread her wings and began flying towards the cliffs edge before being stopped by Twilight's magic.

"What's the matter, Rainbow?" she asked.

"Scootaloo! Gonna jump! Off cliff! Thinks she can fly!" she said, struggling against Twilight's magic.

"That's preposterous. Why on Earth would she do that?"

"Poetic justice! Let me go, Twilight!" she demanded, pulling on her tail still stuck in Twilight's magic.

"Wait a second, you mean Deadpony's cliff?"

"Yes! Let go of my tail!"

Twilight released Rainbow, allowing her to nearly break the sound barrier as she galloped with Spike behind her.

Rainbow spotted a crowd of fillies and colts gathered around her at the edge of the steep drop, with nothing but sharp rocks waiting to catch her below.

She could hear Scootaloo saying something, but couldn't tell what as she approached the cliffs edge. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon egged her on while the other cutie mark crusaders tried to talk her down.

Before Rainbow could reach the edge, Scootaloo jumped, her wings fluttering intensely, but to no avail. She plummeted like a rock in water, screeching toward the jagged rocks below. Rainbow kicked her wings into high gear, zipping over the edge of the cliff after her.

Within moments, Rainbow flew back to the solid ground with a shocked filly in her forelegs.

"Alright, show's over! Get back to your parents before I whip all of ya!" Rainbow shouted, dispersing the crowd of youngsters before hearing Diamond Tiara's remark.

"I knew you couldn't fly."

As she watched the other foals leave, a sob drew her attention back to Scootaloo.

"Scoots, what's the matter?"

She rubbed her eyes with a hoof, still sniffling as though she had a cold. "Diamond Tiara was right... I can't fly," she whimpered.

"What are you talking about? You flew earlier, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but not just then!" she snapped, motioning a hoof toward the cliff. "She found a checklist Twilight made... I didn't think it was real, I thought she made it herself, but it was! You lied to me!" she sobbed, her words cutting straight into Rainbow's heart.

"Scootaloo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, it was just—"

"Just what? You just thought a lie would be a good birthday present? Why would you tease me with something like that?" Her cheeks were a fiery red, as her ears pined back in anger.

Dash sighed. "Scoots, I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I know you can fly if you really want to," she pled trying to get her to understand her reasoning. "I thought if you got a taste of what it was like, you'd be flying on your own in no time."

"Well you were wrong! I'll never fly!" she yelled, disgusted that she could have been so easily fooled.

"Scootaloo, do you know what Twilight said when I came up with this dumb scheme?" she asked, changing the subject and taking her little friend by surprise.

"N-no..."

"She told me that there was no medical reason why you aren't able to fly. Do you know what that means?"

Scootaloo raised her head to look into Rainbow's eyes. "No..."

"It means that those wings you were born with can lift you up, they can make you fly!" Rainbow sat down next to her crying pal and wrapped a wing around her shoulders. "Up until now, have you thought you could fly?"

"No, because my wings are too small," she answered softly.

"Do you know what else I told Twilight?"

Scootaloo wiped her nose with a hoof.

"What?"

"I told her that I couldn't just tell you how to fly. Flying is something you feel, something you just do! It's like breathing. You don't think about it, you just do it. Now, do you think you'll ever be able to fly if you keep thinking you never will?"

Scootaloo sniffled a few times before answering. "I guess not."

"That's right, you won't if you don't think you can. But I'm going to tell you something Scoots. Your wings may be small, but they can carry you. They're strong enough, because I know you're strong enough, you understand me?"

"I guess..."

"Right, so now that you know you can fly, I'll make a deal with you. If you can't fly right now, on your own, I'll never fly again. Anywhere, ever."

Scootaloo gasped. "But... what about your job, or the Wonderbolts, or, any of that other stuff?"

"I don't care. If I'm never allowed to fly again because I tricked you, then that's my punishment," she said calmly.

Oh dear Celestia, please let Twilight have been right about Scoots having no medical reason for not flying!

Scootaloo looked around. "Twilight isn't hiding in the bushes is she?"

"Nope, it's just me, you and the sky."

Scootaloo took a deep breath, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Remember Scoots, it's all in your head. If you want to fly, you can fly, I know you can!" Dash encouraged as Scootaloo began flapping her wings.

The gentle buzzing slowly lifted her hoofs off the ground. This was nothing new, but she kept her eyes screwed shut as she pumped her little wings.

"Scootaloo," Rainbow said softly. She opened her eyes to see Dash's face in front of her, a wide grin gracing her features. With a motion toward the ground, Scootaloo gasped. She was nearly fifteen feet high. The thrill of her first magic induced flight came rushing back, though she was much more unstable on her own than with Twilight's magic holding her aloft.

"I'm doing it! I'm actually flying!" she shouted, still in a bit of shock.

"I told you! It was all in your head!" Dash congratulated, hovering right beside her.

She would have checked her flank for a cutie mark, but at the time, she didn't care. All that mattered was that she was finally flying, like her kind was meant to. Now she could finally nap on clouds, ditch her scooter (though, not permanently) and take to the air on a whim! Today was the first day of the rest of her life, and she was going to live it to the fullest. She'd have the strongest wings in her class by the end of the month, she could feel it!

"So Scoots, how about we go hang out on that cloud layer?"

She looked to her idol and smiled. "Sounds good, but can I hitch a ride? My wings are kind of tired."

Rainbow chuckled. "Sure thing, Squirt."

Author's Notes:

If Bulk Biceps can fly on his tiny-ass wings, clearly Scoots just has a motivation problem.