One More Time

It had only been a couple weeks after getting their marks, and the crusaders were still pretty stoked about it. After Apple Bloom got over her slight confusion on doing things together. Now she was practicing dancing non-stop. Sweetie Belle was just as well. Singing, acting, instruments, sewing. While Scootaloo was happy for both her friends, she still couldn't stop looking at her cutie mark. It was slightly the fact that she partially astonished it was there that she kept looking at it. But the other half was confusion. Her cutie mark was a lighting bolt(which made sense considering how quick she was on her scooter) inside a-wing. She couldn't fly. She didn't know how. So why did her cutie mark have a wing in it? The question had been buzzing around her head for weeks. So, who does Scootaloo normally go to for advice. Her model and sister, Rainbow Dash. Naturally it didn't take long to find her. The cyan colored pony was found laying on a cloud snoring loudly. Great. She was asleep. Scootaloo would fly up there and nudge her older sibling awake, but she couldn't, because she can't fly! Scootaloo couldn't help but notice a grey mare in the corner of her eye. What was her name again? Derpy? Ditzy? Muffin? Didn't matter. She's a pegasus. She can help her. Scootaloo galloped over to the mare then pointed at the cloud. "Can you wake up Rainbow Dash for me please?" The pegasus nodded in return, flying up to the cloud. She nudged her a couple times, and each time Rainbow Dash would turn to the other side mumbling something Scootaloo couldn't hear. It wasn't until the mare smacked Rainbow Dash's head, she truly awoke. Rainbow Dash looked confused, but mostly raged.

"Derpy!" Oh, so that's what her name is. "The heck was that for!" Derpy shrugged in return. "Ugh, what time is it?" Rainbow Dash asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Around noon!" Scootaloo screamed from the ground. Rainbow Dash smirked, looking over the cloud's edge.

"Sup' squirt? How's it hangin'?" The rainbow-mare questioned. Which made Scootaloo remember why she needed to wake up Rainbow Dash in the first place.

"I was kinda hoping I could ask you a question at Sweet Apple Acers?!" Rainbow Dash pondered for a couple seconds.

"Yeah, sure what-" Rainbow Dash suddenly paused with a gasp. "Did you say almost noon?! Aw, horse apples I'm gonna be late to meet up with Fluttershy!" The pegasus took off, causing the cloud to evaporate behind her. Scootaloo sighed as she started to walk away. However it wasn't mere seconds until Rainbow Dash came back. "Hey, I'll meet you there in around two hours 'kay?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Scootaloo nodded quickly in response.

"Okay!" The small filly looked at her surroundings after Rainbow Dash had left. Where had Derpy gone? Almost as soon as Scootaloo thought of it, she forgot about it, making her way to Sweet Apple Acers. After a couple of hours of waiting at the clubhouse, her friends headed home, and Scootaloo watched galloped back to their houses. The filly sighed, standing up and making her way out of the clubhouse. Hearing her own hoof steps against the wood made Scootaloo realize even more Rainbow Dash wasn't going to come. Still walking slowly she made her way up one of the hills. She sat down with another sigh. The sun began to set in the distance. Minutes passed as Scootaloo's magenta hair flowed softly as the gentle wind flew by. For once in her life, she liked this feeling. Her wings spread out to feel the cold breeze. She had always been such a loud and obnoxious filly. She had gotten used to all the noise. But this was better. This was silence. But it was broken once more by a blue wave above her followed by a trail of Rainbow. The pegasus mare landed onto the broken dirt softly. Scootaloo looked to her side to see Rainbow Dash slowly making her was towards her.

"There you are! You scared me squirt! You weren't at the clubhouse so I thought you went home. But just as I started to head over I saw you here and I-" Rainbow Dash paused. She could tell Scootaloo didn't feel like joking around. She sat next to her, seeing the look on her face. She kept it up, hoping to see the small orange filly smile. "Sorry I'm late, Flutter Shy's pets got out and we had to chase them back, but of course, I scared them..." She trailed off again. Scootaloo wore the same blank expression. It wasn't sadness. It wasn't confusion. But she was obviously thinking. "Squirt are you o-"

"I just don't get it." Scootaloo exhaled softly. So soft Rainbow Dash almost couldn't hear her.

"Don't get what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I got my destiny all figured out, but I'm so confused when it comes to my talent and cutie mark. " Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"Scoots, no pony's got their destiny figured out." Scootaloo rolled her eyes at the reply.

"Says the pony who's living their dream job."

"Hey, I didn't immediately start off as a wonderbolt. At my first performance ever I thought the wonderbolts were going to let me in like that!" Rainbow Dash clapped her two front hooves to make a snapping sound. "But destiny thought differently. I never got into the wonderbolts. But I hung with that dream until today. I learned to work hard to achieve my goals. I made new tricks every day to impress the wonderbolts. But even when I got into the team, they were still a whole lot better than me."

"Yeah but they had experience." Scootaloo remarked, listening closely.

"True,"Rainbow Dash stated. "But so did I, a different kind. While the wonderbolts job is awesome, and it is hard work, there's nothing like actual hard work. It's like packaging fruits. You can pack them and take them to where ever they need to go, and that may be difficult, but it's nothing compared to actually farming the fruit. Squirt, I had so many years to improve my talent, destiny had me wait. It was destiny that I thought was going to get me into the wonderbolts. I'm glad they only saw me as some fan-foal back then. Because you know what squirt?"

"What?" Scootaloo asked in awe of the story.

"If destiny hadn't made me wait, do you know what would've happened?" Scootaloo shook her head. "I would've murdered myself. IF I got into the wonderbolts as a filly it would've been so grueling. After all the work and years, my wings have gotten stronger. I'm always napping because sometimes the work I do is too hard. I still ache after practice with the wonderbolts. Imagine what would've happened to me as a filly?"

"Well, either way, I just don't get it." Scootaloo pointed at her cutie mark. Rainbow Dash laughed softly.

"What don't you get about it?"

"It has a wing." She said. She sounded disappointed and ashamed at the same time. Rainbow Dash suddenly realized the problem.

"Scoots, do you know what pegasi are famous for?" She asked, and Scootaloo was caught off gaurd by the question.

"Well to control the weather, to fly, ya know." She looked down, ashamed at the mention of flight.

" Well, pegasi are also known for their speed and agility." Rainbow Dash Remarked, Shining her hoof by rubbing it on her coat.

"But Flutter Shy-"

"Flutter Shy's an exception. Even though she can't fly fast, she can sure as hay run when she's scared!" Rainbow laughed, but found Scootaloo only with that same blank expression staring at her cutie mark. "The point I'm making from this is-"

"Not all pegasi have to fly," Scootaloo finished and Rainbow Dash was surprised. Scootaloo started to become teary-eyed. "But I want to fly! I want to flap my wings and be off of the ground without help for once! I want to fly by myself! But I can't! And this dumb cutie mark has a wing on it!"She fell to the ground sobbing. "And I just, I just, can't understand!" She began to cry in Rainbow Dash's front legs when the mare laid down next to her. This was her sister. She wasn't going to let her sit here and cry. No.

"Squirt?" Rainbow Dash removed herself from the filly, putting her hoof underneath Scootaloo's chin. She wiped Scootaloo's tears from her eyes and grabbed her hoof. "Let's try flying one more time? That sound good?" Scootaloo nodded. "Remember all the moves I taught you?" Rainbow Dash yelled from the air. She had a good feeling about this one.

"Yeah. But I haven't practiced in a while, so don't be surprised if I fail." Scootaloo said without feeling.

"Duly noted." Rainbow Dash clicked her tongue and watched the filly get her stances right. "First you kneel," She told herself. Scootaloo keeled. "Then you flap your wings slowly." Scootaloo began to flap her wings. "Then you run..." Scootaloo charged. "Then you jump." Scotaloo took a large leap over the edge of the cliff. "And you..." Rainbow Dash couldn't believe it. "Fly..." She said out loud. The small orange pegasus was screaming with delight as she zipped around in the sky. All that time- and all she had to do was belive, that and do the stances. The two flew for a while, but then stopped. The sun hadn't completely set,the two had flown until they tired out and laid down on a cloud.

"You wanna spend the night? We can celebrate, have cake or something." Rainbow asked looking up to the now visible stars.

"Really?!" Scootaloo asked, excited.

"Of course." Rainbow Dash said calmly.

"Of course!" Scootaloo copied, jumping onto her sister, embracing her with a hug. Rainbow's eyes widened as she remembered something.

"Hey I think I know what that mark means," Rainbow Dash smirked, flying off from the cloud where Scootaloo followed.

"What?"

"That it was a shock you flew." Scootaloo gave her older sister a soft punch as the two laughed and flew away into the star-filled, ever-lasting sky.

END