She's also normally not human.

Okay so I'm assuming the First episode thing WASN'T an official Apple family reunion, just a get together of all the nearby Apples that wanted to come by for the summer sun celebration.

So, random thought. Have you ever noticed that the adorable little buzzing Scootaloo does with her wings is entirely unique to her? Every other pegasus we've seen, including foals like Rumble, Featherweight, and even Pound Cake flap their wings at a much slower, steady pace when flying unless they're really straining themselves (like those slow pegasi in the obstacle course in Wonderbolts Academy).

Thinking about it, it actually gives a good bit of insight into just what her flight deficiency is. Basically, her attempts at flying have her pushing her wings as hard as they will go, and she still can't manage any lift. If there's any sort of evidence for her being disabled rather than simply unskilled, that would be it, since it implies a physical defect of her wings rather than a technical deficiency. Of course, it's just a tiny detail and I'm definitely over thinking it, but its food for thought regarding the possibilities for her future development.

Either that or her inability to fly is matter of technique (she has to move her wings a certain way in order to get the lift) but she's trying overcome it by brute force (flapping her wings incorrectly, but harder). I kinda like the idea that somepony points out it out, and as soon as she fixes it she can fly stupidly fast.

Yeah, there's definitely something there - her buzzing can't be completely pointless, or else it wouldn't allow her to get crazy amounts of speed when she's using it to push herself on her scooter.

Yeah, it's pretty much all propulsion and no lift. The thing is, though, that lift is generated by the way air flows over the specific shape of the wing. If her wings aren't naturally misshapen, I guess she could be positioning her wings wrong such that it doesn't work, but that'd require twisting them at quite an angle from what is clearly the natural position for pegasus wings.

What if the unnatural wing angle is a defect, but it's one that can be overcome with what essentially amounts to physical therapy and rehab?

edited 21st Dec '12 9:46:27 PM by PerpetualLurker

I wonder if she would be on a steroid treatment?

I remember there being speculation that Scoots is better suited to fly like a hummingbird than a hawk. So once she gets the hang of it, she'll be terrible at endurance flying, but unbeatable over short distances.

Now that I think about it, if the show did go that route with Scoots, they'd still be able to use the original aesop that Faust had planned for the Scoots-centric episode: acknowledging when your dream is simply impossible. Only instead of it playing out as "Scoots can't be exactly like her hero, Rainbow Dash, because she'll never be able to fly", it would be "Scoots can't be exactly like Rainbow Dash because her wings and musculature are better suited to an entirely different style of flying".

She's part hummingbird, part chicken.

I'm kinda reluctant to bring physics into it, given that realistically their flight has to be magic-powered or no one would get off the ground, but yeah, that is pretty much how I see it. She took a bit longer than usual to learn the proper technique, and started using a scooter to get around. Since she uses her wings for propulsion, it only worsened it and now she needs a physical therapist or something to help her get over it.

@Meta If that's the case, then she has a long way to go before learning hummingbird flight, too, since she can't even properly hover. It'd definitely suit her, though.

Luckily, my headcanon on Pegasus Magic requires the laws of physics to still be applicable, so I don't have that problem.

edited 21st Dec '12 9:39:47 PM by PerpetualLurker

I personally imagine her as basically being a stunt flier but of a totally different sort than RD. RD has big, epic tricks, while Scoots would have like extreme precision or something.

She's hovered a bit before.

By hover, I mean remain stationary without losing altitude. The most she's managed is slowing her descent.

Night folks.

I'm going to bed, tomorrow is Apple Family day!

Place your bets now! Applejack's parents: Show or no show?

If she does learn to fly like a hummingbird, she can pull tricks like flying straight backwards.

I'm going with "no show". The episode isn't about them, and I doubt they'd bring up AJ's parents if they weren't going to do some explaining. It's a possibility, but I find it unlikely.

Also, I'm going to bed as well. Don't want to sleep through the new episode.

edited 21st Dec '12 9:55:56 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Eh, Rarity's parents managed to pop in randomly without disrupting the episode too much, and at the time their existence was just as big a question as that of AJ's parents. I'm going to have to lean towards "no show" or a the very least only showing up in a flashback, though. It's sad that that would more or less confirm that they're dead, though.

Okay, this◊ is officially the best thing I have ever done on my tablet.

Rarity has embraced the thug life

is that some Victoria's Secret Compartment going on there?

edited 21st Dec '12 10:18:34 PM by Blissey1

It is indeed. Mrs. Cake was quite the Femme Fatale before she settled down.

@Perpetual: I don't think that's quite the same. Rarity lived on her own, so there was much less reason to assume that her parents would be there; if she moved out of the house her mom and dad might not be around much. It's the same reason we don't theorize about RD's or Fluttershy's parents being dead because we wouldn't expect them to be hanging around. AJ lives with her siblings and grandma, so it's a bit more noticeable that there are no parents because you'd expect them to be there.

@Wryte: Okay, that's pretty awesome.

Okay, going to bed for real now.

edited 21st Dec '12 10:10:27 PM by JapaneseTeeth

I vote for No Show too.

Also, I think Fluttershy's parents live in Cloudsdale.

T-minus 9 hours :D