Scootaloo

Scootaloo is a school-age Pegasus pony and one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Her initial appearance is in "Friendship is Magic, part 1" as a cameo; Scootaloo's first official appearance as a primary character is in "Call of the Cutie." Like Apple Bloom,and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo doesn't have her cutie mark yet. Although not yet capable of flying, Scootaloo is a talented scooter driver who uses her wings to propel herself at high speeds. She greatly idolizes Rainbow Dash, another Pegasus pony, with whom she enjoys a sister-like relationship, despite the two being unrelated. Scootaloo is the only member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders not related to a main character.

Development
Scootaloo is based on the Generation 3 Earth pony of the same name, who had a pink and purple mane and tail (occasionally ponytails in the Core 7 serials) and a butterfly cutie mark. However, her color scheme is based on that of Sparkleworks, another Generation 3 Earth pony. Scootaloo is also the younger sister of Cheerilee in Generation 3.

Scootaloo's cutie mark in promotional material is the same as her G3/G3.5 counterpart's, and was chosen by layout artist Kat Stenson prior to her work on the show.

According to Lauren Faust, Scootaloo was "originally conceived as getting in a lot of schoolyard fights over being picked on for not flying".

Personality
Scootaloo is an energetic young Pegasus who is a bit of a tomboy and partakes in just about all things sporty. She complains about having to endure "sappy" and "namby-pamby" stories in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, but her disdain for emotionality is not apparent in Hearts and Hooves Day, where she is as charmed by Big McIntosh and Cheerilee's "love" as the other Crusaders are. Although brash and spunky, she is revealed in Sleepless in Ponyville to be self-consciously skittish and timid, but seems to overcome it by the end of the episode.

Adoration of Rainbow Dash
Scootaloo has been portrayed throughout the series as being a devoted admirer of fellow Pegasus, Rainbow Dash. In the episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles, she prompted her fellow crusaders to find Rainbow Dash in order to ask her about how she got her cutie mark during childhood. In the episode Owl's Well That Ends Well, Scootaloo openly volunteers to be Rainbow Dash's assistant after hearing her praise Spike for his hard work as Twilight Sparkle's own assistant. During this episode she tries to get Rainbow Dash's favor by discarding an apple core for her.

Scootaloo chairs the "Official Rainbow Dash Fan Club" in The Mysterious Mare Do Well, exults her "awesomeness", wears a rainbow-colored wig, and attempts, along with Snips, to find a fitting word to describe Rainbow Dash's virtues. She is anxious to hear the story of how Dash got her cutie mark in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, and calls her "the coolest pony in Ponyville", among other praises she gives her. In Sleepless in Ponyville, the two bond during a camping weekend, and Rainbow Dash decides to take Scootaloo under her wing as an older sister figure. Lauren Faust has noted that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo aren't related.

In spite of her loyal devotion towards her idol, Scootaloo has, on occasion, acted apathetic around Rainbow Dash. When newly arrived superhero Mare-do well begins gaining popularity among the citizens of Ponyville, Scootaloo joins in the fandom. She visits the then depressed Rainbow Dash, inviting her to celebrate Mare-do well's new-found celebrity status alongside the rest of the town. Rainbow Dash angrily shrugs the invitation off, only to have Scootaloo walk away without even comforting her.

In the episode Sleepless in Ponyville, Scootaloo tries to bond with Rainbow Dash while on a camping trip with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Applejack and Rarity. However, she finds herself frightened by the scary stories that Rainbow Dash tells around the campfire and does not want her idol to know she is afraid. After having nightmares about the stories, she drives off a cliff with her scooter in the middle of the night and falls into a river, but Rainbow Dash arrives and pulls her to safety just as she goes over a waterfall. Falling back on some earlier encouragement from Princess Luna, Scootaloo gathers the courage to tell Rainbow Dash that she only pretended to be brave because she hoped Rainbow would become like a big sister to her. After telling her she was scared of those stories when she was her age, Rainbow Dash comforts Scootaloo and agrees to take the young filly under her wing, as long she doesn't go falling into any more rivers in the middle of the night. Scootaloo is only too happy to agree, and the two share a heartwarming sisterly hug.

With the Cutie Mark Crusaders
Scootaloo's first major appearance is in Call of the Cutie, where she stands up for fellow "blank flank" Apple Bloom along with Sweetie Belle during the cute-ceañera held for Diamond Tiara. The three become instant friends and form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a club with the sole purpose of finding their hidden talents and earning their cutie marks in the process. During the episode The Show Stoppers, Scootaloo and her friends refurbish an old clubhouse Applejack gives them for their Crusader meetings. The three use the clubhouse as a hangout and to plot their escapades. Like Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo occasionally assumes the role of leadership among the Crusaders, such as in The Cutie Mark Chronicles when she encouraged her friends to try zip-lining and led the search for Rainbow Dash in order to hear the story of her cutie mark.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom can both be stubborn and prone to argument. In Stare Master, the two argue over how to call a chicken, even going so far as to argue over whether their special talent is arguing. Albeit their argument is also played out as a means of genuinely trying to find a talent, until Sweetie Belle tells them that arguing is not their special talent. In Sleepless in Ponyville, she's shown capable of keeping secrets, as she chooses not to tell the other Cutie Mark Crusaders about her fear of sleeping and her nightmares, just to prove Rainbow Dash that she is "awesome".

In the opening sequence of The Return of Harmony, part 1, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are attending a school field trip to Canterlot gardens, during which they are shown bickering among themselves. Apple Bloom mocks Scootaloo for wanting to have The Statue of Victory as a cutie mark, while Scootaloo berates Sweetie Belle for correcting Apple Bloom's improper grammar. After noticing a large statue of a draconequus within the gardens the crusaders get into an open argument over the statue's meaning, with Scootaloo claiming that it signifies chaos. The fight is interrupted by Cheerliee, who says that they were all right, but assigns the Crusaders with writing an essay as punishment. The Crusaders quit fighting, but continue arguing. Unfortunately, their disharmony helped fuel the release of Discord.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders can cooperate very well with each other. Scootaloo, along with Sweetie Belle, tries to help Apple Bloom escape the embarrassment she predicts will happen if Granny Smith is allowed to present for Family Appreciation Day. Scootaloo first helps operate Granny's limbs while she is napping (though her jump of excitement when they succeed causes Granny to wake up), and then dresses up in a uniform to deliver a fake telegram to Granny Smith. While preparing for their performance in the episode The Show Stoppers, the three fillies give each other helpful advice for their work. Scootaloo tips Apple Bloom on the proper way to spin during a dance routine, and Sweetie Belle composes lyrics for Scootaloo's song.

Searching for her cutie mark
In The Cutie Mark Chronicles, the Cutie Mark Crusaders try to find Rainbow Dash in hopes of learning how to get a cutie mark from her. They hear Applejack's and the others' stories along the way. While Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle listen intently, Scootaloo complains and dismisses them because she wants to earn her cutie mark the "cool way."

In The Show Stoppers, when the three enter a talent show at their school, Scootaloo displays her dancing and scooter-riding skills, but she opts to sing a rock song for the talent show. Like the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scootaloo fails to recognize her natural talents.

Wing use
Scootaloo has yet to completely figure out flying. In Ponyville Confidential, she's unable to fly to avoid falling into a mud puddle after falling out of a tree. However, she uses her wings for propulsion on her scooter. Scootaloo performs various skating tricks in The Show Stoppers, such as jumping off a ramp over an awe-struck crowd, doing a 360 and a tailwhip, and passing her scooter underneath a branch while she jumps over the branch and back onto her scooter. In The Show Stoppers and The Cutie Mark Chronicles, she uses her wings to pull loaded wagons with little trouble. Scootaloo hovers along the ground while talking about Rainbow Dash in The Cutie Mark Chronicles.

There is a running gag throughout the series that the other members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders tend to tease Scootaloo by referring to as a type of flightless bird: A chicken in Stare Master, and a dodo in The Return of Harmony Part 1.

By the time of One Bad Apple, Scootaloo has developed some more flight skills and can hover higher and for a longer period of time than in previous episodes.

Dancing and singing
In The Show Stoppers, Scootaloo displays her skills as a dancer. She shows a knack for choreography as well. However, she fails to realize her aptitude for dancing and opts to sing a "wicked rock ballad" in an off-key way.

In Hearts and Hooves Day, she's the only one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders who doesn't sing her lines in The Perfect Stallion. However, she displays much better singing skills in the song Babs Seed in One Bad Apple.

Playing musical instruments
Scootaloo can play a few musical instruments. In The Show Stoppers she demostrated playing a piano to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, whilst rehearsing for the talent show. And in One Bad Apple she played the drums during Babs Seed's initiation into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

History
Scootaloo makes her debut for a brief cameo in Friendship is Magic, part 1, huddled up with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle when Night Mare Moon makes her entrance at the Summer Sun Celebration. Because the voice credits were fixed for every episode in season 1 and 2, she and Sweetie Belle were credited long before their first voiced appearances in Call of the Cutie.

My Little Pony mobile game description
One of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who idolizes fellow Pegasus pony Rainbow Dash.

Appearances

 * See also character appearances.

Beginning in Lesson Zero, she was added to the remastered intro at the end of the train along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

Promotional material
On October 27, 2012, The Hub's website began offering a PDF file containing seven recipes, each themed to either Littlest Pet Shop or My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, with accompanying illustrations. The "Cutie Mark Crusaders Chocolate Popcorn" recipe's accompanying illustration depicts the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Prior to a revision in early November 2012, a different illustration was used depicting grown-up versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders with cutie marks, Scootaloo's cutie mark being a butterfly. This illustration was drawn by show layout artist Kat Stenson prior to her work on the show.

Quotes
"I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?"

- Call of the Cutie

"The possibilities are, like, endless."

- Call of the Cutie

"I'm liking this idea!"

- Call of the Cutie

"That's so funny I forgot to laugh."

- Stare Master

"Nah. I'd rather sing a wicked rock ballad."

- The Show Stoppers

"Coming up with words is like... really hard."

- The Show Stoppers

"No matter what we try, we always end up without our cutie marks. And, surprisingly enough, covered in tree sap."

- The Cutie Mark Chronicles

"Ewwww... Come on, Crusaders! Maybe we just need to try zip-lining again."

- The Cutie Mark Chronicles

"NOOOO!!!!"

- The Cutie Mark Chronicles

"Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me! Me! I'll do whatever you want, Rainbow Dash!"

- Owl's Well That Ends Well

"What are you, a dictionary?"

- The Return of Harmony Part 1 and Family Appreciation Day

"Babs, bully, payback! No time to explain! We've just gotta get Babs out of that float!"

- One Bad Apple

"Is it about the time when Rarity had wings, and then they got ruined, and then you saved her from plummeting to her doom?"

- Sleepless in Ponyville

"There once was a really really nice pony who lived in a bright and sunny land, where there are rainbows every day, and lots and lots of happy friends, and-"

- Sleepless in Ponyville

"I'm so so sorry Rainbow Dash. I just wanted you to hang out with me and see how cool I was so you'd take me under your wing and teach me everything you know and become like my big sister but then you started telling those spooky stories and I got scared; I thought I heard the headless horse so I ran out here all by myself...well...I guess you know the rest."

- Sleepless in Ponyville

Other uses
McDonald's of Germany held a contest in early 2012, titled "Mein Burger 2012," asking customers to create and name their own sandwich. One of the sandwiches that made the finals is called "Scootaloo", a chicken sandwich, named by its creator after the character from the series. The sandwich received significantly more votes than any other in the competition.