//------------------------------//
// Chapter four: it's a filly! 
// Story: The Cutie Family 
// by Elkia Deerling 
//------------------------------//

“Tadaa!” Pinkie called as the door to the baby bedroom swung open.



Pinkie’s theatrical cry was immediately followed by an “Ah!” from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The room did look gorgeous.



Because the room was made for both a filly and a colt, the walls and the floor were painted different colors. The floor was sky-blue, and changed to a soft pink hue as it reached the wall, bordered by a rim of clouds. It recalled sunsets and sunrises in Apple Bloom’s memories. The bedroom was well equipped to handle every situation. A large toy box stood in the corner, right next to a big changing table. In her mind, Sweetie Belle made some small comparisons, and reckoned the table to be big enough for Scootaloo as well. Opposite of the changing table were two bedsteads; one in blue, and the other in pink, which were decorated with some finely carved wooden figures. To the far right was a large wardrobe, also made out of the nice, ornate wood.



The whole chamber breathed an air of safety, comfort, and care; exactly what any baby needed. For a moment, just a tiny moment, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom felt as if they were foals again, just by standing in the bedroom. To Apple Bloom, the room looked practical, useful, and beautiful at the same time. To Sweetie Belle, it was a work of art. To Scootaloo, a torture chamber.



“Well, here it is,” Pinkie Pie said. “Looks pretty nice, doesn’t it?”



“It’s beautiful,” Sweetie Belle said with sparkling eyes.



“And just what we need,” Apple Bloom added.



Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Oh! Speaking of necessities, I think I have something else which you can use. Follow me!”



Pinkie Pie jumped towards the staircase and up the stairs, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. When they saw that Scootaloo was left behind, Sweetie Belle turned around. “Hey Scootaloo, are you coming?”



But Scootaloo still stood in the doorway, still making out whether what had just happened was only a dream, and what was going to happen only a nightmare. Yet there was still more to come, and Scootaloo knew that. Only after another two calls did she managed to rip her gaze off the baby room, and follow her friends and Pinkie up the stairs, not at all ready for a new surprise.



As they reached Pinkie’s bedroom, small but full of surprisingly many party supplies, they saw her standing before her own wardrobe. “No, no, no,” Pinkie said, as she flung away pieces of clothing, saddles, shoes, hats, and many more things (some of them not even related to clothing), until she suddenly stopped. “Take a look at this, Crusaders,” she said, stepping aside so they could all peek inside the closet.



On the back racks hung many tiny clothes hangers, each of them bearing dresses in every size, but not in every color. All of them were cute and pink, as cute as cute went and as pink as pink went. Little saddles, skirts, ribbons, puff sleeves, funny hats; everything that Scootaloo would never wear in her entire life hung there inside the closet. Scootaloo did a few steps back, feeling a bit nauseated. Her stomach felt really funny at the sight of those cute little dresses—or was it the cupcake?



“I knew you would like them!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. “Look, Scootaloo is taken aback. Yes, I know they’re beautiful.”



“Are those your dresses?” Sweetie Belle guessed.



Pinkie nodded. “Yuppedie yup. Once I came to live here in Ponyville, Mr. and Mrs. Cake bought me these. Oh, I could wear them for days and days.” Pinkie closed her eyes in delight, then opened them and looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “But now they’re too small for me, obviously, and I thought you would like them for Scootaloo, since Pumpkin and Pound Cake’s clothes are much too small for her.”



“Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie,” Apple Bloom said. “We’ll take all of them.”



Pinkie Pie clopped her hooves together. “Alrighty. Let’s get them into the baby’s room, then.”



And before the Cutie Mark Crusaders could offer to help, Pinkie was already in motion. The Crusaders saw a pink blur shoot up and down the stairs several times, faster than they could follow with their startled eyes. Zip, zip, zip, and it was done.



“Thank you for all your help,” Apple Bloom said again, when Pinkie came to a standstill before the Crusaders.



“Don’t thank me, you silly fillies,” Pinkie said. “The game hasn’t begun yet, right? I say less talking, more playing.”



Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other and nodded. Then they threw a glance at Scootaloo, who still stood at a distance with a strange look in her eyes. “Come on, Scootaloo, let’s begin,” Apple Bloom said.



There was nothing Scootaloo could have done. Her fate was sealed. While her friends trotted cheerfully down the steps, she only walked with a slow, reluctant pace. Pinkie followed last, and stopped once they reached the baby bedroom again. “I’ll go clean up some more things in the shop,” she said. “But if you need anything, just give a shout, or a yell, or a call, it doesn’t matter. Hay, you can blow a trumpet like an elephant if you want—if you can find one, of course. Or else you can—“



Scootaloo didn’t mind Pinkie Pie blabbering on and on, postponing her ordeal as long as possible. But Apple Bloom was clearly looking forward to the game, and interrupted Pinkie Pie. “We’ll be fine, Pinkie, really. We’ll give a shout if we need anything.”



“Alright, have fun!” Pinkie said, and skipped down the stairs. Apple Bloom closed the door.



Apple Bloom was ready to begin. Sweetie Belle was ready to begin. They had everything they needed. Only Scootaloo wasn’t ready—and would never be.



“Alright, let’s just—“ Apple Bloom said, taking a step forward, but stopped short when Scootaloo did a step back.



“Guys…” Scootaloo said, her voice small and uncertain. “I… I’m not sure if I feel comfortable doing this.”



“But… what about our plan?” Sweetie Belle said. “You want to get a cutie mark too, don’t you?”



“Yes…” Scootaloo looked at the ground. “Just not this way.”



Maybe Apple Bloom expected this to happen, but she was determined. They couldn’t back out now. They had a mission, and every mission requires sacrifices. It wasn’t that Apple Bloom was selfish, thinking like that; it was just that she thought Scootaloo was exaggerating. Octavia had said herself that it was quite normal, and nothing to be ashamed of. Yet why had Octavia asked her and the rest of the Crusaders to keep it a secret? No. They had to do this. Apple Bloom decided to try something else.



“Don’t worry, Scootaloo, we won’t tell anypony else. It’s just our funny little game, nothing more. It will be fun!”



Apple Bloom did another step forward; Scootaloo did one back. “Yes… eh…”



Sweetie Belle decided to back Apple Bloom up. “It’s just for fun and experimentation, Scootaloo. You have to trust us. We have to try everything to get a cutie mark. We’ll try it, and if it doesn’t work, then we’ll just cross it off the list and try something else. Hey, you know what? You can pick the next thing we will try, as a compensation. How does that sound?”



There was that strange feeling again. Scootaloo was only listening to half of her friends’ words, as she was lost in thought and considered her options. Of course she didn’t want to do it, but backing out? Her friends would be very disappointed if she would cancel their mission. Maybe they wouldn’t even be able to stay friends any longer. Then a strange thought popped up in Scootaloo’s mind. If she backed out, her friends would probably think her a wuss. Only by being a foal would she prove that she was willing to do anything for a cutie mark too. She would prove that she was committed to their mission. Not because it is fun, not because she was curious, maybe not even for a cutie mark, but for her friends. For her friends and them alone would Scootaloo go through the fire and the flames—or, in this case, through the milk and the baby powder.



Slowly, Scootaloo nodded. But when the silence continued to linger, she said, “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”



“Yay!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle yelled, jumping up in delight. “We are the cutie family!”



Scootaloo winched at the sudden yell. She couldn’t find herself to join in. When she saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did a little ring dance of joy, she stepped forward. “Let’s get this over with before I regret my decision,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. Her friends stopped dancing and watched Scootaloo intently. Scootaloo met their cheerful gazes with her own, which was not so cheerful. “Alright, what’s first?”



Sweetie Belle thought for a second, but Apple Bloom had made a mental list of all the steps already. “First, you’ll get dressed,” she said. “Let’s pick one of the dresses Pinkie Pie gave us.”



“Alright!” Sweetie Belle called. “I saw one that will look great on you! Just trust me, Scootaloo, I’ve got the same sense of fashion as my big sister. Let’s see where it is.” And with that, she jumped over to the closet and started browsing through the wall of pink. Apple Bloom watched her with fascination; Scootaloo with aversion. Then, Sweetie Belle picked one out. “Here it is!”



She held out a short skirt with little pink ribbons, complete with puff sleeves and little pink booties. It almost looked like a miniature princess dress, or perhaps a ballerina dress would be a better description. “This will look absolutely adorable,” Sweetie Belle said. Those words pained Scootaloo’s ears. She didn’t want to be adorable; she wanted to be awesome and tough and cool. But she wouldn’t look either of these things for the next few days.



“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Apple Bloom said. “Pull it on!”



Sweetie Belle handed the dress over to Scootaloo, who looked at it with complete disdain. Was she really going to dress up like that for who knows how many days? They hadn’t even agreed on how long they would be foal playing. With a shiver, Scootaloo hoped that it would not be until they would get their cutie marks, or else she hoped that they would gain them very quickly during this endeavor.



Upon seeing that Scootaloo did nothing but stare at the pile of clothing, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a doubtful look. They had to continue. Suddenly, Apple Bloom jumped up. “Of course!”



Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at her with questioning glares. “Of course what?”



“Of course she can’t dress like that,” Apple Bloom said.



Did she mean that?! Scootaloo let out a small sigh. They were not going to foal play after all. Surely Apple Bloom must have realized that this whole idea was silly and strange, and they should stop here and then, before things would run out of hoof. They would just put back the dress where they found it—clear them all away if they must—and then say goodbye to Pinkie Pie. Then they would just go back to the clubhouse and brood on another plan—a better plan.



“She can’t put on the dress,” Apple Bloom continued, “because she’s just a foal.”



Scootaloo’s heart skipped a beat. The tension crawled right back into her body.



“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.



“Well… We gotta dress her. Foals can’t dress themselves, right?”



Now Sweetie Belle understood. “Ah, of course.”



Slowly, Apple Bloom picked up the dress from the floor. “Let’s get on with it.” She did a few steps closer to Scootaloo, followed by Sweetie Belle.



Scootaloo felt like cornered prey. She felt as if her friends had transformed into hungry wolves, ready to pounce upon their prey and eat them up. In a moment of reflection, Scootaloo wasn’t sure which option would be worse. She did a step back. She wanted to run, fly, do something. But she had already agreed—there was no choice anymore.



It was over before she knew it. The skilled hooves of Sweetie Belle, who had seen her sister dress up countless mannequins in her fashion boutique, quickly and nimbly put the dress on Scootaloo. Forelegs, hind legs, head, tail. In less than a minute, Scootaloo was almost unrecognizable in her new outfit. The Cutie Mark Crusaders (except Scootaloo) were once again lucky; the dress and the shoes fitted perfectly. Even though the pink color contrasted sharply with Scootaloo’s orange hide, the result of this little dress up was undeniably cute.



“Here’s a mirror, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, and opened the closet to reveal a mirror on the inside of the doors.



But Scootaloo didn’t want to see herself. No way.



“Aw, come on, Scootaloo. You gotta see this,” Apple Bloom said. Then, she pushed poor Scootaloo with her head so quickly that Scootaloo couldn’t brace herself. She stopped before the mirror, and Scootaloo was unable to resist the horrible temptation. But it is always better not to know…



In the mirror stood a little filly, a foal, not much older than a few years. She stared back through the mirror with big, wavering eyes. The big, purple eyes looked as if tears might stream down from them any second. Eyes that had seen both joyful and sad things. But at that moment the joyful things were gone, and only the sadness remained, bubbling up to the surface, like a beast that slumbers but wakes up at the worst moment possible. All of the toughness was gone. There was  only a small and breakable foal, as breakable as a ceramic figure.



But that was just her reflection. On the Equestrian side of the mirror, Scootaloo quickly averted her gaze, looked down, and made her orange cheeks obtain a more reddish hue, as she blushed.



And then, Scootaloo’s worst fears became realized. Apple Bloom, whose voice sounded quite weird when she had pushed her in front of the mirror, couldn’t hold herself any longer, and burst out in a wave of laughter. She had never, ever, ever imagined Scootaloo like this. Apple Bloom just knew her as the rough and tough scooter-stunting filly she seemed to be. Often Apple Bloom could picture Scootaloo next to Rainbow Dash, flying through the sky while Dash taught her some awesome flying skills, transferring her awesomeness to her young protégé.



Now, however, Scootafoal stood before her, all her awesomeness replaced by cuteness. The sight was hilarious.



Scootaloo had all the right to become angry or call Apple Bloom names, but strangely enough, nothing came to her. Scootaloo just continued blushing, and averted her gaze from her friends.



Rescue came from Sweetie Belle, who suddenly jumped up, and marched towards Apple Bloom. “Hush now, Apple Bloom. Mind your manners! This isn’t funny—it’s a serious Cutie Mark Crusader mission. We have to make sure that Scootaloo is comfortable, not ashamed. Now quit your laughing!”



Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom didn’t expect such a sudden outburst. Apple Bloom swallowed the last of her laughter, and looked back at Sweetie Belle. She realized that she was right; it was her idea, after all, and the least they could do was to make this as painless for Scootaloo as they could. Now Apple Bloom was the one who looked at the ground.  “I’m sorry Scootaloo.”



“No, it’s… it’s alright,” Scootaloo said, her voice a far cry from the excited, energetic filly she normally was. “I guess I do look weird.” She looked up at her friends, and actually managed a small smile. She had to show them that she was made of tougher stuff, and that she could take a good joke, even though she didn’t feel like she was made of tougher stuff anymore. She felt like she was made out of sugar.



“Of course you don’t look weird, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, walking back towards her and patting her on the head. “You look just the way you should look.”



Sweetie Belle’s voice was soft and gentle. And strangely enough, Scootaloo felt better by what she said. The voice stirred something in her heart. Old memories? Something or somepony familiar?



There was a moment of silence. Apple Bloom already knew what would be the next step in her plan, but didn’t really know how to bring it. This would be the hardest part. Apple Bloom decided not to tell her, but to show her. She walked over to the changing table, opened a drawer, didn’t find what she was looking for, and started opening more drawers.



Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched her. Scootaloo was the first to realize just what exactly Apple Bloom was looking for. “No…” she whispered.



“Bingo!” With a triumphant smile, Apple Bloom got out a fresh, white diaper.



“No…” Scootaloo said softly.



Apple Bloom began walking towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo could swear there were some traces of a smile on her lips. “No!” she called. “No, no, no!”



But Apple Bloom didn’t stop. “Come on, Scootaloo. This might be the most important garment a foal has. You gotta do this.”



“B-b-but… eh… It won’t fit, probably,” Scootaloo said, while beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, passing her frightened eyes. “It will be much too small.”



“Of course not.” Apple Bloom stopped for a second, examining the diaper and moving it around in her hooves. “It’s very stretchy, it will fit for sure. Don’t you worry, Scootaloo.”



There was nowhere to go. Scootaloo’s back bumped against the wall of the bedroom. Apple Bloom advanced.



“Stop!” Sweetie Belle called.



Once again, hope flared up inside of Scootaloo. Surely Sweetie Belle must see the ridiculousness of it too. She would think that Apple Bloom was pushing it too far this time. Of course she wouldn’t let Scootaloo wear a diaper.



That, however, was not at all what Sweetie Belle meant. “We can’t put her in a diaper like that. We have to do it the right way. Let’s get her on the changing table.”



Scootaloo’s hopes crashed down like a pegasus’s flying trick gone wrong. She looked from Sweetie Belle to Apple Bloom and back, as they advanced. Apple Bloom grabbed her forelegs; Sweetie Belle her hind legs. Together they carried her over to the changing table and put her down. Scootaloo’s first instinct was to struggle free, but she knew that would be futile. She could postpone her change as long as she could, but if she would really participate in their foal play Cutie Mark mission, she had to cooperate. She would only make it harder for herself.



Once again, Sweetie Belle proved to be very adept at handling a foal. First she used some baby powder, and then, in one fluent motion, she slid the diaper over Scootaloo’s hind legs, up, up, up, until it fitted snugly around her flank. Apple Bloom proved to be right; it was quite stretchy, and the diaper looked as if it were made for Scootaloo, which it obviously wasn’t.



Scootaloo felt the strange, silky soft fabric against her flank, but didn’t look down. This time, she chose not to look at her ridiculousness.



“Alright, now the tail,” Sweetie Belle said in a singsong voice. She grabbed Scootaloo’s purple tail and stuck it through the hole. “There, done. Now that didn’t hurt, did it?”



It hurt Scootaloo’s pride, which was crumbling block by block in her head. Other than that, she was fine. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hoisted her off the changing table and laid her down on the ground. Immediately, Scootaloo stood up, and looked Apple Bloom into the eyes. She had to make sure that she wasn’t laughing yet again.



But Apple Bloom managed to contain her laughter this time. Sweetie Belle trotted next to her, and together they watched Scootaloo. They looked at her as a painter would look at his own painting: from a distance, making sure that no details were forgotten. No, they both thought, the transformation is complete.



Scootaloo stared back at them. She was no longer sure what to think. There she stood, in her cute filly’s dress, with the soft diaper on her bottom. In her head, she did her best to salvage her pride, saying encouraging things to herself. Come on, Scootaloo, it’s not so bad. You’re still awesome. Just a day, maybe two, and then you can go back to your awesome self. But her own words inside her head couldn’t convince Scootaloo. Her head became heavy, and she felt her ears droop down. The ground came into view. She felt somber, but did her best to hide it. The only way to salvage her pride, Scootaloo figured, was to pretend not to care. Be indifferent. That was her strategy. She raised her head, which took her a surprising amount of effort, and looked at her friends once more. “Alright, I guess the worst part is over. What’s next on the foal list?” Scootaloo let out a snort. “Oh, let me guess, it’s play time, now, isn’t it?“



“Yes it is!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, not at all taken aback by Scootaloo’s mocking tone. “Time to bring out the toys.”



Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked towards the big, purple toy box and opened it. Sweetie Belle was about to jump in and pick some nice things out, but Apple Bloom unceremoniously trotted behind the box, put her back against it, and tipped it over. Countless toys bounced, rolled, slid, and fell on the floor. There were balls, blocks, rattles, whistles, picture books, and many, many soft, cuddly animal toys. When the avalanche came to an end right at Scootaloo’s hooves, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom examined its contents.



“Hmm… What do you think, Sweetie Belle?”



“Maybe we should try… or, wait, maybe…”



“Yes, the turtle looks very cute, but the monkey also looks funny.”



Scootaloo had no idea where this was going, but she knew that she was not going to play with stuffed animals. She stepped forward, bent down, and grabbed some blocks out of the pile. “Let’s start with these,” Scootaloo said. The blocks seemed to her to be the least foolish of all the toys.



“Alright,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic.”



After some digging, Scootaloo sat down on the floor with the blocks strewn around her. Each of the little colorful cubes had some letters on it, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ minds raced with ideas they could try out.



“Spell out your name, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “Can you do that?”



Of course she could do that, but Scootaloo didn’t want to. How in Equestria was she going to look tough, spelling out her name with baby blocks? Scootaloo looked at them, biting her lip. But then, something came to her. Examining the different letters on the blocks, Scootaloo started to gather them up, turning them over, and arranging them so that she could spell something out. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo didn’t grab the blocks she needed, and only when Scootaloo had finished, did they see why. On the ground lay only one word: ‘ridiculous.’



Apple Bloom let out a sigh. “Come on, Scootaloo, you have to play along. I don’t think a foal would know how to spell the word ‘ridiculous,’ let alone the meaning of it.”



Scootaloo frowned and gave her a stare.



“Now, let’s try spelling out our names, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, that’s not very hard now, is it? I’m sure you can do that.”



Sweetie Belle really sounded as if she were talking to a foal, and that annoyed Scootaloo even more. She would show them something. Once again, she grabbed the blocks and arranged them in a row. This time, it looked as if she was on the right track, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at the busy little foal with content smiles on their faces. Nice. She’s finally playing along, they both thought. The blocks formed four words, which could have been ‘Apple Bloom’ and ‘Sweetie Belle.’ Of course they weren’t.



“Get... me… outta… here?” Sweetie Belle spelled out. Then they both let out a heavy sigh. Scootaloo just grinned.



“Let’s try something else,” Apple Bloom said. “This time, I get to choose.” Plunging into the pile of toys, Apple Bloom didn’t need long before she found what she was looking for. She emerged holding a brightly colored ball in her hooves. “When I was a little foal, Applejack and me could play catch for hours. Of course I couldn’t throw the ball very far yet, so we often just rolled it from one pony to the other.” She jumped out of the pile and moved a few hoofsteps away from Scootaloo. “I’ll sit here, and you over there, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom pointed to the right, so they would form a triangle.



Everypony took their places and sat down on the floor. Apple Bloom went first. “Here it comes, Sweetie Belle,” she said, and rolled the ball towards her. Taking the ball in her hooves, Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. She decided to let it roll even more softly and slowly, so that Scootafoal wouldn’t hurt herself. There it went.



Are you serious? Scootaloo thought, when she saw the ball crawl towards her. She took it with both hooves, and paused for a while.



“Come on, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said, “it’s my turn again.”



Scootaloo frowned. That was not going to happen. Briefly recalling Apple Bloom’s burst of laughter moments ago, Scootaloo made up her mind. Suddenly, she stood up, swung her hoof, and threw the ball with all her strength towards Apple Bloom.



Scootaloo’s dodgeball skills were still sharp. The ball sailed through the air, landing right in the face of Apple Bloom. The shock of the impact made her roll backwards, until she came to a standstill on her back. Apple Bloom was lucky the ball was soft, and although her muzzle felt as if it were flattened, the shock of surprise was much greater than any real injury.



Sweetie Belle flinched. “Ouch…”



Apple Bloom rubbed her sore muzzle and got up. “Scootaloo, naughty filly. Don’t do that again, or mommy will get very angry.” Of course she wasn’t that angry, because Apple Bloom also realized that Scootaloo’s retaliation was kind of justified. And besides, fighting was something they had tried before, and it hadn’t given them any cutie marks.



Crossing her hooves in front of her chest, Scootaloo closed her eyes and snorted.



“Eh… maybe it’s time to go to go to bed?” Sweetie Belle proposed. “Because it’s already pretty—“



“No way,” Apple Bloom said, interrupting Sweetie Belle. “One more game. We have to try everything. Let’s do something that’s not as… dangerous as this.” And with those last words, Apple Bloom threw an angry stare at Scootaloo.



Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pondered over that for a moment, thinking about what to do next. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle sprang up. “I’ve got an idea,” she said, walking over to the toy box. “This is a game from when  was a foal. Ready?”



“No,” Scootaloo said.



But Sweetie Belle ignored her, and started her game. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle?” She said from behind the toy box in her singsong voice. Then suddenly, she closed the lid of the box and appeared behind it. “Here she is!”



Apple Bloom grinned. Scootaloo said nothing.



Sweetie wasn’t going to give up that easily; she closed the lid again. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle? Here she is!”



Scootaloo rolled her eyes.



“Where… is… Sweetie Belle? Here she is!”



Just a blank, bored stare.



Now Sweetie Belle was going to give it everything she had. She sung her sentence. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle?” Then she slammed the lid shut and jumped right on top of it. “Here she is!”



Not even the sound of the toy box made Scootaloo blink. She decided to give Sweetie Belle her most empty gaze possible, when a loud yawn interrupted her attempt. Scootaloo closed her eyes and opened her mouth wide in the biggest yawn she had ever had. Closing her eyes, Scootaloo lost her balance. She toppled over and fell on her back, making her look even cuter, and surprisingly much  like a foal.



“Oh, wow, look at that,” Apple Bloom said, and pointed ahead. She wasn’t pointing at Scootaloo, however, but at the window. Outside, the moon was already high in the sky, accompanied by cheerful, twinkling stars. “I didn’t realize it was already this late. I guess time flies when you’re having fun.”



Whether those last words bore a hint of sarcasm, Scootaloo couldn’t guess. She scrambled up again, and looked out the window as well. The night did look beautiful and serene, but Scootaloo didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was what lay in store for her next.



“Bedtime!” Sweetie Belle called, completely giving up on her game, so they could try something else. “It’s bedtime, little Scootaloo. Foals need to sleep very early, and you are no exception. Let’s get you to bed.”



Scootaloo wanted to object, wanted to say that she wasn’t tired at all, but another yawn interrupted her attempt to speak. In reality, she was tired. Dead tired. All of the new and strange experiences she had encountered today now lay like a heavy toy box on her mind. She also felt confusion spread in her mind; she had to process everything that she’d seen today and organize her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt tiredness envelop her like a warm and comfortable blanket. Her busy mind was ready to rest. She started swaying back and forth on her hooves. Her eyes became heavy. At last she lost her balance once more, and fell on her side to the ground.



“Aww, look at that,” Sweetie Belle said. “She’s so tired, she can’t even walk to her own little cot.”



Apple Bloom grinned. “Yup. I guess we gotta carry her once again. You get the back?”



And so they hoisted Scootaloo up once more. She didn’t even wake up, but started snoring instead. No matter how hard she snored, Scootaloo couldn’t snore away her cuteness. “Aww! Doesn’t she look cute when she’s sleeping?” Apple Bloom cooed.



Sweetie Belle nodded. “All foals look cute when they’re sleeping, and Scootaloo is no exception.” Then she looked over her shoulder at the two cots. “Which one shall we take?”



“Duh, the pink one,” Apple Bloom said.



“Alright.” They walked towards the cot, and laid Scootaloo down gently. They kept watching her for a while, looking at her rolling from side to side, finding the ideal sleeping posture. At last Scootaloo found it, and lay still. Her soft breathing was the only sound filling the baby room, adding to the peaceful atmosphere. Although Scootaloo had looked tense and reluctant at first, now she seemed completely at peace with her fate, although they knew that wasn’t at all the case.



Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other. “You know,” Sweetie Belle said, “I kind of feel like a real mother now. Maybe this idea wasn’t as weird as I thought.”



“Of course it isn’t weird,” Apple Bloom said. “There is no sweeter bond than that of family. You know, whether Scootaloo likes being treated as a foal or not, I think we’ll be even better friends after this adventure.”



“Yes, better friends. And maybe we’ll get our cutie marks as well”



The moment those words left Sweetie’s mouth, she and Apple Bloom both turned their heads and looked at their flanks. There was nothing.



“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said. “It will come later, I’m sure of that. I can feel it. And besides, we haven’t done that much foal play yet, have we? Tomorrow we’ll do way more things with little Scootaloo, so our chances of getting a cutie mark will only increase. We’ll do everything we can do; everything that might just give us a cutie mark.”



“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said, although she couldn’t deny that she was a bit disappointed. “I guess we just have to try everything tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll really get into it, try twice as hard, and then Scootaloo will really be our little foal.” Suddenly, Sweetie Belle let out a yawn as well. She blinked her eyes and looked at Apple Bloom, who also stared back with tired eyes. “Well, I guess it’s bedtime for us as well,” Sweetie Belle said. “Shall we ask Pinkie for some blankets? Then we can sleep right here.”



“Good idea,” Apple Bloom said. “Do you think she’s still up?”



“Of course she is. Pinkie Pie is an all-nighter.”



After a soft chuckle they retreated towards the door, opened it, and then closed it carefully as not to wake up little Scootaloo, who continued sleeping like a baby in her cot.