//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Stand and Deliver // by bahatumay //------------------------------// The Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted along the path away from their school, the recent assignment just given by Miss Cheerilee still running through their minds. “This family history project sounds boring,” Scootaloo said, kicking a pebble off the trail. “Boring?” Apple Bloom asked. “I wish. I’ve got more family than I can shake a stick at. The hard part’ll be choosing somepony that didn’t affect my life. Maybe I’ll do option two, what my life would be like back then.” I’d still be flightless. Scootaloo shook her head. “It’s not just the family part, it’s the history part,” she amended. And it’s not like I have much of either, anyway, she added silently. “I live with my aunts. Forget my ancestors, I barely know what my parents do.” “I don’t think it’s going to be boring,” Sweetie Belle said thoughtfully. “I do think I’ll show up to school in one of those big old-fashioned dresses, with a big hat and more frills than you could shake two sticks at.” “Knowing Rarity? Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed, giving her friend a knowing nudge. “I’ll probably grab one of Applejack’s oldest hats from the closet and call that good. Ain’t much has changed in farming since way back then.” She gave a quick buck in the air. “Earth pony magic!” she cheered. She glanced over at Scootaloo, expecting a slight rebuttal in favor of pegasus magic and its weather controlling ability. None came. Scootaloo was still looking down at the ground, as if lost in thought. “Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo didn’t respond. “Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom gave her a gentle bump with her hips. “Gah!” “You ok?” Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle poked her head over Apple Bloom’s flank, also concerned. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. I should probably get started on that homework. See you girls later.” She turned and started walking back home. She pushed the door open and slid inside. She heard the sounds of quiet giggling as she shut the door behind her. Aunt Lofty poked her head out of the living room. “Scootaloo?” She glanced at the clock. “You’re back early.” “Yeah,” Scootaloo said, dropping her bags by the couch. “School project.” She looked up. “How are you related to me?” Lofty was taken aback by the blunt question, but quickly recovered. She smiled. “I’m your aunt.” She gently booped Scootaloo on the nose. “And I love you very much.” Scootaloo rubbed her muzzle brusquely, but Lofty could see the tiny smile that flitted across her lips. But then it was gone, replaced again by a frown, a sure sign something was weighing the little filly down. “No, I mean, I have to do a report on family history, and dress up as an ancestor and talk for like a minute on how they’ve affected my life. And I don’t really know much about my family. So I was wondering if you were actually my aunt, or if it was, like, an honorary thing.” Lofty chuckled. “No, I’m actually your dad’s younger sister.” Aunt Holiday raised her hoof from her position on her back on the couch. “Mine’s honorary,” she offered. “Alright. So what do you know about our family?” Lofty paused. She pursed her lips. She bit her lower lip. “We… moved from Cloudsdale?” she asked, looking back towards Holiday. Holiday held up her hooves. “What are you looking at me for? My family’s from Vanhoover.” Scootaloo turned back to Lofty, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable. Her eyes flicked and her tail flicked and her ears pinned. “I… don’t really know,” she finally admitted. “I guess I just never thought about it.” “Great,” Scootaloo mumbled. “You know what that means!” Lofty said, a wide grin on her face. “You’ll have to do research, at the libra- er, the castle!” She paused. “Still getting used to that,” she admitted. “And it doesn’t sound nearly as foreboding. The castle! Wooo!” She waved her hooves ominously. “I dunno,” Holiday interjected. “I’d rather be locked in a library than locked in a castle.” “Castles have kitchens, though,” Lofty pointed out. “You like cooking and you can’t cook in a library.” “I do, yes, but the old library did have a kitchen,” Holiday argued. “There was, like, a whole house in there.” All this talk of kitchens, and no snack! Scootaloo’s stomach rumbled. Lofty jumped. “Ah! We have a hungry filly!” Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “I’m not a foal, Aunt Lofty.” “No, but everypony likes Holiday Streamers’s cheesy bread. Mmmm?” Scootaloo brightened. She did like cheesy bread. She looked hopefully over to her other aunt. Holiday pulled a throw pillow over her head and held it there. “Fine,” Lofty said primly. She started trotting to the kitchen. “Then I’ll make cheesy br-” “Ap- ap- ap-!” Holiday said, rolling off the couch and landing on the floor. That thought alone was enough to get her up on her hooves. She stood up and strode past Lofty and Scootaloo. “You are not taking one step into my kitchen, thank you very much!” Lofty and Scootaloo shared a knowing giggle. Scootaloo wriggled under her covers and pulled them over her head in preparation for their nightly tradition. Sure enough, after only a minute or two, her door slowly creaked open, and her aunts sneaked into her room. Scootaloo held the covers tightly. “Gotcha!” Lofty’s voice cried. One held her down, the other tickled her mercilessly. Scootaloo laughed and tried to push her off, and by doing so, relinquished her grip on the covers. Lofty pulled the covers off and gently held down a hoof to avoid getting bopped, and kissed her forehead. “Good night, Scootaloo.” Holiday squirmed over and kissed her as well. “Night, Scoots!” Scootaloo chuckled as she settled down, covers pulled up to her chin. “Hey, Lofty? Do you think Mom or Dad will be back soon?” Lofty pursed her lips. “Well, you know, they’re busy. They both are. But they love you very much.” “Yeah,” Scootaloo said quietly. “I just… it’ll be hard to do that project. Without them, I mean.” “I can help you do some research, if you’d like,” Lofty offered. “Thanks,” Scootaloo said, “but let me see what I can do first.” Lofty nodded, a wry smile crossing her face. Scootaloo was a filly who enjoyed her independence, and would only accept help if she thought it wouldn’t make her look weak. It was just part of her personality. But the offer had been made, and she would remember it. She turned and gestured to the door, signalling to Holiday they should leave. “Alright. Sleep tight!”