The next morning, school was about to begin. Fluttershy had just finished packing Scootaloo her lunch and her schoolbag. Though, Scootaloo just thought she was being overexcited about this, although this was highly amusing at the same time. She was just going to school.
"Okay dear, I packed your lunch. You should have your books, notepad, and pencils already in your bag," Fluttershy said with a huge grin, "I hope you have a great day today."
Scootaloo softly rolled her eyes while smiling. She chuckled and said, "Thanks, mom."
A sudden jolt slammed into Fluttershy's mind, realizing, "Oh gosh, I hope I didn't leave anything out," she said in brief paranoia, "Erasers, markers, highlighters… apples?" she started to hyperventilate through her words, but Scootaloo called out through a playful laugh.
"Mom, it's okay, I have the stuff I need in here. You did pack all the supplies I needed, after all," she chuckled again, "If I wanted to get really organized, I'd go ask Twilight," she joked with an amused grin. Although she had winced lightly when her mother brought up ‘apples'; she still had to do some mending.
Maybe after school, she can be successful; she just got her mommy back after all this time, so how hard could winning her brother-figure back be?
Fluttershy calmed herself down and giggled at her daughter's joke, "You're right. I shouldn't overreact, but this is my first day of being an actual mother; I thought I'd make it perfect."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but had a loving yet happy smile, and shook her head, before saying "You're doing fine, mom, relax," She looked at the clock next to the front door and noticed the small hand was almost at seven. She gasped, "Oh man, I'm going to be late. Bye mom," She quickly pecked her mother's cheek before she opened the door and darted out of the cottage, heading straight for school.
Fluttershy stood halfway out the door and watched Scootaloo gallop to school. She smiled warmly and hoped her daughter would have a pleasant day; maybe she'd tell her other friends the truth and that she's living with her from now on.
Those were some nice thoughts, but another sudden jolt pierced her mind as if a mystic force told her what to do; she was forgetting something but instincts reminded her, "Oh right…. The orphanage," she said as she frowned in disgust. After what her daughter had told her, it was high-time she ended that torture once and for all.
But as she grabbed her bags, she felt a cold yet smooth touch on her arm. She looked down to see Mr. Slithers and Snappers, "Oh, hello, Mr. Slithers, Snappers. You're up early today." She was a bit surprised to see the two reptiles awake so early, especially Snappers. Usually, he liked to relax in his watering hole just letting the morning sun pass by.
Snappers, however, growled lightly, clicking his tongue, and hissed a bit, talking to her.
"Yes, you're right. I'm heading over to the orphanage to officially get Scootaloo out of there," She frowned softly, "This torture she's been through has to stop." She nodded as she knew her daughter also had to get her things, too, since she'll be moving into the cottage now.
Mr. Slithers hissed as he frowned, his tongue flicked occasionally, communicating with her that she shouldn't go alone if this orphanage was as bad as Scootaloo had put it.
"But I'm sure I'll be okay on my own, sweetie," Fluttershy reassured only for a chorus of hisses from the two reptiles. She then looked surprised once they finished, "You both want to come with me?" This earned a nod from the python and crocodile. "Well…" She thought about it. If Greedy Bags is as bad as Scootaloo puts her, then she might need a little help. "Alright, but behave yourselves." She agreed to let them come along.
Followed by her two reptile friends, she closed her door and walked to the orphanage. Little did she know, another little friend snuck up onto Fluttershy and was coming along for the ride as a little creature hid inside her mane without the timid mare noticing.
But as she walked, memories of what Scootaloo told her started to flood. The thought of that orphanage treating Scootaloo like dirt sparked a new instinct in her mind. Fluttershy frowned and crushed her forehead in a furious manner but took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming herself and ridding those thoughts, for now; mama bear has arrived and she's on a hunt.
***Ponyville Schoolhouse***
Scootaloo arrived just in time at the Ponyville Schoolhouse. As she approached the school, she immediately stopped midway and gazed at the playground. Classes hadn't started yet and there was no sign of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon; which was a big plus in her book. She did notice some fillies and colts playing before she decided to go and join them, only to have her attention quickly grabbed by a worried Applebloom and Sweetie Belle who ran up to her with faces so worried, they reminded her of Fluttershy -- no surprise there.
"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle shouted with worried eyes. "Where were you? We looked everywhere for you," she said with a squeaky tone
"We were worried sick. We could've looked all day, but our sisters had to stop us," Applebloom said, "We had to explain to them about what happened because somepony had to open their big mouth," she glared a bit at a rather embarrassed Sweetie Belle.
"I said I was sorry. I can't shut up when I'm nervous." Sweetie Belle shrugged apologetically under the earth filly's glare.
Scootaloo held her hooves up and tried to calm the misgiving fillies, "Whoa girls, calm down. I'm fine. I was just upset is all," She rubbed the back of her head, and felt a little bad for running off on them, "I talked with Rainbow Dash and Big Mac. Then, I went back to Fluttershy's house and, well, I'm going to call her mom from now on," She explained to them and received shocked looks from Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.
"So does this mean?" Applebloom asked in suspense.
Scootaloo smiled, "I have a mother now," she held back her joy, but she thought about releasing it when school ended. However, that didn't stop her friends from showing their joy to her. They cheered for her and hugged her close; they were happy that their friend was back with her mother.
But Applebloom suddenly frowned softly as she gazed at her friend, "Although…"
Scootaloo winced a bit visibly under her gaze, having a feeling why she's looking at her like that, "What?"
Applebloom looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "When Applejack and I got home for the night after searching for you, we came home to find Granny worried sick because my brother came back before we did." She twirled her hoof, rolling her eyes up to gaze at the clouds, but her tone remained the same. "She said something ‘bout him refusing to talk to her; not one single "Eeyup" out of him. He just went to bed, in his room and the next thing she knew, he was bawling his eyes out like he's been choppin' a room full of onions or like he missed out the latest Apple Family Reunion, and you know how important family means to me and my family."
Scootaloo winced hard, the guilt started to come back. ‘I know I unintentionally pushed him away and was really hard on him, but is he really that upset?' She mentally beat her brain up for thinking that question when the answer was as plain as the nose on her face; she saw how down he looked when he was leaving just last night. ‘What am I talking about? Of course, he is! I practically disowned him as my brother-figure out of anger no more than 24 hours ago… but now he's got his own family really worried about him?' She sighed lightly to herself. ‘Man, I really messed up this time.'
Applebloom crossed her hooves, that raised eyebrow directed at Scootaloo once she noticed the guilty expression on her face. She sighed and frowned at her, knowing that she had something to do with her brother being upset, "Scootaloo, what did you do to my brother?"
Scootaloo sighed lightly and rubbed the back of her head while wincing, before explaining what had happened between her and Big Mac, "He and I got a little into each other's faces because I was being too stubborn to listen to Rainbow Dash… then things got really deep, and I probably said some things I shouldn't have," She sighed in guilt once more, before looking to her friends. She felt like this needed to be shared. "Did you guys know that he wanted to adopt me?"
Needless to say, her two best friends were surprised by this little piece of info; apparently, they didn't know about this. Not even Applebloom knew about this at all, and her family is quite the honest one.
"He did?" Sweetie Belle looked curious; she knew that he was a good stallion, but she never thought he of all ponies would've been interested in adopting a child, especially if that child was her best friend.
Scootaloo nodded, "He told me with his own words." She blushed a bit faintly, "He said that every time Applebloom brought us around to the clubhouse, I somehow became a littler baby sister to him."
"Really?" Applebloom looked stunned. She never knew her brother wanted to adopt Scootaloo; but as she thought about it, she did however seemed to notice that whenever she brought her friends around, her brother did seem to look after them in a way. ‘Huh. I guess we brought out a secret parental side of him.'
She blushed lightly as a thought came to her, "Heh, if my brother did adopt you, Scootaloo… I guess we'd be more than friends." Scootaloo looked at her oddly before she tells her why, "We'd be aunt and niece."
That made the fillies giggle and laugh a bit at the mere thought of such a scenario. It was cute, but boy, would it have been awkward between the two fillies at first at the same time!
"I love you, Applebloom, but your brother made a good point about one thing: I probably wouldn't get as used to hard farm work like you, him and Applejack do every day," Scootaloo giggled, accepting that truth since she wasn't a hard-working earth pony like the Apples.
Applebloom shrugged and rolled her shoulders, admittedly, "Yeah, you're probably right." Applebloom agreed. Her pegasus friend was more of a free-spirited daredevil more than a farm-worker. But they smiled at one another and hugged once more while laughing about the silly scenario.
"Though, I expect you to make up with him soon, Scoots." She gently reprimanded, "You know how sensitive he is." That was true, not only is her brother shy and quiet but a good listener at the same time, he was also sensitive, too.
Scootaloo nodded, agreeing that the first thing after school, she's going to go find him, "I'll go find him after school."
"Hey Scootaloo, what did you do when we were trying to find you?" Sweetie Belle asked as she and Applebloom released her from the dual hug, changing the subject for now.
"Yeah, I'd like to know that, too," Applebloom said having curiosity as strong as Sweetie Belle's.
Scootaloo snickered as she recalled what she did before heading to Diamond Lake and meeting up with Rainbow Dash and Big Mac, "Funny you should ask that," she said in a sly tone with a matching smirk to boot. "I—"
"…will feel sorry after what you did!" a familiar, tempered voice flared in their ears as it cut her explanation in half.
Applebloom and Sweetie sighed impatiently and turned their attention towards the owner of the voice and expected the worse. What they didn't expect was to see a sight so hilarious, it made them both chuckle and snicker with their bestie who was smirking up a storm.
"—May have done something like that," Scootaloo snickered to her friends and pointed to a black-eyed, anger-filled Diamond Tiara, with Silver Spoon by her side, staring at them with one glaring eye, her other one too swollen for use.
"What happened, Diamond? Did you trip and fall on a rock?" Applebloom said and laughed with her friends.
Diamond Tiara rolled her good eye at that joke, "Laugh it up, blank flanks, because you just signed your death notes," Diamond Tiara snarled and glared at them, "No one punches me and gets away with it!" But that was greeted with a scoff from the filly who had punched her.
"Whatever, I'm not scared of you, Broken Tiara." Scootaloo mocked her as they laughed.
Diamond Tiara growled, inflamed with rage, before she stormed up to Scootaloo and prepared to throw a beat-down on her. She approached the laughing fillies and lifted a hoof until Cheerilee called out to them, "Girls, time for class!"
They all stopped and glanced at Cheerilee before Diamond Tiara looked back at Scootaloo with a hateful stare with her good eye, a visible snarl on her face, "I'll get you back for this, I swear. One way or another." she turned and walked away, heading to class with Silver Spoon who stuck her tongue out at them; but the three fillies, they didn't care and just chuckled.
"Yeah, like that'll ever happen," Sweetie Belle said with a smirk, heading to class with Applebloom and Scootaloo.
They shared a high-hoof as they walk up the stairs. No matter what Diamond Tiara says, they won't let anything she says bother them anymore.
***Orphanage***
Fluttershy, Snappers and Mr. Slithers approached the front door of Scootaloo's orphanage. The mere stench of the place spelled bad news to the snake and crocodile. The two frowned at the sight of this orphanage; it's no wonder that their little Scootaloo didn't like it here.
Fluttershy took a few seconds to think about what to say before looking to her two animal friends, she pointed down, "Wait here for my signal," She said in a soft but firm voice. She was ready to end this and fix her daughter's pain of this place.
Snappers and Mr. Slithers nod in confirmation. If her words and proof don't work, then things were gonna get real personal, real fast.
Fluttershy took a deep breath before storming inside. Inside, she entered a room with a dark green carpet, walls painted tan brown with a picture of the original owner on the left side of the entry room; a concrete-grey mare that looked as old as Granny Smith with a monocle and old-fashioned hate; honestly, she looked like an obvious villain from an old spy movie. Who knew? There was a lot of decorations inside which got her puzzled at first, but she didn't let that stop her as she gazed at the mare in front of her, sitting nonchalantly behind a hardwood desk and filing her hooves -- just like Scootaloo said. She immediately took note of the employee's attitude before she approached the front desk, yet the snooty employee never once took her eyes off her hoof and gave her service; if her social skills taught her anything it's that this kind of behavior wasn't something like hers. While she used to be timid and scared, this mare was ignoring everything and seemed to have a snooty vibe to her. Already, Fluttershy didn't like this mare and she now realized how much Scootaloo didn't like her and why she gave her so much trouble. Fluttershy glared at this mare with boiling anger slowly rising.
Snappers and Slithers were not impressed by this rude mare, either. She seemed more concerned about filing her hoof than run a business, especially when she had a customer right in front of her. Snappers started to growl in disgust, but it took every ounce of willpower not to go in there and bite this woman in half.
Mr. Slithers fought down every instinct that involved choking the life out of this mare; unlike Snappers, he had a bit more self-control. But needless to say, this behavior was unacceptable and it started to rustle his scales bad.
But, against her judgment and kind persona, Fluttershy was a mare of gentle approach, so she calmed herself to have a clear mind before speaking to the unprofessional mare, "Excuse me," she said politely, but got no response from the employee as she kept filing her hoof. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow but spoke again, "Excuse me!" she said a little louder, loud enough to let this employee know that she's right in front of her.
The Pegasus employee named Greedy Bags finally responded, but it wasn't the response Fluttershy wanted to hear, "Um, can you, like, wait for just a minute? I'm working on my hooves here," She said in an unamused valley-girl accent, not even looking at Fluttershy eye to eye. Not even a simple gaze up out of her as she continued to file her hoof before going to file her other hoof. "If you want your turn, you gotta wait like the rest."
Fluttershy tilted her head confused before she looked behind her; there was no one. Not a soul. She let out a hard huff before she looked back at the disrespectful mare, "But there's no one else here," she corrected her but received an impatient groan as Greedy Bags turned her back towards Fluttershy.
Fluttershy's left eye twitch, quickly growing impatient herself. She couldn't believe this mare. Who in their right mind would hire a mare like this? Were the higher-ups that desperate to decide this? Her impatience increased every second while her assertiveness and annoyance grew tenfold. This mare's service was so bad, it made other services seem very tolerable.
She watched this pony file her hoof nonstop, waiting for her to stop. But then she noticed something was off with how this mare was filing her hoof. She looked at the large clock hanging in the hall and quickly put two and two together -- it was almost noon; this worthless employee was stalling time! Her left eyelid twitched and her tolerance peaked. This was not gonna fly with Fluttershy and it was time to teach this disrespectful mare a very valuable lesson. She raised a hoof and slammed it hard on the front desk, causing Greedy Bags quite a scare and made her drop her file.
Greedy Bags growled in frustration before she swung herself around to give an irritated glare at Fluttershy, "Hey!" she shouted, "I was in the middle of fixing my hoof and you interrupted me!" she was about to scowl her if it weren't for her body to tense up at what she saw. She gasped and flinched when Fluttershy retaliated with a mama bear glare. If she was going to come up with some stupid excuse, Fluttershy wasn't going to buy any of that. Not one bit!
"Now you listen to me," Fluttershy snarled as she glared, "I can't believe the service I'm seeing right now. Is this how you treat other ponies who want to adopt fillies and colts?" she asked sternly at Greedy Bags, who now had fear dwell in her mind. "You should be fired for the way you've acted to me and previous ponies that came here. Unbelievable!"
Greedy Bags immediately shook out of fear of how scary and mad this yellow pegasus was -- guess stalling was not gonna work with this one. Hoping not to make her angry any further, she responded as best she could, sort of, "Um, I'm s-sorry, ma'am. H-how can I help you?" she asked, almost choking on her words. From appearances, this pegasus seemed like a nice pony, but looks can be deceiving as she could see this pony was not only scary but bent on getting what she wanted. But what did she want, exactly? One of the orphans? She could do just that.
"That's better." Fluttershy slowly calmed down but kept the glare at full power. She was gonna let Greedy Bags know she meant business and that fooling around with her was gonna be the last thing she'd ever do, "I'd like to know where Scootaloo's room is. I'm here to pick up her things," she asked.
Greedy Bags nodded, "Second room to your left." she pointed to the direction of Scootaloo's old room before looking back at this horrifying mare, and asked in a broken-eggshell tone, "Are you planning to adopt? We have other fillies and colts here that would love to have you as a mother."
Fluttershy just shook her head at her. The mere thought of adopting another one of them would not go so well. She was happy with the filly she just got back, "I'm not here to adopt any of these foals. I'm here to pick up my daughter's things."
Greedy Bags looked at this mare confused before Fluttershy switched her glare off and smiled and giggled a bit as if what just occurred didn't happen, "Again, I'm not adopting a foal. I'm taking Scootaloo back. I'm her real mother." She walked around the front desk and passed by Greedy Bags who looked on shocked and surprised.
"W-Who are you?" Greedy Bags asked.
"Fluttershy," her voice echoed across the hall as Greedy Bags heard it and widened her eyes in shock.
***
"F-Fluttershy is Scootaloo's r-real mother?" Greedy Bags uttered out in complete shock. That couldn't be true. Scootaloo had been left in a basket bundle on the porch as a little baby, no sign of a mother anywhere. But now, Fluttershy showed up out of nowhere and told her that she's Scootaloo's mother? No way! Scootaloo can not be one of the elements of harmony's daughter?
"That can't be true. It just can't!" She refused to accept that. No pony can just barge right in here and declare that one of the foals is their daughter or son – that's not how it works! "I refuse to believe this." She frowned and crossed her hooves. She could hardly even believe that she's even letting herself get pushed around by this mare who had the gall to yell at her. "This is impossible – that is not that little brat's real mom. There is no proof." She scowled lightly as she looked over her shoulder to where Fluttershy had gone. "And she has no right to do this to me."
If Fluttershy thought she can get off scot-free here, she's got another thing coming.
***
Fluttershy walked down the orphanage hall and stood in front of the door. She smiled and happily opened the door, expecting to see some well-behaved orphans playing with one another; only to see a sight that was just as sickening as the awful service.
Three orphans, one male unicorn, and two earth ponies, one male and one female, were snooping around the room for items to steal, and it so happens that their first target was Scootaloo's stuff.
"Looks like Scootaloo left her stuff behind, again." The unicorn colt, Copper Iron, smirked as he targets them.
"Let's take ‘em," The earth filly, Frazzle Curl, smirked greedily while the earth colt, Cobalt Clop, chuckled deviously.
This angered Fluttershy enough to make her blood boil. Her snarl returned as she walked into the room and approached the thieving orphans. "Mr. Slithers…" The snake snuck his way past Greedy Bags and came to her side. She pointed at Scootaloo's things that were about to be taken by the three little thieves.
Upon seeing the possessions of their little Scootaloo in danger of being stolen, Mr. Slithers quickly acted. He hissed as he lunged, giving the three thieves quite a jump. Once near, he protectively coiled around Scootaloo's bags and sneered at the three little mean orphans, hissing at them. This was their first warning from him, telling them to back off – and if they didn't, they will be getting a new home: a one-way trip down his throat and into his gullet.
"It's a snake, man!" Cobalt flinched as they backed up quickly and leaped onto their beds as they screamed.
"Snake!" Frazzle clung to the bed frame as tight as she can for support and for an attempt to keep herself away from the snake "Snake!" She screamed in panic at the sheer size of it.
"How did that thing get in here?!" Copper screamed, wondering how in Equestria a large snake got in here. But by the looks of it, it didn't seem all too happy and looked quite hungry – hungry for the three of them.
But he wasn't the only one, leaping out of Fluttershy's mane and near Frazzle, landing on her bed while hissing and growling was a small bipedal lizard-like creature that walked near avian-like in some way; it was a young Compsognathus. Fluttershy noticed and would be surprised by her entrance, but like them, she was deadset on getting Scootaloo's bags back and scolding these thieving orphans.
Frazzle screamed and backed up as the little reptile glared warningly at her while trying to nip her, only managing to get a mouthful of her tail as a clump of it easily torn off. "What is that thing?!" Frazzle shouted.
"And just what do you three think you're doing?!" Fluttershy barked, startling the three orphans into looking back to see her in shock, never expected to get caught.
"A-An adult!" The filly flinched while the colts winced, they weren't aware they were getting a customer.
"Mr. Slithers…" The snake looked to her, and Fluttershy looked to the Compsognathus, still a bit surprised but grateful she also came along – because seeing her attempting to scare these three troublemakers was worth it. "And Caitlyn…" The compy looked to her with a coo. She motioned them back to her side with her hoof, which they gladly responded, making their way back to her before she directed her attention back to the orphans that tried to steal her daughter's belongings which were safe in Mr. Slither's coils.
Fluttershy gave them a disappointed look before scolding them, "You three should be ashamed of yourselves; stealing stuff that doesn't belong to you," Fluttershy said softly to them.
Mr. Slithers and Caitlyn sneer at the three while the snake carefully held Scootaloo's items close without destroying them, being very gentle with them – they meant a lot to Scootaloo and he wouldn't forgive himself if they were accidentally destroyed.
Being they were orphans, they didn't know any better. One of them even gave an innocent look to the timid pegasus, hoping she wouldn't punish them.
"W-we're sorry, miss," Copper said in a sad tone, lowering his ears, "We won't do it again." He looked up at her as the two earth ponies secretly rolled their eyes and figured that they'll do it again since Greedy Bags wouldn't care.
Fluttershy looked at the young unicorn's eyes and saw wavy, innocent irises with a sad pout on his face. She looked at his eyes again and noticed something odd – no tears were forming under the pupils; that could only mean one thing. Fluttershy gave him a very suspicious look before remembering the things Scootaloo said about others who'd bully and steal from others. These must be the orphans she was referring to. Her two scaly friends quickly caught on as well with Caitlyn growling at Copper and Mr. Slithers hissing distastefully at Frazzle and Cobalt with a slit-eyed glare.
She looked at them with disappointed eyes. "You must think I'm really stupid, do you?" They look at her with shocked eyes, which only further confirmed that they were trying to lie their way out of trouble. "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable." She glared at the audacity of these orphans before allowing Mr. Slithers to carefully place Scootaloo's things in her bags. "Taking Scootaloo's things for the sheer joy of it, especially when she isn't around?" She glared at the three while he does so, "This is totally unacceptable." She shook her head in disgust, "She was so right about you – you are rude, unkind, undisciplined, troublemaking delinquents, brats, and bullies." She even pointed at each orphan for each title, causing the three to wince. "Here I was hoping to see wonderfully well-behaved children during my visit here, only to find this… selfish, low-down, lying little monsters that don't deserve to be adopted – if anything, the only available homes for scum like you is the belly of Tartarus, or the Everfree Forest."
She rolled her eyes and added with sarcasm, "I'm sure the Timberwolves would love to have you as one of their own since you'd rather grow up to be troublemaking little savages, stealing scraps from one another, especially the youngest, just to get through the day."
That hurt. That really hurt as Cobalt started to hiccup a little as his ears lowered. Frazzle whimpered a bit while Copper started to breathe choppily, genuinely frightened by this mare's rage.
She was not only angered by the lack of service from earlier, but she was also sickened by the behavior of these three children that were bunked with her baby. "You have no respect for somepony else's property whatsoever. If this is how you really behave towards one another, and towards Scootaloo, I'd really hate to see how you behave behind the walls of your new homes should anypony want to adopt such vulgar, disgusting, lying little ones who think they can get away scot-free by pulling the sad-eyes bit when they really deserve to be spanked on the flanks with a paddle until it's the color of the red feathers on a parrot."
She shook her head, frowning firmly at the three, "I can't believe that Scootaloo had to put up with such disgusting, obnoxious foals like you – when you're just as bad as Diamond Tiara." Scootaloo had mentioned to her that Diamond is quite a mean little filly even if they go to school together. "Only difference is, at least she has parents who love her – while sniveling snot-nosed criminals in children's bodies like the three of you coop yourselves up in here. I bet you're the reason why this place isn't doing so good – the service and behavior here is repulsive."
The three foals winced from the very personal and hurtful words coming out of the mare's mouth. Ironically, this was the same type of pain they had been putting Scootaloo through, and boy, did it sting badly like sticking a hoof in a beehive!
She wasn't going to take any of their excuses, no matter how hurtful her words were – these three deserved it from what her daughter had told her about. "You're very lucky that Mr. Slithers isn't hungry right now for little punks like the three of you."
Mr. Slithers would've begged to differ, he was indeed hungry, but he'd rather eat when they get home. The mere stench of this orphanage was making him gag. And as much as he wanted to devour these three brats, he had to hold back because he didn't want this situation to escalate to a point where there's going to be some major consequences – especially if three missing orphans were involved.
So he gave the three a warning hiss, telling them in snake that if he ever caught them trying to steal from Scootaloo or trying pick on her again, he won't hesitate to squeeze them within his coils until they pass out. He even opened his mouth and points at the back of his throat with his tail, which was only from their POV a dark, fleshy tunnel that had no end – threatening them in his own way whilst semi-agreeing with his ‘momma'.
It seemed to work as the children whimper and hid under their covers and pillows, shaking like scared puppies.
Caitlyn glowered at the three and hissed before hopping up onto the bag and using it as leverage to climb onto Fluttershy's back.
"C'mon, you two, let's go." Fluttershy motioned for the three of them to leave the way they had come.
The orphans watched her walk away with the stuff they were going to steal, but Frazzle spoke out to her and asked, "W-Who are you, miss? And how do you know Scootaloo?" She tried not to break down from the harsh words that Fluttershy had inflicted on them, or from the fear of being eaten by a hungry, angry python.
Fluttershy placed the bag down and looked back at the orphans with a firm scowl, and answered, "I'm Scootaloo's real mother. And I better not catch you three picking on my baby anymore." before she took the bags and left with Mr. Slithers and Caitlyn, letting the three orphans stay in that room to think about what they had done.
But they could only watch her with shocked, yet puzzled looks just like Greedy Bags had.
"She's Scootaloo's mother?" Cobalt sniffled.
Copper shuddered, "S-she's scary…"
"Scootaloo's mom is kind of a witch," Frazzle agreed, still stung and traumatized by what just happened.
***
As Fluttershy returned, Greedy Bags watched her walk by, feeling proud of herself, but as she did the employee called to her, "What is going on? Did you just threaten the children?" Apparently, she overheard the screaming and the threatening.
‘Oh sure, now she cares?' Fluttershy bitterly thought before speaking, "They were trying to steal Scootaloo's things – but did you try to stop them? No." She frowned in disgust. "You're just sitting here on your plot, filing your hooves like you don't give a care in the world – which you clearly don't."
A vein started bulging and an embarrassed, yet angry blush appeared on Greedy's cheeks as she scowled at the mare before her, "I do to care about these kids. I make sure they are well-behaved and deserve loving homes."
"Not from what I witnessed," Fluttershy huffed; her encounter with the three children was anything but well-behaved.
"You know, with that type of attitude, I can be free to deny you any business. Especially if this is involving Scootaloo," She scowled at Fluttershy, getting real tired of her assumed smart-mouth. "For all I know, you can't be Scootaloo's mother. Barging in here, like you're the bucking police – demanding to see your so-called kid. Last I checked, none of the orphans even remember what their own mothers look like – and neither would Scootaloo. You're not her mother, at all." She leaned in, a disgusted scowl on her muzzle. "You're a fraud." She crossed her forelegs in a huff, "And you don't have any type of proof that she is your daughter."
Fluttershy rolled her eyes so hard at this absurd assumption – she's probably been sitting there for so long, her brain had stopped working. But what did it was Greedy's last set of words.
"Scootaloo isn't going anywhere with you, and that's final." Greedy scowled at her and pointed, "Now get out of here before I call security."
It was bad enough that the service sucked, and the behavior of the orphans was disgusting, but now this mare had the sheer nerve to refuse her taking her daughter home? No wonder Scootaloo hated it here so much.
"That does it!!" The irate mother glared angrily at Greedy Bags. "MR. SLITHERS!" Fluttershy screamed in fury.
The python didn't need to be told twice as he hissed and lunged, he coiled quickly around Greedy Bags as the mare screamed in shock and a bit of fear from the sudden arrival of the snake before gagging as the python squeezed her, keeping her firmly in her chair, her arms pinned to her sides.
Caitlyn hopped on the desk and glowered, crouching down as she waited for Fluttershy's signal, she was ready to tear this mare a new one.
"I don't think you grasp the severity of this situation, Miss Greedy Bags," Fluttershy slowly stated as she rubbed her temple while coming to the front desk. It was at this point, she decided that playing a temporary villain was going to be needed for this. It wasn't her style, but she had no choice. Greedy Bags decided to mess with a mama bear, "I am Scootaloo's mother. I'm the one who placed her on that porch eight years ago, because I was too young to know how to raise a foal." She frowned firmly as she made eye contact with the despicable mare, "And Scootaloo knows the truth about me, and she has also told me that this place has been nothing but torture to her ever since you brought her in – and that you don't do a single thing to help her or listen to her. You don't even stop these cruel demon foals from picking on her," She scoffed lightly, intimidating her by slamming her with the stone-cold truth, "It's no wonder this place hardly makes any bits a month." She shook her head before resuming her talk with her, "But you want proof? I'll give you proof."
She placed Scootaloo's bag down and pulled out Scootaloo's birth certificate, showing Greedy Bags. She then calmly yet sternly asked the mare, "Is this proof enough?"
Greedy Bags winced as Slithers started to tighten his ‘hug' on her and nearly screamed a little when Caitlyn hopped onto the top of the snake's coils and grabbed a mouthful of her mane, tugging it sharply, forcing her to take a look at the birth certificate.
"You may have noticed this right now, but I brought a few little friends of mine… and they're awfully attached to Scootaloo," Fluttershy said as Caitlyn growled at the horrible mare. Mr. Slithers glowered down at the mare that was within his grasp and hissed so lowly it sounded like a poison gas leak threatening to kill whatever it touched. But when Greedy looked to her right, she gasped in fear as she saw Snappers – the crocodile had wandered in while she was ranting earlier, and he did not look happy either. In fact, he was furious as it could be seen by that killer-look in his eyes, that guttural growl in his throat and those sharp teeth were bared as he growled at her. "They aren't too happy with this either. They want Scootaloo to come home just as much as I do. But since you're starting to make this difficult… I should inform you that they haven't had breakfast, yet."
A cold sweat started dripping down Greedy's forehead as she realized that she was in quite the hot water right now – these reptiles were hungry and they looked very protective of Scootaloo since she's being brought up. This was frighteningly serious, and it seemed that these four are not going to take a simple no for an answer.
"So… think this certificate is real? Do you still think I'm not her mother or have you changed your mind?" Fluttershy frowned firmly, leaning over the counter as she made eye contact with Greedy Bags, again; Caitlyn tugging her mouthful of mane, Mr. Slithers slowly tightening up more and Snappers growling deeply as he neared, keeping his scowling eyes on her as she looked over the certificate. Date of birth, Scootaloo's name, the hoofprint, the names of the mother and father, it was all there -- minus the father. Fluttershy's name was written on there; it was true.
Greedy nervously looked at Fluttershy with an agreeable nod once she read it over and allowed the pegasus to take the certificate back, "T-This is proof enough…you're her real mother," She attempted to gulp as Fluttershy took the birth certificate back. "You don't need to sign a form or anything… you can take her things and be on your way." She nervously smiled to appease the mare.
Fluttershy frowned lightly and nodded before carefully placing the birth certificate back into her bag.
Greedy Bags softly sighed in relief and looked at her desk, thinking that she was in the clear; she could never be so wrong as she looked back up to see Fluttershy glaring blood-soaked, soul-piercing daggers at her. She wasn't done with her just yet.
"Caitlyn…" The pegasus started, the compy nodded and lunges, nipping at the mare's face as she screamed in pain as she frantically shook her head about, the little reptile gnawing on her muzzle before finally letting go.
"What the heck is wrong with you?!" Greedy Bags yelled in pain, frantically swinging her head about, if it weren't for the fact that her hooves were bound by snake coils, she'd be gripping her muzzle right about now.
Fluttershy gave Greedy Bags a deadly scowl, one that would get any pony who looked at it a freezing chill, "Shut up, you disgrace of a mare," Fluttershy snapped at her as Snappers bellowed in rage, opening his mouth near the mare's head, causing Greedy to wince in terror, whimpering like a foal.
The hissing stopped, but the glares of fury were still on her from all sides. The three bully foals wince in fear as they watch from their door, shaking in fright.
Greedy Bags shook in absolute fear when Fluttershy silently signaled Mr. Slithers to uncoil her for a minute and allow her body to breathe, so that she can talk to her, "I can't believe I put my own daughter here and left her for eight years," Fluttershy started softly, shaking her head before slowly lifting it to glare back at the bound Greedy. "Of all the things she told me, the look on her face, the agony she felt and the misery she showed me… I should sue this orphanage and put all the orphans here in a better, sweeter orphanage than this trash heap," The orphans look a bit surprised. Maybe that would be better, but none dare speak for fear of igniting the flames of Fluttershy's wrath. "Not only did this place cause Scootaloo so much pain, but it made me hate myself for deciding to place her here, to begin with." But what happened, happened and she couldn't go back in time to fix it.
Her snarl formed again as she tore into this mare, "Never in all my life have I seen such a horrible place and have ever been so insulted," She scowled as she and the three reptiles circle her. "Listen close, you pathetic, selfish, greedy sow…" Greedy Bags held her breath a bit and listened, not wanting to anger this intimidating mare any further with just mere words. She heard this mare was supposed to be the kind one of the mane six, what changed? Then it quickly dawned on her what did 'Oh, right'. The pain was just making it hard for her to think, but she could still hear the outraged mare, "…Scootaloo is coming home with me where she should've been in the first place. I'm leaving– and if I hear you and any of the other employees haven't changed the way how you treat others, I will come back and when I do, I will find all of you and I will have you all arrested." Her eyes practically radiated red as she threatened her and indirectly at the three bullies. "If I ever see any of you try and speak to my daughter and make her miserable again, I will personally send all of your souls…" Snappers grabbed Greedy's cheeks in his claws and nearly dug them in deep while snarling, Caitlyn threatened to tear a huge clump of her mane out as she tugged once more, and Mr. Slithers tightened his grip so hard that Greedy Bags worried she was going to break in two as she can feel her bones threatening to crunch in his hold, flinching in unadulterated pain as Fluttershy shouted "…STRAIGHT DOWN TO TARTARUS!!!!"
With that, she finally made Mr.Slithers release Greedy Bags, knowing they've had enough, she whistled to Snappers and Caitlyn. The three reptiles immediately hurried to her side, Caitlyn quickly taking her spot on her back, hanging onto the strap of the saddlebags as their mother placed it back on.
"Good day," She said politely and headed out the door, leaving the orphanage once again acting like what she just did never occurred, at all. Villain-mode was switched off and the kind, caring Fluttershy was out and about. Did she have any regrets doing what she did? Fluttershy thought to herself and shrugged it off. She didn't care one way or another; only thing she could care was having her point across.
Once that door closed itself shut, Greedy Bags fell behind the front desk and fainted while the three foals started crying their eyes out. That was the scariest pony they have ever seen and met. But her point definitely came across to them.
***Ponyville Schoolhouse***
Hours passed and school was finally over. All the fillies and young colts ran out cheering, happy to be heading home.
Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom were the last to walk out of school, laughing and talking to each other while enjoying the fact that another day of school ended.
"Hmm…"
"What is it, Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked curiously.
"I can help but wonder if I'm forgetting something," she stared at the ground bemused until shadows appeared under her and making her stop to look up. She got annoyed real quick when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon already showed up in front of them a few feet away, glaring at them angrily.
"Ugh, can't you two just leave us alone!" Sweetie Belle said in an aggravated tone. She was sick of having to deal with these two that she wouldn't mind decking them in the faces herself.
"Not until I settle the score with motherless filly there," Diamond Tiara retaliated and pointed at Scootaloo. She glared at said filly as she started to approach her, each step of the hoof turning into a stomp as she gets closer, "I told you I will make you pay for this, one way or another."
Applebloom groaned at the local bullies, and spoke out, "Will you just back off already! We're about tired of dealing with you two. And Scootaloo has a mother now," Applebloom said to them which Scootaloo didn't mind at all.
But Diamond Tiara didn't care and just ignored Applebloom but scoffed at the last sentence, "Yeah right. I doubt her real mother would ever take her back," She grinned evilly at Scootaloo once they were face-to-face with one another once more.
"Yeah," Silver Spoon said, "That's just stupid. Abandoning their child, then take back just like that? What a joke. I bet she's as flightless as you are, blank flank."
"Yeah, so why don't you all do us a favor and buzz off like you always do with those little wings?" Diamond Tiara smirked as she pushed Scootaloo down, knowing that her wings were another weakness. Scootaloo grunted once she hit the ground, the two fillies then laughed at them.
Scootaloo was about to go up to them and deliver round two to them but gasped softly as she and her friends slightly looked up a bit with joyful smiles growing on their faces. They back up a bit and watched as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon continue to laugh, unaware of the surprise in store for them. They just waited to see what else they had to say.
"Who is your mother anyway? A chicken? Would make sense since you can't fly worth a feather," Diamond Tiara said and mocked Scootaloo again with a snicker.
Applebloom would've spoken up by now because she knew her friend hated that type of jab, but then her smile got even bigger when she saw an even bigger surprise coming up behind Diamond and Silver. So she kept quiet and watched the upcoming fireworks.
"Or a hummingbird or even a bee?" Silver Spoon smirked at her, "Those are the only filthy beasts that can buzz their wings the way you do, but at least they can fly and not ride scooters unlike you." Hook, line, and sinker.
"Her mother would happen to be me," a softish, angry voice spoke behind them and caused them to stiffen like statues with pale faces. They only got whiter when hisses and growls sounded off after the voice.
"Eeyup…" A just as soft but firm and angry voice also spoke up from behind them.
The two immediately shut up and looked at Scootaloo and her friends with shocked if not horrified eyes; somehow, they felt like Scootaloo had led them to a trap. They slowly crane their heads around and glanced behind them individually.
Scootaloo smiled happily, "Girls, meet my mother, my real mother, Fluttershy," she pointed behind them while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shared amused looks before Applebloom's look immediately changed for a moment.
Applebloom grinned and waved, "Howdy, big brother!" she looked glad to see that a member of her kin was here as well.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked up in fear as Fluttershy displayed a furious face to them and Big Mac scowled down at the two. Mr. Slithers, Caitlyn and Snappers didn't look too happy either, judging by the disapproving, hateful glares that they were giving the foals. They heard every word these two fillies said, and they were not the least bit happy about it whatsoever.
"I've seen you two now and then roaming around Ponyville and bully other fillies and colts, even my daughter and her friends. It infuriates me to see you two get away with it and never get in trouble for the things you've caused," Fluttershy glared daggers and frowned at the two fillies, Snappers and Caitlyn growling while she scolded, "Now that you two know the truth, it's about time that I say that I've had it," she snapped and caused the fillies to flinch and tear up a bit.
"Eeyup!" Big Mac agreed with an angry frown on his face. Mr. Slithers hissing threateningly at the two bullies.
"Now I remember, my mom was going to pick me up today."
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo and snickered, both thinking that Scootaloo became a crafty filly.
"Planned that out and never told us, huh?" Sweetie Belle said, actually liking Scootaloo's plan.
"Why do you think I was never nervous, to begin with?" Scootaloo said. "I knew something would come up and my mom would be by my side if something ever happened."
"Clever girl," Applebloom said with a devious smile on her face as they look back to watch the entertainment before them.
Scootaloo grinned proudly but at the same time she was relieved to see Big Mac was here, this made her next objective so much easier.
"Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves, pickin' on my sister and her friends like that, especially little Scootaloo." Big Mac glared at the two fillies who back up a step when he got in their faces, "You don't even know what she's been through and I've just about had it with hearing the two of you talk smack about my sister and her friends, calling them blank flanks and whatnot. But what I cannot tolerate in the very least bit, it's insulting a family member." He scowled at the two fillies, putting his left foreleg on his hip, glaring softly down at them, but more importantly Diamond Tiara since she delivered that ‘motherless' insult. "Does your father know you act like this?"
When he brought up her father, Diamond Tiara winced hard with her eyes nearly bugging out in sheer alarm and horror.
"Please don't tell him…" Silver Spoon whimpered out a bit; she doesn't like seeing her friend get in trouble with her dad.
Filthy was a powerful pony, not as powerful as the sun and moon princesses of Equestria, but it's because of his family business that their town wouldn't be here if it weren't for his founding ancestors.
And on cue, Filthy Rich showed up to see Fluttershy, the three reptiles and Big Mac stand in front of his daughter and friend. Feeling concerned, he walked on over and called to them, "What's going on here?"
Fluttershy heard Filthy Rich and looked back to see him approaching them, much to Diamond's horror. She watched as her daddy approached and stood next to Fluttershy with a concerned look.
"Howdy, Mr.Filthy Rich…" Big Mac gruffly greeted.
Filthy Rich uncharacteristically flinched upon seeing Big Macintosh, "G-Greetings, Big Macintosh, my friend," He returned the greeting. He and Big Mac have been more acquaintances than anything rather than friends, but both stallions had respect for one another due to both their businesses being stable with one another and one not being greedier over the other; hence why Spoiled Rich hasn't done anything to tamper with said businesses. Big Mac may not have a wife, yet, but he was sure glad Flithy was keeping the sour mare under control, business-wise. Family-wise, not so much. Filthy Rich eyed the scene before him before glancing to both Big Mac and Fluttershy. "Is everything alright?" he asked Fluttershy first, but the look on the animal's faces told him otherwise; they looked downright annoyed with what was behind them.
"Are you Diamond's father?" Fluttershy said sternly to him and caused him to flinch a bit, but regain his composure.
"Yes, I am," Filthy Rich replied with a brow raised and noticed both fillies smiling innocently at him. He immediately grew suspicious; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon never smiled like that before. Something was up.
Fluttershy turned her attention on to Filthy Rich and started to tell him everything that occurred with Big Mac confirming that each word was true, while the CMCs watched in the background, smiling victoriously.
Caitlyn smirked at Diamond and Silver before pointing at the two of them and dragged a claw across her throat, making a gagging-like face in their direction.
"Where's the popcorn?" Scootaloo joked as they heard the commotion until Filthy Rich beamed his eyes at his daughter and exploded with rage.
"I can't believe you would do such a thing, young lady; sneaking your way into bullying others, and behind my back nonetheless," he did notice Diamond's black eye, but he'll question that later. This bullying shenanigan of hers was more important.
"Daddy, I--"
"Don't ‘Daddy' me. This is unacceptable behavior and I will not tolerate it. I raised you to be better than this, young lady." He pointed at his daughter, narrowing his eyes. She looked down as he scolded her. "I am very disappointed in you. Now, you march your little flank right home this instant. You are in big trouble." He exclaimed to her, very agitated, he frowned firmly at her daughter's friend who winced under his stern tone. "That goes for you too, Silver Spoon."
"Yes, sir," Silver whimpered.
Diamond sighed sadly, knowing she had been caught red-hoofed, "Yes, daddy…"
They both walk away with heads hung in defeat and heading home with Filthy Rich while Fluttershy, the animals, and Big Mac watched; Scootaloo and her friends high-hoofed each other, secretly cheering. Snappers smirked lightly and bumped his tail against Mr. Slithers' tail and even returned the ‘hoof-bump' when Scootaloo offered a hoof-bump, using his tail to bump against her hoof. Karma was on their side
As they left, Fluttershy turned her attention back to the CMC and approached them with a soft smile on her face, "Are you girls alright?" she asked, receiving nods from the three happy fillies.
Fluttershy giggled a bit, "That's good. Hopefully, they'll learn a lesson after this."
"Same here. Thanks, mom. You're the best," Scootaloo smiled joyfully at Fluttershy as she smiled warmly from hearing that. Mr. Slithers pouted and hissed at her, causing her to giggle. "You three are awesome too, Mr. Slithers." That pleased the three reptiles as they smile.
Applebloom gasped happily and thought, "Hey, now that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are gone, you girls want to hang out and do some crusading?" she asked ecstatically to them.
Sweetie Belle nodded and agreed to go. Scootaloo was about to say yes when mixed thoughts raced through her mind. She looked at her friends then at her mother who was smiling at the two happy crusaders. She wanted to go crusading and have fun with her friends, but she realized that her mother was right in front of her and that she would spend so much time with her, bond with her and catch up on whatever. Plus, with her mother's help, she can also befriend the animals easier. And she saw Big Mac starting to head back home in silence, a neutral frown on his face. That's when she came to her conclusion and looked at her friends, "Actually girls, I think I'll sit this one out today." This caused Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, as well as Fluttershy, to look at her in shock and surprise, the trio of reptiles seemingly surprised by her choice. Big Mac slowly looked back in surprise.
"Why, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well," she thought, "I think I should be with my mother this time. I haven't seen her since I was a baby, and I thought…" She walked up to Fluttershy and nuzzled her leg softly, "…Maybe we could catch up on what we've been doing." She said with a smile, warming the very core of Fluttershy's heart.
She then looked towards Big Mac, "And I… I need to talk with Big Mac, too."
"Scootaloo… I don't know what to say," Fluttershy slowly started to tear up and hugged her close with the arm she nuzzled.
But Big Mac remained silent. He didn't care what happened, his Little Sugarcube was alright now, as was his little sister and Sweetie Belle – so he had no other reason to stay.
Applebloom and Sweetie smiled at them and understood well enough to know that they should have more time with each other.
"Alright Scootaloo, See ya later," Applebloom said as she walked away.
"See ya tomorrow, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said as she followed Applebloom and leaving the school.
Fluttershy looked curious though when Scootaloo mentioned that she wanted to talk with Big Mac, wondering what she wanted to speak with him about. So to get answers, she watched her daughter walk towards the stallion with her ears lowered down.
"Big Mac…" Scootaloo started, but flinched when he cut her off.
"I got nothin' left to say to you that I haven't said already, Scootaloo." He bluntly exclaimed, causing her to wince under his jab. "You clearly don't need me to hold your hoof anymore. So I'm lettin' you deal with your own problems by yourself, like how you want." He looked away huffily.
Fluttershy winced at the uncharacteristic bluntness of their soft-spoken friend, he sounded upset with her daughter, so what happened; she looked to Scootaloo in curiosity. "Sweetheart, w-what is he talking about?"
She winced and explained what went on last night, about her talk with not only Rainbow Dash, but also Big Mac. She looked ashamed once she told her that she said some pretty hurtful things to him out of anger – something she really regrets.
"Oh dear." Fluttershy said worriedly, glancing at the stallion who walked on the trail, the two of them quickly followed after him, she understood her daughter wanted to make things right. She didn't like her friends fighting, although it did surprise her to learn that Big Mac would've adopted Scootaloo himself had he had the right bits but also the courage to do so, or that he viewed her daughter as another baby sister next to Applebloom.
"B-Big Mac…" She called to him as he soon stopped after listening to them follow him.
He turned his head and simply glowered at the two of them from over his shoulder. It must be a bit intimidating because the two pegasi winced when he made eye contact with them.
"You're really that upset with me??" Scootaloo guiltily asked, her ears lowered in shame and her eyes slowly start to turn glossy.
He simply nodded with a light frown. That was the only answer he could give instead of using his words. He had learned once before in his youth, that words can hurt, hence why he doesn't like talking much unless it truly called for it. And Scootaloo's words definitely hurt him last night. In fact, he's been in a bad mood all morning – he's been a bit snappy with AJ, he's a bit forceful with handling things and he nearly startled poor Granny with the slam of a door. He's been struggling to deal with the aftershock of his emotions, but it wasn't that easy – and it wasn't easy to bottle them back up.
"Big Mac, I…" Scootaloo whimpered as he looked away, "Please, if you don't want to talk, then at least listen to me."
He really didn't want to, but she sounded desperate – may as well let her say her piece. "You sure you haven't said enough already like you did last night?..." He jabbed lightly.
"About that…" Scootaloo began, looking deeply ashamed as she rubbed her shoulder. "…I was way out of line back there, and I shouldn't have said those things to you. Those were personal words that I had no business using against you." She sighed sadly, "I was just mad, that's all." That was greeted with a scoff from the stallion, "Okay, it was a bit more than that and I had no right to push you away that harshly -- especially when I finally learned the truth from you. I literally had no idea how deeply you felt about me." She still couldn't believe how much Big Mac cared for her, his words from last night still rung in her brain.
"Well, you know now, don't you?" He uttered out, looking down the trail. He refused to make eye contact with her, because he worried if he does, his emotions will erupt and it'd be a big mess.
"Yeah… I do," Scootaloo sighed sadly and looked up at him. "Big Mac…" It must've had something to do with the tone in her voice because this time, Big Mac finally turned to face her, raising a brow at her.
She looked down for a moment, her ears lowered and pinned against her head. "I have a confession, too… ever since I became friends with Applebloom and started hanging around her more at our clubhouse, I started to see you as the big brother I never had or never knew I had." She looked back up at him, her eyes started to fill with tears. "But I never said anything because I didn't want to make things awkward between us. But when you started calling me "Little Sugarcube" more often, it just felt right. Like, I really belonged for at least one moment," She smiled lightly, "I actually felt like I was part of the family, even if we weren't related in any way… and I realized the way I feel that way was because I love you."
Big Mac's eyes widened in shock and surprise when she confessed that she loved him like the older brother that she had always wanted. His ears start lowering as he listened to her, his eyes started becoming all glossy.
"I love you like you were the older brother I had always wanted. You always made sure I was okay, that I was happy or even comforted me when I started to look like I wanted to cry," Scootaloo nodded, telling him the truth. "You were the most amazing big brother-figure I could ever have, and it took me until last night to realize that." She saddened as she sniffled a bit, "I should've been more considerate with how I was making you feel. You only wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to me… and I was just being stupid." She sighed lightly, "A real big stupid head." She nodded, agreeing that what she did was not that smart before clearing her throat and telling him what she had really wanted to say but never got the chance to the other night. "And… I'm sorry."
Fluttershy never felt so proud of her daughter. She was being the bigger pony and apologizing to the pony whose feelings she had hurt. She smiled lovingly at her little filly while placing a hoof on her heart, watching proudly as she was then approached by the stallion. She's learned so much without her presence over the years, she really has earned her chance to come back home to her and Fluttershy couldn't be happier -- even if that outcome didn't go as she wanted it. But, things were patched up and all her worries are out the window. But, right now, what was Bic Mac going to do?
"I know you're really mad at me… and I don't blame you… but I just want to say you're the best big brother I could ask for, I'm really sorry, I hope that you'll forgive me one day, and I'll always love you." Scootaloo worried that her words fell on deaf ears and she was a bit worried when Big Mac approached with a neutral frown on his face. She braced herself for impact, having a feeling he was going to chew her ear off – only to look surprised when he wrapped an arm around her. "
"Who said I was mad at ya?" He asked her.
In actuality, instead of a harsh chew-out, Big Mac had knelt down and brought her into a close hug and he was smiling warmly at her, "I love you too, my Little Sugarcube."
Grinning happily, Scootaloo returned the hug as tight as she could, ecstatic that she managed to win her big brother figure back and received his forgiveness as well. Fluttershy smiled happily as she shed tears of joy as she witnessed this beautiful moment between her daughter and her ‘big brother-figure'. Snappers gave a toothy grin while Caitlyn wiped a tear away; Mr. Slithers simply smiled, feeling happy for their little Scootaloo.
"I told y'all… no matter what, you'll always be my Little Sugarcube," He promised her that no matter what, she'll always be family to him. Scootaloo gleefully cuddled into his fur, glad they made up. He chuckled softly as he knowingly glanced up at Fluttershy's direction. "I think I've stalled you both long enough," He winked at her, blushing lightly as Fluttershy blushed bashfully as well. "You two deserve to catch up with one another."
Blushing but looking grateful, Scootaloo nodded, agreeing with his words, "Maybe I'll see you later?"
"Perhaps. Better spend some time with your mama though." He teased as he nudged her, causing her to squeal before hurrying to her mommy and three reptile friends. He smiled softly and bid them goodbye before heading his own way for home.
Fluttershy smiled proudly and hugged her daughter close before the five of them head home to relax and enjoy their day not as friends, not as acquaintances…but as mother and daughter, as a family.