It started a while back.
She gave me food.
She gave me warmth.
And I loved her for it.
Scootaloo was an orphan, no parents to love or run to when things got scary. She was alone. But that’s how she liked it. The orange filly liked the freedom of no parents. There was no one breathing down her back whenever she bought a cupcake, or jumped off a tree with her two friends in a vain attempt to get her cutie mark.
She was alone.
Well, that’s not true. Scootaloo had a lot of ponies to lean on, not for food or shelter, but moral support, a tight hug every now and again or some stern advice on why jumping off a tree with two other fillies, wearing nothing but a makeshift parachute, is wrong.
Soon, not long after she ran away from the orphanage, Scootaloo found that she wasn’t alone, and better yet, she had ponies to look up to as well as run to when things got bad.
Things changed drastically one night, however, when she returned to the crusader’s clubhouse to hit the hay, only to find a new stuffed bear with a piece of white paper taped to its snout.
Taking the paper in her hoof, Scootaloo read “Love, Mom”
Two words that changed her view on life. Two words written in black ink that felt like a warm puff of breath going down the back of her neck.
“Apple bloom and Sweetie don’t know about it,” Scootaloo said, her pulse racing. “Rainbow!” she chuckled a little, feeling like she solved a particularly tough math problem. “You got me, Rainbow, come out now so I can throw this thing at you.”
After nearly two minutes of hearing nothing but her own breath, Scootaloo called out again.
“Please, Rainbow?” she said to the overwhelming silence, before hearing the shuffling of leaves.
Bolting to the clubhouse window, she hoped to see a flick of a rainbow tail off in the distance, but when she got there, leaning against the wooden frame, she saw no one.
Real. This is real! she thought, moving back. “This is real!” she could hear each step and every creak of the wooden floor like it was being amplified by a megaphone. “My Mom is real!”
She ran back to the teddy bear, wings buzzing with excitement, and slammed into the furry creature.
“My Mom’s Real!!!” she was crying tears of joy, hugging the bear tightly. “I have a Mom!” she broke down into sobs, pressing her small head into the bear’s chest.
Moments later she fell asleep with a giant smile on her face.
Throughout the night a storm buffeted the clubhouse. Normally this scared Scootaloo, keeping her from getting a good night sleep, but tonight she had Sir Bearbow dash, Bearbow for short, and he kept the scary thunder from hurting her. The gift from her mother granted her the best sleep she’d had in over two and a half months.
The Ponyoaks Orphanage, run by a Semasa Panda, whom everyone simply referred to as Panda, was where Scootaloo moved to after the Cloudingale orphanage exploded with new orphans. It was right after twenty pegasi fell to a dragon that attacked Cloudsdale.
Panda was a sweet mare, blueberry coat with small green specks dotted across her face. She ran a tight organization, but, at the same time, an extremely relaxed one, and one of her policies was as followed: Ponies are welcome to run away from the orphanage, but they must stay in Ponyville. You will have to find your own food and shelter, but should know that you will always be welcome at the Ponyoaks orphanage.
This rule is the reason no one forced Scootaloo back to the orphanage, and why she could keep it a secret from most everypony that she even was an orphan.
Twilight Sparkle, however, was an exception. The ever curious mare, found out that Scootaloo was an orphan after looking through the Ponyoaks files. A part of her Princess duties was to know everything about everyone, and she had learned faster than anyone expected.
Yet the Princess was vexed on what to do about her being an orphan, so she called the filly in to see what she had to say.
Turns out that, at that point, Scootaloo was living rather well, having acquired a job with Fluttershy, helping her feed the animals, and lived in the Crusader Clubhouse, free of rent. She demanded that Twilight keep her lips shut on the topic, saying she was fine and didn’t want to worry her friends.
Twilight agreed on one condition. After every school day she’d come to the library to get homework help and a good meal. Scootaloo agreed wholeheartedly.
Walking down the dusty road, Scootaloo separated from the other crusaders to go to Twilight’s castle. a ritual she’d come to love.
On the way she passed Pipsqueak.
“Come back to Ponyoaks, Scoots!” Pip shouted.
Pip, like Scootaloo, was an orphan. He had been transferred from the Trottingham Orphanage for a day to celebrate his first Nightmare night in his birth town. He had such a good time, Panda talked with the head of Trottingham and got them to give young Pip a decision. Stay near his parents grave or start over in a new town.
“Shhh!” Scootaloo hissed, literally dragging him to a bush. “What have I told you about that?”
Pip pushed the hoof away from his mouth. He did this almost everytime he saw the orange filly, although, the brick wall he faced became more daunting after each time he slammed into it.
“You told me to shuddup about it,” Pip said, his cockney accent shuddering through. “But we need you back at the orphanage, Scootaloo. Ebony’s gone mad, Starlight refuses to talk about anything other than your return and Glitterbutt won’t stop bullying the whole lot of us.” He grabbed Scootaloo’s sides and shook her body to the core. “We need you, Scoots!”
Scootaloo waited for her eyes to stop spinning like golf balls. “I told you, Pip. I can’t! I’ve got a life now, friends, school, even a job!” She hugged the colt. “I’m truly sorry, but if I come back, everything I’ve worked for will go to waste.”
“Please!!!” Pip was begging now. It hurt, really hurt, Scootaloo to see the one filly brave enough to face down Nightmare Moon turn into such a pitiful mess. She tried to use her body to shield him from the sight of his peers, partially succeeding. When she did all she could, it looked like she had a tiny pale leg growing out of her gut.
“I’m sorry, Pip,” she stroked his mane, just like how Fluttershy did whenever she got pecked by Elisabeak. “There’s nothing I can do.”
They sat there, ponies going along the dirt road, for what seemed like hours before a familiar voice echoed from behind.
“Hey, Kid.” It was Rainbow!
Scootaloo jumped, Pip, yelped in both confusion and pain, his tear stained face flopping to the ground. “R-Rainbow!”
“Yeah, Twilight sent me to find you. She’s mad.” Rainbow watched, Scootaloo’s face fall, with her ears flattening and mouth wide open.
“Is everything alright, Squirt?” A block of lead seemed to land in her gut. She could feel it press against both her lungs and intestines at the same time.
“Squirt?”
“I’ll go,” Pip said, peeling himself off the ground like a pancake and walking, head slumped, to the orphanage to put away his books.
“Yeah… you do that, Pip.” Scootaloo took a shaky breath, feeling the lead shift uncomfortably. She tried her best to not throw up.
“You sure you’re okay, Scoot’s?” Rainbow landed, draping a blue wing over the filly, she tried to lower her voice to a calming murmur. “Is it, Twilight?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, yeah, she was kinda pissed.”
“Not helping” Scootaloo hissed, feeling her stomach twist.
Back when Twilight found out about Scootaloo being an orphan, she created one more rule other than the after school luncheon. The most important rule. The one, Scootaloo broke.
“Sorry,” Rainbow said, tightening her wing’s grip.
Scootaloo felt the lead block melt a little at the warmth of Rainbow’s underwing, but still shook at the thought of Twilight’s anger. “I-It’s f-fine, Rainbow, but could you rush me to the treehouse?”
“Sure, hop on, Squirt.”
Unfurling her wing, Scootaloo felt a chill run down her back at the sudden lack of warmth. But she obediently jumped onto the back of her idol. She expected wind to tear through her hair the minute she had her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, and paused when she didn’t rocket off.
“What happened?” Rainbow’s voice wasn’t blunt like it normally is or soft like when she talked to her about flying. It was deadpan serious. “Twilight wouldn’t give me any details, but I only see her this flustered whenever Celestia says the word test. What happened?”
Each utterance of the phrase “What happened” felt like a spear thrusting itself into her chest and she choked on tears before being able to reply.
“I-I can’t tell you.” her voice felt flimsier than a tissue paper. She screamed when Rainbow rocketed into the clouds.
Landing on a plush cloud, Rainbow grabbed, Scootaloo and placed her right in front. “I’ll ask one more time. What happened?”
“I-I… can’t tell… you.” Scootaloo paused, trying everything not to burst into tears in front of her idol. “P-Please… just take me to, Twilight’s.”
“Look, I want to help, Squirt, but I can’t do that unless you tell me what’s going on.”
“JUST TAKE ME TO TWILIGHT’S!!” What was left of her will crumbled like a broken cookie. She collapsed onto the cloud, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Rainbow wiped the few tears that clambered dryly down her face before bringing the broken filly into a tight embrace, she even wrapped her in a blue feathery cocoon.
Silently, a few minutes later, Rainbow unfurled her wings and took flight, not letting go of her number one fan.
Ponies watched Rainbow fly Scootaloo to the library, some were fillies in her class, Diamond Tiara for one, while others were adults that either didn’t care or gave a passing glance. Either way Scootaloo would be reminded about her embarrassing flight tomorrow.
Rainbow burst through the library door and softly placed the petrified orange ball of Scootaloo on the ground, almost wanting to use her wing as a shield against the tower of anger that is Twilight.
The library itself hadn’t changed after Tirek blew it up. Most of the books were replaced, the shelves were in the same format it adorned before the change, but two things were inconsistent. One being Spike wearing pillow armor and the other being the red eyed, Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle.
“Thank you, Rainbow. You may go.” Twilight walked towards the filly on the ground. She exercised each step, planning them even before they happened.
Rainbow growled. She actually growled at one of her best friends. Going into a defensive stance, Rainbow prepared to defend Scootaloo with her life.
“If you hurt a single hair on her body, so help—” her words were cut off, Twilight closing her lips with magic before floating her off of the cowering filly.
Rainbow fought, eventually breaking Twilight’s grip on her mouth. “What did she do?”
“That is for Scootaloo and I to discuss, not you. Please leave, Rainbow.”
“No way! Not when you have those Celestia damned red eyes!”
Twilight took a deep, shuddering, breath and brought her uncontrolled magic levels down, changing the color of her eyes back to their usual violet.
“Happy now?”
Rainbow twitched. “Yes.” She sulked away. “I’ll be back in an hour, it you even—”
“GO!”
“FINE!” With a slam of the door, Rainbow left, leaving Scootaloo at the mercy of an angry alicorn.
Twilight walked up to the cowering filly, her eyes softening. She took a couple more deep breaths before crouching next to her. “Do you know why I’m mad with you?” her voice wasn’t soft, but she wasn’t yelling, which was a start.
Scootaloo knew. She nodded, accepting her fate.
The rule Twilight made, other than the daily homework help was whenever a storm came, and Scootaloo would know if there was a storm, to stay the night at the library. Twilight found out about Scootaloo’s fear of storms after finding the little filly huddled in the corner of the crusader’s clubhouse, hugging a thick blanket and failing to get some sleep. Twilight had given Scootaloo a blanket when she came, like promised, with a matching pillow and some magically heated hot chocolate. The mere sight of the unicorn sent Scootaloo into a panic. Scrambling, she rushed to the older mare’s side just as a crackle of thunder rolled over the sky. Twilight took her home under the cover of darkness and made the guest bed.
“I was just,” Twilight began. Her careless anger melted away like an ice cream sitting out in the summer heat and her muscles relaxed simply seeing that Scootaloo was safe. “Worried about you. Maybe a little too much.” She rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling nervously. “It’s just, you’ve never disobeyed either of my rules, and I know how much storms scare you, so I thought—”
“That I was dead?” Scootaloo deadpanned. Seeing Twilight calm down, almost becoming the adorkable mare everyone loved again, helped her stop shaking and calm down herself.
“No, well, yes, but, it’s just you’re as loyal as Rainbow and well—”
“Well I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to scare you out of your fur like that.” Now it was Scootaloo’s turn to feel awkward. “Just, well.” She said no more, instead she opened the magical saddlebags, Twilight gave her and pulled out Barebow.
“Why do you have a bear? I thought you hated cutezy stuff like that?”
“I found it in the clubhouse last night, along with this note.” She shuffled some more, digging a little deeper into the bag.
To Twilight it looked like the bag was about to swallow the filly whole, until she emerged with a sheet of paper. “What’s this?” she said pulling the paper with her magic.
“I found that on top of Barebow.”
“Bearbow?” Twilight hesitated opening the scrap.
“It’s Rainbow, but with bear in it.” Twilight gave her an amused stare. “It’s all I could think of okay!”
Twilight chuckled before returning her attention to the paper. Two words written in familiar hoofwriting stared at her. Love Mom.
Twilight froze.
“You found this with… Bearbow?” her voice cracked and a cold sweat broke out over her brow.
“Yeah!” Scootaloo was bouncing up and down completely oblivious to Twilight’s stature. “Isn’t it great! I have a mom!”
“Really!” she did her best to sound excited for the filly, but could only muster a voice crack.
“Yeah! I can’t believe it. I have a m—” she was cut off by a rumble coming from her stomach.
Twilight chuckled, a real chuckle, before saying: “I take it you didn’t have lunch?”
“Eh… yeah.”
Hearty laughter came from the mare. “Come on, we’ll finish this over some food. What do you want?”
“Oh, a razzledazzle two story daisy sandwich with extra mayo and two eggs please!” Scootaloo jumped up, wiping the last of her tears away, and followed Twilight to the kitchen.
“Two daisy sandwiches with extra mayo and all the fixings coming up!” Twilight stopped before wrapping a tight hoof around Scootaloo’s neck. “Don’t.” She stared deep into her eyes, “Do that.” Her eyes flickered red and her mane threatened to combust. “EVER AGAIN!”
Scootaloo fell onto the floor like a goat, her legs twitching a little.
“Come on, I can’t wait to hear why you stayed in the rain when a warm bed waited for you here.” She moved again not waiting for Scootaloo to move. “SPIKE!”
Rainbow came, just like she promised, and just like Twilight promised, Scootaloo wasn’t harmed, well, maybe a little scarred, but otherwise fine. Having finished both her lunch and homework, as well as going through the guilt trip Twilight meticulously planned, Scootaloo asked to go with her. To train, she said.
Twilight agreed. With a half hearted hug, Scootaloo was whisked off into the clouds by her idol. Now alone, Twilight had a lot to think about. She just couldn’t get that letter out of her mind. She knew what was going on, but, found herself in a political war even Celestia wouldn’t be jealous of. A mother reaching out to the child she left behind swearing on her life to keep it that way.
A child being touched by a real mother’s love for the first time in her life, like being able to sip water for the first time after three days in a desert. But it’s only a matter of time before the relief dies away and she questions where that water came from.
Her actions could either make a mother bond with her child lost right under her nose, or break it.
Twilight had to think, and think she did.
Days soon passed. Rainbow was left blissfully unaware of a certain mother’s actions. It started small, a single cookie, a ripe, juicy apple, but rather surprisingly, grew. A new book, a particular part need to fix a particular scooter; after a week tops the gifts grew again. A new pair of silk pajamas, a brand new blanket, more fluffy and warm than the one Twilight gave, a matching pillow and a lighter blanket for the summer, all with a letter saying: love mommy.
Twilight watched day by day as Scootaloo’s excitement slowly died like a candle flickering in the wind. By the time she got to the blanket, she began seeing the signs of anger and sorrow in her little face. She asked questions like “Where is she?” or “Why can’t she just show herself?” It affected her school work and time spent with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, never leaving her mind. She couldn’t even enjoy her favorite job. Working with Fluttershy.
Every chicken reminded her of her mother, what could she look like? How does she smell? Would she recognize her? Would she even like her?
Questions spun around like wonderbolts, flying in circles in her head, firing laser beams at her fragile brain, humming a tune that struck a bell that didn’t ring. They tormented her day and night.
Until she snapped.
Three weeks after Scootaloo found Bearbow, she entered into the clubhouse. It had been a particularly hard day. Twilight yelled at her for not remembering basic multiplication when she’d taught her last night. She grated her mind with problems, watching her solve them while nit picking her method.
Work didn’t help either, Fluttershy’s daily afternoon nap went uninterrupted for two hours. She woke up when Scootaloo arrived.
Fluttershy, despite her timid nature, became a bit of a bully, questioning the amount of food Scootaloo gave each chicken, pointing out flaws in a technique she hadn’t mastered, yet, Scootaloo couldn’t fight back. She knew Fluttershy didn’t mean of her harassment, probably apologizing profusely the next day, only that she was stressed out of her mind from missing her friends mid evening snack. No, Scootaloo didn’t fight back, she kept it in, and it built.
“AHHHHHHH!” Scootaloo screamed, trying to vent her frustration, but she couldn’t even do that. Mid scream she covered her mouth and peered outside, terror welding itself in her eyes.
A rustle of trees in the wind, nothing more.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she sunk down onto the wooden floor. No one could know about her sleeping here, well, no one other than Twilight. If they ever find out she’s an orphan, they’ll smother her. Some might force her back to the PonyOaks orphanage she did everything in her power to stay away from. Others would try to take her in, hoping the action would make him or her look good in the eyes of the other towns ponies, while others, like the Apples and Rarity, would mean it.
A bead of sweat raced down her forehead. She unhinged one of the loose floorboards to grab a glass jar, given to her as a birthday present by Sweetie Belle two years ago, and pulled out the fourteen bits Fluttershy gave her, three more than normal for dealing with her panic.
Plink after plink, Scootaloo added her new funds to the jar half filled. There was a piece of paper taped on the jar with the words emergency funds. Ten plinks later she put the jar back and took out another one with the words food money on it.
The plinking helped calm her mind a little, but after she wrote the numbers down on another piece of paper that sat inches from the jars in the underboards, she looked up.
In front of her, in a twill basket, was a bushel of golden delicious apples, her favorite, with another note at the base.
Love Mommy
Her left eye twitched. Then her face contorted into a grimace of pain and frustration. “That’s it!” she shouted, not caring if anyone heard her, and slammed her hoof against the floorboard. She got up and stomped over to the bushel. Apple after apple went flying out the window, each hitting a different tree with the accuracy of a 9mm pistol.
“If you loved me,” Scootaloo shouted, throwing yet another apple at yet another tree. “Then, you’d find me!” She threw the basket itself out the window. “No more gifts, Mother, if you want my affection come get it! Just stop giving me meaningless gifts thinking l'd love you for them. I-I” her voice hitched as tears welled in her eyes. “I-I just want to ‘hic’ hug you.”
Scootaloo broke down, curling up into a ball, she hugged Bearbow tightly, letting her tears soak his fur.
An hour later, she cried herself to sleep. At the same time, a certain butter yellow pegasus did the same thing.
On the same night, Twilight was becoming increasingly worried. Tonight was another stormy night and she feared Scootaloo wouldn't show.
“Come on, Twilight, Scootaloo won’t forget this time.” she looked down at her hooves as if they were covered in blood. “Maybe she won’t because I scared her away?” It felt like knives were being dug into her chest, each rib pulsing with the beat of her heart, she looked outside just as the first plinks of rain attacked the window.
No sign of the little filly.
Twilight panicked, thought back to something Scootaloo said during her grilling session. “If you were so afraid, why didn’t you come find me?” Her voice sounded almost hurt like Twilight didn’t care. It sent shivers down her spine.
Suddenly she thought of Fluttershy and the secret she Pinkie promised to keep, just like with Scootaloo. Now that Scootaloo’s mother was beginning to reach out to her, Twilight wandered just how long she could keep these secrets. She had to act.
Twilight got up, flinched at the thunder, and headed towards her closet. Picking a rather large yellow rain coat, Rarity made, she donned the garment and headed to the door.
“Spike!” she shouted. A loud thump echoed from above followed by a groan. “I’m heading over to Dash’s, might not be back until late. You okay with being alone?”
“I got the darn owl, go have fun, Twi, see you tomorrow!” Spike called back.
Yeah, fun. she thought. “Okay Spike.” she opened the door before abruptly adding. “Don’t eat the gems. They're Rarity’s!”
“Wouldn’t dream it!” Twilight could hear the sarcasm in his voice, but had no choice. She closed the door behind herself and took flight.
Rainbow’s house was made entirely of clouds, and with clouds being so cheap to manufacture, the only drawback being earth and unicorn ponies couldn’t come up, the house was huge.
Even Twilight had to admit that when it came to cloud sculpting, something she had yet to touch with her new powers, Rainbow was a champ. Making a three story, wait, four story cloud home with two, no, four cloud towers sporting three cloud archers each. About twenty four windows in all, all coming with an optional cloud cannon. Twilight thought for a second as she neared just how many Rainbow had manned? If a cloud war broke out, and if clouds actually begun to hurt ponies, Rainbow’s house would be the place to seek shelter.
I should talk to Rarity first! She’s better at keeping secrets. Her mind spun. I can’t! She’s asleep! She shook as a war broke out in her head. So is Dash, do you even know what time it is? Landing on the soft ground, Twilight took off the rain coat. Late enough to worry about Scootaloo. She shook any left over water from her fur, shuttering at a cold gust of wind. That and Scootaloo trusts Rainbow more. If I’m found out she’d want Rainbow coming instead of Rarity.
It only rains below the clouds, up here it's like having the perfect sky to observe the stars, something Twilight often did with her friends. Sometimes she’d bring a few of her telescopes and invite Luna herself! She had to put a cloud walking spell on the telescopes, but that was easy at this point. Twilight walked by a certain spot outside Rainbow’s cloud fortress, reminiscing about the idea of bringing Scootaloo up to gaze at the stars. She probably won’t be all that interested, but just getting to spend some time with the filly would make it all worth while.
Twilight knocked on the wooden door, the one part of the house that wasn’t made out of clouds, and flinched at the sound.
She’s asleep! Twilight thought, waiting for any reaction. I shouldn’t have come.
“Twilight?” a voice came from above. “What are you doing here?”
“O-Open the door, Dash. I need to talk to you.”
“Sure, be there in a flash.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, she watched the door. “Part one, done.”
Mere seconds later the door opened.
Rainbow didn’t wear anything, but from her soaked fur, it looked like she just got out of the shower. “Welcome to my humble abode,” Rainbow said like she was talking to a princess instead of Twilight. “What do I owe this—”
Whack
“Ow, I was just trying to make you laugh princess?”
Twilight whacked her friend again before chuckling a bit, her stress melting a little. “Heh, sorry, Dash, I guess that was a little funny.”
Rainbow only scoffed and rolled her eyes before leading her guest to the kitchen.
“So what do I, er, why are you here?”
The two sat on cloud chairs and leaned on a cloud countertop island.
“It’s about Scootaloo… and.. well, Fluttershy as well.”
Rainbow’s ears pitched down and her gaze narrowed. Twilight had her full attention.
“Go on?”
“Well, have you noticed how much Scootaloo is talking about her mother and those gifts?”
“Oh, where are my manners, would you like something to drink?” Rainbow said, batting her eyes.
It was Twilight’s turn to scoff. “You can stop flirting any time Rainbow.”
“Awww, but I’m so good at it,” she chuckled, “Okay, but really, you want something to drink?”
“Yeah, tea please, no sugar”
“Coming right up.” Rainbow left the kitchen to go to her second kitchen on the third floor where she kept her tea supplies. She didn’t enjoy tea, but kept a stock in case her friends popped by unannounced.
With Rainbow off to fetch some drinks, Twilight had time to think over why she came to Rainbow's in the first place.
She looked out at the black clouds, feeling one of her own welling in her gut. The information she was about to break out into the open could, and most likely would, change her friends, Rainbow of course due to how close she was with Scootaloo, but whether it’s for the better was still unknown. And that’s what bit at Twilight. She was one of calculable facts and numbers, not a chance game, that’s like taking a test where the questions were all open ended. No one right answer, meaning the answers themselves were up in the air, waiting to be plucked like sheets of paper. You will never know if the answer you grab is the right one or the wrong one.
As she stared at those rumbling clouds, Twilight couldn’t help but go over the answers floating up there in the sky. How would Rainbow react is the question.
One answer she could pluck is violently. Hurting Twilight for keeping this information secret when she was more than willing to take the filly in like the little sister she always wanted.
Another, least likely, answer would be Rainbow breaks down from sorrow, and the last one she can think of is Rainbow trying to run off and steal Scootaloo from the clubhouse to bring her to a new home.
That’s not all Twilight realized. She doesn't have one secret, Pinkie PIe secret no less, but two. Two sets of answers to the same question floating above her, the answers are all the same, but the right answer might be different. If there even is a right answer.
Feeling her stomach tie up into a knot, Twilight thought of abandoning ship. Running away from Rainbow to live another day, like putting off getting a tetanus shot. It frightened her how easy that seemed. Maybe Scootaloo actually showed up and was banging on the door right now wanting to get in, maybe she lost hope in Twilight and began the long, cold trek back to the clubhouse. Twilight could rush down, leave her coat and save the filly from another rainy walk.
It’s just that easy.
But Twilight stood firm. She’d been through worse, like running away from a full grown hydra, or facing Tirek in her first actual fight.
“Oh, there was a lot to clean up afterwards.” Twilight said to no one in particular.
“After what?”
Twilight gasped, only to realize Rainbow floated gently in front of her, hoof outstretched with a cup of hot tea.
“A lot of clean up after what?” Rainbow’s tone said she was fully interested, but wanted to get to the point as fast as possible. “Twilight?”
“Oh,” It was like Twilight snapped out of a trance. “After I fought, Tirek, there was a lot of terraforming to be done.”
“Oh,” Rainbow sat on one of the cloud chairs and took a sip on an energy drink. “Now, get to Fluttershy and Scootaloo.”
Twilight saw this coming and took a deep breath, held for a few seconds, released and said “Rip it off like a bandage.”
“What?”
“Scootaloo is an orphan!” she shouted, half expecting Pinkie to come and bash her over the head. Surprisingly, she didn’t, and Twilight waited for Rainbow’s reaction.
She looked at her, eyes ticking. Suddenly her face went into a scowl she slapped her across the cheek.
“Don’t even joke about that, Twilight. My flirting was for laughs, but that’s like hitting a stallion below the belt!”
Twilight pressed a hoof against her burning cheek, the urge to flee came again, but she bit it down along with the tears that threatened to spill.
“I-I’m not joking Rainbow. She’s been living at the crusader clubhouse for a full year now.” Twilight flinched like she was going to be hit again, but when none came she opened her eyes. Rainbow was looking at her, eyes twitching again, hand raised into the air. Still as a rock.
“Please tell me you’re kidding. That this is some prank.”
“I’m not, Rainbow, and I broke a Pinkie Promise to tell you this.”
Rainbow flickered, lowering her hoof. “You… broke a Pinkie Promise to…” she dropped her energy drink, which fell through the floor to land on some unexpecting house. Rainbow’s face seemed to crack, eyes drooping and ears going flat against her head. Her mouth opened wide into an unbelieving ‘o’. Something felt wrong.
Suddenly Rainbow bolted through the walls into the stormy night, but was stopped by Twilight's magic.
“Let me GO! I have to get, Scootaloo!”
“No Rainbow, you can’t,” Twilight said, tugging on Rainbow’s tail before adding “At least not yet.”
Rainbow only added wood to her fire, trying everything to get out of her friends grasp, but unlike last time, she meant to keep her put.
“Why didn’t you tell me this Twi! You know how much I care about Scootaloo!?”
“I Pinkie Promised, remember!” Twilight shouted.
Rainbow’s ears flattened. “Oh”
“Sadly, that’s not the only thing I have to tell you.”
“Oh, what happened to Fluttershy? Did she fall again?”
Twilight took not one, but three deep breaths. one more bandage, Twilight she thought, but couldn’t bring herself to rip it off.
“You know Fluttershy’s hoofwriting, right?”
“Of course, why?”
“Well, remember Scootaloo not having a mother?”
“Yes, you don’t need to rub it in. Come on, get it out I need to grab Scoots.”
“Take a look at this.” Twilight reached into her saddlebags, bringing out a single sheet of paper. “Scootaloo said she found this paper with every gift her mother left.” She handed Rainbow the note and waited for her to connect the dots.
Slowly, she could see the light in Rainbow’s eyes fade. She stopped flapping her wings and landed softly on her cloud chair, and when she looked up she seemed ready to break down and cry.
“Do you mean Fluttershy’s Scootaloo’s” Twilight couldn’t tell if Rainbow’s pause was because she couldn’t say the one word, or if for dramatic effect.
“Mother?” Twilight finished. “Yes, I do.”
Rainbow did something unexpected. Instead of screaming or crying, she got up, slapped Twilight’s tea out of her hoof and promptly fainted. Collapsing with as much flair as the town drama queen herself.
Twilight stared, electric shocks racing through her spine before breaking apart. Instead of fanning the fallen mare, she lept out of the window. Rainbow would be out for at least a minute and she had to check the treehouse.
“Spike!” Twilight called, panting, she couldn’t remember the last time she flew so fast in pouring rain.
“I thought you were at Rainbow’s” Spike called back.
Twilight’s mind fluttered on and off like a lightbulb with a bad filament; she pressed a hoof to her chest, heaving as panic mixed with her exhaustion. Wrapping herself in the blanket she left out, she moved to the kitchen.
“Did Scootaloo show up?”
“No, not that I know of.”
Twilight was both relieved and worried at the same time. She knew Scootaloo was sleeping at the clubhouse, and that she was probably afraid to death of the storm, maybe waiting for her to show up and rescue her, that, or Fluttershy.
“Thanks!” Twilight tightened her grip on the blanket, trying to get as warm as she could before heading back out. Why did I have to pick tonight to break these promises? she thought, looking left and right for the pink menace she knew she had to face at some point.
With a last shiver she threw the soaked blanket to the floor and flew back to Rainbow’s house.
Horror.
When she arrived, all Twilight could think of was horror.
Rainbow wasn’t where she left her. She had moved. No, not moved, Twilight knew exactly what she did. She flew, flew straight
towards the wooden box sitting in the middle of Sweet Apple Acres.
Fear washed over her. Her legs shook until she collapsed. She closed her eyes, images of a heartbroken Scootaloo filled her mind. “Why’d you do it Twilight?” she said, ears flat and tears streaking down her cheeks. “You Pinkie Promised!” She was being held by Rainbow as they flew somewhere.
Breaking a promise is the quickest way to lose a friend… she heard Pinkie’s voice echo throughout the chambers of her very mind. FOREVER! Twilight flinched, both her ears and mind ringing. The ringing sent reverberations of panic and she jumped out into the pouring rain once again.
The black ground was there for a second, but disappeared. She saw an image of Fluttershy.
“I trusted you, Twilight.” she watched as Fluttershy turned her head to the little blue dot in the sky. “Now my daughter will never love me.” She turned and faced her friend. “I had a plan Twilight! A plan to get my daughter back at my own pace, but you ruined it!” her eyes pulsed red and her voice felt like venom being splashed in her eyes with each word she said. “You Ruined My Plan! I hate you! I hate you!”
I hate you… I hate you
Fluttershy jumped into the air and flew after the blue blur, uttering seven words that broke her heart. “I never want to see you again!” It was hard to distinguish the tears from the rain.
“No,” Twilight muttered, unaware that she was falling to the cold hard ground. “Fluttershy, I’m… sorry.”
FOREVER!
Pinkies voice boomed in Twilight’s mind, forcing her to open her eyes. She pulled up, feeling her scream escape her mouth without permission, and was attacked by both rain and wind.
When everything was right side up again, Twilight blinked the tears out of her eyes. She knew what she had to do. She caused this friendship, no, motherhood problem, and it was her responsibility to fix it.
Eyes filled with determination, Twilight’s horn lit. She knew she couldn’t beat Rainbow’s speed, but she could surround her body in a magic suit of sorts, bringing her wind resistance to absolute zero. “I hope I’m not too late. If I am…” she muttered before flapping with all her strength.
FOREVER!
Fluttershy groaned in her sleep. She planned on revealing herself tonight, waiting in the cold rain for the moment her daughter saw the last gift. She was so excited to finally get it over with and have her little girl come to her real home.
She had waited behind the same tree she spied on her daughter for a year now, there she had a great view of the inside of the Crusader’s Clubhouse. She didn’t wait long, Scootaloo just left to clean the chicken feed off her coat and should be coming any second to pick up her books.
There was a sound, rustling. She waited with baited breath for her daughter to open the door and enjoy one of her favorite apples. Then she’d sneak up behind her and give Scootaloo the biggest hug possible and say “Here’s Mommy!” Oh she couldn’t wait to see her emotions run wild.
“Here she comes!” Fluttershy eeped, forcefully shutting her mouth with a hoof as the orange filly hastily trotted up the set of bridges. The sight of Scootaloo sorting her well earned money into her money jars like she did most nights Fluttershy watched.
In truth, Fluttershy didn’t want to be such a meanie mean pants, but after waking up late, seeing how ravished and angry her little friends were, she couldn’t help but get angry as well. Thinking about the whole ordeal, she found everything she did could have been handled better. She could have not pointed out each flaw with how Scootaloo poured the feed, and now that she thought about it reeeeal hard, none of it mattered. The chickens would get their food either way, the sheep’s wool would be collected even if Scootaloo made a mess and she would eventually learn from her mistakes and get it right.
Fear crept into her gut, Scootaloo must hate her right now. As she looked in through the window for what she hoped was the last time, she felt a pit open up. She analyzed her daughter’s moves, the way she slammed each bit into their rightful jars, completely unaware of the treat mere feet from her.
“It’ll all work out,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. “Just wait for the moment she takes that first bite, then you can make everything better.” the pit slowly closed. “Yeah, I can take her home where it’s safe and warm! I-I can finally rescue her from the storm of a life she lives.”
Finally! Scootaloo noticed the apples. She walked carefully, like she was in a mine field.
“That’s it!” She was shouting, not yells of joy, but of anger.
Suddenly a yellow apple smacked against the tree Fluttershy hid behind. “If you loved me!” More of the apples Fluttershy hoofpicked went flying out of the window, impacting each tree with the precision of a 9mm pistol. “Then you’d find me!” The basket she helped Rarity make went crashing against another tree, snapping into a hundred pieces on impact. “No more gifts Mother!” she heard pain in her daughter’s voice. “If you want my affection, come get it!” Pain and loneliness, a chink in Scootaloo’s well maintained armor formed. “Just stop giving me meaningless gifts thinking I’d l-love you f-for them.” The chink grew into a rift, and from this distance, Fluttershy could see tears well up in her daughter’s eyes. “I-I just want to ‘hic’ hug you”
Fluttershy watched, heartbroken as her daughter broke down, slowly sliding from view.
“It’s all my fault.” Fluttershy said as tears fell from her own eyes. She could hear her daughter crying like a helpless child as the rain picked up. She wanted nothing more than to rush in and comfort her, but would she be accepted? Could she finish her plan? Or would Scootaloo reject a mother that thought material possessions like blankets and pajamas could replace personal affection. She wouldn’t.
Fluttershy glided down from the tree, remarking at the squished apples that painted each, her heart fluttered like it was going into cardiac arrest, each arrhythmia coming with a gulp of air. Landing felt wrong like she would trigger some wire and release the hound known as Scootaloo on her.
“I’m so sorry.” her words were muted by a crackle of thunder. She felt even worse when Scootaloo screamed in fear, and worse still when she knew comforting wasn’t an option. Scootaloo would never accept comfort from a mother that left her at an orphanage for six and a half years.
“But.” her voice was no more than a whisper as she stood in front of the clubhouse door, ants crawling up her fur. She could comfort her not as her mother, but a worried friend.
A ray of hope seemed to shine down on her. But was quickly snuffed out.
Knowing how defensive Scootaloo got with ponies knowing she’s an orphan, alone with nowhere to go, and coming in right when she needed her the most would be… more than a little suspicious. She’d probably run away.
Fluttershy turned, barely keeping herself together as more thunder rolled across the sky, and Scootaloo shouted again. She flew off towards home, her plan failed and she was returning alone and leaving a scared filly in the midst of her own worst nightmare. The only hope was that Twilight would come. She’d probably do a better job at comforting Scootaloo than Fluttershy anyway.
Rain poured outside the clubhouse and a leaky roof sent drips of water falling. A single line of water drops hit Scootaloo directly on the head. About an hour after she fell asleep, she woke with a groan.
“Ah,” she yawned, stretching her back until it cracked.
Drip
“Huh?” she looked up only to get a drop of water straight between the eyes. “When did Twilight’s tree start leaking?” she giggled a bit, but screamed when a loud roar of thunder rolled over her. “Wait, this isn’t Twilight’s!” A gust of wind raced by, making her cringe, “What happened? Did I fall asleep?” Rolling thunder, something she’d never heard inside Twilight’s tree. “Crud! I did fall asleep! But how? I never fell asleep on a stormy night before.” A lump of coal fell into her gut. The memory of how angry Twilight got when she didn’t show during a stormy night. “She’s going to kill me!” Her heart raced, pounding her chest like it wanted to break out. She scrambled to gather her things, a backpack, a small pouch of bits, her books, and… looking at BearBow she thought of quickly cramming him into her bag and running, but something stopped her.
She saw a white sheet of paper, something all too familiar. The coal in her stomach started to burn a righteous flame; the mere sight of the paper reminded her just what happened before she fell asleep.
Snatching it from the floor, Scootaloo threw the paper with the two words that felt like a warm puff of air against her back, and threw it into the pouring rain. She looked at the blanket, soft and warm, shelter from the evil storm and stuffed that outside too. Then went the other blanket, and pajamas. She didn’t stop until every gift had found its way out of the clubhouse and into the cold rain.
“Why?” her voice hitched and tears fell once again “Do you even LOVE me, Mother?” Another roll of thunder pounded her ear drums. A gust of wind attacked her. “I-I,” she started, “I want my mom.” She broke, curling up into the fetal position, hoof in mouth, not caring if anyone sees her. No one’s coming.
But not two minutes later, a shout of “Scootaloo!” rang from just outside.
Scootaloo hicked, curling tighter to keep warm. She knew that voice. Rainbow Dash, the one pony she didn’t want to see. “I know everything Scoots.”
Thumping came from outside, she’s coming! Scootaloo thought. “What does she know?”
“I can hear you Scoots, I’m coming in.” There wasn’t even a knock, Rainbow just burst in and swiped her off the floor.
At about the same time, Fluttershy woke from her tear induced sleep. Everything was as it should be, dozens of bird houses sculpting the walls, numerous holes in the flooring where little mice slept with their families. The occasional bird squawked and there was a smell of what could be called animal love, everything’s there, but one thing was unaccounted for. Something orange.
“Scootaloo,” Memories of what happened at the treehouse, hoofpicked apples being slammed against tree trunks, tears, endless tears, and the feeling of failure when she couldn’t comfort her only daughter during a storm.
“Why not?”
Two words that never came to her mind. Why not? Why should it matter if her daughter thought she cared more about giving material things instead of affection. Who cares as long as she had her daughter’s intentions at heart?
“Yeah, I did!” Little animals surrounded her, affectionate smiles on their little faces.
“Scootaloo is my daughter, not Twilight’s, not Rainbow Dash’s either. Who cares if my daughter doesn’t want to see me, she’ll grow to love me, no, she already loves me!” Fluttershy sat up, a welling of courage and knowledge in her chest. “I haven’t planned for two years to leave my daughter out in the rain again!” The critters squeaked and squawked in cheer. “Yeah! I’m going to finally protect my daughter from life!”
The animals squeaked while Fluttershy got ready. They loved her, and felt required to send her off with cheer. A few mice grabbed her poncho while others grabbed an umbrella.
“It ends tonight my friends, tonight, there will be another pony to care for, and I hope to get your support.” The animals squeaked in response. “Then I’m off! Be back in twenty minutes!”
Scootaloo had her eyes clamped shut ever since Rainbow barged into the clubhouse. It felt like she’d been flying for hours, the endless rain being the only thing to keep her company in Rainbow’s silent grasp.
What does she know? She thought, cringing at the thought of Rainbow knowing about her being an orphan. No, that’s not it, Twilight would never tell, but what if she did? A warm pulse moved through her body, coupled with a thought as cool as ice, a single word that changed everything.
Why?
Why? Why did she not want Rainbow to know about being an orphan? No, why should she care? To show you’re as strong as Rainbow Dash? The one who’s taking out out of the cold and into a warm home? She cares about you.
Why do you care if Rainbow knows you’re an orphan? Scootaloo felt herself melting. You don’t want their pity? Is that it?
At the moment that felt like the weakest answer ever, not only that, but a pointless one.
Pointless, now theres another word.
Scootaloo pressed close against Rainbow as she flew, fear had taken hold of her along with the cold.
She didn’t notice Rainbow’s smile.
Is my life a pointless attempt to seem strong in an area no filly should be? Am I just wasting my life away trying to be something i’m not? Will I die a early death being in a storm without Mom’s blanket to protect me?
Finally she opened her eyes, only to shut them again at the hight. She clung against Rainbow, a weak whimper escaping her, the feeling of Rainbow’s warm hoof stroking her back calmed her, and she willingly fell into her idol’s embrace. .
“You can open your eyes, Squirt.” A familiar voice rung out.
Scootaloo opened her eyes and kept them open this time. She felt the softness of a cloud, something she only felt twice before, but this was different. As she contemplated cloud types, she was thrusted into a tight hug before she could say “Wha!”
“Why would you do that to yourself, Squirt?” Rainbow was stroking her mane again, and tiny drops of water fell on her head, but it couldn’t come from Rainbow? She’s the strongest pony she knew. “Why didn’t you tell me, Squirt? I-I would have given you…” But that was all she could say before, for the first time, broke into tears in front of her.
Scootaloo didn’t say anything. What could she say? Her idol was hugging her while crying! It wasn’t something you could respond to.
After a minute or two, she pulled herself from the hug, only to close the distance again realising she was soaked and cold.
“I know what you’ve been doing, Squirt.” Rainbow sat next to her on the strange clouds and tore some off to make a blanket. “I know you’re an orphan, Scoots.” She wrapped the blanket around them, pulling Scootaloo closer. Immediately the warmth died and her heart turned to stone. “Y-You know? How?”
“That doesn’t matter, I want to know just why you thought it was a good idea to keep something like that a secret? I would have been more than willing to build you a room here. You’d stay warm, a-and I could have fed you too!” She seemed to shake more with each word “We could have been sisters, like you always wanted!”
Scootaloo closed her eyes so tight she thought they’d rip off. “I- I didn’t want you to think I was weak.” Suddenly she heard a loud slap, pain flared in her left cheek.
“Don’t you ever say you’re weak AGAIN!” Turning back, Scootaloo could clearly see the strings of tears going down Rainbow’s eyes. It broke her heart more than being slapped. “You’re one of the ‘hic’ strongest fillies I know. Never giving up on your dreams to fly with me, even with every failure, you never gave up, never.”
“Rainbow?”
“No, don’t talk.” She put a hoof to Scoot’s face, silencing her. “I saw how much you wanted to join me in the sky, Scoots, really I did, and… well, I felt bad— not pity — and I wanted to help.” Scootaloo looked away from her idle, knowing all the free lessons had got, and the pained look on Rainbow’s face after each failure. “Now I learn you’re an orphan! Living in a cold clubhouse for celestia knows how long.”
“Two years,” Scootaloo muffled through the hoof.
“Don’t talk! I need to get this out.” Rainbow took a deep breath, shuttering a bit before continuing. “I could have helped, I wanted to help, but you left me in the dark. Why?”
There was that one word again. Why? Scootaloo looked around, avoiding eye contact. Why didn’t she tell Rainbow? Did she not trust her own idol? Was it because she was ashamed? Did she think she’d be thrown back into the orphanage without her say? That all of her work would be destroyed? Did she want to be alone in this cold world, away from the generous fires given off by Rainbow and her friends?
“I—” she hicced.
Any of Rainbow’s friends would have been willing to give her a home, she just had to chose, but, why didn’t she?
“I-I don’t”
Any of them would have dropped everything to end her suffering, yet she didn’t let them. Why?
“I don’t know!” she shouted, her tears falling as she buried her head in Rainbow’s warm chest. “Nothing makes sense an-anymore!”
“Shhh, It’s all right now,” Rainbow comforted the confused filly, wrapping her wings around her shaking form as she stroked her mane. “None of that matters now because you’re staying with me until I can convince your mother to take you in.”
A sharp snap seemed to echo in Scootaloo’s mind, like the a twig under foot, or a breaking bone. Mother? The one that abandoned her from the start? The one who sat idly by as she suffered? Not taking her in? That mother? The mother that thought it was better to give the daughter she knew had no home, gifts instead of taking care of her like she should? That mother?
Her tears dried as anger punched a hole in her heart like a plume of lava. “You know who my ungrateful mother is?” Scootaloo forcefully broke the hug, gritting her teeth when the warmth died, and jumped off the cloud bed. “Why should I live with that creton? She abandoned me, Rainbow. I don’t want to see her ugly face! EVER!” She ran out the door, leaving a very flustered and confused Rainbow in her wake. “I’d rather die than live with her!” But when she tried to leave the house she hit something soft.
“Where do you think you’re going, Missy?” It was Twilight, Scootaloo knew, and she didn’t sound happy. When she looked up, two violet eyes stared her down like spotlights. A cold shiver went through her spine.
“I don’t need my mother! She doesn’t even love me!” She tried to push past the alicorn, but failed miserably.
“Calm down, Scootaloo. You know that’s not true.”
“But it is! Why would any mother leave their child in the cold when she could have easily taken her in?” Unsuccessful in getting out through the front door, she tried going up stairs, but couldn’t with Rainbow in the way.
“Sit down, Squirt, we need to talk about your mother.”
Scootaloo sat between two ponies that really cared for her. On her left, the princess of friendship herself, and on her right, Rainbow Dash. Neither seemed hostile towards her, but something said that wouldn’t last long.
“Scootaloo—” Twilight said
“No! I don’t want to talk about my mother! If she doesn’t want me than that’s that.”
A hoof wrapped itself around her right side. “What if I told you that you’re wrong?”
“Oh sure, and my mother, the one that left me an orphan mind you, wants me back seven years later. Sure, Twilight, she probably forgot about me!”
“You’re wrong Scoots,” Rainbow said wrapping her own hoof around the filly. “You’re mother loves you, she was just worried about you not accepting her.”
“What the heck does that mean?”
“It means that she’s afraid of letting you down. Like you said, it’s been seven years, that’s a long time for a filly to grow… uh”
“Resentful” Twilight added
“Yeah, what she said. Think about it from your mother’s perspective. Living with the guilt of leaving her only child out in a cold world, cold and alone.”
“I don’t care, Rainbow, she abandoned me! And you know what? I can live without her! I have everything I need without my stupid mother.” Rainbow looked ready to stop her there, but couldn’t. “I have a role model in Rainbow, moral support with Twilight, Applejack and Rarity, friends in Sweetie Bell and Applebloom, I even a job with Fluttershy! What more do I need?”
“A home,” Twilight said
“I have the clubhouse.”
“A real home.”
“What I have is doing fine.”
“What about having someone to model after,” Rainbow said, unsure about her words. “You know, values and stuff?”
“I have you, Rainbow.”
“Right.” Rainbow looked away, a hoof scratching at her neck.
“Look, Scootaloo!” Twilight almost yelled. “Your mother is the kindest pony I know, and she wants you back!”
“If she does then why did she leave me in the orphanage? Why didn’t she celebrate my birthday? Huh? Answer that, Twilight?”
Twilight stuttered, she didn’t know why Fluttershy hadn’t done anything until now. Nothing’s stopped her from helping her friends? Not even that one dragon, and Scootaloo is more than a friend, she’s her baby! Something that needs protection all the time.
“I-I can’t.” Logic failed her for the second time that day. Nothing made sense.
“Ha! I don’t need a mother when I got you guys! Now if you’ll excuse me.” She hopped off the couch, froze as the cold wind tore at her damp coat, and headed to the door. “I’ll head back to my place.”
Even after beating Twilight at her own game, Scootaloo still felt that one word plage her mind. Why. She gained nothing from winning and didn’t feel better about herself. Why would she even attack Twilight like that? Wasn’t she the one who kept her safe from storms? She took time out of her busy day to help her with homework AND gave her food everyday.
Guilt dripped down her brow, sending a knife down the back of her neck. She stopped in her tracks, values she learned from the ones who raised her, conflicted.
“Disrespectful rat.” Rainbow’s voice boomed inside her head like cannons. “If you live by our values then you wouldn’t talk back to your elders like that.” It was like being bitten by a poisonous snake, Scootaloo could feel the venom in Rainbow’s voice course through her veins, eat her alive. “Apologize before I throw you off this cloud!”
“Rainbow!” Twilight could see the burning anger in her friend’s eyes. “There’s no need to get violent. You’re the adult remember?”
“I don’t care! If someone says they live by my morals then they never talk back! You don’t see me yelling at Granny Smith! If she says to clear the skies for her trees, I’d do it in ten seconds flat! No complaints.”
Twilight stood there, gazing into Rainbow’s burning eyes, they pierced her will like blades. “You’re right, Rainbow, say—”
“I’m sorry!” Scootaloo screamed, breaking down into tears. “I’m sorry for back talking you, Miss Twilight. You’ve done a lot for me and I shouldn’t have disrespected you like that. Please forgive me!”
Rainbow’s eyes softened. “Good, now come back to the couch.” Scootaloo didn’t hesitate to comply, sitting down in between the two right away. She whimpered when Rainbow placed a hoof on her back, that lump of coal settling in her stomach again. She almost screamed when Rainbow pulled her into another tight hug. “It’s great that you look up to me, Squirt, really, but I’m not around all the time.”
Twilight suddenly caught on to Rainbow’s words. “That’s where your mother comes in,” she added. “She can fill in those gaps when you’re alone, be there when Rainbow or I can’t.”
Scootaloo looked crushed, her body visibly flattening against Rainbow’s chest. She turned hid herself like the child she was, afraid of the truth. Rainbow stroked her mane, watching as she broke apart for one final time. Her cries seemed to fill the cloud home, barely muffled when Twilight added herself into the hug.
“Can I go to sleep?” Scootaloo asked after a few minutes, her voice thick with tears.
“Sure, Squirt, do you want me to tuck you in?”
“‘hic’ Y-Yes, Please.”
Twilight silently watched the exchange, marveling at the side of these two she never saw. It almost felt out of character for them. She kind of liked it.
After Scootaloo was safely tucked in Rainbow’s spare bed and given a gentle kiss to the forehead, Twilight and Rainbow sat on the couch, the storm still raging below.
“You know, I saw Fluttershy just before coming here?” Twilight said, nervously twiddling her hooves.
“What’d she say?”
“Well, she was at the clubhouse, going to… take, Scootaloo home.”
“Awesome!” Rainbow pumped her hooves into the air. “Scoots can sleep here tonight and the two can reunite tomorrow!”
“There’s more.” Twilight turned her head, exposing a rather large bruise on her cheek. “She knows I broke the Pinkie Promise.”
“Celestia! let me get you some ice for that!” Rainbow dashed off to her second kitchen, coming back before Twilight could say no. “How did I miss that?” She watched as Twilight presses the cold ice bag against her cheek.
“You were probably so emotional about Scootaloo that you missed it.” Twilight could see the worry in her friends eyes. “I kind of forgot myself.”
“So wait, Fluttershy hit you! That’s hard to believe.”
“Well, I did break a Pinkie Promise with her, she kind of had the right.”
“I’ll have to talk to her about it, tomorrow.” She put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and stared directly into her eyes. “Thanks.” She pulled her into a tight hug.
“There’s no need, Rainbow. I know how much you care about Scootaloo.” Twilight returned the hug.
“Don’t tell anyone I cried, Twilight. I’ll make you cry if you do. Mark my word.”
“I won’t tell a soul.”
They sat there in each other’s embrace for a while, listening to the wind. Neither wanted to ruin the moment. Rainbow almost fell asleep when Twilight pushed herself away.
“I’ll go home, Spike’s probably worried by now.” She moved to leave, but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder, one that pulled her into another hug. “Rainbow?”
“S-Sorry.” Rainbow let go, her cheeks reddening. “It felt right.”
Twilight smiled softly, “Well thank you, but I have to go.”
Rainbow watched from her couch as Twilight took her leave.
The morning after the storm came a little too quickly, Twilight actually caught herself shaking in her boots. She saw how PInkie reacted to Applejack breaking one Pinkie Promise… she broke two. “It’ll be alright Twilight,” she told herself, not believing a single word. “Applejack’s fine, so will you.” She clutched the pillow she brought from her treehouse tightly, its warm scent somewhat calming her, before falling back into a deep, comfortable sleep once more.
On the newly added couch, Scootaloo stirred after feeling the sun poke her eye. She groaned, feeling unusually comfortable. The soft cloud was nothing like the hard wood she was used to, and she curled tighter, shifting away from the warm sun to keep this comfort as along as possible.
In another part of town, Rainbow talked to Fluttershy . Telling her everything that happened last night, the stealing of Scootaloo, her rejection of her mother, even her tears. She was surprised when the normally timid Fluttershy hit her. It didn’t sting, but felt unusual.
“I’m going to bring the two here in about an hour,” Rainbow said, lifting off. “That way Scootaloo can get some sleep, and Twilight sweat it out a bit more.”
“Okay,” Fluttershy went airborne as well, “Could you… um… get Rarity and the others as well?” She hugged Dash, tightly. “I don’t think I can do it alone.”
“Of course Shy, I’ll make sure they're there.”
“Thanks.”
Rarity dropped her dress when she heard the news.
Applejack fell to the floor when she heard it, then gave Rainbow an ear full about not knowing that one of her best friends was a mother!
Pinkie Pie stood at the door, as if waiting for Rainbow’s arrival, holding a splintered wooden baseball bat. She smacked her hoof with it a few times. Rainbow immediately felt a nail drive its way down her back at the sight. Silently, she vowed to protect Twilight at all costs, but thought it useless against the strange and unpredictable powers of the Pinkie Pie.
They all came running, all but Pinkie, who flew on a contraption a lot like the helicopter Daisy made, to Fluttershy’s side, prepared to support her the best they could.
Scootaloo had almost delved deep enough into the dream world, just a few more minutes was all it would have taken, when Rainbow burst into the room screaming at the top of her lungs. Scootaloo screamed right along side her, but her’s was out of fear and shock while Rainbow’s quickly turned into laughter.
“Best Alarm clock ever, a Squirt?”
“I hate you right now.” She pulled some of the cloud flooring and stuffed her ears, but stopped, frozen, her eyes the size of dinner plates. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!”
Rainbow looked down, like the sight of Scootaloo suddenly disgusted her, but quickly turned that frown upside down. “I know, I’d hate me too if I woke myself up like that.” Rainbow scooped Scootaloo up in her arms and broke out of her house.
The wind in her sleepy eyes did wonders at waking Scootaloo up, but tortured her mind for a few minutes. The wet clouds stinging her eyes didn’t help either, but the sun felt great on her back, and not in her eyes, and the wind became very soothing.
“That doesn’t even make any sense, Rainbow.” Scootaloo shifted onto her mentor’s back, front legs wrapped tightly around her neck.
The two flew around the cloud home for a minute or two.
“So we going out for breakfast?”
“Oh, no, you’re having breakfast with your mother. I’m just taking you home.” She veered southward towards the clubhouse.
“What!” Scootaloo tensed. The thought of finally seeing her mother made her nervous and excited, but she didn’t know which emotion to lean towards.
“Don’t worry, Scoots, you already know her.” she laughed like it was common knowledge.
The words Scootaloo said last night pounced her mind. “I-I know my mother already?” her voice shook
I don’t want to see her ever! I don’t even need her! WHERE was SHE when I cried in my first night outside the orphanage!
“I know my mother?”
“Yeah, but I won’t spoil it. You’ll just have to find out for yourself,” She tussled Scootaloo’s mane, almost enjoying her forelegs tightening around her neck. I wish I was your mother Scoots. The thought came out of nowhere. A deep burning rose her cheeks; she couldn’t even look at Scootaloo for a few moments. “I guess I’ll just have to live with being your sister.”
“What!” Scootaloo’s voice hitched an entire octave. “I-I mean… What?”
“Yeah! It’s not official, but I think I’ll be your sister from now on, just how you wanted!”
“Really!”
“Of course, Squirt, especially after learning just how tough you are. Living alone at your age must have been rough.”
“Y-Yeah.” She could barely utter more than one word. It was too much. She instead tightened her grip on Rainbow’s neck and pressed her face against her idols. Fireworks went off when she returned the hug with just as much vigor.
“Now hold on tight. You’re going to meet your mom in style, riding the one and only Rainbow Dash airlines, where every trick leave the nerves frayed and every landing AWESOME!”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Twilight?” Rarity said, sipping the tea Applejack gave her. She set the mood pretty well, dancing around like a filly with bladder problems. Everyone else, including Pinkie, seemed to have wires attached to their heads giving electric shocks. It’s like they’re dancing!
“No, she knows what she did. If she wants to be here, she'd better hurry up!” Fluttershy was the one exception, she stood absolutely still, like a mailbox, emotion drained from her face as she tried to keep her cool. Who could blame her? In two minutes, she would be introducing herself to her daughter. The one she abandoned for seven long years. Those years had been tough, a trial of the ages to be more accurate, but the yellow mare came out on top in the end, and now, now it all ended in two minutes
Four ponies, one still lightly tapping a splintered bat, stood by the Crusader Clubhouse, Celestia’s sun gently rising above them while, in the horizon, screaming could be heard.
Everyone watched as Rainbow came in for a rough landing, skidding on the dirt ground with enough force to dig up a small tree. Scootaloo went flying into the air as Rainbow tumbled to the ground, both landing in a jumbled mess..
“That was… less than awesome.” Rainbow muttered, a hoof lazily waving in the air like a white flag.
“Are you kidding me!” Scootaloo jumped on top of the fallen mare. “That was the awesomest of awesome landings! I can’t believe you got that last three foot loop in TWO INCHES off the ground!“ Her eyes gazed the clubhouse. The location where her adventure, so to say, began, then went to the four mares standing around the entrance. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie, is it one of them? Her eyes hardened with fear at the sight of Pinkie with a baseball bat.
Fluttershy noticed this and glared daggers at the pink mare, who quickly backed off. The bat wasn’t meant for any of them.
“S-So who is it?” Scootaloo’s voice trembled with anticipation. Would she accept her after the mean things she said?
“Straight to the point, eh,” Applejack said, taking a confident step forward.
Scootaloo tracked the orange mare, maybe it was her? No, she wouldn’t leave her for seven years, too dependable, but she did share her coat color.
“Darling, I swear it’s not me. I’m a sister, not a mother, but I do assure you, your mother is here.” Scootaloo’s eyes turned towards Rarity, but quickly moved elsewhere. Fluttershy stepped forward, instantly receiving Scootaloo’s attention. She stepped again, lost her confidence and stepped back. “It’s alright, Darling, we’re here for you,” Rarity rested a supportive hoof on Fluttershy’s back, Applejack added hers and Rainbow was still shaking off that landing.
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped.
“Fluttershy? A-Are you my.. my”
Fluttershy stared at her daughter, tears brewing in her eyes, but with the support of her best friends, she quietly said: “Yes.” Her entire body seemed to lose all its tension with that one word. “Yes, I am… your mother.”
Scootaloo stepped off Rainbow, her gaze never breaking from Fluttershy’s. Each step she took felt like a mile, but it felt right, like it was fated. Everything blurred, the ground, her thoughts, even her other senses seemed slow and unresponsive, but one word glowed through the darkness. The same word that plagued her mind for the duration of last night. The word that seemed to glow was… “Why?” Her pace increased “Why did you leave me? Why did I grow up in an orphanage when you were so close by?” Each questions brought her closer to tears. “Why did you let me live it this clubhouse?”
“You were livin in that there clubhouse!” Applejack said. “Shucks, I woulda come up every night and dragged ya back to the barn if ah knew that.”
“Shut up!” Applejack backed down, words failing her for the first time in a while. “Why, Fluttershy? Why?” Fluttershy took a few steps towards her, tears of her own falling down her cheeks.
SMACK
“AHH!” Twilight fell to the ground barely a foot from Applejack, who side stepped away.
“That’s what you deserve, Sparkle!” Pinkie shouted from above. She threw the bat, hitting Twilight in the gut, the mare screamed again, blood running down her nose.
Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around her filly just when Pinkie struck.
Twilight struggled to her hooves, tiny splinters dug into her fur, some bone deep, and there was a bright shiner on her right eye. She flinched like the bat was coming for round two, ducked and weaved a little by falling to the ground again before limping towards Fluttershy. Each step looked like a thousand needles were being jammed into her legs; she fell twice, one time not moving for a full minute, before reaching her friend’s side.
SMACK
Twilight fell to the ground, the bat making contact with the left side of her face. This time she heard cracks inside her head, like a twig breaking in her mouth, the sound of her jaw breaking. Red started to curtain her left eye, a blood vessel bursting, and from her scream alone, everyone knew the pain was excruciating. On the ground, bleeding from three different areas, with a broken jaw and probably fractured skull, through her tinted eye, Twilight could see the terrifying pink mare wind up for another home run.
“That’s enough, Pinkie,” Rainbow said. She came out of nowhere, grabbing the bat mid swing. “I think Twilight’s repaid breaking those Pinkie Promises now.”
Pinkie stared at her, like an animal to a pony kind of stare, and for a moment, rainbow thought she was going to get smacked up a bit, but to her surprise, Pinkie smiled and said, “Okay Dashie, just let me do one last thing.” Pinkie dropped the bat with a soft thunk and lowered so her lips were right next to Twilight’s ear.
Everyone watched Twilight’s eyes bulge out in silent screams, her body contorted in an attempt at standing before falling down. No one helped her, not even when she cried red tears, but to everyone’s surprise, her horn lit.
Soon the blood disappeared, looking like some internal vacuum cleaner turned on. Loud cracks followed by louder screams signaled bones mending. Even the pair of shiners went away, the vacuum cleaner going into overdrive. After a full minute of nonstop screams from Twilight, there was a flash of purple as she zipped in the direction of the library.
“What’d ya say to her, Pinkie?” Applejack said releasing her hug with the apple tree. She almost did a backflip at the sight of one of her friends being hit in the face, and ended up face first in one of the nearby apple trees.
“Nope, can’t tell you.” Pinkie zipped her hoof along the edge of her mouth, a metal zipper appeared on her lips.
“Alrighty,” Applejack looked up at the fading purple line, wondering how she even got away with breaking one Pinkie Promise.
“Is it over?” Fluttershy asked, eyes shut tight with her arms practically choking Scootaloo.
“I… guess so… Darling?” Rarity looked at the small pool of Twilight’s blood, doing everything in her power to not throw up her lunch. “Just don’t look to your left.” Fluttershy looked to her left. Rainbow blocked the pool of blood until Applejack could cover it up with dirt.
“Okay, um, Scootaloo, it’s safe to come out now.” There was a muffled scream, Fluttershy just realizing that her daughter’s face had been shoved against her chest. She let go and Scootaloo gasped for air, but was otherwise unharmed. “Sorry”
“It ‘pant’ is ‘pant’ okay, Flu… er, Mom.” She visibly shook at that last word like it was a violent cough tearing through her system.
“You can call me Fluttershy, if you’d like.”
“No, I’ve never had a mother, and it won’t be official unless I call you Mom.” She looked down for a bit, ears falling to her side. “Maybe I’ll just call you Mom at… h-home.” Again, she shuttered, leaning close for support. “That… That word’s not normal for me either, since I well, never had a real home.” she didn’t even flinch when Fluttershy pressed a hoof to the back of her head. “A real home.”
The sound of Scootaloo quietly crying into her mother’s coat was the only thing anyone heard for a good two minutes before Fluttershy broke apart herself. The two of them wept for each other until the other four friends surrounded the mother and child in a big group hug.
She found me.
She finally took me in.
I love you, Mom.