Chapter 4 - Family History
~~~~~The Apple House, that evening.~~~~~
Scootaloo’s steps up to the door of the Apples’ house were weary and aching, the toll of the last two days’ ridiculousness finally registering with her body. Bluff and bravado would only work for so long, and for the next few days, Scootaloo knew she was going to pay for that bravado in spades. Fortunately, it was the weekend, which meant at least two whole days where even Applejack might understand if she needed an extra hour or two of sack time.
Applebloom was close alongside her, and while they hadn’t spoken much since leaving school, Scootaloo was beginning to think they really didn’t have to. It was just one more thing in a long line of things that connected the two of them as the closest of friends. Scootaloo had never really considered the reasons why Applebloom’s mom and dad weren’t around until today. And as sure as sunrise chased away the night time, Scootaloo’s brain forced her to see things in an entirely new light.
She coulda just as easily ended up like me, came the glum thought. If they hadn’t had Granny Smith around to take up the parental duties, all three of the Apple siblings would have probably been split up or sent to the orphanage themselves. Or worse, Scootaloo thought with a little shudder, her mind conjuring up visions of impossibly bad fates. In some ways, she was a little jealous of her friend… but then, that same friend had extended her good fortune to Scootaloo and brought her into her home, so what right did she have to complain?
The door swung open without any touch, with Granny standing inside with a wan smile. “Rough day n’ the barnyard, eh kiddo?” Her voice was rough with sympathy, and Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin a little. Granny had a truly old fashioned view of the world, but sometimes Scootaloo could seriously relate to it. “Let’s wrap you two ‘round some dinner an’ give ya a looksee, Scoots.”
With that cryptic comment, Scootaloo found herself swept back into the Apple home with the same warmth and acceptance as she had the previous evening. True to her word, Granny Smith produced a beautiful bowl of vegetable soup and a stiff loaf of country bread as soon as Scootaloo was at the table. “Now you tuck inta’ that, youngins,” Granny commanded, before turning a beady but sly look upon Scootaloo. “Ya’ll look like eight miles a’ bad road, but don’t look like nothin’s permanent. I gots’ a nice liniment that’s good fer achin muscles, if’n ya like.”
Scoots stared at her for a moment, trying to parse what she’d said before her brain finally translated for her. “Oh! Uh… Sure, I guess?” Scootaloo’s best guess was Granny had some kind of country cure for aching muscles. Given the family’s farm roots, it was probably effective even if a little weird. Scootaloo didn’t have much experience with medicine, but she’d take just about anything that would make her feel less like an overstretched sock.
Granny cackled and meandered over toward a set of cabinets in the next room, and Scoots just shrugged her shoulders and focused on her food. The soup was divine, chock full of fresh tasting veggies and deliciously chewy barley. The bread was warm and sweet, and all thought of the day’s disasters vanished from her head as she tucked herself into the warm meal. It would probably be a lifetime before she got used to this sort of thing, but Scootaloo was perfectly happy to keep regarding every good meal with a sense of awe and wonder.
It was good to keep things in perspective, after all.
Granny returned a few moments later, and Scoots eyeballed the little earthenware jar she carried with some trepidation. As much as she wanted the aching to go away, she really didn’t want to be smelling like an old mare for a week either. Granny grinned toothily at her before opening up the jar with both hooves, and the powerful smell of pure apples flooded the room and overwhelmed nearly everything else.
Granny cackled, laughing helplessly as Scootaloo felt her face scrunch in momentary confusion. “Hah! Like I’d make somethin’ that smelled like bad cheese. The nerve!” Granny scolded Scoots with a waggled hoof, before dipping said hoof into the salve and cocking an eyebrow at her. “Now where does it ache th’ worst? Don’t wanna overuse this stuff else you’ll fall asleep at the table!”
Scootaloo shook her head and silently directed Granny to the worst affected areas - mostly around her hind legs and back. The rest she could deal with. The stuff felt kinda oily at first, but after Granny worked it in the icky feeling went away pretty fast, replaced by a cold tingling that felt really weird, but sure enough her aches were already receding fast. And I’m gonna smell like I got dunked in a cider barrel for days. “Thanks, Granny,” she muttered, swinging her hind-legs back and forth as she tried to figure out what else to say.
Granny didn’t seem to expect much, though. She just smiled, closed up the jar, and puttered off to some other task. Applebloom was grinning at her over her own bowl, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. “And what’re you lookin’ at?” Scoots snapped at her half in irritation, half in embarrassment.
Applebloom just grinned at her, her voice soft and faintly teasing. “Ya’ll don’t really know how t’ take all this, do ya?” There was a little element of pity there, but… well, it wasn’t any better or worse than any other teasing they’d shared over the last few years. Besides, she was right. Scootaloo sighed and nodded her head glumly, pushing the last few bits of carrot around her bowl for a moment with the spoon before munching them down and licking the bowl clean. Applebloom shook her head and grinned. “You’ll be fine, Scoots. Jes’ go with it.”
Applebloom hopped off her chair and touched Scootaloo’s hoof before trotting upstairs, presumably to her room. Scoots watched her go in silence, wondering why the heck she still couldn’t seem to get her hooves around this thing. “Ain’t easy, is it?” Applejack said in her slow drawl, nearly startling Scoots out of her seat. Fortunately, Scootaloo’s reflexes hadn’t suffered from the day’s events, and a grip on the wooden back of the chair kept her from completely sprawling all over the floor.
Applejack chuckled softly at the sight of her half hanging off the chair and plopped down into the seat Applebloom had just vacated. “If I’d have known it’d cause so much trouble, I wouldn’ta told anypony else yer story, Scoots. An’ fer that, I’m sorry.” She sighed and doffed her hat, laying the thing on the table and regarding it with a soft gaze. “Been so long, I’d plum forgotten what it felt like t’ be there myself.”
Scootaloo swallowed a lump in her throat and slid herself back onto the chair, watching the normally jovial and energetic earth pony become almost… melancholy. “I’d heard they weren’t around anymore but… nopony ever seemed to know what happened,” Scootaloo ventured quietly, wondering if this was a good idea in one moment and becoming convinced that it was in the next. It was hard to think of Applejack as a pony whom she shared something so intimately in common with, but... well, here it was.
Applejack shook her head slowly, her blonde mane shaking back and forth with it. “That’s cuz ain’t nopony but an Apple really knows the story, an’ we don’t generally talk about it ‘less there’s a reason to.” Scootaloo winced away at that, wishing not for the first time that she was better at the whole ‘tact’ thing. Maybe I oughta go ask Rarity for lessons, she thought glumly. But, to be honest, she couldn’t blame Applejack. She wasn’t really comfortable talking about the specifics of what’d happened between her and her mom either.
So she made to push off the chair, only to find her being grabbed back by a firm hoof. “Now don’t ya’ll go runnin’ off, kiddo. Ya’ll got the right t’ know the story yerself now, after what that… little…” Applejack huffed out an angry breath, then shook her head. “Nevermind. Yer an Apple, an’ that means you need to know the family history. Was gonna wait fer ya to settle in before I toldja everythin’ but…” Applejack shrugged and smiled at her faintly. “Heh, life ain’t always fair.”
Scootaloo blinked, then felt a soft laugh bubble up from her throat. “You’re not kiddin, Applejack.” She couldn’t help it, her face splitting into a grin. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. “Hey, lets go find someplace better to sit. If we’re going to tell stories, we might as well have someplace soft to plant our butts.” Scootaloo hopped off her chair and grinned challengingly at Applejack. It wasn’t that hard to imagine her as just a much older Applebloom when it got right down to it.
Applejack paused and grinned broadly, reseating her hat on her head. “I reckon that sounds sensible.”
~~~~~~~
Between the warm mug of apple cider fragrant with spices that provided considerable warmth between Scootaloo’s legs, and the plush softness of the sofa, Scootaloo felt awesome. Or at least as awesome as she could given how parts of her still ached pretty hardcore. Applejack was pulling down a worn looking book, covered in some much patched cloth and a bright red apple shaped patch on the cover. The thing looked really, really old, even to Scootaloo, and Applejack ran her hoof down the cover slowly, the look on her face a little distant.
“Poppa…” Applejack began, her voice hesitating for a moment while she visibly swallowed before continuing. “Poppa always said we don’t get t’ choose how long we got with each other. He always made th’ most of every day he had with me’n Mac, even when he was powerful cross with us.” A small smile crossed her face as she turned toward the couch, cradling the tome tightly against her as she walked over to it. “Ah, but I’m gettin’ ahead of myself… Better t’show ya.”
Applejack hopped up onto the couch and cracked open the book, flipping to a page as though she knew it by heart. Which, Scootaloo figured she probably did. The picture she came to was much faded, but the colors were still bright enough to be recognizable. A blonde maned, red coated mare who could have been the smaller and female version of Big Macintosh cradled a young filly Appleajck in one foreleg that was tugging at her thick braid of mane.
A burly looking stallion stood next to her with a bright green coat similar to Granny Smith’s, but with an odd flare of red up around his ears and a similar straw-blonde mane that was cut frizzily short. He had a huge grin on his face and pipe clamped firmly between his teeth, as a slightly older Big Macintosh hung around his shoulders waving cheerfully at whoever was holding the camera. Granny Smith looked much as she did at present - well, maybe a few less wrinkles - with a big smile of her own as she stood between them.
Applejack half smiled, tilting her head at Scootaloo. “That’s Momma Gala and Poppa Gravenstein when me n’ Mac were jes’ little’uns. I wasn’t more ‘n three at the time they took the shot, an Mac was closer t’ six.” She half chuckled, eyeballing the picture. “Always liked Momma’s mane. I think I chewed on that thing more’n I did anything else when I was little, least till I won my hat.” That thought made Scootaloo giggle quite hard, trying to imagine Applejack munching at somepony’s mane.
Applejack shook her head, turning the page on the album. “We grew up right proper, me ‘n Mac did. Even though I was powerful slow gettin’ my Cutie Mark, I never once thought’a livin’ anywhere but on the farm.” She sighed softly, closing her eyes and leaning back against the couch. “I was maybe yer age, maybe a year older when it happened. Poppa and Momma were taking the cider delivery ta Canterlot, like they did every single year. “
Applejack’s eyes opened, but they were staring into her memories and not at anything in the room. “Poppa didn’t believe in spendin’ money on using th’ train when he was perfectly strong enough to carry it himself. Momma would steer the cart, and they’d treat it like a little vacation. Granny said they liked to just get out on the road and be alone sometimes. Supposedly how Applebloom ended up happenin.” For a moment, Applejack’s face split into a grin and her eyes sparkled with life. “Granny chewed ‘em out fer days after Momma found out she was expectin’, but nopony was more happy than her when she was born. First Apple in two generations ta’ be born with that color of mane. That’s why she was named Applebloom - after her great granny, Apple Blossom.”
Scootaloo stared for a moment, then felt her lips tug into a huge grin. Oh great Celestia, she was going to enjoy needling Applebloom about that story. In a purely friendly way, of course! But It was still gonna be super fun! Applejack was still talking though, so she tried really hard to focus. Still. Mane color. Pffffft. “Ahem.” Applejack coughed, shaking herself out of that memory. “Anyway… Was a pretty wet autumn that year. Somethin’ ‘bout a weather manager havin’ some issues. They headed out same as they did every year, same day, same everything. I was jes’ gettn’ old enough to help load the cart.” Applejack took a deep breath and exhaled it, obviously trying to prepare herself.
Scootaloo felt her heart break a little, and reached out to take Applejack’s hoof. It wasn’t much, she knew it, but… Maybe it would help. Applejack did grip back, and a little life seeped back into her voice as she spoke. “Took a long time t’ get all the details. The route to Canterlot is usually pretty safe, even with the long trip up the mountain. But…” Applejack turned her head away, and her voice went oddly flat. “Somepony screwed up with the weather. There wasn’t s’posed to be any rain that day, but…”
Scootaloo bit her lip a little, her mind suddenly racing in a dozen different directions she wasn’t at all comfortable with. Applejack was all but saying a pegasus had killed her parents! Any other pony in the world would’ve taken that grudge to their grave! Applejack took in a deep, shuddering breath before speaking again, a little more warmth seeping into her voice. “Nopony knows why they were goin’ up the mountain in that deluge, or when they started up or what. But they figgered their cart was parked on the trail leading up an’ somethin ripped out the wheel chocks. Went clear over the edge. Docs said it was instant.”
And that was pretty clearly as far as Applejack wanted to take the story, but… Scootaloo knew there was more, somehow. It was important, too. So she shifted her seat over closer to Applejack and tried to wrap her small foreleg around her adoptive sisters back. Scootaloo really wasn’t one for sap. Really! But - but seeing somepony like that, hurt and scared and angry at the world - it was too much like she’d been not so very long ago. She couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, right?
Applejack gave off a small sniffle and turned to face Scootaloo, bright tears glittering down her cheeks and a faint smile on her face. “Sorry, Scoots. I get like this every year around this time, with Cider season not too far away. Poppa’d be talkin’ ‘bout goin’ to his favorite pub in Canterlot, an’ Momma would be tryin’ to find a foalsitter fer a week or two so Granny didn’t have to do all the work.” She reached up a hoof to rub away the tears, a half choked out laugh coming a moment later. “Ah, ponyfeathers, there I go again. Gettin’ all teary eyed over nothin’…”
Scootaloo snorted faintly, and squeezed her foreleg more firmly around Applejack. “Hey, none of that, big sis. It’s not nothin’, they meant a lot to you. I was barely old enough to even know my mom, and even I -” Scootaloo snapped her lips shut around those words and turned her own head away. Crying wasn’t a thing she did, and she wasn’t about to start now. Remember the good stuff, Scoots. The baked apples, the warm hugs, the little lullabies... It was hard, fighting down those tears, but she did it like a champ. Mom had told her to be tough for her, and she was going to be. Period.
But Applejack wasn’t having that - or at least she wasn’t having Scootaloo shut down on her. A warm foreleg came around Scootaloo’s shoulder and squeezed gently there. “Tell me ‘bout her?” Applejack asked quietly, but not insistently. She wasn’t demanding to be told, or trying to guilt her or…. anything. Just… asking.
For a few long moments, Scootaloo fiddled with nothing at all, rubbing her hooves together and wishing she had a ball or something to squeeze. Having something to futz with had always made thinking easier for her for some reason. Then she had something. A familiar looking hat, dropped gently into her hooves from above. For a few long moments, Scootaloo couldn’t do much but stare at Applejack’s much beloved hat now turning over and over again in her hooves.
Scootaloo wasn’t sure why she wanted to talk. She wasn’t sure of a lot of things now. But somehow, talking seemed like it was important, so she did. “I don’t…” she paused, and tugged at the tiny chain that lay hidden under her coat, extracting the tiny locket and flicking it open with her hooftip. “This is the only picture I’ve got,” Scootlaoo whispered, her eyes darting across the too-familiar tiny bundle of colors, elegantly made by some unknown pony so many years ago.
She was a deep sunset orange in her coat, just like Scootaloo, and her mane was a deep and fiery red that spilled down her shoulders in a tumble of curls. Her eyes were a bright amber, and she had the lean and lithe body of a dancer. “I dunno what her name was… she was always just Mom to me,” Scootaloo began, trying to keep the iron-hard clamp on her emotions as firm as she could. “We were always moving around, never really stayed in one place for very long until I turned six years old and had to start going to school. She got this little apartment in Cloudsdale,, and I was so excited to have a room of my own.” Scootaloo felt a small smile cross her lips, the hat tumbling over and over between her hooves.
Applejack was wisely keeping her mouth shut, since Scoots wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get started again if she stopped now. “She was at work a lot, but I didn’t mind. I made some friends with some of the other fillies in the complex, and she was always happy to spend her time with me when she was at home.” Scootaloo didn’t even notice the hat falling out of her hooves as she spoke, her mind ranging back to a time that seemed so much longer ago than it was. “She… she didn’t have a proper job, really.” Scootaloo hesitated over it, then decided in an instant that she couldn’t not be honest with Applejack.
Not after Applejack had gone through her own little Tartarus for Scootaloo’s sake anyway. “She was a thief, actually. I caught her coming home one night in a sneaky suit and all sorts of other tools.” Scootaloo felt her head dip, wondering why her voice was going flat and why her chest was starting to hurt. “But I didn’t care. She was all I really had in the world, and I loved her more’n anything.”
Scootaloo felt the sharp pain in her chest grow and wondered idly why her breathing was coming heavier. “I told you that… that she got sick, somehow. I still don’t know how, or what she had, or whatever. We couldn’t afford the doctors, and she just sort of got steadily weaker till… till she collapsed in the middle of the market, when we were getting food.” Scootaloo didn’t mention how she’d been stealing that food, or how that she’d been stealing every kind of medicine under the sun to try to help her mom out and nothing had been working. Applejack didn’t need to know about those things, or those emotions. They belonged to Scootaloo and were her shame to bear. The words were getting harder to say, anyway…. “They took her to Cloudsdale General, but they said there was nothing they could do. I got so angry at them, and I yelled and screamed and pounded at legs, but… but… ”
It was then Scootaloo recognized the feeling of tears on her cheeks and the sobbing breaths she was taking. But she wasn’t going to cry if she could help it, and she sucked in deep breaths and squinted the tears away, trying with all of her might to get through the important words that had to be said. “I was with her the whole time. She told me to be a tough, strong filly for her and made me promise not to stop trying to have the best life I could. Made me promise I’d never, ever give up.” Scootaloo felt the tears drying, the sobs slowly ebbing away as she fought them down, finally pushing the last few words out. “I fell asleep next to her, and when I woke up she was gone. You know the rest.” There. It was done.
With the last words out, Scootaloo clamped her hooves around her middle and squeezed as hard as she could, snapping her eyes shut and taking deep and heavy breaths to try to interrupt her body’s own sorrow-fueled convulsions. There. I said it. I don’t gotta say it again. We can all just move on from this sappy stuff and it’ll be fine, it’ll be just fine. I don’t gotta think about it anymore. I don’t. I don’t I don’t I don’t. She repeated the words in her head, over and over again.
The words made it easier, and she could feel some of the tightness in her chest slowly ebb away. With it, awareness of the world around her returned and she could feel the warm fuzz of Applejack’s coat pressed up against her side and the smell of apples and woodsmoke. A thick and surprisingly soft blonde mane was splayed over Scootaloo’s shoulders and she could feel Applejack’s cheek pressed up against the top of her head. “I’m sorry, sugarcube. I should’a known better’n to ask you bout’ that.” Applejack sounded incredibly contrite and almost… sad. “Must’a been powerful hard for you.”
Scoots nodded numbly, but didn’t respond. The emotions had to have been obvious for Applejack, since… “Not so diff’rent than any of us, then,” Applejack said with a quiet sort of smile, and Scootaloo felt a jolt go straight through her body like she had just ran full tilt into a wall. It was like getting hit over the head with a board, so obvious was the revelation. The circumstances might have been different, and the end results even moreso, but there was no difference in the pain they’d shared, or the loss.
Scootaloo exhaled softly and felt a little smile of her own cross her face. “Yeah, I suppose not.” And maybe that was the point to all of this. Maybe she needed to stop focusing on all the differences, all these unfamiliar emotions and old memories, and focus on what they shared. Maybe then, she could finally live up to the promise she’d made to Mom. “Hey, Applejack? Am… Am I in trouble for today?” Scootaloo ventured, knowing the answer, but hoping that the way it would be answered might be different than she imagined.
Once again though, Applejack surprised her. Applejack reached down and snatched her hat from the ground, settling it on her head with a grim smile on her face. “Scootaloo, yer about as far from bein’ in trouble as any Apple could hope fer.” Scootaloo didn’t even try to hide her shock, and Applejack grinned at her. “See, I don’t advocate violence as a solution t’ nothin’, but there’s precisely three things I hold as sacred above all else.”
Applejack hopped off the chair, and before Scootaloo could say a word or even move herself, she found her body hauled onto Applejack’s back. “One, ya don’t mess with somepony’s friends.” Applejack pulled off her hat and dropped it firmly onto Scootaloo’s head, her voice as no-nonsense as she’d ever heard it before. “Two, ya don’t mess with somepony’s heart.” Applejack turned and began trotting into the kitchen with Scootaloo firmly upon her back and trying to hang on. “An three…” Applejack said slowly, turning her head to regard Scootaloo with a fiercely proud look in her shimmering green eye.
“Ya don’t mess with somepony’s family.”
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ALL THE FEELS, MAN. ALL THE FEELS.
3564885 t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSK6B-MTHXiM7OUq7fTnFHwvXjMCFfQv5c3adZfdTZElnsMT6rOk_D-ymneaw
3564885 WHY CAN'T WE HOLD ALL THESE FEELS?!
3564885
3565015
static2.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/It+s+too+early+for+these+feels+_63714b98ff3b96337c58a29ccd1ac95f.gif
What is up with Applebloom's head?
Nice powerful chapter. right there into the feels. Though as Scootaloo stated, I'm surprised AJ isn't more angry at the weather pegasi for screwing up...
3565051
Damnit you beat me to it. Now I need to come up with something else!
FUCKING.TEARS.
I have the warmest of feels right now.
Hmm... just a thought. I've read stories where each of the Mane 6 adopts Scootaloo at some point. I not sure if I've seen one with Rarity adopting Scootaloo though.
Family takes care of family. End of story.
Beautifully done
Bloody good story - have a fave and a follow.
/ 10
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This is excellent.
3565326 I read one once, it was really good too, but I think it was never finished.
That thought made Scootaloo giggle quite hard, trying to imagine Applejack munching at somepony’s mane.
-She's a mane-eater. Watch out colts, she'll chew you up. Woooah here she comes, she's a mane-eater!
....sorry for that. but um yes, deep feels in this chapter. good work.
I got a powerful feeling that the word "powerful" may have been overused.
There is a lot of power in this story too. I saw unlimited power, phenomenal cosmic power, and double sun power.
And feels. Can't forget the feels.
So many feels. This is seriously the most original Scootadopt fics I've ever read, in fact I've never seen anything like this at all. I can't wait for more
I don't understand why some people have to be so emotional in the comments, spamming 'the feels', when in real life, I doubt they'd be that emotional.
Just saying.
Damn, that actually got me to tear up a bit.
I was crying goddamnit. Favorited this! Keep up the good work, man.
In any case, I haven't spotted any errors.
One small inconsistency that leaped out at me:
...except for that time she went off to Manehattan to live with her Aunt and Uncle Orange, that is...? (Although from the looks of it, since we don't see her parents in that flashback either, maybe that happened after her parents died. That would add an extra dimension to it, since it could be said that she wasn't trying to escape from the farm, so much as trying to get away from the painful memories there. Applejack's already been shown to have a bit of a tendency to try to ignore or run away from emotionally-difficult situations, so it would make sense.)
Right in the feels
Dang, you got me to cry...
..and the ponies as well. Liked, and awaiting more.
3568788 Answers forthcoming.
3564885>>3565051>>3565112 There should really be a warning label saying saying WARNING ABNORMALLY HIGH LEVELS OF FEELS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!
Ouch...... Right in the feels....
3567480 you'd be surprised, alot of people can relate to this story and can feel apathy to what scootaloo and the apples are going though
Clap,clap,clap,clap bravo man bravo.
You get five Spikes
Very powerful chapter.
Freakin' powerful chapter.
Th-that was a powerful scene man....
But damn was that not a heart-wrenching conversation between AJ and Scoots!!! Bravo for actually making me teary-eyed from a story dude. I haven't done that in a long time.
3565129
What would that ever accomplish?
Feels! Things are starting to look good for the young filly. To good. My drama-sense is tingling.
I don't usually shed tears but when I do its only for the most powerful feels.
I'm being serious. I usually don't cry When I read a fic but I death of loved ones is my weak point
3567480 you'd be surprised. You don't have to be at an empath to feel this feels if these words.
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Stumbled upon this story after reading your "My Princess Alluring". You amazing son of a gun, you've squeezed my frozen, cold and cynical heart for all it holds, and I'm not even half-way through the story yet!
I've never really said this before but THE FEELS!
This was so heart warming. It makes me all the happier to keep reading
particularly big route
chap 1 root
Gotta go to sleep...can't, gotta. Ok one more
4758702 I'm reading this at three in the morning and this story is working better than the strongest coffee
"SIR, he hit us in the heart! It destroyed the feels!"
"Sweet Celestia."
Holding back tears...
Damn, son. What a chapter.
A couple of things that are missing from this chapter (though I did see your comment re: Applejack leaving to Manehatten). First off is Applejack's comment that she never dreamed of living anywhere but her farm, and that her parents died when AJ was about a year older or so than Scootaloo. Which means AJ in this story definitely got her Cutie Mark quite a bit later than the age the CMC are now, so they shouldn't be quite so anxious. But then one wonders if Applejack had to endure teasing over being a blank flank
Also, Scoots lived in Cloudsdale but somehow ended up in Ponyville's orphanage?
3567480
How can you say something like that? If it happened in the real world, it would be more devastating because it wasn't just a plot of a story, it's something that would've happened to real people. The only reason why we may not feel the same is because we'd likely only hear about it on the news at most. And getting something from the news is like reading the description of a book that's on the back of the book cover as opposed to reading the book yourself.
Just because you take your privileged life for granted just like Diamond Tiara does, it doesn't mean other people do.