• Published 27th Jun 2012
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Living in Equestria - Blazewing



A young man finds himself in a world beyond his wildest imagination...

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Scootaloo's New Home

“No!”

“I’m afraid so.”

“That’s horrible! Poor thing…”

I’d made good on my assurance to inform Sparkler of what was going on once we were at Derpy’s house. It was a rather cozy little cottage close to the town border, with a small wood to its back, far more pleasant than the Everfree Forest. Derpy hadn’t arrived yet, and neither had Pinkie and Rainbow with Scootaloo, so I took the time to tell Sparkler all. I just hoped Scootaloo wouldn’t feel betrayed about it, due to our oath of secrecy last night, but this was far too important to keep in the dark, if my plan was to work.

I was seated in a plush-cushioned wicker chair, Sparkler seated on a sofa of the same material. Dinky was cuddled up beside her.

“It breaks my heart to hear of this kind of thing, Sparkler,” I said, “even more so if it’s someone I know.”

“So, you really think she’d let Mom adopt her?”

“Your mother’s perfect for her. She’s a pegasus, so she can learn to fly, and she’s one of the nicest ponies I’ve met thus far. She even knows Rainbow Dash, the kid’s idol, on a personal level, and she’d be having one of her school friends as a sister.”

I glanced at Dinky, who looked up upon being referenced to.

“The positives just continually outweigh the negatives, Sparkler,” I went on.

I could see that Sparkler looked doubtful.

“Now, I know it might be a little tough, raising another kid. I can’t speak from a personal level, as I’m not even old enough to raise kids myself, but I just have this…this gut feeling that this is how it was meant to be. I can’t explain it, but it’s there. It just all fits. It’s too perfect to ignore. Please, Sparkler. She’s suffered so much.”

“Exactly,” said Sparkler, “and what if it doesn’t work out? It’ll be more salt to her wounds.”

“I know, I know. I don’t want to let her down, but I can’t ignore the feeling that I’m right on this one. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll think of something, but…”

“Dave,” said Sparkler, gently.

She came over and put a hoof onto my hand.

“Why are you taking so much trouble for her, when you know you don’t have to?”

I had my answer ready once again.

“Because I'm a Crusader.”

As proof, I once more pulled out the small blue neckerchief from my pocket, showing it to her. Sparkler just gazed at it, then to me, straight into my eyes.

“Who are you, really?” she asked.

I couldn’t help laughing quietly.

“I’m just a plain, ordinary guy who’s had one heck of a week.”

Sparkler continued to gaze at me for a while, as though trying to read my mind, then she nodded.

"All right," she said. "If you think Mom's the right pony to raise Scootaloo, I'm going to trust your judgment. I'll do everything I can to help her."

"Thank you, Sparkler," I said, relieved.

Just then, the door opened, and in walked Derpy, her mailbag slung over her shoulder.

“Dinky, I’m home!” she called, not even looking over at where we were sitting.

She set her bag aside and looked up. Her misaligned eyes finally caught sight of us, and she seemed surprised to see me there, though not displeased.

“Oh!” she said. “Hello, Dave! I didn’t know you’d dropped by.”

“Hey, Derpy.”

Then her eyes fell on Sparkler, and they widened instantly.

“Sparkler!”

“Hi, Mom,” said Sparkler, warmly.

Without the aid of her wings, Derpy sprang across the room and threw her forelegs around her daughter, nuzzling her lovingly.

“Oh, my little Sparkly! I had no idea you were coming home!”

“I wanted it to be a surprise, Mom,” said Sparkler, coloring from the exuberant display, and perhaps from being called ‘Sparkly’ in the presence of a visitor.

“I’m so glad you’re home again,” said Derpy, kissing Sparkler on the cheek.

“Aw, Mom. I’m glad to see you too,” said Sparkler, gently.

This display of motherly love was all I needed to reaffirm my convictions that Derpy was the right mother for my little friend, having seen it for myself now. I dared not interfere, and waited until they’d finished.

“Now, Dave, what brings you by?” Derpy asked.

“Is there somewhere we could speak in private, like your bedroom? There’s something I need to tell you, something of confidential importance.”

“Sure,” said Derpy, who seemed slightly taken aback at the serious nature of the words ‘confidential importance’. “Follow me.”

As she led the way, I glanced back at Sparkler, who flashed me a ‘good luck’ smile.

I found Derpy’s bedroom to be cozily furnished, with several photographs lining the walls. One was of Derpy with a younger, filly Sparkler, and another showed her holding a newborn Dinky in her hooves. Yet another showed mother and daughters together, Dinky on Sparkler’s back. There were two things I noticed right away about these pictures. One, I couldn't see any photos that had anypony that might be a husband or father. Second, it was impossible to tell how old Derpy was in any of these. She looked practically the same in each.

“Something wrong?” she asked, innocently.

“Huh? Oh! No, not at all. I was just admiring your photos. You and the girls make quite a family.”

“Yeah. My little muffins,” she said, tenderly. “I’d never get through a day without them. The best part of my day is coming home to their smiling faces. But, silly me!” she added, with a laugh. “Listen to me, babbling on. There was something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yes.”

I sat at the edge of the bed, and she joined me.

“First of all,” I said, seriously, “I need you to promise me that you won’t leak a word of what I’m about to tell you to anyone.”

Derpy looked puzzled, for good reason.

“Of course, if that’s what you want,” she said. “You have my word.”

“Good.”

As briefly as I could, I narrated Scootaloo’s history, and our misadventure in the Everfree Forest. Derpy’s golden eyes widened as I pressed on, and her expression became sadder and sadder.

“So that’s where we stand,” I concluded.

“Oh, that’s awful,” she said, softly. “I’d heard about your little escapade, but I thought it had just been a rumor. I couldn’t imagine you just wandering into the Everfree Forest like that.”

“Well, like I said, it was no stroke of chance that led me there.”

“I had no idea Scootaloo had no home. All the times I’d seen her when she was doing her paper route, she seemed so…happy, so normal. Why didn’t she say anything?”

“She was afraid of being sent to an orphanage, of taking the risk of nopony adopting her.”

“That’s nonsense!” said Derpy, sternly. “Scootaloo is a sweet, goodhearted little filly! I mean, sure, she’s a little reckless, and a bit of a tomboy, but so is Rainbow Dash. If could count all the similarities between those two…" she added, fondly. "I see so much of her in her. It reminds me of when she was her age. I’ve just always considered her part of the mailroom, part of the family.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve wanted to hear you say, Derpy,” I said, gratified.

“What do you mean?” asked Derpy.

I took her by both hooves, gripping them with warm firmness.

“Derpy Hooves, would you be willing to take Scootaloo in as your daughter-by-adoption?”

Derpy’s eyes widened once again, but again, as they always seemed to be when the issue required serious attention, they were correctly aligned.

“Me?” she asked, in a soft, stunned voice. “Why not Rainbow Dash? Scootaloo’s nuts about her.”

“I asked her myself,” I said. “She said that while she has an attachment towards Scoot, she’s unsure if she can take on the responsibility. Now, I understand that three kids might be much, but I just have this unexplainable feeling that this is how it was meant to be.”

“It could be tough,” Derpy assented, but added, “It’s not just me having a third child. It’s bringing Scootaloo into a new environment. From what you’ve said, she’s had a deadbeat father almost all her life, and she's been on her own the rest of it. Am I really the right pony to re-introduce her to parental love?”

“Derpy, how can you even ask that?” I said, passionately. “You’ve raised two healthy, happy girls, one of whom is practically an adult. You go above and beyond to make those around you happy, in your own way, by bringing the mail. You’re like Pinkie, if she were a pegasus.”

Come to think of it, how had I not drawn that parallel before?

Derpy remained silent for a little while, so I plucked up courage to say,

“I know it’s not an easy decision. Heck, I’m not even in a position to claim I know how it feels. I’ve only seen how it must feel. I’m just going by the gut feeling I feel when I see you and her in my mind’s eye. I don’t think Scootaloo’s ever gonna find a mother more capable, or even as capable, as you, Derpy.”

She still remained silent. I crossed my fingers, my hands still sitting on the bed.

(Please, Heavenly Father, if you can still hear me even across worlds, don’t leave this poor filly to be abandoned, to have a fresh disappointment added to her life. Show me that I was right in my decision…)

At last, Derpy looked up at me, and there seemed to be the beginning of tears in her eyes. She said, with a smile,

“If you think it’s right…I don’t want to be wrong.”

My heart leaped.

“You mean, you’ll do it?”

“Yes. If Scootaloo wants to be part of our family, I’ll do it. I could never abandon that poor little filly in good conscience. She deserves a mother’s love, and by Celestia, if you think I’m the kind of mother she needs, I'll be that mother for her.”

She said yes.

She said yes!

This was wonderful!

All that was needed now was Scootaloo’s approval!

At that moment, there was a knock at the front door. Derpy and I looked up.

“That must be her,” I said. “I asked Pinkie and Rainbow to bring her around.”

I stood up, and the motherly pegasus led me back into the living room. Sparkler had just answered the door, and there, sure enough, were Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, with Scootaloo between them.

“Hi, Scootaloo!” chirped Dinky, leaping down from the couch to bestow a big hug on her little companion.

Scootaloo smiled and patted her back.

“Hey, Dinky,” she said, before gazing up at me as I approached. “Dave, what’s going on?”

I looked up at Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. They nodded, and I knelt down in front of Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo,” I said, “ever since you told me about what happened, I’ve been giving your situation a lot of thought. I want you to have a home where you can be happy. I’ve been running it over in my head, and I think I have the answer.”

Scootaloo kept her eyes on me, a kind of curious puzzlement on her face.

“Scootaloo, I think Derpy would make the perfect mother for you.”

I paused to let the words sink in. Scootaloo blinked up at me, mouth agape. She tried to find words, but nothing articulate came forth. She was quite literally too stunned to speak.

Her eyes then fell on Derpy. The pegasus mare smiled with all the warmth and kindness that could only come from the face of a mother.

“You’ve always felt like a part of the family to me, Scootaloo,” she said, “from our work with the mail to your friendship with Dinky. I would be honored to call you my daughter in earnest.”

Scootaloo stared at her for a long time. It was only then that I realized that her purple eyes were full of tears, her lip quivering. She was fighting hard to keep her eyes dry, but it was a losing battle. Smiling with gentle understanding, Derpy opened her forelegs out to her.

Without any delay, Scootaloo, the tears rolling faster, launched herself forward, throwing her hooves around her as Derpy enclosed hers around Scootaloo. The two remained in each other’s forelegs for a long time, neither daring to break away from the other. Derpy leaned down to kiss her forehead, while Scootaloo just lay nestled against her chest. Sparkler, her face alight with tender joy, joined in the hug, followed by Dinky, who seemed utterly overjoyed at her friend becoming her sister.

I was, at first, surprised to find that the world had gone misty, and it wasn’t until I put my hand to my face that I realized that I’d been crying as well, and that my cheeks were saturated. How could I not, though? It had worked. I’d saved Scootaloo from future misery. For once, something I’d planned had succeeded…

I looked at my two companions. Pinkie was honking into a handkerchief, not shy about her emotions, while Rainbow looked as if she were trying to suppress the happy tears in her own eyes at seeing her little tagalong of a fan happy once more.

“Rainbow?” I asked, making her look up, “I hate to feel like I’m being a burden to you, but I’ve got a couple more tasks to ask of you.”

“Anything, dude,” said Rainbow. “Fire away.”

“I want you to head to Twilight’s. Ask her for help on getting and filling out an adoption form. If she can, have her come here to help Derpy with it.”

“Got it,” said the sporty pegasus, who was about ready to take off, when I held up my hand to stop her.

“And one more thing. Ask Twilight if ‘tomorrow at 2’ is acceptable.”

Rainbow and Pinkie looked at each other, puzzled.

“Don’t worry,” I went on. “She’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“Leave it to me,” said Rainbow.

She went over to the Hooves family to say goodbye to them. She received not one, but three big hugs: one from Scootaloo, one from Derpy, and one from Dinky. It made me smile to see Rainbow being treated as an old family friend, as I didn’t doubt she was. After telling Derpy that she would be getting Twilight’s aid in making the adoption official, she took off. That left Pinkie and myself with the Hooves’. I had barely approached them when Scootaloo threw herself at me, throwing her little hooves around my neck.

“Aw, Scoot, you’re gonna start me crying again,” I said, trying to joke, while holding her close. “I’ll visit as often as you like, my little friend.”

Her only response was adding a little more strength to her hug. As I set her down, Derpy was the next to embrace me.

“You’ve done so much for me in such a short time,” she said, “and now you’ve given me the chance to save a poor filly from a life of loneliness.”

“Such a short time?” I asked. “It feels like an eternity.”

This produced a laugh from all around.

“You’ll always be welcome in our house, Dave,” she continued. “Never forget that.”

“I won’t, Derpy. Depend upon it.”

Lastly, I received an energetic glomp from Dinky and a much gentler hug from Sparkler, who said nothing, but the smiles on their faces were all that was necessary.

“Ready, Pinkie?” I asked, when all had been done with.

“Ready,” said Pinkie, who was still misty-eyed from what had happened.

Bidding a final farewell to the Hooves, and their new family member, Pinkie and I took our leave, my mind and heart ablaze with joy, relief, and accomplishment.

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