Inside of The Ponyville Inn, Violet Snowdrop was sitting inside of her room, sat at one of the two desks set out for guests of the inn to use. She was sifting through her notes from her visit with Rainbow Dash to Scootaloo’s parent’s house, giving them a thorough inspection. She was still haunted by the state of the house and the living conditions the home was left in.

Still, she had remembered Lucky Clover, how her family had acted towards her, how harshly they treated her. Lucky’s home was no different than Scootaloo’s, but it didn’t appear that there had been a massive struggle as with Lucky. Violet could see her now, that charming and playful little girl with the grey coat and emerald green mane with the shamrock-coloured streaks in it, matching her vibrant and youthful eyes.

Violet Snowdrop wasn’t able to forget about it, nor was she appropriately armed with the necessary passive attitude to forgive and overlook what had happened to her. She wasn’t about to allow the same fate to befall Scootaloo.

Knock-knock

A light rapping sounded on Violet’s room door, causing her to jump slightly in her seat, breaking her train of thought.

‘’Who is it?’’ Violet called, and the door creaked open, a head of Rainbow mane poking through the crack. Violet brightened upon seeing the cyan mare again. ‘’Oh, Rainbow Dash! So nice to see you again!’’ Violet said, picking herself out of her seat and heading towards the entrance of her room to greet the other mare.

‘’Is it a bad time?’’ Rainbow Dash asked, not wanting to intrude upon her social worker friend. Violet was all smiles when she opened the door fully to face the mare completely. She waved a dismissive hoof.

‘’Not at all, Rainbow Dash. So, what brings you around? Any news about Scootaloo?’’ She asked, to which Rainbow smiled and nodded, but there was still a tentative essence about what she was agreeing to.

‘’Actually, yeah, I spoke to both Fluttershy and Scootaloo, and Scootaloo says that she’s willing to speak to you about her feelings. On the condition that I stay with her,’’ Rainbow Dash said, and Violet didn’t object to it. In fact, she welcomed the wishes of the filly.

‘’If that’s fine with Scootaloo, then I see no reason to say no,’’ Violet said. Rainbow Dash then stood aside and she revealed the young filly standing by her side, understandably nervous about this meeting. Violet’s lively cerulean eyes brightened once she saw the face of the young girl standing beside her client’s hooves, feeling her heart warm up. ‘’Aw, you’re such a sweetie!’’

Violet leaned down and she levelled with the filly, making eye contact with her, finding her to be adorable. Scootaloo managed a weak smile, but she rubbed her foreleg uncomfortably, not saying anything.

Violet really loves children, Rainbow Dash thought to herself, glancing down at Scootaloo and the social worker getting acquainted. It was a warming sight, but Rainbow’s main concern was how her sister was going to open up, how she was going to respond to whatever questions Violet had for her. Regardless, she was going to be there for her every step of the way.

‘’H-Hi,’’ Scootaloo greeted her tentatively.

‘’Aw, don’t be afraid, Scootaloo. We’re only going to sit down and talk together, and Rainbow Dash’s going to be there, too. Would that be alright?’’ Violet asked comfortingly, quite obviously used to this reaction through years of experience.

‘’I guess so,’’ Scootaloo said, comforted by the presence of Rainbow Dash.

‘’Come on in, you two, we’ll get started shortly,’’ Violet invited the pair into her room and shut the door behind them.

The rooms at The Ponyville Inn were all similar and of about medium size in space, offering enough living space for two or three ponies. In Violet’s case, she only had the double bed, crafted by the smooth, expert hands of an experienced carpenter, the sheets atop the mattress a velvet red in colour. The only decorations in the room were a couple of paintings depicting of rural landscapes and meadows and a mahogany desk that Violet’s travelling notepad and quill were placed upon.

Violet directed Scootaloo over to her bed and Rainbow Dash sat beside her, draping her wing around her small shoulders to let her know that she was here for her. Violet retook her seat at her desk and she pulled out her notepad and quill, resting it on her lap and keeping it at the ready, willing to wait as long as she needed.

‘’It’s alright, sweetie. Take your time and start at the beginning,’’ Violet said soothingly, noticing how uneasy the filly was. Scootaloo glanced up to meet Rainbow Dash’s eyes, seeing that they were calm and warming.

‘’Go ahead, Scoots,’’ She said unpressuringly. At her words, the filly gave a sigh and forced herself to remain composed and relaxed. She turned to face the social worker mare in front of her and she gave a frown.

‘’W-Well, it all started when…’’

‘’Honey, where are you? I have good news to tell you!’’ Hardy Wetwool called cheerily as he entered through the front door of his family home, coming into the main corridor and placing his large briefcase aside.

‘’Hardy, is that you?’’ The voice of his darling wife called, coming in through the archway that sectioned the living room from the kitchen of the house. She wasted no time in running up to her husband and giving him a hug and a kiss on the lips. ‘’How was work, dear?’’

‘’Tiring, as always,’’ Hardy said with a sarcastic chuckle. ‘’Where’s Scooty? I’ve got some great news to tell you both!’’ He said, and his wife gave him an intrigued raise of his brow.

‘’Scootaloo! Come downstairs! Your dad’s home from work!’’ Silver Star called up the stairs, and Scootaloo came buzzing down the stairs moments later, skidding to a halt directly in front of her father’s hooves with a beaming grin.

‘’Dad, you’re back!’’ She said, hugging her small body around one of his legs. Hardy leaned down and he hugged his daughter before he leaned back up to face his wife again.

‘’That’s right, and I have something to tell you, sweetheart. I finally earned that promotion I’ve been working hard for!’’ Hardy said, but he wasn’t finished. ‘’And that means that I’ve managed to earn enough money to buy us this house!’’ Hardy said with an ecstatic grin.

‘’That’s wonderful, dear!’’ Silver Star praised.

‘’That’s so awesome!’’ Scootaloo cheered with a girly squee of joy.

‘’The only problem is that I’ll be working later than usual,’’ Hardy added the catch sadly, knowing the consequences of the promotion he’s been working up to. He had begun his job at the weather factory as a mere desk jokey, then up to a supervisor, then up to an office worker, then a machine floor worker where he assessed risks and hazards, and, after that role, he had landed the top position after years of sucking up to the boss; factory manager.

The weather factory was not an easy (or a safe place) to run, and few ponies realised how much work and effort actually goes into producing weather conditions such as rain, thunder and lightening. Many ponies put their life at risk every day to produce such weather patterns, and a few of them had actually had enough bad luck at times to be sent over to the emergency room with electricity burns and frost bite. With Hardy Wetwool as the manager of the factory, he planned to turn things around for the better and to make the workplace more efficient on production.

‘’Aw, dear, that’s awful,’’ Silver Star pouted sympathetically. ‘’Don’t you worry, dear, it’s what you’ve been working so hard for, right? If it’s what you’ve been striving for all of these years, then maybe you should take it one step at a time and go for it, huh?’’ She encouraged, rubbing his shoulder.

‘’Does this mean that we can’t play ball anymore, Dad?’’ Scootaloo asked sadly, ears plopped back over her skull as she gave him her best puppy eyes, pupils shimmering.

‘’It’ll be alright, Scoots,’’ Hardy said as he leaned down and tussled his daughter’s mane. ‘’We’ll still have plenty of time to play ball after work, so don’t you worry, kid,’’ Hardy reassured her, and she brightened a little, showing a smile.

However, that was far from the case, as Hardy would later find out. This was only the beginning of the troubles that were sure to arise with the added pressure of being the factory manager, and it was going to take its toll on the family. In particular, young Scootaloo was going to be caught in the middle of the worst of it.

A week had passed by after Hardy Wetwool had announced his promotion to his wife and daughter, and, while they were overjoyed at having paid for the house and making it rightfully theirs, Hardy was having a hard time finding time to relieve his stress. At first, his first few days had been fairly ordinary and smooth in the running, but it showed on his strong, sturdy face that the stress was starting to crack through on his features.

Hardy’s face had started to age prematurely, and he was only thirty-two-years-old, wrinkles beginning to creep in on his forehead, his orange fur beginning to lose its colour and play out. It was hardly noticeable to most ponies that only took an absent-minded glance at his face, but, with his wife and daughter, when they got a good look at him every single day when he came home at 11:00 PM, five hours past his previous working hours, they saw it for what it was.

After the week had passed by, his symptoms were worsening at an alarming rate. His wrinkles had become noticeable, his cheeks had become more prominent and thin, his mood had shifted from loving and caring to restless and constantly anxious about keeping organised. Silver Star couldn’t count how many times she had entered their bedroom to find him sifting through his work documents, salary payments and workplace records full of detailed reports on how the weather factory had done in the previous months up to the present.

‘’Have I got this ready for tomorrow? Did I already check this one off? Is everything in order for the meeting tomorrow morning? Is everypony’s health and safety requirements up to date? Do the wages need to be updates, and have I already payed them through?’’ Hardy Wetwool would be doing this almost every single night that he came home, leaving almost immediately to vacate to the bedroom to collapse onto the plush bed, exhausted from constantly zipping back and forth like a pony-shaped yo-yo.

Hardy’s new promotion had left him becoming disconnected from the family. Silver Star was beginning to grow worried about him, seeing that all of this added stress wasn’t doing him any good. Her heart hurt seeing her husband struggle like this in order to keep his family happy and financially stable, and she felt terrible for him.

Scootaloo, on the other hand, was antsy most of the time, wondering where her dad had gotten to. Scootaloo would always be asking her mother, ‘’Do you know when Dad’s coming home?’’ or ‘’Is Dad home yet?’’, but she never was given an answer.

Scootaloo had once entered the bedroom her mother and father shared to see her father spread out on top of the bedsheets, lifeless and drained. His black-coloured business suit was a disheveled mess that desperately required the TLC of a hot iron, and his tie was sagging and loose, as if it could sense his stress.

‘’Daddy? Are you awake?’’ Scootaloo asked upon stepping inside of the room, tentative about waking him up in case he was resting. ‘’Dad?’’ She had stopped when she entered the bedroom a few paces, seeing his rear leg twitch, and he began to stir.

‘’S-Scootaloo?’’ He mumbled, hardly intelligible. ‘’W’dya want?’’ He asked groggily.

‘’I want you to come play with me,’’ Scootaloo asked, the loneliness evident in her voice. Her father audibly groaned and he began to shuffle around on top of the sheets.

‘’T-Tired. Go play with your mother,’’ Hardy grumbled, clearly not in the right mood to tolerate his daughter. He shifted himself around atop the bed so that his back was facing her and so that he had his legs curled into his chest.

‘’But Mum’s busy, Dad. Can’t you just play with me for a little while?’’ She asked, eager to spend time with him. A part of her heart wanted to bond with her father, to remain close like they always had in the past, but she had no choice in getting to spend any time with him at the moment because, whenever he wasn’t working, he was sleeping. And it upset her.

‘’No,’’ He replied glumly, starting to get irritated. ‘’Leave me alone for a while, Scoots.’’

‘’But Dad——‘’

‘’I said, ‘leave me alone’!’’ Her father barked at her, snapping upright in bed to face her with hot, burning, purple-coloured irises. Scootaloo backed up with a start at the hoarse, angry tone in his voice, and she instantly became fearful.

Scootaloo’s eyes welled up and they became warm and tingly, her ears drooping and her lips trembling. She looked like a lost and wounded puppy, so hurt and taken aback by how her father had spoken to her, so out of line and character to how he’s always been with her, that she found herself to be speechless.

Scootaloo sniffled noisily and she rubbed her eyes, wiping away some of her tears, and then she ran out of the room in a hurry. Hardy heard her begin to sob loudly on her way down the stairs, and he heard the front door slam as she left the house to retreat somewhere away from the house.

Finally able to sleep now, Hardy shrugged his shoulders and he gave a breath of relief, thankful that he was once again at peace.

That was only Scootaloo’s first brush with the stress weighing down upon her father’s shoulders, and it was yet to venture into the deep red territory. After a month had passed, neither Scootaloo or Silver Star recognised Hardy Wetwool as the hard working, dedicated husband and father he once was. It was as if he had been replaced by an imposter, completely erased and a monster was injected into the role he was supposed to fill.

Scootaloo was in her bedroom when it happened, the moment when she realised her father had completely become lost and numb to her. It was sometime during the middle of the night, although Scootaloo wasn’t sure of the exact hour due to not owning an alarm clock. Her mother usually woke her up when it was time for school, so she didn’t have a use for one.

Scootaloo was huddled into a small, orange ball beneath her bedsheets, cuddling herself to fend off the cold, all the while shivering and her ears tuned in to the conversation that was taking place through the wall of her room. She didn’t hear most of it, but the parts she did catch wind of made her spine crawl and tingle coldly. She had wrapped her tail around her body and around her cheek, and she balled herself up tighter from fright each time she heard it.

‘’I said ‘no!’’’ She heard her father yell, but she wasn’t sure what he was declining exactly. His voice shook the floorboards and reverberated throughout the entire house.

‘’H-Hardy, s-sweetheart, pl-please listen to—‘’

‘’For the last time, I said no, and that’s final!’’

SMASH!

A titanic crash that was followed by a series metallic clanking sounded, so loud and sudden that it caused Scootaloo to give a startled whimper and she began to hug herself so tightly that her muscles began to ache. A million thoughts ran through her tiny, innocent mind, wondering what could have produced such a massive crash, and she was instantly concerned for her mother’s health and safety, not knowing if the crash had involved her or not.

There was a rattling, as if the hooves of somepony were sifting through a sea of broken glass and a box of drawing pins, the sound of something that was obviously in a million pieces, but Scootaloo didn’t know what it might be. She was too scared and too shaken to lift her head up, and all she wanted was to hug herself to feel safe and secure, and she felt herself begin to rock back and forth whilst she cried to herself.

What’s happening?! What’s happened to my daddy?! Scootaloo asked herself, crying heavily but silently. Dad wouldn’t ever yell at me before, and it’s like he’s a different pony! Why has he been so mean to me and Mum? What’re they doing in there?!

She was only left to ponder on what was happening. None of this made any sense to her naive mind, and she was too young to understand any of the complex situation or what was really going on behind closed doors. Her mother seemed to know more about it, but she never had the nerve to ask her, afraid that her father might waltz in and cause trouble.

Scootaloo missed the loving and caring father that she used to know, the one that’d always be up for a game of catch outside or to take her and her mother out someplace to eat around town, the one that was always there to cheer her up whenever she was feeling blue. She wanted that father back, not whatever he has turned into now. She wanted her normal, loving family back.

Violet Snowdrop had finished writing down the details as Scootaloo spoke about them, and Rainbow Dash noticed that she was pulling soured, disgusted expressions like before. Rainbow had also been pulling faces, and she was in disbelief at what information Scootaloo had divulged to them.

Rainbow Dash had been in her father’s horseshoes before, but she had always found ways of coping with the stress and added pressure that came with the title and responsibility that was expected to come with it. As a recently-made Wonderbolt, the stakes were always high for her, but she always had the inner strength and confidence to tackle them head-on, but in Scootaloo’s father’s case, he sounded like he was buried beneath a mountain of responsibility, and he dealt with it in the wrong way.

She felt Scootaloo’s body tense through the nerves in her wing that was draped around her shoulders, and she felt her shudder. Her eyes were becoming moist, and Rainbow saw that as reason enough to pull her into a hug, of which the little filly showed no resistance to accepting.

‘’Hey, hey, it’ll be alright, Scoots,’’ Rainbow consoled her. ‘’I’m still here,’’ She rubbed her back and she faced Violet Snowdrop. ‘’I think we better stop here today, Violet. We should give Scoots a chance to take a break for a while.’’

‘’That’s quite alright,’’ Violet Snowdrop said understandingly, placing down her quill and notepad for a moment to pick herself up from her seat and make to come in front of the filly. ‘’I completely understand. Opening up is always a huge step in the right direction, but it isn’t without its own emotional stress,’’ She said, addressing Scootaloo. ‘’It’s alright, sweetheart. If you don’t want to tell us anything else, you don’t have to. We can always come back to it whenever you feel comfortable.’’

Violet gave the filly a motherly and tender smile, and Scootaloo smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. The social worker had a natural connection with any filly or colt in the world, and Rainbow supposed that it was her talent, much like Fluttershy has a way with all animals in Equestria. (Well, the one’s that don’t try to eat you, that is.)

Rainbow Dash was amazed at how fluently Violet could intertwine her thoughts and mind with the filly and speak on such a mutual level, able to understand and become one with her. It was all behind those kind eyes of hers; the deep, caring and vibrant blue that promised safety and comfort to those that needed it the most, a sense of calm and peace.

She has such kind eyes, Rainbow Dash thought. She really does look a whole lot like Fluttershy, too, and I can’t get over the similarity! I mean, look at those eyes! And that body, too! Man, she’s rockin’! Oh, wait, did I really just think that? Rainbow sighed mentally. Get a hold of yourself, girl, we’ve talked about this…

‘’Rainbow Dash? Are you feeling alright?’’ The voice of Violet Snowdrop knocked Rainbow out of her trance and she blinked, noticing that the mare was staring at her concernedly and confusedly, and it was then that Dash realised that she had been staring into space.

‘’Huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m f-fine! Really!’’ Rainbow Dash blushed and stammered, coughing into her hoof distractedly. ‘’So, um, I guess we’ll see you next week? If Scootaloo’s feeling well enough to come back?’’

Violet gave her a look for a moment, trying to decipher her body language, to decode their meaning, but she soon recomposed herself and returned to being professional and understanding. She smiled and said,

‘’That’ll be okay with me. You both know where to find me if there’s anything you’d like to discuss,’’ She offered politely, and Rainbow Dash picked up Scootaloo and placed her onto her back once she had picked herself up from the bed.

‘’Alright, c-cool, I, um, guess we’ll be seeing each other soon, then!’’ She coughed into her hoof nervously yet again, fighting in vain to remain collected. ‘’Thanks, Violet!’’ Rainbow finished before she quickly exited the room and closed the door behind her, leaving a flummoxed Violet Snowdrop staring at where she had been, blinking.

Violet smirked to herself once she was alone, knowing fully what had just transpired between her and Rainbow Dash. A blush arose on her pale-coloured cheeks and she giggled to herself.

‘’Hmm, she’s so modest. I know that look, and I know that she does, too.’’ Violet gave a cheeky grin to herself. ‘’I wonder…’’