The second task.
Spike had sent the letter in a flash of green fire and smiled to Scootaloo. The filly looked back with a real puzzled expression.
“I'm able to send letters very quickly to everypony I know.
I don't know, if I knew your Mummy, but I can try to send a letter to her.”
Before the filly could respond, Twilight cleared her throat and the little ones turned over to her.
“I think, we should try that later, Spike.
You have to clean up the whole library today and we two, we have something else to do.”
She lifted the cooled down bucket with a glow of her horn and Spike sighed. The elder unicorn glanced over to the filly and circled around her one time. Scootaloo turned her head, tried to turn herself, but Twilight shook her head quickly and she stopped. The mare pondered for a while, stepped beside the little pegasus and smiled hesitantly. She drew lines on the ground with one hoof, but she finally thumped once on it very energetic.
“We should start with the second task, don't you think?”
Scootaloo looked at her very confused and answered quietly.
“The second task? I thought you were just needing help in the library.”
Twilight shook her head with a smile and levitated a huge checklist out of the depths of the library. The eyes of the filly went wider and wider, first like bottom plates, then even like soup plates and she goggled with a wide open mouth to the list. A quill spun around slowly in the light of the magic of Twilight and the filly took it finally in her mouth with a deep sigh.
Scootaloo didn't know exactly, how many tasks she had started with Twilight, or how many ponies she had met in the process. It was just too many. Many coat and mane colours mixed up with names and cutie marks were turning in her head and were mixing up into very strange combinations. She recognised Mr. and Ms. Cake, Pinkie Pie and Rarity of course. Every one of them remembered her and were acting more or less friendly. A few new friends, like Carrot Yellow, she thought that was her name, were friendly too. But many other ponies were rather reserved, or they were even ignoring her and focusing her whole attention to Twilight. Then there were the strange ponies. The mailmare with the strange eyes were put in charge of cleaning up and smiled very reluctant.
“Th...th...thanks Twilight. When I clean up, I can't broke anything...”
She looked at Scootaloo and her smile widened. Twilight nodded, turned over and breathed out very relieved. The filly ticked up the box on the checklist beside Derpys name, smiled too and turned halfway over. But she stopped and didn't move, as Twilight walked away. Her voice sounded very thin out of her mouth.
“Could you please deliver a letter to my Mummy today, Derpy?
She is very sick and I would like to write her,
so she is feeling better soon.”
The mailmare nodded, bent over and raised a hoof. She ruffled Scootaloos mane and tried to focus her both eyes on her. But like usual, one of them was wandering over the sky instead.
“I w...w...will drop over to you this afternoon.
It w...w...will be delivered tonight. I promise.”
She sounded very encouraging and the filly nodded eased. Derpy smiled very friendly, flapped her wings and lifted off. Twilight had taken a few steps meanwhile and hadn't noticed the missing filly until she stand on the next doorstep. She looked back and cried out for her. Scootaloo hurried up and galloped beside the mare. The last two strange ponies, a unicorn with headphones and purple sunglasses and her pale grey friend, were appearing to be friendly. But just one of them spoke and the other one listened to loud music instead. So Scootaloo had to assume by means of small expressions from the unicorn and well speak out words with a really lofty accent from the grey earthpony, if they were friendly.
“We will do our contribution, too, Twilight.
I will compose a sonata for Princess Celestia, if you want to.
I already have imagine the very best title for it.”
Twilight waited for a pause in the elaborated speech of the mare and opened her mouth. But the mare turned to a cello and didn't react to Twilight attempts to speak up.
She reached out for the instrument and asked.
“How are you feeling about the Sundance Sonata?
Do you think it is adequate for Princess Celestia?”
The mare stopped finally and Twilight shook her head.
“It would be way to much. You should compose only the welcome song for her, Octavia.
I think a whole sonata overdoes it.
Eventually you could play one or two lines.”
The mare looked at her very concerned, but she addressed Scootaloo instead.
“What do you think, isn't a sonata much better for a princes, then two lines of music?”
Scootaloo looked at her very confused, but before she could answer, Twilight interrupted her with her own opinion.
“Alright, alright, Octavia. I will change the arrangements, so you can play the sonata instead.”
Scootaloo looked down and drew circles on the ground with one hoof, but the mare didn't lifted her head. She stayed focus on her.
“So, my little one, what do you say?”
Twilight turned over to the door with an enervated cry and opened it with her magic. She jogged slowly out of the house and Scootaloo tried to follow her,
but the mares eyes were following her and went smaller.
“I don't know what a sonata is in the first place.”
The filly was finally able to stammer something and turned over. She galloped outside.
“We can change this, very easily my dear.
I will come to the school after the festival and teach all of you, what a sonata is.”
The mare sounded friendlier, as Scootaloo had expected and she turned over a little bit confused. She bumped into Twilight shortly after that. The unicorn stopped and turned over to her. The filly jumped back with a squeak, took the hovering quill and ticked up another box.
“Who else is left, Scootaloo?”
She sounded tired and sighed. Scootaloo looked down to the end of the checklist and saw, that only three ponies stayed blank.
“Uhm, Bonbon, Fluttershy, and Applejack aren't checked up.”
She whispered and Twilight rolled her eye very enervated.
“Well we...oh no.”
The mare looked up to the clock and rushed forwards. She took Scootaloo with her magic at the same time and both were rushing, or better levitating through Ponyville and closer to the dark forest nearby. Twilight stammered a few words, without any pause.
“I'm late...I'm way to late...”
She slowed down finally, but didn't let go Scootaloo out of her magic. She breathed in heavily and tried to calm her breath, as she walked closer to a cottage. A cottage, that Scootaloo had seen for once.
“Twilight, I...”
The mare didn't respond and built herself up. She knocked hesitantly at the door and a whispered voice answered.
“Yes, please?”
The door opened a jar and two blue eyes were peeping through it. First they were staring to Twilight, but were going down quickly to the levitating filly aside her.
“Uh, I'm glad, Twilight.
You've finally arrived. I was in worry, that...”
The mare opened the door and allowed finally a full look of her. The yellow mare looked back at Twilight and flinched one step away from her. Twilight stammered an apology and stepped into the cottage.She took Scootaloo with her and closed the door with another use of her telekinesis.
“I'm really sorry, Fluttershy.
We have forgotten the time, as we assigned the tasks for the visit from Princess Celestia, you know?”
The yellow mare looked to the table, where a tea pot and a plate with cookies stood and wiped over her mane with one hoof. She looked away and whispered.
“N...Never mind.”
Scootaloo looked over the inside of the house, the few green furniture, the few books in the shelves and the carpets on the floor. This didn't look like a pegasuss house. Her last look wandered over a white bunny, who sat on a chair and eyed her up too. He chocked his head, grinned and jumped closer. Fluttershy pointed at the table and mumbled quieter as before.
“I think the tea went cold. I'm really sorry about that.
I'll make some new right now.
Please sit down and feel like home.
If you want too.”
Twilight stared past her friend, as she left the room. These were more word, as she had expected. She had brought a strange pony with her and...Just now she turned over and faced Scootaloo again. The levitating filly spun slowly around and the mare looked shocked at her.
“Uh, I'm sorry.
I will put you down instantly.”
She did it and examined the filly for a long time. Scootaloo pranced on the spot, drew a line on the floor with one hoof and walked slowly to the table. The bunny hobbled closer to her, jumped around her and landed finally on her back. He squeaked something and a fluffy touch tickled over Scootaloos wings. She turned her head and saw that the bunny fondled them gently. The gentle think made more strange noises. He cocked his head, jumped down of her back and hobbled back to Fluttershy, as she returned with a tray in her mouth. She put it very carefully on the table, as the bunny bounced aside her and repeated the last noises he had made.
“Really, oh. Hm, alright.”
Fluttershy answered and smiled back at Scootaloo.Her hooves shivered and her tail waved very nervously, as she started to talk to her.
“I'm glad to see you again, Scootaloo.
Do you want take a seat?”
The filly stepped slowly closer, sat down with her back hooves on the couch, but didn't allow her front hooves to rest. Instead they stayed on the floor. Twilight smiled and sat down aside her. Her own front hooves were laying under her body and the unicorn mare tried to retain a yawn. The following minutes were the quietest, Scootaloo ever had experienced with three ponies. She had picked up a cookie with her mouth and chewed on it very absent minded. Scootaloo had prepared herself for many questions, but the yellow mare didn't ask any one. The mare looked to Twilight instead, but the unicorn focused herself onto her own cup of tea and was casting looks to Scootaloo time and again. Finally she looked back to Fluttershy and smiled encouraging. The mare poured herself a cup of tea in, she spun the full cup in her hooves then and seemed to reconsider how to start. Scootaloo had finished her cookie already and pushed her own cup closer to the pot silently. Twilight smiled to her and opened her mouth. Before she was able to speak one word, Fluttershy had already poured some tea in and hindered in that way any easy introduction for the talk. All three were raising their cups in the same time and drank a sip of tea.
In the following silence, just interrupted from the sound of magic, the bunny squeaked up with some loud noises. As it was a waking call, all three ponies started to talk at the same moment.
“I'm alone...The little one feels lonely... How can I help you?”
All three ponies silenced quickly, as they were hearing the others.
“I'm alone...”
Scootaloo whispered that and her wings trembled. She almost jumped up, but stayed and her fore hooves pranced on the ground.
“The little one feels lonely...”
Twilights voice sounded almost almost as raspy as Rainbow Dash's and and she cut a grimace. Her tail waved around and scared imaginary flies away. She laid a hoof on Scootaloos side also.
“How can I help you...”
This question sounded normal, but how Fluttershy had said it was anything but normal. She held her shoulders close to her body, her tail couldn't stand still and her eyes were firmly focused on the table. Really nothing suggested which pony she aimed with the question, nor did it sound like she wanted any kind of answer. The silence stroke back for a moment and new sips of tea were gliding down three throats. Throats, who stayed dry nevertheless, throats, who's owners didn't know how to start.
“I'm alone...”
A trembling voice sounded burdensome through the room and tears were gathering in Scootaloos eyes.