//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 // Story: Yes, My Lady // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// While Sebastian helped Granny Smith back to the farm, Scootaloo went with Applejack and Big Mac to get Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara...and likely Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon. As they made their way there, Scootaloo noticed Applejack glance towards her several times, open her mouth, only to bite her lower lip and turn away, seeming ashamed of herself. "Just say it already," Scootaloo finally insisted. "It'll drive you nuts if you don't. It's about what I learned, right?" Applejack nodded. "It's just...well..." She shook her head. "Aw, shoot! It's been bad enough keepin' it secret all these years, but it was fer their own good ah thought. And now I'm askin' their friend ta keep secrets from them...it just don' feel right." Scootaloo shrugged. "Filthy Rich left it to you what to tell them," Scootaloo concluded simply. "I'll respect that. I'll leave it to you when, what, and how much to tell them...and if they press me for details, I'll just point them your way. It's your job to handle them now, anyway." Applejack smiled but lowered her head, looking torn between relieved and ashamed. "Thanks, Scoot." Big Mac said nothing, but he glanced curiously at Scootaloo. He plainly suspected there was more to the filly than he'd ever looked for before, and wasn't certain what to think. Fortunately for Scootaloo, the large stallion was unable to voice his inquiries before they reached Diamond Tiara's room, where the fillies were waiting. Much as could be expected, Diamond metaphorically pounced the moment they entered the room. "What's going on?" she demanded insistently. "Why wasn't I there for the reading? What's going to happen to me now? Did Daddy's lawyer have any ideas about why Daddy got hurt? Why wouldn't he-" Applejack gently placed a hoof to Diamond's muzzle, silencing her. "Whoa there, sugarcube," she said softly, her voice full of understanding and affection, her gaze expertly hiding pain to all but Scootaloo...who knew how to wear that mask herself. "It's nothin' too complicated. Yer Pa just knew that if somethin' like this happened while ye were still this young, it'd be painful enough without bein' involved in all the legal nonsense, so he wanted ta spare ya it. Ah can tell ya what came of it." Diamond Tiara sat down, her face plainly showing she wasn't entirely satisfied with this answer but was willing to accept it. "Alright," she responded softly. "So...so what happens now? Daddy seemed to be...trying to keep me away from...from her. And...and I don't want to go back to the way things were before-" "Ya won't have ta," Applejack reassured her quickly. "Filthy asked me ta look after ya until he recovers, or until ya can look after yerself. How's that sound?" Diamond's eyes went wide. "You mean...I'll be leaving the house?" she asked softly. "Not...not staying with...with her?" "Well, at least fer a couple weeks," Applejack told her. "Spoiled's not gonna be around ya at all, with what Filthy's done. He worked hard ta ensure ya were safe from her." She gently stroked Diamond's mane. "And while ah see no reason ya can't come back ta livin' here after a few weeks if that's what ya want, ya shouldn't be alone till then. We'll look after ya on the farm, till yer ready." Scootaloo watched on in silence. All of this could easily be taken as Applejack's naturally compassionate, affectionate nature as she offered comfort to a filly who desperately needed it, a friend of the family. But knowing what she did, Scootaloo could see the truth. For the first time in years, Applejack was able to give comfort and kindness to her daughter, the one who had been torn from her for her sake, now known to have been left in a terrible situation only recently being corrected. And when Diamond Tiara felt the motherly comfort she'd never truly felt in her life and threw herself into Applejack's embrace in response, it was all Scootaloo could do not to weep openly from the pain she knew Applejack had to be feeling. "To do right for others, whatever the cost," she thought to herself, remembering her father's words from so long ago. "That is Duty. Never forget, this is what we owe to those our wings shield." She blinked her eye to keep tears from forming. So this is what Dad meant... Turning, she noticed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had their eyes locked on her while Silver was watching Diamond. "Ya know somethin," Apple Bloom stated firmly. "Ask Applejack," Scootaloo answered flatly. "If it's not something you should hear from her when the time is right...then it's my 'family business'." She hoped the cryptic half answer would get the pair off her back. She hated lying to them, even by omission. As much as she wanted to keep them out of what she had to do, it had still felt so good to finally tell them... "You and Sebastian are investigating what happened to Mr. Rich," Sweetie Belle deduced. "Can we help?" "You can help by keeping an eye on Diamond Tiara," Scootaloo answered quietly. "Mr. Rich seemed to think this might have had something to do with her, and you know how strong willed she is. We'll be able to investigate easier if we don't have to worry about where the rest of you are." The pair of girls nodded, quickly moving to where Applejack and Diamond Tiara still stood. Scootaloo sighed to herself. Her mind raced, going over possibility after possibility as she attempted to deduce possible motives for what had happened, weighing Filthy's deductions against her own observations and Sebastian's cryptic half-clues. As hard as she tried, she couldn't quite make sense of it. The only thing she could conclude from it all was that she didn't have enough information. She needed to investigate- No, she interrupted her own thought process. What I need to do first is help my friend. When she's safe, then I can meet with Sebastian and investigate. Duty. That was what it meant to be Noble, to be Wingshadow. And she would not fail.