//------------------------------// // The Beauty of Grace // Story: No Worse Want // by RaylanKrios //------------------------------// Scootaloo's saddlebags bounced with the tantalizing weight of her few extra bits. Only now her thoughts weren't drawn to warm food or a new hat, but to the Ponyville train station. She could sneak onto a train going anywhere. Away from Twilight and her questions. Away from the fear that she would be sent back to an orphanage or a foster home. She'd done it before. But it wasn't a plan without risk. The ten bits she had weren't enough to live on for more than a day, she knew that. Even if she could retrieve her twelve-bit rainy day fund from Twilight's, that would only buy her an extra two days at most. Plus if the station master caught her without an adult, they would certainly turn her over to Foal Services. She'd also be running from a place she'd come to consider home, and from the only real friends she ever had. Scootaloo walked up to the station and paused to take a long look at the idling train. She had been in dire straits before, she could hack it again, right? All she would have to do is use four bits to buy a train ticket to Appleloosa, get off before the final stop and then start anew in one of the small towns that dotted Equestria's landscape. Ponies were generally pretty nice, surely someone would take pity on her without asking too many questions. On the other hoof, Twilight's had a warm bed and all the food she could eat. Staying in Ponyville meant keeping her friends and a life that she fought hard to turn into a mostly-tolerable existence. It also had two inhabitants who were guaranteed to keep prying. She felt the coins jangle in her bag again, still unsatisfyingly light. Somewhat reluctantly she turned back toward the giant crystal tree. When Twilight started this journey she had no illusions that it would be easy, but she clearly failed to account for her own emotions. Scootaloo was too familiar to distance herself, and had been dealt such unfair cards. Of the many friendship problems Twilight had confronted in her life, the only one that struck home like this had been her erstwhile friend Moondancer's self-imposed isolation, and that had been Twilight's fault for ignoring her. She was determined not to fail Scootaloo the same way; she would find a loving patient pony whom Scooatloo would love in return! But first Twilight had to push herself to finish her file. It wasn't long, in fact it was positively sparse, and Twilight leafed slowly through it, absorbing the information. The first few pages were copies of her birth certificate and medical records, all deceptively ordinary. Tucked away in the back were Scootaloo's Book entries, ordered from shortly after her birth to a few years ago. The Foal Services Registry, colloquially referred to as "the Book," was a listing of all the foals in Equestria up for adoption. Each child had a picture accompanied by a short paragraph. Most of the paragraphs were boilerplate: how long the child had been in the system, pertinent medical information, and a few details meant to foster a potential connection. There was a copy housed in every Foal Services office in Equestria. As Ponyville Foal Services's new Director, Twilight supposed she'd have to read the whole thing through soon. She'd have relished the prospect if the whole adoption process didn't seem to verge on the obscene. The Book was all too like a catalogue, prospective parents like shoppers and foals like goods. Or like the personal ads secreted away in the backs of newspapers. How arrogant of ponies, to try and find "compatible" foals! Twilight's thoughts went to Pinkie and her family. The stoic, spartan, rock farming Pies would never have selected a party loving, hyperactive pink filly for their child, but that's what they got, and they loved her. They loved her because loving a child wasn't about having things in common, or their personality, it was about being a family. Enough! Twilight pulled over a parchment and quill to bring Scootaloo's entry up to date, but before she could start writing it she heard the door open, and the filly herself walked in, mane disheveled and dusty. Twilight found it impossible to view her the same way she did that morning. Where once she saw stubbornness, born of lack of discipline, she now saw a pony inured by necessity to emotional trauma. Scootaloo had to consider everypony she met a potential threat; no wonder she was reluctant to open up. Twilight forced herself to smile, for her own protection as much as anything else. "Hi, Scootaloo. Did you have— Did you have a good day?" "Um it was fine, I— Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Scootaloo quickly set to rubbing her snout. Twilight tried to recover, stammering as she did so. "Uh no, sorry. I think Spike is getting ready to start dinner, if you'd like anything special." Scootaloo balked momentarily, and Twilight raced to consider what faux pas she had committed. But Scootaloo's response was calm, if a little confused. "Hay burgers and fries?" "Yes! That could be arranged! I think Spike's in the kitchen. If you hurry you can catch him before he decides to make something crazy." "OK," Scootaloo replied with what just might have been the barest hint of a grin before scurrying to the kitchen. As Twilight watched her run off, the idea that had been gestating began to solidify. I'm going to do this differently.She closed the file and hurried off to the kitchen to supervise.