//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Tree // Story: The Muffin Tree // by Jet Storm //------------------------------// While most of the fillies and colts eagerly listened to Cheerilee as she finished her lessons for the day. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, was one of the few that eagerly watched the clock tick down to two. “Now then, for your homework tonight,” said Cheerilee, tapping the blackboard. “I want each of you to bring in a complete family tree and present it to the class tomorrow,” Cheerilee added smiling, while Scootaloo groaned. This project was going to be difficult, for a couple of reasons. Surprisingly, several other colts and fillies moaned as well. Apple Bloom groaned. Scootaloo didn’t envy her. She was going to need a lot of paper to make that tree. “Umm, Ms. Cheerilee,” said Archer, “What if somepony only knows who their parents are?” “Just put down whatever you can,” Cheerilee encouraged with a big smile. That was the first problem. Scootaloo’s paper was going to be blank either way. Unless she was allowed to count her “aunts.” “I don’t know why everypony is moaning, Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara eagerly stated in her usual braggadocious way. “I, for one, think this is a great chance to show everypony in class just how many great ponies are in both of our families.” Scootaloo’s head hit the table. That was the other problem. She didn’t want anypony to know she was an orphan. The thought of other ponies knowing about it scared her. Their knowing would change everything -- possibly even her relationship with Rainbow Dash. And that thought kept Scootaloo’s attention as she absent-mindedly rode her scooter home. However, her ride was interrupted when she noticed Rainbow Dash shouting at Derpy. “Derpy!” Rainbow Dash shouted “How could you get the packages confused again?” “I’m sorry. I don’t know what went wrong,” Derpy apologized, her drooping ears, and the hint of shame displayed in the way that neither of her eyes could look Rainbow Dash in the eye. “Ugh, you are such a scatterbrain sometimes!”  growled Rainbow Dash. “And have you been gaining weight?” “Well, just a little,” confessed the distressed mare. “How many times have I told you to watch what you eat? It’s Ponyville’s turn to supply water for Cloudsdale next week and I need all pegasi to be in top shape.” “I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and sighed. “Derpy, just fix it. And lay off the muffins.” Derpy nodded meekly, and flew off. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted as she rode up to the cyan pegasus. “Hey squirt, what’s up?” “Not to much. I just got this really dumb piece of homework to do,” Scootaloo said as casually as she could. “I’m supposed to chart out my family tree. Talk about dumb, eh? I mean, who even knows that much about their family,” Scootaloo nervously admitted. It was a lot to reveal, but some treacherous part of her wanted to admit her private shame and fear to her honorary older sister. “Heh, I know what you mean,” Rainbow Dash admitted with a whistle as she ruffled Scootaloo’s mane playfully. “I don’t think I could do it. I never knew my birth parents,” Rainbow Dash whispered into Scootaloo’s ear. “You too?” Scootaloo whispered in surprise. However, she quickly closed her mouth as she realized she’d admitted too much. Rainbow Dash simply gave her a sympathetic look, and said nothing. “Wait?!” Scootaloo asked with a double take. “But, I met your parents.” “They’re my adopted family,” Rainbow Dash explained. “My parents couldn’t conceive a foal of their own. I think that’s why my birth mom chose to drop me off at their house.” “My mom did the same thing,” Scootaloo admitted. “But, she left me with my ‘aunts’. Do you ever wish she’d kept you?” Rainbow Dash shook her head and smiled. “Nah, I’m sure she had her reasons and truthfully, I’m glad she did. I like to think of it as her giving me to an awesome couple. I’d never be the awesome, cool, radical and awesome mare that I am today if it wasn’t for them.” “Hey, I never thought about it like that,” said Scootaloo, feeling her spirits rise. “I guess it is the same for me - even if they are busy.” Rainbow Dash noticed the despair on Scootaloo’s face, and moved closer to the filly. “Listen carefully Scootaloo, because I’m only going to say this once,” she began, making sure that no other pony could hear them, “it doesn’t matter whether you’re biologically related or not. Your aunts love you, and they’re doing an amazing job raising the best little sister in of all Equestria. “Family is more than blood. It’s love. You’re my sister. And I love you.” “Do you mean it?” “I do,” smiled Rainbow Dash before she added with a warning, “now if you tell anypony I said that, I’ll deny it.” “Of course,” Scootaloo chuckled, but a questioned lingered in her mind that begged to be asked. “Do you ever wish you knew her?” “Sometimes,” Rainbow Dash wistfully stated. “The only thing I know about her is a momento she gave my parents, and a letter saying that she’d always loved me and that I’d never be alone.” “So, what memento did she give you? Can I see it?” asked Scootaloo. “Sure can, I always keep it with me,” Rainbow Dash bragged as she pulled out a silver chain necklace with a small bauble at the end of it. Scootaloo carefully craned her neck so that she could get a better look. The small bauble at the end almost looked like somepony had broken off the bottom half of a silver muffin and put it on the end of a chain. “Neat,” Scootaloo said in awe. “Sure is. Now I gotta go squirt. I need to get my correct package from the post office,” smiled Rainbow Dash before she took off towards Ponyville’s post office. “Hey Aunt Lofty, Aunt Holiday!” Scootaloo called out as she opened the door to the small house, and let herself in. “Hey Scootaloo,” Aunt Holiday greeted. “How was your day?” she asked. “Pretty good,” Scootaloo said as she tried not to let on her feelings about her homework. “But…?” Aunt Holiday asked as she sensed Scootaloo’s reservations. “Well...” Scootaloo mumbled as she rubbed her foreleg with a hoof. “Ms. Cheerilee wants me to make a complete family tree for class, and I don’t know anyone in my family but you two,” Scootaloo admitted with a slight frown. “Ahh. Well, I don’t know much about your mom, either,” Aunt Holiday apologetically stated. “But, I think I have something that might help,” Aunt Holiday offered as she encouraged Scootaloo to follow her up to the attic, where she pulled out a small horseshoe box. “Wow! What’s that?!” Scootaloo asked with excitement as she looked at her Aunt Holiday intently. “It’s a few momentos from our family,” Aunt Holiday explained with a smile. “It’s got everything from my little brother’s first baseball card to a couple of things that your mom left with us before she galloped off,” Aunt Holiday added with a smirk as she saw Scootaloo’s eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. Aunt Holiday rummaged through the box until she pulled out a couple of small items. “Ahh, here we are,” she exclaimed with a smile. “Your mom left this letter and necklace,” Aunt Holiday added as she reached out to place the small silver bauble, and letter into Scootaloo waiting hoof. “It’s half of a muffin,” Scootaloo whispered as she stared at the enigma sitting on her outstretched hoof. “Yeah, your Aunt Lofty thought so too...” Aunt Holiday admitted with a shrug. “You see, your mom showed up one night, and almost pounded our door down. Well, you have to understand my surprise when she galloped off the moment we opened the door,” Aunt Holiday explained. “Still, she left two letters with you. One that positively begged us to care for you. And the other was addressed to you. We’ve been wanting to show it to you for years. But, we were waiting till you were a bit older,” Aunt Holiday admitted. “It… It’s just like Rainbow Dash’s story,” Scootaloo mumbled. “Aunt Holiday, I need to see Rainbow Dash really quickly,” Scootaloo explained before she turned tail, dashed out of the house, and down the road towards Rainbow Dash’s house. The bell rang over the door to Sugarcube Corner as Scootaloo saw herself in. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been at her house, or at Twilight’s castle so Scootaloo had guessed that this was where the pegasus was… Or Pinkie Pie would probably know where the pegasus had gone off to. Scootaloo’s spirits were lifted when she found Rainbow Dash sitting at one of the tables talking animatedly to Pinkie Pie. “... I don’t know why she bugs me. She just does, sometimes,” Scootaloo heard Rainbow Dash admit to Pinkie Pie as she got a bit closer. “Why though? You two are so much alike,” Pinkie Pie mused as she looked at Rainbow Dash with that constant smile of hers. “We’re nothing alike,” Rainbow Dash objected. “Name one way we are similar.” “You both have wings!” joked Pinkie Pie. “That’s because we’re both pegasi,” retorted Rainbow Dash. “You also have the same mane and tail style, you both love Pumpkin Spice Lattes, you both can be a bit clumsy and, you both are pretty loyal where it counts,” Pinkie Pie added before Scootaloo finally managed to pull up to the table. “Rainbow Dash! I made an amazing discovery!” Scootaloo shouted as her eagerness simply oozed in her body language. “You gotta get your momento, and letter, please?” Scootaloo begged as she looked at Rainbow Dash with her big dooey eyes. “Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake called out. “Can you come out back here and help us with this order.” “Sure thing, Mrs. Cake,” she replied and disappeared behind the counter. “What? What’s going on squirt? Why would you want to see those old things again?” Rainbow Dash asked as she tried to piece together what Scootaloo had just told her at a mile a minute. “You see, my mom left me a letter and a momento too,” Scootaloo explained as she eagerly pulled out the envelope, and bauble she’d galloped out of the house with, and placed them on the table. “I think it matches yours, so I wanted to double check,” Scootaloo chirped as she jumped a bit into the air, and fluttered her wings in a clear sign of excitement. “Here, let me take a look,” Rainbow Dash stated calmly as she tried to calm down the filly. Carefully she pulled out her necklace, and then placed it on the table next to Scootaloo’s bauble. She then pulled up the letter, and carefully read it. “Whoa! It can’t be,” Rainbow Dash said in pure surprise as she noticed just how similar Scootaloo’s letter looked to her own. She then carefully slid the two baubles next to each other. Much to her surprise the two pieces fit together to form one singular silver muffin necklace. “We’re sisters?” Rainbow Dash considered with a stunned looked written on her face. “I know! Isn’t it great! We’re not just honorary sisters, but we’re blood sisters!” Scootaloo shouted with glee as she jumped several feet into the air -- almost hitting the ceiling -- and slowly hovered down on her small wings. “How could it be?” Rainbow Dash mumbled in disbelief. However, both ponies were interrupted as Derpy walked up to the table. “Rainbow Dash, you got some new mail,” Derpy said as she walked over, and dropped a letter, and a basket of muffins on the table right in front of Rainbow Dash. “Derpy… I don’t really want an apology muffin,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, while Scootaloo intently looked at some of the words on the letter. “But I wanted to apologize for messing up your order,” said Derpy sincerely. “It’s okay I already for-” Rainbow Dash stopped in mid-sentence as she noticed that Derpy’s stomach had gotten significantly larger since she last saw her. “Have you been eating more muffins?” “Not since yesterday,” confessed Derpy as she began to fret. “What do you call that then,” chastised Rainbow Dash as she pointed to Derpy’s middle. “A happy little accident?” she replied meekly. Rainbow Dash glared at the mare, before Derpy’s cryptic message dawned on her. “You’re pregnant?” Scootaloo glanced over the apology note from behind Rainbow, getting the strange feeling that she’d seen that handwriting before. Her eyes then drifted to a very familiar piece of jewellry around Derpy’s neck. “Wait, Derpy! Where did you get your muffin necklace?” Scootaloo asked, causing Rainbow to turn towards the grey mare as well. “Oh this?” Derpy asked as she carefully pulled out her necklace and placed it on the table for both ponies to see. “ I asked a good friend to make it for me,” Derpy explained with a smile. “H-How is this possible?” Rainbow Dash stuttered as she looked at the necklace as though it was some kind of alien object. “Well, I just went next door and asked him,” Derpy answered. “No - that’s not what we meant,” said Scootaloo as she handed Derpy their muffin necklaces. “They look like my necklace,” Derpy said as she took it from Scootaloo. She examined them both carefully. “Wait these are my necklaces!” she exclaimed before turning to Scootaloo. “But why do you have this?” “These were given to us by our birth mother,” said Scootaloo. “But, these were meant for my twin daughters,” explained Derpy. “Your twin daughters?” exclaimed Scootaloo. “D-Does this mean that y-you ... and you,” gasped Derpy as water began to gather around her eyes, “are my daughters?” “Wait, what?” stammered Rainbow Dash. “No, no, no, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. I mean there no way that-” “But Rainbow Dash, her writing matches our mother’s letters,” stated Scootaloo, presenting the apologetic note from the muffin basket to Rainbow Dash. “See.” However before Rainbow Dash could compare the note and letters Derpy pulled them both into a warm hug, which was a little difficult given her current form. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it,” she cried as tears ran down her cheeks. “Hey, Derpy, let go,” gasped Rainbow Dash as she tried desperately to push her away. “I was so worried that I wasn’t going to make a good mother,” she sobbed, against Rainbow Dash’s protests. “But now I ... I-” As Derpy continued to smother them both, Rainbow Dash could feel a sudden flurry of kicks coming from within Derpy. It felt somewhat soothing and warm ... which frightened her “Will. You. Just. Hold. On -” she struggled until she was finally free from Derpy’s grasp, leaving poor Scootaloo alone with the pregnant mare. “Too tight! Too tight!” Scootaloo cried out. “My precious baby,” said Derpy. “I can’t believe how big you’ve both gotten.” “Let. Her. Go,” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried to free the distressed filly. Try as she might however, she was failing miserably against Derpy’s ever tightening loving hug. “Can’t. Breathe,” gasped Scootaloo. The ruckus between the three mares earned the attention of every customer in Sugar Cube Corner who watched with curiosity and bewilderment. Hoping to calm things down, Mrs. Cake approached the trio cautiously, “Umm… Derpy, sweetie, I’d hate to break this up but young Scoots is turning blue.” “Huh,” uttered Derpy, releasing her grip on Scootaloo, and sending both her and Rainbow Dash to project themselves into a nearby wall. “Oh my, are you girls alright?” cried Derpy as she rushed to their aid. “Did you break anything?” “Just my pride,” groaned Rainbow Dash. “You, squirt?” “Just need to catch my breath,” wheezed Scootaloo. “Don’t worry your mother like that,” sighed Derpy. “Wait Der-” but before Rainbow Dash could stop her, Derpy kneeled down and gave them both another hug, albeit gentler this time. “Umm… can I get you anything?” asked Mrs. Cake. “A tall glass of water,” mumbled Scootaloo as she was being smothered. “Cider!” added Rainbow Dash. “A LOT of cider.”