Stand and Deliver

by bahatumay


Chapter 3

Scootaloo stood still, her red cloak lapping at her hocks. Her red hood was pulled down over her eyes, and she thought it gave her a mysterious aura. No longer just Scootaloo, she was Scootabad!

But, you know, bad for bad, which cancelled out and made her good. It was simple math, really.

She stood on the railing of her front porch, watching, waiting.

Another filly, one she didn’t recognize, came trotting up the path. Her coat was yellow, and her red mane was tied in double braids down her back. But she did recognize Scootaloo; she came trotting over. “Hiya, Scoots!”

Scootaloo blinked. “Uh, hi, uh, oh! Apple Bloom!”

Apple Bloom doffed her hat. “Yes indeed-ee! But today, I’m Golden Russet, inventor of the World-Famous Apple Family Cider recipe!” She glanced Scootaloo up and down. “And you are?”

“Oh! I mean, uh… Stand and deliver!” Scootaloo jumped down and straightened up heroically, her cloak… hanging limply by her side. “I’m Little Red Riding Hood!”

Apple Bloom blinked. “You know we had to do a real ancestor, right?”

“She was real, and she was really my ancestor. Twilight helped me.”

Apple Bloom shrugged and started walking. “Your grade.”

They continued down and waited at the crosswalk, where they usually met up with Sweetie Belle.

She soon appeared, wearing a jersey, with her mane pulled back, carrying a football in her green magic floating by her side. “Hey, girls!” she said. She paused at Scootaloo’s outfit. “Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Yep!” Scootaloo said proudly.

Sweetie Belle pursed her lips. “You know we had to do a real ancestor, right?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She was probably going to get a lot of that today. “She was real, and my ancestor, Twilight helped me. Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Golden Brace, one of the first unicorns in football,” Sweetie answered proudly.

“How did Rarity take that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Fairly well,” Sweetie Belle said wryly. “We did the family history, she realized she was the only fashionista or fashionisto in our history, realized she was a pioneer in our family and somehow got inspired for a new line.” She shrugged and pushed open the gate with a hoof; she wasn’t quite good enough for multiple objects yet.

Scootaloo glanced around from under the hood. The other foals were all dressed up, as well. Some seemed to have taken good effort. Archer’s mane looked like it had taken hours to do, Diamond Tiara had pulled her mane back and put dark marks under her eyes, Silver Spoon’s mane was slicked back and out of its typical braid.

Huh. Scootaloo slid into her seat and briefly reflected that she had gone with her usual manestyle, the good old wash and wear look. The hood had been a great idea.

She did feel a little better as others came in. Snails had worn a white sheet, and judging by the way the eye holes were lopsided and misshapen, it was entirely probable he had done it this morning before school.

The bell rang, and Miss Cheerilee called the class to order. It was time to begin.

Diamond Tiara went first, of course. “Today, I’m Wire Brush, a scullery maid.” She held up a plate and brush for her prop.

The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that the brush she held was overlaid with silver, but it was a decent effort.

“She affected my life by working her way up, eventually running the kitchen and from there starting her own business, showing that through cleverness and resourcefulness, we can overcome anything.”

Cheerilee nodded.

Silver Spoon stepped up and gestured to her apron. “I’m Firebrand, a blacksmith. He affected my life because he was the first in our family to start working with metals. Later, descendants would go on to expand into whitesmithy and silversmithy, making products such as… tiaras and silver spoons.” She tittered.

Snails was next, probably because Miss Cheerilee thought he wasn’t paying attention. He stood in front and glanced around. “I’m myself, but dead. If I lived when my ancestors did, I’d be dead, because when I was two, I stepped on a poisonous snail and the antivenin hadn’t been invented yet, so if I were born then, I’d be dead.” He nodded proudly, done with his presentation.

Heads turned back to Miss Cheerilee. She stared at him and bit her lower lip, processing this. This had definitely not been what she’d had in mind. That being said, he had technically fulfilled the terms of the assignment. So she settled for making a ‘review later’ note by his name. “Thank you, Snails,” she said. She glanced over. “Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo stood up. “Stand and deliver!” she bellowed. “I’m Pin Feather, formerly known as Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Weren’t we supposed to do a real ancestor?” Diamond Tiara asked in a stage-whisper. She quickly covered her mouth with a hoof. Old habits died hard, apparently.

“She was real,” Miss Cheerilee said, surprising Scootaloo. “There’s empirical evidence that she was a real pony, and that she was a pegasus that bound her wings, making Scootaloo’s presentation accurate.” She gestured for her to continue.

“And I chose her because she’s awesome.” Scootaloo nodded, done.

But Cheerilee wasn’t going to let her off that easily. “And how did she affect your life?” she prompted.

“Uh…” Scootaloo drew a blank. She’d been so excited about this costume that she hadn’t really put much thought into that part of it. “She had my great, great, great, great grandmother?”

The classroom giggled, and Scootaloo felt her cheeks flush. Now she was really grateful for the hood.

Still, this was salvageable. “She fought for justice, right? Standing up for those who couldn’t stand for themselves,” Scootaloo said, her voice growing stronger. “She taught me how to never be afraid to rise to the challenge!”

Cheerilee nodded pensively. “Alright; but the records we have seem to indicate that Little Red Riding Hood never actually had children until she rebranded herself Pin Feather. Did you have anything more you wanted to share about her?”

“Not really,” Scootaloo admitted.

The classroom giggled again, and Cheerilee made another note on her paper. “Thank you, Scootaloo. Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom stood up. “I’m Golden Russet, inventor of the World-Famous Apple Family Cider recipe we still use today! She affected my whole family, because we still sell the cider today, and it’s a major part of our business.” She cracked a wry smile. “And no, I didn’t bring samples.”

The classroom sighed in dejection.

All except Scootaloo. She was lost in thought.