//------------------------------//
// The Next Steps. 
// Story: Pinkie's greatest Challenge. 
// by Lethrael 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie tried to understand the filly, first she mumbled just a few words, but as she got more confident she became more and more excited and told more about her mum.
“Mummy was an earthpony and I do love and miss her really...”
She stopped herself for the first time and had to breath faster for a while. She even had to wipe over her eyes in a stealthy way. 
Pinkie turned her head and eyed the filly up with an inquiring expression from time to time, but Scootaloo ducked down and turned the face out of Pinkie's sight. She didn't crawl away from her and even nestled closer at the mare. 

She spoke more hounded as she was finally able to continue.
“...She had always time to tug me in and had told me the best stories...she made the best Hushpuppies ever and her Jambalaya was...oh and she knew always, when I needed some help...”
Scootaloo stammered faster and faster. A sob mixed with her words finally and she blushed. She snuffled, took a deep breath and shivered.
“Y...You're reminding me of her a little, well a lot.”
She whispered finally and blushed even more. The filly rubbed her nose with a hoof, sighed and leaned her head against Pinkies side. She sniffed shortly and nuzzled the mare's warm coat. She sighed relaxed and even shut her eyes close.
“Every time I cuddle up to you and you hug me, I can see her in my memory and your smell...is like hers, you know.”
The filly fell silent and blushed deeply. She shook her head to get the words out of it, tried to get back on her hooves, but her whole body shivered so badly, that she simply couldn't. 

Pinkie took a deep breath, cocked her head and raised a hoof slowly. She hugged the filly very gently, pulled her closer and whispered a question.
“So you do want me to hug you, or don't you?”
Scootaloo swallowed a big lump in her throat, cleared it afterwards and cocked the head on her own. She thought for a while, snuffled away another sob and nodded. She laid her head back against the soft coat, sniffed and sighed relieved. The filly stayed silent for a few moments, but Pinkie asked quickly a question.
“What happened to your mum?”
The filly nuzzled her side quickly, sobbed once and the mare winced. The question had escaped her mouth, like it had an own will and the mare covered the mouth quickly.
Had she asked too much?

She tried to stammer an apology, but Scootaloo gritted her teeth, fumbled for the saddlebags and took the box out of it.
She pressed it close to her chest, nuzzled the bright wood and had to fought down multiple sobs. The filly took a deep breath and raised her head finally.
“I...don't want to talk about it...but I think she would be happy, that you...”
She couldn't finish the sentence, but sobbed heavily. Pinkie tried to mumble an apology again, but the filly just shook her head and cuddled closer to her. 
The mare froze in place, looked to the trembling filly, who was fighting back more tears and whispered the rest of the sentence.
“...want to take care of me.”
Pinkie gasped, as Scootaloo couldn't hold back her tears much longer and cuddled closer at her. She pressed the box closer to her heart and shivered harder. The mare pulled her closer, tried to comfort her, but anther question came out of her mouth, before she was able to stop.
“What's your mother's name?”
Scootaloo answered quickly and pressed the ears firmly against her head, so that she didn't have to answer another question.

“P...Pepper Pouch.”
Pinkie held the sobbing filly close and thought about what to say, but quite different then before no words just fell out of her mouth and she had to thing for it for a few moments. But even as she found encouraging words, they didn't seem to work.
“Everything is going to be fine...it will be better...we can...”
The filly didn't respond to her encouragement, but just cuddled closer to her and pressed her ears firmer against her head.
Pinkie shook her head finally, hugged Scootaloo tighter and nuzzled her mane encouraging. She had to chew on her lips to suppress another words. 

It it didn't last long, till Scootaloo calmed down again, raised her head slowly and scooted away blushing. The filly drew nervously lines on the floor and tried to open her mouth, but she couldn't say anything.
Pinkie smiled gently, brushed over her chest and inhaled deeply. She looked to the box and cleared her throat. She had finally found a good question to ask.
“Would you mind, show me the doll? So I can tell my friend, what is broken, and...”
Scootaloo looked slowly down to the box and rubbed her nose with one hoof. She thought for a while about it and took a deep breath finally. She nodded and opened the box slowly. 
The filly sighed and tried to avoid Pinkie's gaze. She raised a trembling hoof and petted gently the red mane of the doll.
“I...have open the seam here to see what's broken.
But I couldn't find it.”
She raised the doll carefully, but she squeaked scared and put it down quickly, as sand trickled out of the doll's belly. She started to tremble again, tried to calm herself down again and rubbed her hooves.

Pinkie looked over the doll, eyed up the everlasting smiling face, the beautiful purple china eyes and finally the mane. Her hoof touched the tousled mane and flinched away from it quickly. This wasn't wool or other kind of substitute, but something much softer. Pinkie petted her own mane in comparison and just stared pensive at the doll's mane. A memory returned into her mind, a memory she hadn't saw for a long time and she took a deep breath.
She sniffed, smelled the smell of rock soup and a low snicker from her baby sister Marble sounded into her twitching ears.




It was Hearth's Warming and the family had gathered around the table. Pinkie chewed on her last stone beside her snickering sister and listened to the silence. A silence full of joy, her sisters chewed on their own stones and her parents looked happy to the fillies.
Daddy cleared his throat, as all of them had finished the meal and a rare smile appeared on his face for a moment.
“Don't forget to hide your presents in the house.
And then go to bed, all of you!”
The four fillies grinned and Pinkie jumped excited on her hooves. Mummy walked slowly to every filly, hugged them and kissed their forehead, before Pinkie could scurry away.
“Good night my gems and sleep tight.”
Maud just nodded, avoided the mare's gaze and went away quickly, while she was talking with her friend.
“Yes, I think she means you too, Boulder.
Good night.”
Cloudy looked after her and seemed to share a worried gaze with Daddy, before she came to the next filly.

Limestone sighed bugged, as Mummy kissed her, but blushed quickly and mumbled an answer.
“You don't have to do this, Mum.
I'm not a little filly any more so...
Thanks.”
Cloudy hugged the filly with the citron Cutie Mark and Limestone responded with a hug, before she stepped back and cleared her throat. She waved over her mane nervously and smiled to the mare. 

Mummy came finally to a nervously bouncing Pinkie. The small filly smiled widely and stammered.
“I'm so happy, that I can go to Ponyville soon.
And you are sure, that I should live there, Mummy?
I mean, don't you feel lonely without me, when...”
Mummy tried to hug her, but Pinkie continued to fidget around, so Cloudy needed a few moments to catch her. 
Finally the mare was able to catch her and hugged her tightly. 
She looked over her Cutie Mark, which had appeared a few weeks ago and whispered an answer.
“You can make more parties there, Pinkamena.
And you can meet more ponies to make more friends and you can learn baking much better there.”
Mummy sighed low into Pinkie's mane and nosed it up once. Then she waved gently over it.
“I'm thrilled if you will find my present this year...”
There was a sad toe in her voice and Pinkie raised her head surprised. 

Mummy just kissed her forehead and turned to Marble.
So Pinkie bounced away and started to hide her presents.
She buried Maud's under the staircase, had hidden Limestones present in a small raisin cake in the pantry already and finally put Marble's in the attic in her old school bag.
She took Mummy's present, a brush to her room and hid it under the whole other brushes on her dressing table and Daddy's, a extraordinary huge gemstone in his secret-gemstone-reserves-for-bad-day's-chest.

Finally Pinkie laid down beside Marble, cuddled closer to the squeaking filly and whispered a sentence before she dozed off.
“Promise, that you will look out for Mummy and Daddy for me, Marble, won't you?”
Before she fell asleep, she could her Marbles whispered answer.
“Uh hm.”
The smaller filly cuddled closer to Pinkie and sighed low. Pinkie hugged her in the sleep and nuzzled her gently.
She slept very peacefully, till a creak from the door woke her up.
There was somepony sneaking up to her bed in the middle of the night and as it arrived it waved over her mane. Pinkie pressed her eyes together and breathed calmly, so the surprise wouldn't be spoiled. 
She already knew who it was and the low sighing and sobbing confirmed it. Mummy stood beside the bed and brushed tears away, but Pinkie couldn't open her eyes, or move. Marble would certainly wake up, when she tried to and would start to weep too. So it was better to lay still and didn't make every move.
“I know it's against the rules, Pinkie.
But you should get a present on your last Hearth's Warming before you departure, I think.
I will hid it here, so you can find it easily.”
Mummy sounded so sad, that Pinkie couldn't stay silent and opened one of her eyes, fortunately it was her left one and so she just saw her pillow. 
She tried to turn her head, but a hoof stopped her quickly. Mummy petted slowly over her mane, kissed her forehead and Pinkie could feel a drop on her cheek. 
Mummy brushed it away quickly and sighed again. 

She put something on the ground beside Pinkie's head and snuffled once.
“I'll miss you, Pinkie.”
Mummy turned away, sobbed quietly and sneaked out of the room. Pinkie just could lay there and listened, till the mare had left the room and left the door ajar. She opened the other eye, raised a hoof and wake Marble up with that. Her little sister turned sleepy away from her and mumbled something inaudible, but fell back asleep quickly. Pinkie whispered an apology and turned herself away.
It would be clearly more against the rules to unwrap her present right now, but to look at it wouldn't be, right?
So she looked to it and grimaced confused. It wasn't wrapped up, but was hidden under a white blanket. She tried to stand up, but the sleep overtook her quickly. Pinkie yawned long and fell asleep confused. She couldn't remember her dreams.
Finally the first sun ray in her face woke her up and she jumped out of her bed quickly.
She shouted out excited and bounced around in the room.
“It's Hearth's Warming.”
Marble squeaked surprised and fell out of the bed. Pinkie drew the blanket from the present, before she could run ahead and woke the others. She cheered as she saw it.
“And I have found my first present already...”
A small earthpony doll smiled to her and Pinkie took it up and hugged it quickly. She nuzzled it and snuffled automatic on it's mane. This was...




She shook away the rest of the memory of this special day, grinned to Scootaloo and looked to her closet. Somewhere in there was her doll and waited for her.
“My Mummy made a doll as a goodbye present, using her own hair for the doll's mane too, Scootaloo.
The filly shivered and stared to the doll. Her eyes became so huge, that they would surely fall out of her face, but her open mouth hindered them easily.
The filly raised a shivering hoof and tried to touch the doll's mane, but it trembled too heavily and the trembling even continued in her wings.
“Th...that's Mummy's hair?
But...but I thought,,,”
Scootaloo sobbed, as her hoof finally touched the doll's mane. Her whole body trembled even more and she squeaked, as she petted her own mane.
“I...I didn't know that and...”
Scootaloo jumped back onto her hooves, galloped agitated around in the room and stammered as she ran.
“I have to repair her and I must brush her better, oh and wash her and...”
The filly was so pent up, that she didn't sense, that she bumped into the bed and the sofa time and time again. Even as she hit the wall with a loud thump, she just shook herself and started to run along. 
She got faster and faster and tried to calm herself down with it, but failed miserably. She sped up and ran in circles for the next minutes.
“I mean...I should take her away to a better...”
Pinkie jumped back onto her hooves, as she saw, that Scootaloo headed to the stairs. She tried to get her attention by calling her, but the filly didn't respond. 
So she had to catch her, before she would fall down the stairs. Pinkie could catch her before she reached the stairs fortunately and pulled her into a firm hug.
“Hey, don't worry.
We will take good care of her, I promise!”

Scootaloo sobbed again and pressed her nose against Pinkie's soft fur. She stammered along, but let Pinkie direct her closer to the doll again. The filly looked to the box and hissed sharply.
“I didn't mean to break her, pinkie.
I didn't want, that my room is such a mess.
But I'm just there for the bed time.
And nopony visits me, so...”
Pinkie listened to her stammered apology and sighed low. She petted the filly's mane and looked out for something she could say.
Finally she found the perfect sentence and whispered it into the flapping ears of the filly.
“We will fix it right now, Scootaloo!”
Pinkie petted her back gently and pulled the trembling filly closer to her chest.
The filly sobbed and hugged the mare tightly. She whispered an answer, before she pressed her ears against the mare's coat again.
“Th...thanks Pinkie.”
Pinkie smiled relieved, as the filly rubbed her eyes dry on her soft fur and raised her head quickly. She snuffled on the pink fur, put on a real thankful smile and nestled closer to the mare again.
They hugged each other for a while and the filly calmed down a little bit.




The next steps to make it right were quite easy.
Pinkie kept the doll and promised, even Pinkie promised, that she would ask her friend, if she would repair it with Scootaloo as soon as possible.
After that was talked over, Pinkie consoled the filly with a story of her own doll and her Mummy. Finally they just played for a while.
The last hour went quickly and Pinkie brought Scootaloo back to the orphanage after she had said Goodbye to the Cakes.
Pinkie said goodbye on the front door of the orphanage. First she asked, if she should help her cleaning her room, but Scootaloo just shook her head and took a deep breath.
“I have to do it on my own, Pinkie.
I have made all of the mess myself, right?”
The filly sounded quite harsh, so Pinkie pressed her ears against her head, but Scootaloo saw this and cleared her throat. She tried to sound more friendly and whispered lower.
“I mean, thanks for the offer, but I think I should do this alone.”
She drew circles on the ground with one hoof first, but finally decided to do something else.
She cuddled closer to Pinkies chest, blushed a little bit and whispered a thanks.
“Thank you, that you want to take care of me, Pinkie.
And thanks for, you know what.”
Pinkie smiled touched and hugged Scootaloo quickly. She didn't hug her for long, but whispered an answer and let her go then.
“You're very welcome, Scootaloo.
See you Tuesday, right?”
The filly nodded, smiled again and stepped over the doorstep of the orphanage. She turned around after she crossed it and waved to Pinkie with a small smile. Pinkie waved goodbye too and smiled, but the filly turned finally away and disappeared quickly in the house.
Pinkie looked to the door and thought, if she should visit Caring and talk with her about the adoption. But she turned finally away, sighed and left the playground.




The way back to Sugarcube Corner was very strange for the partymare. It felt like something was missing and it didn't matter how hard Pinkie tried to sidetrack herself, she couldn't think of anything else. 
She simply had to admit it and whispered it to herself.
“I miss Scootaloo!”
The mare sighed and trudged slowly ahead, without even looking where she went. 
Even as she heard a few friendly words, she just could answer with a half hearted smile and didn't raised her head to face the ponies.
She heard a strangely murmur around her, something about, what had bitten her and tried to answer with another smile, but failed to get it on her face. 
She walked along and this was something, that other ponies noticed. 
She walked!
Something was definitely off here. But whoever asked her, Pinkie didn't answer.
Her hooves guided her away from the bakery and to the Golden Oaks. 
Twilight would know, what to do now. Eventually she had found a house already and...

Pinkie started to bounce again and her smile came back onto her face, as she knocked against the door of the library. She had found a house for her definitely and Pinkie would make the next step for the adoption in the next week surely. Scootaloo did like her and both of them had open up.
Caring would certainly see, that she was the only chance to adopt her and Scootaloo would...
A purple light opened the door and Twilight stood directly behind it. She levitated a book in front of her nose and seemed to expect somepony else.
“I'm there for you in a moment, Rarity.
Could we do the massage in the spa first, so we can...”
The mare just mumbled along, but Pinkie was so excited, that she couldn't wait, till Twilight would realise, that she stood there. She just hugged her and stammered excited.
“Twilight I have to talk with you.
Did you find a house for me?
And do you know, what I should do next to adopt Scootaloo?
Because I miss her so badly and want to live with her right now!”
Twilight tried to break free, but simply couldn't., the mare was way too strong She sighed bugged and snorted quietly She took a deep breath and answered with a forced friendly undertone.
“Good morning Pinkie.”
She couldn't say much more, as Pinkie hugged her tighter and nuzzled her cheek. The pink mare opened her mouth and stammered a few more sentences..
“The sleepover was great, you know.
But it was a little bit strange, because Scootaloo seems to...
Oh I shouldn't tell you that, because I have promised her, even when it wasn't a Pinkie promise and...”
Twilight sighed loudly and just shook her head. She stopped the excited stammering mare and spoke up loudly.
“Come in.
We can talk there, till Rarity gets here.”
She pulled Pinkie into the library and closed the door behind her. Pinkie took a deep breath and started to talk about the sleepover again.