With the truth now having been confirmed, Pinkie returned to Ponyville with just one goal in mind. She was going to tell Scootaloo all that she'd learned, and make sure that the two became the bestest of best sisters. At last, the pegasus would know the answer behind that question which'd tormented her for so long: Who had given her up for adoption and why?
Immediately upon arriving back in Ponyville, Pinkie excitedly bounced away to look for Scootaloo. The announcement was already playing out in her mind. She anticipated a mix of shock, confusion, and ultimately happiness. Perhaps anger too if Scootaloo wanted to know the whole truth behind her birth parents' reason for abandoning her in Ponyville.
As luck would have it, Pinkie caught sight of Scootaloo just as the filly was leaving Sugarcube Corner with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three of them were licking their lips, no doubt having savored some delicious cupcakes just minutes ago. The sprinkles on their faces was a dead giveaway.
Pinkie quickly dove into a nearby bush to hide. She wanted nothing more than to approach Scootaloo at that very moment and tell her everything. But something in the party pony's mind told her it would be best to wait until Scootaloo was all alone. The filly usually didn't mind a little affection, but she'd previously made it perfectly clear she detested ponies constantly doting on her for any old reason.
Several minutes passed, with the crusaders just talking to each other about various things. The pink party pony struggled with all her might not to leap out and tackle her unaware little sister into a big hug right then and there.
At last, the trio of fillies parted ways, Scootaloo waving goodbye to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Guess I'll see you girls later, or tomorrow," The tomboyish pegasus called. "Same time, same clubhouse?"
"Eeyup." Apple Bloom nodded, mimicking her older brother's famous manner of speaking (or lack thereof).
"And we'll be sure to come up with some amazing activities for us to try!" Sweetie Belle smiled, as optimistic as ever "I have a feeling tomorrow's the day we finally get our cutie marks!"
Soon, Scootaloo was all alone, trotting down the path to the local orphanage. It was starting to get close to sun-down, and the little pegasus knew she was expected to be back before the last rays of Celestia's sun faded in the west. Better to be a little bit early, than to be late and grounded.
Pinkie was just about to leap out of the bush she'd been hiding in and surprise Scootaloo, when she saw yet another filly come trotting up towards Scootaloo. The filly had a very familiar pink coat, cornflower blue eyes, and a mane and tail done up in pale violet with white streaks. But the most obvious clues to her identity, was her cutie mark depicting a tiara with several diamonds, and a head piece of similar auspicious design adorned atop her forehead.
The party pony gulped. "Diamond Tiara." She muttered under her breath. Whenever the young heir to the Rich family fortune showed up near one of the Crusaders, trouble usually followed. And even when it didn't, her infamous reputation as a bully preceded her.
"Hey blank flank." Diamond Tiara snobbishly called out, making her presence known to her unfortunate soon-to-be-victim.
Scootaloo locked eyes with the rich filly, and sighed as she bitterly remarked. "Oh, it's just you, Diamond Tiara. Can't you just leave me alone for one single day? I don't wanna talk to you right now."
Diamond Tiara was never one to take 'no' for an answer, so she just pressed herself up to Scootaloo to the point where the two fillies were snout-to-snout with each other. "Well that's too bad, because I wanna talk to you," She cackled with glee. "I just wanted to know, what's it like living in that orphanage? I'll bet it beats sleeping on the streets like some homeless pony."
"Why do you care?" Scootaloo remarked, turning her head away from the bully. "You live in a huge mansion."
Diamond just laughed. "Yeah, but I've always been curious how the lower folks survive without all the 'luxuries' that rich ponies like me can afford," She then flashed a malicious smile. "You know, I'm sure I could convince my dad to adopt to you if you really wanted a home. I might even consider sharing my room with you."
Scootaloo made a gag face. "No thanks, I don't wanna be anywhere near your brattiness! It might be contagious! I'd sooner die parentless than be part of your family!"
Tiara replied with mock sorrow. "Gee, that's really too bad, Scootaloser. And here I thought I'd do something nice for you for a change."
"I don't buy your 'change of heart' for a second, not after that comment you made about my wings!" Scootaloo angrily replied, buzzing her tiny wings in protest. "For your information, there are lots of pegasi around here that can't fly yet! I'm just a late bloomer!"
"Whatever helps you sleep better at night," Diamond commented. And when Scootaloo growled she simply added with scorn. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch a nerve?"
Scootaloo's eyes narrowed, as she glared at the pink coated filly tormenting her and said ominously. "I'm only gonna say this once, so you'd better listen. Get out of my sight, Diamond Tiara. Or the next time I happen to spot you while on my scooter, I might just happen to 'accidentally' crash into you with it, and maybe shower you with dust while I'm at it. You wouldn't like that, I'm guessing."
"Aw, you're no fun at all, Scootaloo," Tiara whined rather weakly. "But I guess I'll leave you alone this time, I think I've wasted enough time talking to you. Until we meet again, Scootaloser!"
"It's Scootaloo!" Scootaloo growled, but her intended target had already trotted off so far ahead that she couldn't hear and respond even if she wanted to.
Pinkie had seen everything from her hiding bush. It took a lot to get the party pony upset, but seeing Diamond Tiara pick on her little sister like that definitely put her in an angry state of mind. "The next time I see that filly, I'm going to tell her just what I think of meanie pants bullies like her," She thought to herself, then turned her attention towards Scootaloo. "Don't you worry. Soon you'll have an official big sister to protect you from bullies like Diamond Tiara. I swear it."
Scootaloo was just pushing her recent encounter to the back of her mind, when she was surprised to hear rustling from a nearby bush. Before the filly had a chance to properly react, a pink blur emerged and tackled her down while shouting "Surprise!"
It took the filly a moment to identify who it was. And she was indeed surprised, because very rarely did she see Pinkie Pie more than once a day. Especially not this late. "Pinkie Pie? What are you doing? It's not my birthday or anything." Scootaloo questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Pinkie smiled. "Of course it's not, silly. But I do have a surprise for you! It's a super duper, extra special, cherry on top kind of surprise!" Taking a deep breath, the party pony was quick to add. "What I'm about to tell you, is totally gonna freak your frizz! Trust me, you're gonna love it!"
"What is it?" Scootaloo asked, her purple eyes gazing deep into Pinkie's blue eyes. "And couldn't it wait until tomorrow? I kind of need to get back to the orphanage before sundown, or else I'll be grounded yet again."
Pinkie shook her head. "Nu-uh, this is something so amazing and so spectacularly awesome, I had to tell you now," And then, without any sort of dramatic flare, the earth pony proudly declared. "You're my little sister! You're a member of the Pie family!" She then threw up her hooves, as confetti appeared from out of nowhere!
Scootaloo took the news surprisingly well. "Me? A Pie? But how? I mean, didn't you say you and your sisters were born on a rock farm?"
The mare with a mane and tail all poofy nodded happily. "Yes indeedy. But it turns out my parents had another sister that they never told me about. And it's you! I just found out the news today. Now tell me, does that totally freak your frizz or what?"
But the tomboyish filly's response, was not the one Pinkie had expected. She just threw back her head and laughed. "Okay, you got me good on that one, Pinkie Pie. Did Rainbow Dash put you up to this?"
"What?! Why would she do that?" Pinkie questioned in complete bewilderment. "I'm not joking! I'm being serious here."
Scootaloo just continued to laugh. "It's okay, you don't have to keep up the act, Pinkie. I'm fine with being an orphan, really. I made peace with that a long time ago," And she was quick to explain. "I mean, yeah, it totally stinks not knowing who my birth parents are or anything. But Caring Heart and all the caretakers at the orphanage are like a family to me. Plus I've got Rainbow Dash as my big sister, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's families know me so well I'm kind of like a part of them as well."
"But I'm telling you the truth!" Pinkie protested to Scootaloo. Then, all of a sudden, an idea came into her head. "I know! I can totally prove I'm not lying! Twilight's been doing genealogical research, there's a scroll that has the entire Pie family tree on it. That's how I found out we're related, and now I'm gonna show it to you."
"But Pinkie, Twilight's place is halfway across town from here!" Scootaloo protested with a whine. "If I go with you and don't tell anypony where we're headed, Caring Heart is gonna freak out for sure. There's no way we'll be back before sundown!"
Pinkie's response was to laugh. "You let me worry about that. You just take my hoof and hold it tight."
Against her better judgement (and suspecting nothing) Scootaloo did as she was instructed. Suddenly, she felt herself zooming through Ponyville at an unnatural speed she doubted even Rainbow Dash could achieve! In a matter of seconds, she was gazing at the front door of the Golden Oak Library. The filly was all but speechless. "What?! How?! But... but..."
The pink party pony just giggled and winked. "Come on, let's go inside. Once you see the scroll, everything will all make sense."
Scootaloo thought for sure Pinkie was just pulling some kind of elaborate prank on her. But once the scroll was unfurled, and the filly had scanned it with her own eyes, she could no longer deny the truth. There it was, plain as day. She was indeed the fifth daughter born to Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz Pie in Ponypalooza.
"This... this is... unbelievable!" Scootaloo stuttered, finding herself at a rare loss for words. "How come I never knew about this?! Why didn't Caring Heart or anypony else at the orphanage tell me?! All this time, I thought my birth parents had died or disappeared or something!"
"From what I've been able to gather," Twilight informed the troubled filly. "When Igneous and Cloudy signed the papers to relinquish custody of you, their one request was that you be delivered to the Ponyville Orphanage anonymously. Nopony there was told where you were from."
All at once, several emotions swirled around and swelled up inside Scootaloo. Confusion at this sudden change. Shock at the revelation of both her birth parents, and the fact that Pinkie Pie was now one of her elder siblings. Happiness that she now officially had a big sister she was related to by blood. Anger over the fact that her birth parents had given her away shortly after she was born. And even a little bit of sadness that her parents were boring rock farmers instead of something more awesome (like say, Wonderbolts or royal guards).
"I'd love to stay and chat, Twilight, but I need to get my little sister back to the orphanage before sundown," Pinkie spoke up, as the orange coated filly digested everything. "Apparently, she's on a strict curfew."
Twilight just nodded. "Then you'd better get going," Then she turned to Scootaloo. "Feel free to stop by at any time of day if you have any questions about your family. I'll try my best to explain them, though I think you might be better off asking Pinkie Pie if it involves rock farming."
Pinkie then took Scootaloo by the hoof, and quickly dashed across town with her to the orphanage. She watched as her little sister trotted up the steps of the relatively modest brick building. And as she did, one nagging thought lingered in the party pony's mind. "I'm going to see to it that you get adopted into a loving family, starting today. Sisters honor."