//------------------------------//
// A Very Special Day 
// Story: Sisters Reunited 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo spoke not a single word for the rest of the day, even after she returned to Ponyville with Pinkie and the Cakes. How could her birth parents just up and do such a thing? They hadn't even considered what she wanted. It was almost like they were ashamed to have given birth to a pegasus instead of an earth pony.

Just before bedtime that night, Pinkie pleaded with her little sister. "Please, you must understand," She insisted to the filly. "I was every bit as mad as you are now when I first learned about all of this."

But the young pegasus just brushed her big sister aside. "I don't want to even think about those two right now, let alone talk about them," She snorted in fury. "They're not my parents, they wanted nothing to do with me from the very moment I was born. I was just a burden to them, so they dumped me in the first town they could think of, and forgot all about me. I'm just grateful they left me at the orphanage, rather than leave me to fend for myself in the cold streets."

"Scootaloo, please!" Pinkie pleaded again, much louder this time.

Scootaloo shook her head. "What part of 'I don't want to even think about them' don't you understand?" She coldly stated. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. Now that I have a real family, I'll be happy if I never have to hear from my birth parents ever again. They were never a part of my life to begin with, so why should I 'pretend' to care about them when I really don't?"

"Scootaloo," Mrs. Cake commented in a concerned tone. "I know you're upset about what you found out today, and you have every right to be. But don't you think it's a little extreme to forget all about Igneous and Cloudy forever? You heard their side of the story, they gave you up out of love. So that you could have a decent life."

"And that was the best thing they ever did for me." Scootaloo humphed, and then trotted up to her bedroom without saying another word. Reluctantly, the Cakes decided it best to drop the subject of her biological parents for now.

For the next several weeks, Scootaloo slowly settled into her new family. Baking, tending to customers, and helping to take care of the twins didn't give her as much free time for crusading as she had previously enjoyed, but the filly slowly came to not mind it so much. Heck, she started to wonder if maybe she would get her cutie mark in any of the new responsibilities she was taking on.

All the while, the tomboyish filly never spoke a word about her origins, despite numerous attempts by Pinkie (and sometimes even the Cakes) to steer the subject in that direction. She would always reply with "I said I don't want to talk about it.", and then would switch to whatever other topic aroused her interest at the moment.

But life works in mysterious and unexpected ways. And sooner than the pegasus would've liked, she was forced to confront her past and make amends, or at least attempt to do so.





Well accustomed to her morning routine by this point, Scootaloo woke up one morning as the rays of Celestia's sun shone through the blinds in her bedroom. The filly yawned and stretched her limbs, brushing aside the Wonderbolts themed bed sheets her parents had bought for her.

In fact, almost the entire room was decorated with Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash stuff: Posters, alarm clocks, plushies, you name it. About the only thing that wasn't part of this theme, was the Daring Do calendar that hung on the left side of the room near the closest. A cherished Hearth's Warming gift the filly had received from Caring Heart.

Glancing at the dates printed on the calendar, the tomboyish pegasus smiled as she marked off another day, right before one that was circled in red ink. Tomorrow was her birthday, and Scootaloo was looking forward to a splendid party that Pinkie Pie was sure to throw for her.

But today there was nothing of particular importance, and all her friends would probably be busy with last minute gift buying and wrapping. So Scootaloo anticipated a slow and quiet day that she would spend at Sugarcube Corner, either baking cupcakes and muffins (her first attempt at making a cake hadn't turned out so well, it had taken all day to clean up the kitchen), or perhaps helping Pinkie Pie watch Pound and Pumpkin Cake. "Hopefully that'll just mean being their playmate this time. I swear, I don't know how Pinkie gets them to behave." She thought to herself, nervously, as she took her morning shower, and then headed downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast passed uneventfully right up until it was drawing to a close. For that was when Mr. Cake went out to retrieve the daily mail, and he returned holding a letter in his mouth. Placing it on the table, he informed his adopted daughter. "It's for you, Scootaloo."

Without even checking for an address, Scootaloo ripped apart the envelope holding the letter and read it to herself. When she had finished, the filly's happy mood faded completely, replaced by a mixture of sorrow and anger. "It's... from... Pinkie's parents."

"Ooh, Mom and Dad!" Pinkie eagerly exclaimed, bouncing over. "What does it say, Scootaloo?!"

But Scootaloo only scowled. "They're going to be in town today, and they intend to go birthday shopping with me."

"So? Sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to hang out with them and talk to them again," Pinkie encouraged. "Otherwise, I'm gonna have to attend the Pie family reunion all by myself. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Pinkie," Scootaloo bitterly remarked, her eyes narrowing a little. "I don't want anything to do with them. They wanted to forget about me, and would've kept on doing so if you hadn't found out about their secret. Why should I bother to pretend I'm happy to see them, when I can barely even tolerate them as it is?"

The pink party pony felt her mane and tail deflate a little upon hearing this. By now she had expected Scootaloo to be more on terms with her birth parents' decision to give her up. Pinkie wanted nothing more than for her little sister to embrace her Pie heritage.

Mrs. Cake spoke up next. Looking Scootaloo square in her purple eyes, she said to the filly. "Scootaloo, I know how you feel about your birth parents, and I know you want to do your best not to think about them. But the time has come for you to let go of the past."

"So I'm just supposed to forgive them?! Act like I don't have a problem with what they did?!" Scootaloo stubbornly protested.

Mrs. Cake only shook her head. "Nopony says you have to forgive them. But holding on to your hatred of them for what they did, isn't going to make you feel any better."

"But that's the thing, I don't hate them. And I really want to," Scootaloo confessed with a sigh. "But every time I try to, something stops me. And I just know if I let them into my life, even just for today, it's gonna be that much harder for me to hold onto what they did against me. They abandoned me almost from the moment I was born, yet a small part of me still feels something for them. All I want is to do is not think about them and forget about them, like they did with me. But I can't, and it's been driving me crazy."

Now having gained a sense as how to troubled her filly was, Mrs. Cake carefully trotted over to Scootaloo's location and lightly rubbed her back with a hoof. "I understand, it's incredibly complicated and you've never felt anything like this before. But Igneous and Cloudy clearly want a second chance to be a part of your life. How much you're willing to let them have that is up to you. No matter what though, you've got to let go and stop dwelling on what they did. You have a loving and supportive family, and I think even Igneous and Cloudy know that."

After several minutes of silence, Scootaloo let out another sigh. "Fine, I guess if they really want to spend time with me so badly, they can," But she was quick to add. "But it's just for this occasion, nothing's going to magically change between us. And I'm not talking to them anymore than I have to."

Mrs. Cake simply nodded in agreement. "That's perfectly okay, Scootaloo. I'll let them know that."





Half an hour later, Scootaloo was trotting alongside Igneous and Cloudy, as the elderly earth ponies were taking in the sights and sounds of the place two of their daughters called home.

Naturally, they tried to break up the silence as they trotted past various shops in the hopes of finding one that sold something Scootaloo might want.

"So, this is Ponyville, is it not?" Igneous commented to nopony in particular. "A very fine place if I do so myself, I can see why it is that Pinkamina has chosen to live here."

"Perhaps it would've been best to consult her on the knowledge of where gifts may be purchased," Cloudy added, looking across to her husband. "It seems like there aren't many shops around here that sell such things."

Scootaloo remained silent, unwilling to say anything. Her eyes fixated on anything and everything except the two ponies trotting beside her.

Igneous looked across to Cloudy, the two of them exchanging worried glances. "Do you know of any nice gift shops in this immediate area, Scootaloo?" He inquired, hoping for a reaction of some sort.

"There should be a party store just up ahead, Pinkie tends to frequent it whenever she needs supplies for her parties." Scootaloo acknowledged, but didn't even bother to make eye contact with Igneous, she instead opted to stare at the ground.

"And do you have any special preferences for a gift? It is for your birthday, after all." Cloudy commented to Scootaloo.

"Whatever you wanna spend your bits on is fine, they always say it's the thought that counts." Scootaloo replied, still staring at the ground sullenly.

As the three ponies trotted through the doors of the massive party store in Ponyville a few seconds later, Cloudy and Igneous tried again to break the silence and get Scootaloo to talk to them. "Scootaloo," Cloudy began, as she retrieved a shopping cart. "I know you're upset about... the reason why you were left here in Ponyville. Igneous and I both wanted so badly to hold onto to you."

Scootaloo just coldly replied with. "Not badly enough, apparently."

Igneous sadly sighed, adjusting his stetson a little. "Scootaloo Dialine Pie Cake, you must know that you're not the only one who was hurt by the decision that your mother and I came to," His lips quivered a bit as the elderly stallion confessed. "When I caved in and signed the release papers, I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror for months. I wanted so badly to run to Ponyville, rip up the papers, and take you back. In time, however, I had to come to terms with my decision. I had given you up so that you could have a proper life. A life free of the rock farm, and one that would be more in tune to the fact that you're a pegasus and not an earth pony."

Scootaloo said nothing in return.

"Sending you to Ponyville was the hardest thing I ever had to do," Cloudy sorrowfully confessed. "To know that one of my own would grow up never knowing where she was originally from. But when I held you in my hooves for the first time, I knew you would never be satisfied growing up on a rock farm, especially when you would be expected to continue the tradition. To be set in front of the Choosing Stone and assigned a mate. For a pegasus like you, you needed much better."

Finally, Scootaloo looked up at the two earth ponies. But her expression was difficult to read. "You say all that, and part of me thinks you're telling the truth. But another part of me believes you're lying," She confessed. "If you're trying to be involved in my life now, it's too late. I have a loving family in the Cakes, I've got friends and honorary family all around me here. For years I grew up knowing nothing about you guys. And now that I do know, I wish I didn't," She paused considerably, before the filly added. "I... guess what I'm trying to say is, I appreciate what you're doing, but it's not going to change how I feel about you. I'm not much of a Pie, and I don't think I ever will be."

"Well it doesn't matter how much of a Pie you are, a Pie is still a Pie. And you'll always be part of the family." Igneous replied to Scootaloo.

"At the least, we hope you'll write to us every now and then, to keep in touch." Cloudy added optimistically.





The rest of the day was a blur for Scootaloo, though she did manage to remember what her birth parents bought: A teddy bear. She decided not to mention that she didn't really sleep with stuffed animals anymore (she did rest with a Rainbow Dash plushie, but that was different).

And when next day came and the birthday party was held, the tomboyish pegasus was a little surprised to learn that Igneous and Cloudy had already dropped off their gift and left town. She didn't dwell on the matter for too long though, because it was still her birthday after all, regardless of who showed up.

Speaking of which, it seemed like almost everypony the filly had ever known showed up for the party. She had never seen Sugarcube Corner this packed before.

Soon it came time for presents, and there was one gift the pegasus was already trying to keep an eye out for, the one Cloudy and Igneous had bought yesterday. However, the present was nowhere in sight. No doubt buried amidst the huge heap of presents that greeted her eager purple eyes.

Oh well, that gift could wait. It wasn't like the order the presents were opened in mattered much. So Scootaloo just took a random gift from the top of the stack, taking note of the name printed on the tag. It was a combined gift from her fellow Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Ripping apart the wrapping paper, she was soon greeted with the sight of a brand new trailer hitch. "Awesome!" She happily exclaimed. "This is just what I needed for my trusty scooter! The old hitch was starting to get really rusty, and I wasn't sure what I was going to do."

"Glad ya like it, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom happily declared. "They say this new hitch'll make it possible for you to pull even heavier loads with your scooter than you could do before."

"And that means we can do all kinds of things we couldn't do before!" Sweetie Belle smiled happily. "Our crusades will be even grander, and we'll surely get our cutie marks!"

Scootaloo eagerly nodded. "Yeah! I can't wait until I get this thing hooked up."

After opening a few more gifts, Scootaloo was surprised to come across one that had a tag which read: "From, Diamond Tiara". It was true that the rich filly had stopped picking on Scootaloo since the adoption party, but they had hardly spoken a word in the time since. Still, a gift was a gift, so the filly opened it. She was surprised to discover that it was the latest book in the Daring Do series: Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower. And judging from the overall condition of the book, it appeared to have been pulled right off the shelf.

"I was able to convince my father to write to A. K. Yearling and get a first edition copy of the book," Diamond Tiara boasted, though her boast sounded less malicious and more good natured. "I know we haven't really spoken since your adoption by the Cakes, but I really wanted you to know that I am a different pony now. I'm sorry for all the teasing remarks and comments I made to you and your Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"You really mean it?" Scootaloo asked with understandable skepticism. "You're not pulling my leg or anything?"

Diamond nodded, approaching Scootaloo with noticeable unease. "Sorry I haven't had the chance to say anything sooner. I've been trying to find more leads about my own mother, but I've found very little," And with a slight bit of worry reflected in her voice, she added. "And I've also spending a lot of time at my Aunt Spoiled's. She seems to be taking an unusually strong interest in me for whatever reason."

"Aunt Spoiled?" The pegasus questioned, this was her first time hearing of such a pony.

Tiara nodded in confession. "I wouldn't recommend you meeting her. She has very... strong opinions about ponies like you, let's just leave it at that."





After that unexpected development, the rest of the gifts were opened with relatively little fanfare. That is, until there were only two presents left. By process of elimination, Scootaloo already knew that one of them was from Cloudy and Igneous. So then, who could the other present be from?

The filly didn't have long to wait to find out. Examining the tag of the unknown present, she discovered that it was from Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Ripping apart the wrapping paper, the pegasus was surprised to discover a thick, notepad like object with a hard spine of blue. To say nothing of the horseshoe symbol that looked not unlike a lock.

Mr. Cake smiled, approaching his daughter as he explained to her. "It's your own personal journal, you can even lock it so that only your unique hoofprint can open it."

Mrs. Cake, also grinned, and added. "Now you can write down whatever you want, and nopony but you has to know about it. You can also use it to keep track of important dates, like you do with your calendar."

"Thank you, both of you! You really didn't have to do that!" Scootaloo happily exclaimed, embracing both ponies in a hug.

Mr. Cake just beamed back. "You're our daughter, but we don't want you to feel like you have to always tell us everything that's going on in your life."

Mrs. Cake then cleared her throat and instructed. "We can help you get your journal set up later if you need help. For now though, you still have one last gift to open. And I think you know who it's from."

Scootaloo sighed, knowing that this was the moment she had both been anticipating and dreading at the same time. But she couldn't put it off any longer. Carefully grabbing the present (now all by itself), she didn't even need to examine the tag. She carefully ripped apart the wrapping paper, and sure enough the teddy from yesterday greeted her eyes.

However, attached to the teddy bear was a note. The tomboyish pegasus carefully grabbed it and read it, the note read as follows:

To our very special daughter, Scootaloo,

We really wanted to be present for your birthday party this year, but after much debate we decided it would be best not to attend. Your birthday is a special occasion, and showing up to it when you're barely on speaking terms with us would only make things more awkward.

But we hope you'll cherish this teddy, and think of it as a sign of our love for you. Whenever you feel just a little bit homesick, or even just need something to hug, we hope this teddy will suffice.

And if you ever decide to come back to Ponypalooza someday (though we want that to be on your terms, not ours) we'll leave the front door open for you, and tell you anything you want to know.

Love,

Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz Pie

Fortunately, Scootaloo had read the note to herself. But that didn't stop her from tugging the teddy bear anyway and shedding a few tears. It was just like the one she faintly remembered sleeping with during her first few years in the orphanage. Sadly, years of neglect took their toll on the old stuffed animal, and one day it had been tossed away without a second thought.

But at long last, the filly had found a suitable replacement. Something that not even her plushie Rainbow Dash could lay claim to being. And something that would always remind her of the love her birth parents still had for her, even if she was no longer a Pie.