//------------------------------// // The Big Day // Story: Sweet Scootaloo // by Krystal Clearskies //------------------------------// “Today’s the big day.” I told myself as I sat upright on the edge of my bed, rubbing my tired eyes free of the crust which encompassed them, and let out a yawn of exhaustion. Last night had been relatively restless, and I had a nightmare or two, due to the anxiety of today. Today was to be one of the best days of my life, yet all I felt was a sense of anxiety and apprehension. I got out of bed and stumbled down the flight of stairs to my kitchen, intent on getting some coffee. I went to my coffee maker and hit the button, making the machine dispense enough for exactly one strong cup. Thank Celestia for this machine, it made life so easy. It made the coffee on its own every morning at 5am, and kept it warm for when I wanted to come to drink it. This thing was the best 50 bits I’d ever spent. I sat down at the table and sipped my coffee, thinking about things. Right then, Twilight walked into my house through the back door, connected to the kitchen, and smiled at me once she saw me. “Oh good, you’re awake. I was hoping you were. I have these for you!” Twilight said as she laid down a vanilla folder on my table, which was filled to the brim with papers. I gulped a bit as I thought of all the things I would have to sign. But I looked at Twilight, and gave her an appreciative smile. “Wow Twilight, I can’t believe you did this for me. You and the other girls have been so supportive of me, I just can’t thank you six enough. Really.” I said as I directed my gaze back to the vanilla folder, opening it up and starting to go through it. Twilight sat down next to me at the table and smiled. “No problem Jordan, we’re all just so excited for you!” Twilight said as she grabbed at some papers from the pile. She laid them out before me. “I talked to Mayor Mare this morning. You need to sign these 20 papers out of the stack and bring some form of identification with you. Your land deed should suffice. Mayor Mare let me print you a copy, here you go.” Twilight said as she handed me said piece of paper, laminated and looking uber fancy. “Thank you Twily, now let me get to work signing these ok?” I grabbed my pen and started to go through all of the papers, reading them each to make sure I wasn’t signing anything I’d regret or anything. It was a slow process but, finally, in about a half hour, the stack of papers was obliterated, and I looked over at Twilight. “Twily? Do you really think this is a good idea? I mean, I know it was my idea first and everything, but, what if it’s not a good idea?” I asked her, starting to second guess myself. But Twilight shook her head at me. “Jordan, of course I think it’s a great idea. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be helping you so much, and I would tell you straight up that it’s a bad idea. Me and the girls all agree, we think this will be really good for you. We only ever see you in the market when you’re buying groceries, or at the spa once every blue moon. You never go out to party, or hang out with us. We think this will be good for you.” Twilight said with a smile, handing me one last piece of paper. “Last one. This one is more labor intensive. Sign here, initial there, initial there, sign there, date, age, initial again. Ok, looks good!” When I was finished with that sheet, she added it to the pile of papers, making sure they were neat and uniform before stuffing them back inside of the vanilla folder. I sucked in a deep breath, finished my mug of coffee, and stood up. “Well, I guess it’s time to face the music Twilight. Thank you again.” I said to her, and her ears flattened slightly. “Are you sure I can’t go with you? You really don’t want me there?” She asked me, her voice tinted with a twinge of sadness. “Twilight, it’s nothing against you. It’s just, if I’m really going to do this and commit to it, I want to do it all on my own, to make sure I do this how I want it. If you’re there, my decisions and judgment might be clouded. I need to do this alone, ok?” Twilight remained silent, but gave me a deep nod of understanding. “Ok, I’ll be at the castle then. I do need to do some paperwork myself today. I wish you luck, okay? I’ll be back tonight to see how it went, Goodbye, HBFF!” She smiled at me and then walked to the back door, extending out her wings before flying away, leaving me alone. I was really fortunate to have Twilight as a friend. HBFF even stands for Human Best Friend Forever. She really cared for me, for whatever mysterious reason she had. Maybe the fact that I was the only one of my kind made her more interested in me, I’m not sure. I grabbed the vanilla folder and walked back upstairs to my room. I placed the folder on my bed and opened up my closet, turning the light on and looking through said closet. I grabbed my nice striped dress shirt and some slacks, a white tie, and cufflinks. It may have been overkill but, I wanted to be dressed nicely today. After all, first impressions are everything. I put on each garment one by one, making sure they were comfortable yet snug. I then roped the tie around my neck and knotted it, putting the clip on the side of it. I then slipped each cufflink into its slot and clasped them shut. I stepped over to my mirror and smiled, feeling like I looked really good. I grabbed the folder and walked downstairs to my front door. I stepped outside, closed the door, and grabbed my key, locking the door shut. And then, I began walking. My destination was all the way on the other side of town, and it was a long walk, as evidenced by every minute feeling like an entire hour. Soon I felt like I was trodding to some form of doom, but I took a deep breath to calm myself and quell those pitiful thoughts. Today is supposed to be a happy day, not overcast like I was letting my thoughts be. Finally, I arrived at my destination; the Ponyville orphanage. I opened the large front door, and walked inside, the door closing behind me with a loud thunk. Then, I walked over to the receptionist, who was sitting at a table in a room separated by glass. “Hello, can I help you today?” The pony, who had a color palette not unlike the Mayor’s, asked me. I coughed slightly to clear my throat before handing her my papers. “My name is Jordan, and I’m hoping to adopt today.” I said to her, and as if hitting the mare with a boost of adrenaline, she suddenly perked up, sitting upright instead of her lazed back position she was in when I arrived. “Oh my, really? That’s wonderful! The children will just love to meet you! I don’t know you, but trust me, this is a really great thing you’re doing!” In the next moment, I handed her my vanilla folder of papers and she looked over them carefully. “Hmm, thank you for filling these out in advance, it really makes this whole process so much easier. Now…” She said as she grabbed a stamp and began to stamp each paper one by one as she was done looking through them. “Hmm, yes…yes…that’s good…you live in town? Steady income? Good…good…honestly, everything here looks stellar. I have no qualms with your living situation or history. Everything it good to go!” With the end of her sentence, she handed me a bracelet, which was dimly glowing. “It’s a security precaution. I know you’re not a pony, so you using magic isn’t a concern, but it makes it so the unicorn children can’t use it on you either. Also, I have to warn you, sir…be careful. Some of these children have been waiting a long time to be adopted and, well…some of them might be a tab bit, erm, ravenous.” “Ravenous? How do you mean, miss?” I asked her curiously, not fully understanding. “Well, imagine being a little child, and living here. Making friends only to have most of them be adopted into a family, taken away to a better life, whilst you have to stay behind here. Some of the children just…struggle. We’ve had more than a few in my time here who were never adopted, and it breaks my heart.” She said with her ears down flat, the sadness clearly evident in her voice and facial features. “Really? That’s awful…what happens to them when they come of age and haven’t been adopted?” I asked her, really curious now. “Well, when they become working age, we do our best to nurture them for the real world. We help them find jobs to support themselves, and help them find hostels they can live in. But, the poor dears just struggle too hard, having never had a parent figure to teach them right from wrong. We assistants here at the orphanage do our best, but, we’re not qualified parents or teachers, most of us. I dot I’s and cross t’s, I can’t teach a child how to play catch. Sometimes working here breaks my heart, but I like the family feel of this job too much to quit.” The mare told me, and I nodded whilst putting the bracelet on my right arm. “Thank you for talking to me and giving me some perspective, it was really nice meeting you, Mrs…?” I asked her, realizing I hadn’t even gotten her name. She lifted the glass barrier up and smiled, shaking my hand with her hoof. “Papyrus, Mrs. Papyrus is my name, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. Do yourself and all the children a favor and take your time. You don’t have to leave until dinner time tonight if you wish to take that long. Play games with the children, talk to them, do anything you feel like to get to know their personalities. And…good luck, sir.” She said as she lowered the glass and pressed a button, and with a mechanical noise a door not far from me opened. I smiled at the mare gratefully and walked inside the door, taking one last deep breath. “Ok…you’re really here now, there’s no turning back. Time to find a filly or colt to create a new life with.” I told myself gently. There was another door in my way, and after opening it, I found myself in a large cafeteria. A lot of the children were sitting here, some doing homework, some playing board games with friends, and some just kind of lazing about. Luckily, when I walked in, not a lot of them noticed me, thinking I was just a worker pony from here. But that all ended quickly once Scootaloo saw me. She gasped as she saw me and bolted over to me, clearly excited to see me. “Jordan?!” She exclaimed in shock, a grin going from ear to ear. “What the hay are you doing here?! Are you here to volunteer with us today? I’m so happy to see you!” Scootaloo said, and I smiled and tossled her mane how I always did. “Well, more than that Scoots. I’m here to adopt somepony.” I said, and that made the ponies in the room all gasp and hurry over to me, a large crowd of mares and colts in front of me. “You’re going to adopt one of us?!” “Oh my gosh, choose me!” “No, choose me! I’m the best flier!” “Well, I’m the best at magic!” “Hey, I’m the best at solving puzzles!” Soon, they all began talking over each other, telling me why I should adopt them. Suddenly, Scootaloo turned around to face them and whistled loudly to get their attention. “Alright, alright! I know we’re all really excited that somepony is here to adopt one of us, but leave him alone! Give him some space, you hounding diamond dogs!” Scootaloo said, and the other children, realizing their mistake, all went back to what they were doing. I sighed in relief and tossled Scoots’ mane again to thank her. “Thanks kid, you really saved me from that one. Since when did you become Mrs. Voice Of Reason?” I asked her, giving her a grin. She blushed slightly and rubbed the back of her neck. “I dunno, maybe I’ve been hanging out with Sweetie Belle too much. Hey, no matter what, I know you’re gonna make one of my friends really happy today, and you’ll be a great papa to them.” Scootaloo said with a smile, and I then thought of something. I met Scootaloo not too long after I came to Equestria; one night, Twilight asked me if I could babysit the Crusaders for Rarity and Applejack, since Twilight had royal business in Canterlot she couldn’t postpone. Anyway, that made the four of us friends after that. When I met her she was 10 years old, and now was 12. She was only 6 years away from working age, which meant she only had 6 more years to be adopted. 6 years may seem like a lot of time, but the two years I’d been here had gone by in a flash. So I understood that time flies by. Right then, I came to a decision. I wanted to get to know Scootaloo better. But I had to play it off as if I just wanted to hang out with her, I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. So I tried to play it off cool. “Hey Scoots, before I meet the other kids, wanna play a game real quick?” I asked her, and immediately her eyes lit up with sparkles. “Oh my gosh, totally! Follow me!” Scootaloo said excitedly,and bolted outside through the back door of the orphanage. I chuckled and followed the filly, seeing that outside there was a swingset for ponies. “You can push me on the swingset! I can’t use my wings to propel me and nopony feels like pushing me today. C’mon!” Scootaloo said as she bounced up into the swing. I chuckled a bit before getting behind the swing and placing my hand on the plastic. “Scoots, you’re 12 years old, aren’t you a bit old for this stuff?” I asked, to which she promptly shook her head. “No way! Now push!” She commanded me, and with a chuckle, I used the strength in my biceps to and chest to push the swing forward, a little harder than I probably should have, but I knew Scoots was an adrenaline junkie. “WHEEE!” Scoots cried out in sheer joy, her tiny wings flapping the entire time. I won’t bore you with those details, but, Scoots had so much fun. I ended up pushing her on the swing for about half an hour before I finally grabbed the swing and stopped it. “Alright Scoots, my arm is tired now. I need a break. C’mon, let’s go back inside, it looks like it’s about to rain.” I said, noticing some dark clouds forming the sky. Scootaloo whimpered a little bit before agreeing and following me inside. We sat down at a cafeteria table together, and Scoots kicked it gently. “Hmmph! Dumb rain, you can’t have any fun inside!” She said dejectedly, clearly wanting to be outside. I saw a chessboard nearby and grabbed it, plopping it down in between us. “How about this?” I asked. Scootaloo wrinkled her nose a bit, looking at me in surprise. “Chess? Seriously? That game’s for nerds! And I’m not a nerd!” She said, pushing the chessboard towards me, away from her. I chuckled and put it back in its original position. “Oh? Are you sure? How can you be so sure? Have you ever played a game?” I asked, knowing I just played her trap card. She stammered a bit. “I…you…uh…no…” She said silently, and I could tell from her face she was still going to refuse. So I decided to keep trying. “Scoots, chess isn’t just for nerds. You think I’m cool, don’t you? I happen to love chess.” I said, seeing in her face that statement was messing with her mind a bit. “Well…you are cool. But I still don’t want to play!” She said, crossing her forelegs stubbornly. I chuckled a bit, deciding to go for the jugular. “Oh? What’s the matter, little hayseed, afraid that I’ll whup you at it?” That lit a fire inside Scootaloo, I could see flames in her pupils. She growled gently at me. “You. Are. ON!” She shouted at me, uncrossing her forelegs and spinning the board so she had the white pieces and could go first. We got a couple of moves into the game before I noticed something. “For somepony who hates chess, you sure aren’t doing too bad at it, Scoots. Were you lying to me about not liking chess?” I chided her, to which a small blush formed on her face. “I…you…no! I’ve just watched Sweetie Belle and Rarity play it a ton of times. I’m just going off of their games!” She tried to assure me, but I knew that was a lie. She was actually playing really good right now, far better than any rookie should be able to. But I had the game under control. Let me explain: in Equestrian chess, the king is a dragon piece, the queen is an alicorn, a rook is a unicorn, a knight is a pegasus, and a pawn is an earth pony. Scootaloo, knowing the alicorn was the most powerful piece, made the mistake of bringing that piece out as soon as she could in the game. I chuckled a bit, and before she knew it, I captured her alicorn with a pegasus. This made her nearly freak out. “Wait, what?! How did you do that?!” She asked me in equal parts shock and confusion. I smirked slightly, ready to explain. “Scoots, one important rule of chess: save the alicorn for as late in the game as you absolutely can. Because once your alicorn is gone, your chances of win go down a LOT. It’s better to use the other pieces as much as you’re able to.” I then moved my alicorn across the board, where my two unicorns were situated without her knowing. Before she knew it, I called out a checkmate. As soon as I won, Scootaloo’s eyes were in a panic. She just couldn’t believe she’d lost the game so quickly, so easily. But instead of getting mad, she just calmly asked me how I did it. I smiled to myself internally, so glad that she was willing to learn. Maybe she wasn’t as hard headed as she portrayed herself to be to everypony else. “Well Scoots, it’s simple really. Ok, so let’s replay it. Your dragon was at B4…” I said, explaining to her what chess coordinates meant. I thought she’d struggle with it, but she actually picked it up pretty quick. “And the general rule is you want to keep your dragon as close to your side of the board as possible. Since you moved your dragon so far out, I was able to surround him. Checkmate happens when your dragon can’t escape in any direction. So by moving my alicorn here…” I said, recreating my move. “…your dragon was completely surrounded. And then I slayed him, took his money and his wife and took over his kingdom.” I said, deciding to add some humor to the story. Scootaloo just rolled her eyes at it, facehoofing for a second before looking at the board. “Oh, ok! I think I understand now. So I should have kept my dragon back and not used my alicorn as much as possible! Oh ponyfeathers, why am I having so much fun playing this nerdy game?!” She shouted in despair, and I let out a soft chuckle. “I guess this should show you that just because something is nerdy, doesn’t mean you can’t like it Scoots.” I said, taking a sip of a coffee I’d gotten from Papyrus a little while ago. I then looked at the clock and gasped. It was almost dinnertime already. Playing chess and stuff had taken more time than I realized! I had to come to a decision, and quickly! “Aw man…it’s dinner, which I guess means you got to get going huh?” Scoots asked me, sadness heavy in her voice. Right then and there, hearing how sad she was for me to have to leave, I knew my decision. I was going to adopt Scootaloo. It just…felt right. It was hard to explain. I decided on a cunning plan, so she wouldn’t know I’d chosen to adopt her until the last moment. I got up and fixed my pants, nodding gently. “Yeah Scoots, I need to get going. I’m going to think over the night and come back tomorrow, ok?” I said, and motioned for her to follow me to the front door, making her think it was time to say goodbye. “Aw man…but I had such a good time today! I wish you could stay here or something. Maybe when you come back tomorrow we can play some more chess together!” Scootaloo said excitedly, her tail kinda wagging back and forth, and I chuckled a bit. “Sorry Scoots, but I don’t think we’ll have time tomorrow.” I said, tossling her hair again. She pouted heavily as I did so. “Aw…but why not?! You’re gonna be here tomorrow anyway!” She said while pouting, and I shook my head. “Well, see, the thing is, I’m actually not gonna be coming back tomorrow.” I said, and this made Scootaloo gasp, and ask me why. I then smiled, and got down onto one knee, so I was down to her level. “I’m not coming back tomorrow because I don’t need to, Scoots. I already know the pony I’m going to adopt.” I said with my smile growing wider, to which Scootaloo gasped even louder. “What?! Who are you adopting, who who who?! Tell me!” She demanded with a stomp of her hoof, and I chuckled from her enthusiasm. “I’ll give you a hint. They’re orange and purple, and I spent all day playing chess with them and pushing them on the swingset and having an incredible day with them.” I said with a toothy grin. Scootaloo seemed to think about it for a second or two before her eyes opened as wide as saucer plates, and I could see the cogs in her head spin to full RPM’s. “You…me…you…AHHHHH!” She screamed happily and suddenly charged me, tackling me to the wooden floor, which was easier since I was on one knee already. “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! YOU’RE GONNA BE MY DAD! YOU’RE GONNA BE THE COOLEST DAD EVER!” Scootaloo shouted to the heavens, and I smiled and pet her mane gently. “And you’re going to be the coolest daughter ever. Go and get your things, Scoots.” I said as I made her and I sit up. Before she left, and surprised me by giving me the biggest bear hug I’d ever gotten in my life, so tight I was shocked such power could come from a filly of 12 years old. She didn’t say anything, and neither did I. When we were done embracing, Scootaloo sprang to her hooves and bolted up the flight of stairs to the bedrooms as quick as she could. I smiled and stood up, dusting my clothes off. I turned to my right to see Papyrus, who looked to be near on the verge of tears. “That…I’ve worked here for fifteen years, and that was by far the most heartwarming thing I’ve ever seen in my time here. You…you have such a kind soul, Jordan.” Papyrus said to me, and I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck shyly. “Oh, that? It was nothing. I just wanted to make it special.” I said to her, not thinking much of it. A few seconds later, Scoots came barreling down the staircase, moving so quickly it should have just been impossible. She had a big sack of her belongings and had her scooter in hoof. “Ok, I got everything I need dad! Can we go now, can we can we can?!” Scootaloo asked me, nearly bouncing off the walls in excitement. I chuckled and looked at Papyrus, who just nodded, conveying to me there was no finish up paperwork that needed to be taken care of. I grabbed Scootaloo’s sack of belongings and lugged it over my shoulder, smiling at her. “Ok Scoots, but don’t you want to say goodbye first? You may not see your friends again for a long time.” I told her, and I watched her smile slowly deflate into a bit of a frown. “Oh…no, I’m fine Jordan…” She said sadly, like something was wrong. I wanted to question her, but it was getting late, and if we were to get home at a reasonable time, I needed to get going with her now. “Ok Scoots, if you’re sure you’re sure. Papyrus, thank you for everything, and have a great night, ok? Tell the staff here I said thank you too. See you in the future!” I told Papyrus before shuffling to the front door and holding it open for Scoots. Scootaloo trotted out of the building with me, and before I knew it, we were back at my home. This was quite the contrast to my walk earlier. This walk felt like it went by in a blink. I got my keyring and unlocked the front door, letting Scootaloo run inside. I turned the living room light on, and closed the front door, locking it behind me. Scootaloo looked around the house, taking everything in. “Whoa, it’s so…clean in here. It looks like one of those houses you see in the movies, where the dad is married and has kids and everything.” She told me, and I chuckled, placing her sack of stuff on the floor. “Well, I may not have a wife or much of that other stuff, but I do know one thing I do have now. I have the coolest daughter in the entire world.” I told Scootaloo as I tossled her hair again, making her giggle. “So, where do I sleep dad? Here?” She asked me as she sat on the couch, and I looked at her in surprise. “What? Scootaloo, why in the world would I have you sleep on a couch? Absolutely not! Follow me.” I told her, picking up her sack of things and walking up the flight of stairs. Now, remember earlier when I said Twilight was a BIG part of all of this? Well, she helped me fit a room for my adopted. It was a generic room, in neutral colors, and kind of boring, but we did our best to outfit it with everything a young one could need. A bed, a desk, a night stand, a closet, etc. I led Scoots to the door of her new bedroom, opened the door, and led her inside. Behind me, I heard the world’s biggest gasp. I grimaced a bit, knowing she wouldn’t like it. “Now, I know it’s an ultra boring room, so tomorrow we’ll go to the market and buy some stuff to Scootaloo it up, okay?” I told her, but I got no response. I turned to look at her, and when I did I saw the world’s biggest dropped jaw on her face. Then she squealed happily, jumping on the bed and hopping on it. “I HAVE A ROOM! I HAVE A ROOM!” She shouted in glee, doing flips and spins on the mattress. It was then when it hit me, back at the orphanage, she didn’t have her own bedroom. She didn’t have her own space. They all had to share one massive bedroom with their own beds. I guess I just failed to realize beforehand how big of a deal this would be for her. Oops. “Of course you have your own room, Scoots. And like I said, tomorrow we’ll really make it your room, ok?” I told her as I grabbed her sack and opened it, deciding to put away what little stuff she had with her. After putting things away, I looked at the clock I’d set up in here and gasped. “Scoots! I know you’re really excited to be here and everything, but it’s way late! You need to get to bed.” I told her, and to my surprise she actually got into her new bed without complaint. It was then that I heard/saw her yawn, indicating that she was actually tired. I smiled and walked over to her, kneeling at her bedside and gently rubbing my head on her gorgeous face, getting her mane out of her eyes. She gave me her biggest smile yet. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. We’re gonna have so much fun! And I’m totally gonna kick your flank at chess too!” She said with that cocky smirk of hers, and I chuckled. “Yeah well, get some sleep. You look dead tired and you’ll have a big day tomorrow. Good night scoots.” I was prepared for a lot of replies, but what she said rocked my world like an earthquake and flipped it upside down. “Goodnight dad, I love you. You’re the best ever.” She said, and I had to try to keep my composure. She just called me daddy and said she loved me. Trying to keep my stoic face plastered on, I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, before walking to the doorframe and flipping off the light switch. I closed the door, and kind of stumbled into my bedroom across the way. I slept naked, so I quickly shed all of my layers and got under the covers, thinking deeply once my head rested on the plush pillows. Those nine words. Those nine words were all I could think about, and they kept replaying in my head like a record. I’d done it. I’d adopted a child. And not just any child, but Scootaloo, one of the sweetest most pure hearted children I’d ever met. If I was happy before, I was on cloud nine now. As I rolled onto my side, the throes of deep sleep grabbing at me, I only had one last thought on my mind. I’m so happy to have my Scootaloo.