//------------------------------// // 1 – Dresses and Dating // Story: Piece by Piece // by Krickis //------------------------------// Chapter One Dresses and Dating ⠀ ⠀ As usual, Scootaloo found herself in a rush. She seemed to rush everywhere she went, no matter how many times she tried to remember to give herself more time. She was good at rushing. When it came down to it, Scootaloo was good at many things. Things like wasting time, for example, and not at all things like being on time. It wasn’t like she even had any prep work to blame if she was late, which it was very much looking like she would be. Scootaloo was always doing that. She got too caught up in what she was doing and lost sight of what was more important. Today it was making modifications on her scooter, so with luck, she could make up for some lost time as she tore through town faster than ever before. If she wasn’t lucky, well… She just hoped she would be lucky. She grabbed a towel and dried off, having just left the shower. Late as she was, she wasn’t going to show up with grease on her fur as well. She took a look at herself in the mirror and saw that, understandably, she looked like she was just getting out of the shower. She weighed her options. She should take the time to at least brush her mane and tail, but… she was already late. It wasn’t like she even cared how she looked. And Spike had seen her dishevelled plenty of times before, he should be used to it by now. But then again… she was supposed to try and look her best for him. With a groan, she grabbed a brush and ran it through her mane as quickly as possible, then did the same with her tail. She tore out more hair than she would’ve liked, but if she went bald, that would be a problem for future Scootaloo. Besides, right now, present Scootaloo was running late. She tossed on her helmet and ran out the door, grabbing her scooter and flapping her wings to propel herself as fast as she could. She sped into town, weaving her way around ponies going about their day. It earned her a few disapproving glares, and some ponies yelled at her to slow down. She didn’t pay attention to either. She was positive this was the fastest her scooter had ever gone, and she felt incredible as the wind raced past her. Straight to Rarity’s boutique, no distractions. She just might actually make it on time for once! “Hey, Squirt!” Scootaloo flared out her wings, using them to catch air and slow herself down. She looked to her right and saw Rainbow was flying along beside her. “Hey, Dash.” “Got a second? I kinda wanted to talk to you about something.” “Uhh…” Normally, Scootaloo would always make time for Rainbow. But she did have somewhere to be… “Is it important?” “Kinda, it’s – look out!” Distracted by the talk with Rainbow, Scootaloo nearly ran headfirst into two stallions carrying a large box between them. Too late to stop, she turned the scooter on its side but kept her forward momentum. The result was that she skidded along the ground on her side, scooter first, and went right under the box. On the other side, she tried to right her scooter again, but she lost control. She let go of her scooter and found herself rolling along the ground. She came to a stop and groaned as she reached a hoof to her head. Rainbow flew over to her. “You okay!?” “Hey, kid! Watch where you’re going!” one of the stallions shouted. “Hey, back off!” Rainbow shot back. Scootaloo just laughed and pushed herself up. There was some pain, but nothing she couldn’t deal with. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Rainbow helped Scootaloo brush herself off. “You were really booking there. New mods on the scooter?” “Yeah!” Scootaloo announced excitedly. “I think this is the best I’ve ever had it!” “Sweet! Let’s go grab some ice cream or something and you can tell me all about it.” That did sound pretty awesome. Rainbow didn’t really know the mechanics of it like Scootaloo did, but she took an interest in it for her little sister and was at least able to follow along with Scootaloo’s explanations. It was fun having someone to explain it to, especially when that someone was Rainbow Dash. But… “Maybe another time? I’m on my way to meet with Spike.” Rainbow winced. “Well, I did kinda have something else I wanted to talk about too, but…” She looked at Scootaloo then shook her head. “You know what? Never mind. Go have fun with Spike, we can always talk some other time.” “Alright, I’ll come and find you later.” Scootaloo mounted her scooter again and used a wing to wave. “Later!” At least it wasn’t a long delay, but still, there was no way Scootaloo was making it to the boutique on time. With that in mind, she didn’t go quite as fast for the rest of the trip. It was for the best anyway, since even if she’d avoided serious injury, she was still sore from the first wipeout. The rest of the trip to the Carousel Boutique went by without incident, and Scootaloo parked her scooter against the building under one of its awnings. She examined herself one last time outside the door. ‘So much for looking nice…’ The wipeout hadn’t done any serious damage, but she had a few new scrapes and could do with brushing her mane again. She took the chance to at least fix a few feathers that were out of place, but that was all she could do before heading inside. A bell on the door chimed, informing anyone inside that she had arrived. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!” Rarity’s voice called out. “Oh, Scootaloo! So nice to see you, darling.” “Hey, Scoots!” Spike said. He was carrying a bundle of fabric for Rarity, which caused Scootaloo to smirk. He had gotten over his childhood crush years ago, but he still couldn’t resist lending her a claw whenever he was in the shop. “Hi, Spike. Hey, Rarity.” Scootaloo walked over to the others. “Sorry I’m late, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” “Late?” Rarity asked. She turned to Spike. “So it was Scootaloo we were waiting on? Spikey Wikey wouldn’t tell me anything.” Spike blushed at the nickname. “Yeah, I was waiting on Scootaloo.” He frowned as he took a better look at her. “Are you okay? You look a little banged up.” “I wiped out on the way over,” Scootaloo admitted. “I’m okay though.” “You’re not hurt are you?” Spike set the fabric on a nearby desk and knelt down to examine her scrapes himself. She rolled her eyes. “I said I’m fine, Spike. Relax.” “I just worry about you.” “I know, but it’s fine!” “Ahem.” They both jumped and found Rarity watching them with a knowing smile. “Do my eyes and ears deceive me, or is there something going on here?” Scootaloo and Spike looked at one another, both of them wearing sheepish expressions. Scootaloo stepped closer to Spike, who put an arm around her. Rarity squealed happily. “Oh, I can’t believe it! You two make such a lovely couple! And –” Rarity gasped “– that’s why we were waiting to get started on your outfit, isn’t it Spike? You two want to match!” Spike scratched his neck with his free hand. “Well, yeah. The Gala will be our first formal event as a couple, so we thought maybe it would be kinda, I don’t know, cool to match.” Scootaloo snickered. “Actually we thought it would be super lame, but we decided to do it anyway.” Rarity looked at Scootaloo sharply. “I assure you there is nothing lame about wanting to look your best, especially if it’s with your special somepony. Er, or special somedragon as the case may be.” “And that’s why we came to you!” Spike said before Scootaloo had the chance to insist that it was lame. To be fair, she at least thought it was lame in a fun way. “You’re the best at this sort of thing, we know you’ll be able to do something incredible for our outfits!” Rarity giggled. “Yes, well… it’s all true! Worry not, you’re in capable hooves. But perhaps first we ought to do something about your current appearance, Scootaloo. You are looking a bit dishevelled.” Scootaloo sighed. She had seen this coming. “Fine.” Rarity had Scootaloo take a seat, then she started brushing her mane. She took a lot more care with it than Scootaloo herself did. “Now then,” she said as she worked, apparently able to take care of Scootaloo’s mane without sparing a thought on it, “do tell, how long have you two been an item?” “A month,” Scootaloo said, her head bobbing a bit as the hairbrush did its job. “I think it was a long time coming, though.” “Yeah, I just… was just trying to work up the nerve to ask her.” Scootaloo laughed. “You say that like I didn’t ask you out in the end.” “Well, I didn’t say I did work up the nerve…” “Aww, you should’ve asked for my help,” Rarity said to Spike. “I dare say I know a thing or two about winning the fair lady’s heart.” Scootaloo was glad Spike had kept her out of it, although she tactfully didn’t say that. She was sure that Rarity would have come up with some frou-frou plan that would’ve just been super awkward for both of them. “Yeah I know, you helped Twilight figure out how to ask out Fluttershy,” Spike said with the distinctive tone of someone who had heard that story dozens of times. Scootaloo wondered if it was Twilight or Rarity that liked to talk about her part in getting the couple together. “Well, I did,” Rarity said matter of factly. “So, a whole month then. I must say I’m surprised I’m only now hearing about this.” “Guess that means Sweetie Belle kept it secret after all,” Scootaloo said with a smirk. Really, she had no doubts. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were her best friends, they were practically like her sisters. She knew they’d keep her secrets. “We didn’t want to rush into telling everyone,” Spike explained. “Figured we’d wait a little bit to make sure things worked out before causing a big scene.” Rarity gasped. “Does Twilight know?” Spike nodded. “Twilight was the one we were mainly keeping it a secret from, since we didn’t want her freaking out over that with the wedding plans going on. But I told her, Fluttershy, and Sunset before they left for their honeymoon.” Rarity nodded. “Well, I must say you two are approaching this very maturely.” She put away the hairbrush and pulled out a brush of a different sort. Scootaloo winced when she saw it. “And if either of you –” “Uh, Rarity?” Scootaloo said while Rarity powdered the brush. “I think we can skip the makeup.” Rarity misunderstood her. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! Besides, don’t you want to look your best for your coltfriend?” Scootaloo didn’t think Spike cared about that sort of thing. Or… did he? His first big crush had been on Rarity of all ponies, so maybe he did? She sighed and resigned herself to her fate. “I guess.” Rarity clapped her hooves together and started applying the powder to Scootaloo’s face. Every part of the process set her on edge, but she gritted her teeth and endured it. “Let’s get to business, shall we? Do either of you have any ideas for what you’d like to wear?” Scootaloo couldn’t quite turn her head with Rarity doing her makeup, but she did glance to Spike, who just shrugged. “Well, I thought I’d wear a tux.” “Ever the fashionable one,” Rarity said with a slight roll of her eyes. “There’s a lot more to a suit than that, Spikey.” “Well, yeah, but that’s where you’re the expert!” Rarity sighed, though not unhappily. She stopped the assault on Scootaloo’s face for a moment to address her. “And what about you, Scootaloo? Any ideas on what sort of dress you want?” “Oh, I don’t know.” Scootaloo frowned. “I don’t even really like clothes.” “Oh, darling, that’s simply because you haven’t given them a real chance!” Rarity insisted. “Everypony likes to look their best.” Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess…” “So, it’s all down to me then. No matter.” Foolishly, Scootaloo had hoped this change of topic would be enough to get Rarity to forget about the makeup, but she had no such luck. Rarity seemed to be quite adept at multitasking, applying the makeup while also sketching ideas. She tried several times to get their input, but neither of them were much help. Perhaps Scootaloo would have had a few things to say about her dress if she had been allowed to think about it. She really did hate dressing up, but she had at least a few opinions on clothes and stuff. But all she could think of was how miserable she felt as Rarity did her makeup. Mercifully, Rarity was at least quick about it. She put away the makeup brush she’d been using and spun Scootaloo around to look in a mirror. “There! What do you think?” Scootaloo tried to come up with a polite answer, but she couldn’t. “Do you want my honest opinion?” Spike cleared his throat. “Well, uhm… I think you look amazing.” Scootaloo rubbed a hoof awkwardly through her mane. “Uh, thanks.” She hated it. No, that wasn’t strong enough. She loathed everything about makeup, from sitting through it being put on her to how she looked once it was. But… Spike liked it, and she did like making him happy. Besides, she should try to get used to it. She was sixteen, practically a grown mare, and she had a coltfriend. This type of thing was expected of her now. So she tried not to focus on it, even though she could feel it on her. Not that she had a lot to distract herself with. Just going along with whatever Rarity thought was best for her dress. Whether it was because she was too distracted from the makeup or just because she didn’t like fussing over clothes, Scootaloo didn’t bother to weigh in. “I think this is going to be truly spectacular!” Rarity announced. Scootaloo looked over the sketch, trying to see what Rarity saw in it. It was nice, she supposed. Scootaloo may not care about clothes, but even she could tell Rarity’s work was high quality. Still, she had to stop herself from wincing when she looked at the frills and imagined having to wear it. “That looks amazing!” Spike said, looking over Scootaloo’s shoulder. She looked up at him to see him blushing. “You’re gonna look beautiful in it.” Scootaloo blushed too, but she couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. It reminded her why it was worth getting all girly in the first place. Meanwhile, Rarity let out a squeal of delight. “Oh, you two are simply precious! And don’t you worry, Spike, we’ll be sure to make you look every bit the dashing drake we both know you are.” Scootaloo let out a laugh. “Yeah, let’s do Spike’s tux! That should be fun.” Maybe it was just dressing herself that she didn’t like, because it wound up being a lot more interesting to give input on Spike’s outfit than her own. According to Rarity, a lot more went into designing male fashion than most people realized. While dresses had more immediate differences between them, tuxedos also had a lot of subtle distinctions to best accentuate their wearer. She explained some of it as she worked on it. It still was absolutely not something Scootaloo was very interested in, but it was far better than working on her dress had been. “I do say, you seem excited to see your coltfriend all dressed up,” Rarity said with a wink. “Do I detect a soft spot underneath that tomboyish exterior?” Scootaloo awkwardly scratched at her neck. She liked that tomboyish exterior; she was a radical mare, just like Rainbow Dash. But, well, if there was someone worth having a soft spot for… “Yeah, I guess.” Rarity giggled. “Oh, don’t look so worried, your secret is quite safe with me, darling.” Scootaloo suppressed an eye roll, but couldn’t quite keep all of the sarcasm out of her voice. “Thanks, I’ll sleep easy tonight.” “Now now, sarcasm isn’t becoming of a young lady.” “Oh, well in that case, I’ll definitely stop it.” Rarity quirked an eye at her, but just shook her head and walked away. “In any event, I’ll be sure to keep both of you posted on the developments for your ensembles.” “Thanks a bunch, Rarity,” Spike said. “Yeah, thanks.” Scootaloo may not be looking forward to the dress, but she did at least appreciate that Rarity was giving it her all. “We should probably get out of your hair though.” “Yes, I do suppose I ought to get to work.” Rarity struck an exhausted pose, which Scootaloo was sure she oversold. “Lots of orders with the Gala coming up, after all.” “Aww, you can do it, Rarity! You’re amazing at this stuff.” “Why, thank you, Spike. Yes, I always manage somehow, don’t I?” They both said their goodbyes to Rarity, then they were on their way. As the door closed behind them, Scootaloo couldn’t resist shooting Spike a smirk. “So are you sure you don’t still have a thing for her?” A look of panic spread across Spike’s face. “What? Of course not! You know I only have eyes for you.” Scootaloo snickered. “Really?” She dropped her pitch to imitate Spike’s voice as much as possible. “You’re so amazing, Rarity! You can do anything!” Spike broke into a laugh. “What? Come on, I don’t even sound like that!” “Yeah, and I bet you also didn’t have goo goo eyes whenever you were looking at Rarity, huh?” “Of course not! Come on, you don’t have to be worried about me.” Scootaloo laughed. “Worried? As if. First of all, I totally wouldn’t be jealous either way. Your sister has two bucking wives now, I stopped believing in that one and only thing years ago.” “Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Still, I’m not –” “Plus you couldn’t get with her anyway, so what would I have to be worried about?” Spike matched her smirk. “Says you! The only reason I never got together with Rarity is because I stopped wanting to.” “Oh really? The only reason? The fact that she’s like fifteen years older than you had nothing to do with it.” “Nah, not at all. I could totally sweep her off her hooves if I wanted to.” “Uh-huh.” Scootaloo nudged Spike with her wing and they both laughed as they walked through town. That was a great thing about being with Spike. They were comfortable joking around about stuff like that. Scootaloo could be put in a dress, but that didn’t make her a dainty young lady. She needed someone who could take a few jokes, as well as give as good as he got. And Spike was perfect. It was honestly a little surprising that he had decided to try something with Scootaloo after holding a thing for Rarity for so long, but they were happy together, and that’s all Scootaloo really cared about. They kept joking around as they made their way through town towards the castle, Spike carrying Scootaloo’s scooter for her. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset were off on their honeymoon, which left it a little empty for how big it was, but which made it perfect for hanging out. Even if Spike’s parents were home. As they walked through the door, they were greeted by Twilight Velvet, who popped out of a nearby room. “Welcome back. How’d everything go?” “Good,” Spike answered. “Just wait until you see Scootaloo’s dress! It looks amazing.” Scootaloo would prefer if the focus was on something other than her getting dressed up, so she used the fact that Twilight Velvet was Spike’s mom against him. “No way, Spike’s tux is what’s really gonna look great. Rarity has something big planned for your son this time.” “I can’t wait to see both of them,” Velvet said as she gave Spike a one-forelegged hug. He blushed as he returned it, which made Scootaloo smirk. “Are you kids hungry?” “I am,” Spike said. He turned to Scootaloo. “How about you?” “A little,” Scootaloo admitted. She was really more than a little hungry, but she still wasn’t too used to ponies doting on her about things like food. Her own parents certainly hadn’t. “I was just thinking about making some lunch. I’ll whip something up then come get you two.” “That’d be great!” Spike said. “Yeah, thanks Mrs. Velvet,” Scootaloo added. Velvet chuckled. “You know you don’t have to call me ‘Mrs’, Scootaloo dear. You’re part of the family now.” Scootaloo scratched at her neck. “Er, right.” At least Velvet let the subject drop. “You two run along now, I’ll head up to Spike’s room to get you when the food’s ready.” It was a relief to leave Velvet and head up to Spike’s room, and that made Scootaloo feel a little guilty. She really did love Spike’s family, they were nothing but welcoming to her. But maybe they were a little too welcoming. Scootaloo felt uneasy at the idea of being part of the family, especially since she had such a rough history with her own. As usual, Spike only caught on to the surface of her insecurity. “Sunset took forever to stop calling her ‘Mrs’ too.” Scootaloo put on a grin to hide the deeper insecurities. “Glad I’m not the only one.” Spike held open his door. “After you, my lady.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dork.” “Maybe, but you’re the one who decided to date me.” “Yeah, what was I thinking?” Spike slicked back his spines. “You just know a good thing when you see it.” “That’s one way to put it.” Scootaloo jumped onto Spike’s bed and grabbed a comic book off his bedside table. “Oh sweet, the new Flashfire is out?” “Yeah, it’s great! You can borrow it if you want.” “Sweet, thanks!” Spike sat down on his bed and glanced at Scootaloo awkwardly. She rolled her eyes and stretched out her foreleg. “Come here, you doof.” Spike grinned and lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. The two of them had been together for a month, but Spike was still getting used to being close. It was his first relationship, after all. Scootaloo had only dated a few boys before, none of which had gone this well, but Spike was completely new to this whole relationship thing. It was probably because he was a dragon. He insisted everypony accepted him as much as they would accept a pony, and that did hold true for making friends; Spike was well known and well liked in Ponyville. But he had since let on that he was surprised when Scootaloo asked him out, figuring she would rather be with a pony. There was no telling what would have happened if Spike had tried putting himself out there for other mares his own age, because he had never seriously pursued any of his crushes before. Well, that was all in the past. Now he had a girlfriend who didn’t care about things like that. Scootaloo just snuggled in closer, enjoying being held in his arms. “Sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” Scootaloo grinned as she walked out of the castle’s front door. “Spike, it’s Ponyville. Nothing’s gonna happen. Besides, I told Rainbow Dash I’d come find her.” “Alright, I’ll see you later then.” “Maybe we can do something tomorrow after school?” “Yeah, sounds good!” Spike held open his arms, so Scootaloo stood on her hindlegs and hugged him with her forelegs. “See you then.” “Yeah, see you.” Scootaloo gave Spike a quick kiss. By the time she was pulling away, Spike was wearing a goofy lovestruck grin. And when it came down to it, Scootaloo felt the same way. She hid it better, stepping back and waving like it was no big deal, but inside she felt butterflies. Spike was so much nicer than the boys she had dated in the past, and a certain L word had been bouncing around her head for a little while now. Nah, it was too soon for that. But still, things were going so well. Scootaloo made her way through Ponyville cheerfully and leisurely. She could tear through the town on her scooter, but… wait, why wasn’t she tearing through the town? Switching to a cocky grin, Scootaloo flared out her wings and made sure the path ahead of her was clear. Judging it safe enough, she started flapping, propelling herself forward and losing herself in a burst of speed. As always, she flew past all the ponies that were just casually going about on their way. It really did feel like flying, or at least, Scootaloo thought it probably did. That was one thing she never quite mastered, and at this point, it was pretty safe to say she probably never would. But why get hung up on that when she was the best mechanic around? Sure, she couldn’t fly, but with the modifications she’d made to her scooter, she came pretty close! So she didn’t worry about that, she just focused on flying through town, heading to Rainbow’s house. She wasn’t sure Rainbow would be there, but she’d said she’d find her, and it seemed like the most likely place to check first. Along the way, she pushed herself as hard as she could. Without any distractions this time, she made it through town in record time. Even she couldn’t believe how quickly she reached Rainbow’s house. She skidded to a stop when she was underneath the floating house, kicking up a cloud of dust. She looked up at it and was pretty sure she saw a light on in one of the rooms. In the past, getting Rainbow’s attention when she was in her house would be impossible for somepony who couldn’t fly. Now it was only impossible for most ponies. Attached to the front of Scootaloo’s scooter was a box with a button on it – one of Twilight and Sunset’s inventions. Scootaloo pressed the button. “Scoots to Dash. Do you read me?” There was a moment of silence, then Rainbow’s voice came through the box. “Dash to Scoots, I read you. Be down in a second.” “Gotcha, I’ll be here.” The device was called a walkie talkie, and it had a fairly short range – Scootaloo had to be underneath Rainbow’s house for it to reach the one Rainbow kept in her living room. But even so, it sure beat shouting up at the cloud building and hoping to be heard. A few moments later, the door opened and Rainbow flew down. She landed beside Scootaloo, and they bumped hooves. Rainbow took a better look at Scootaloo’s scooter. “So you’ve been working on it again?” “Yeah, I’m going so fast I can’t even see all the disapproving looks from the townsponies anymore!” Rainbow snickered. “Nice! One of these days you’ll even be a match for me on that thing.” Scootaloo chuckled. “Yeah, right. That’ll never happen.” “I don’t know, you’ve been getting faster on it. I bet you can go faster than most pegasi now.” That was probably true, but hearing it from Rainbow made Scootaloo blush. “Aww thanks, Dash.” “So were you and Spike getting in some practice with it today?” “Not exactly.” Scootaloo took a deep breath. This was as good a time as any. “We were actually going to Rarity’s to work on our outfits for the Gala.” “Oh?” Rainbow wore a smug grin. “So the two of you went to get your outfits designed together, huh?” Nothing about Rainbow’s look seemed disapproving, and it was clear she already knew what was going on. So why was saying it so hard? “Yeah,” Scootaloo forced out. “We went together.” “Alright, cool cool.” Rainbow nodded and looked at her hoof nonchalantly. “So, uh… any reason?” Scootaloo couldn’t take it anymore. “You already know, why do I gotta say it!?” Rainbow broke into a grin. “So you two are dating?” “Yeah, okay?” Scootaloo wouldn’t look up at Rainbow. “Yeah, we are.” Rainbow grabbed hold of Scootaloo with one hoof and ruffled her mane with another. “That’s awesome, Squirt! Seriously, I’m really happy for you two.” Scootaloo laughed and pushed Rainbow’s hoof away. “You’re not gonna grill him like you did with my last boyfriend, are you?” Rainbow smirked. “Nah, I know Spike’s cool. Still, if he breaks your heart…” “What, you don’t think I could take care of myself? I’m pretty tough too, you know.” “Yeah yeah, I know. But hey, part of my job is looking after my little sister.” For some reason, Rainbow glanced away at ‘sister’. “I’ll, you know, always take care of you no matter what, Squirt.” Unsure of what to make of Rainbow’s reaction, or even if she had just imagined it or not, Scootaloo didn’t address it. “Yeah, well, I’m not a little filly anymore, Dash. And seriously, Spike’s been great.” “Yeah, alright. So who knows now?” “Just Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, his family, and now you. Oh, and I guess Rarity knows too.” “Taking it slow then? Probably a good idea.” “That’s what we thought too.” “And you know, if you need any relationship advice…” “I’ll ask my aunts,” Scootaloo said with a grin. She loved Rainbow, but the older mare had never had a lot of success in her love life. Rainbow snickered. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair. But if you ever wanna talk about Spike or, you know, anything else, I’m always around.” As much as Scootaloo appreciated the sentiment, it sounded weird hearing it from Rainbow. “Geez, I get a boyfriend and suddenly you get all sappy? What gives?” Rainbow rubbed at her neck. “Huh? Nothing, I’m just, you know, trying to be a good big sister.” Scootaloo shook her head. Rainbow had been acting weird ever since Twilight and Fluttershy got married to Sunset. Maybe it had something to do with that? “Come on, you’re the best. But seriously, everything’s cool.” “Yeah, alright.” They needed a new subject, and one was at hoof. “Oh yeah, what’d you want to talk about?” “Oh, that.” Rainbow took a good look at Scootaloo and smiled. “You know what? It wasn’t important. You wanna go grab some dinner?” That sounded nice, but she already had other plans. “Can’t, I told my aunts I’d be back in time for dinner.” Back when Scootaloo was living with her parents, she could pretty much do anything she wanted. But ever since her aunts adopted her, she had to remember family dinner and stuff like that. It was a nice change. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you wanna come over, though.” Rainbow grinned. “Holiday’s cooking? How can I say no to that?” Scootaloo beamed. So what if half her day had been spent designing a dress she’d later have to wear? She had a loving family, a sweet boyfriend, the world’s best friends, and the coolest sister ever. Everything in her life was perfect. Everything was perfect. Scootaloo reminded herself of that a lot. Everything was perfect, so there was no reason for this feeling like something was missing. She had it all. “Scoot?” Rainbow gave her a confused look. She had taken a few steps forward without Scootaloo noticing, while Scootaloo herself had lingered behind. She shook her head and grinned. “Sorry, just zoned out for a second. I’m coming.” Scootaloo put the thoughts out of her mind. So what if she was getting less and less sure that she was really happy? She had a lot going for her, it was just a phase she was going through. Just some stupid teenage thing. She placed a grin on her face and followed after Rainbow. “Race you there!” Rainbow grinned. “Alright, but I won’t go easy on you.” “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Scootaloo said smugly. With her eyes set dead ahead, she flapped her wings and tore down the quiet Ponyville street.