Dear Princess Luna,
I arrived in Ponyville a few days ago. I’ve found a place to stay, which just happens to be a magic shop. I encouraged the owner, Top Hat, not to go out of business by helping him make his shop more appealing. I’ve even acquired the assistance of a local seamstress to aid in overall aesthetics and upgrading some of the merchandise.
I’ve also made a few new friends already. Though how I made them could’ve been under better circumstances. On the train ride to Ponyville, we met an earth pony named Maud Pie. She’s a rock farmer. I’ve never met a pony that takes things so literal. And I won’t lie. Her lack of emotional expression is very off-putting. But it’s fascinating how much she knows about rocks and minerals. She was able to spot that the gem on my cape is a lapis lazuli. Not only that, but from what Surprise told me, she’s insanely strong. And there are certain…qualities about her that trying to understand would just give you a headache.
That’s right, I forgot to mention that Surprise came with me to Ponyville. And then she took the initiative to be my roommate. Not that I mind. It’s just that it’s a single studio apartment, so there’s not much privacy here.
The other friends I’ve made were under the “could’ve been under better circumstances”, I pointed out earlier. Ditzy Doo, the mailmare, opted to give us a tour of Ponyville. So I suppose we met before the issues. We then went with her to pick up her daughter from school. But when she didn’t come out of the school, we went in to meet with one of the teachers, Cheerilee. This is where the circumstances come into play. Ditzy's daughter, Dinky, was one of three fillies that never arrived at school that day. The other two were Cheerilee’s little sister, and the daughter of another pony we meet a little later. I was able to track down their saddlebags, finding that they were completely abandoned. We met up with two more ponies, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Philharmonic, the mother of the third filly. We also met up with Maud again, who helped us.
After tracking them down, we determined that they were foalnapped by members of the Lunar Core. And I witnessed first hoof just how ferocious angry mothers can be. There were four in all, two unicorns, an earth pony, and a griffon. The griffon got away, but not before Octavia dislocated her wings. So she’ll be grounded for awhile. The rest of them are now in custody…and receiving medical treatment for the beatings they received.
But the fillies are safe and sound, and everything’s back to normal…though I have a feeling I may need to redefine my definition of “normal”.
Sincerely,
Trixie Lulamoon, the Great and Powerful
Trixie finished writing her letter before placing the royal magic seal on it, acting as a teleportation spell and sending it directly to Princess Luna herself.
“You done writing that letter yet?” Surprise asked impatiently.
“Yes, I’m finished,” Trixie answered, “I just wanted to make sure that Princess Luna was aware of what happened in the last few days and what happened with the Lunar Core.”
“Exposition. Got it,” Surprise said.
Before anything else could be said, a pony came barging into their apartment. An orange pegasus filly to be exact. The filly tackled Surprise, taking the older pegasus off guard.
“You’re Surprise of the Lunarbolts, aren’t you?!” the filly asked excitedly, “And you were one of the ponies who saved me and my friends, right?”
“Yeah, I am,” Surprise said, “You’re… Scootaloo, right?”
A look of awe spread across the fillies face, “You know my name?! That’s so AWESOME!”
“Well, it’s not like we could avoid learning who you fillies were,” Surprise explained, “But I’m not sure I was much help back there. I was-”
“Oh, come on! You’re a Lunarbolt! A member of the royal military!” Scootaloo exclaimed, cutting surprise off, “That means you must’ve been awesome! I mean, being awesome is like a prerequisite of being a Lunarbolt!”
“Well…I can’t deny that logic,” Surprise said with a cocky grin, “But I-”
“She couldn’t have done it alone,” Trixie said, interrupting Surprise, “It was a team effort. And every member of the team was crucial in saving you.” Trixie gave a side glance to Surprise, telling her that she was a big help, despite getting caught by the paralysis spell.
“Uh…yeah! We were all awesome!” Surprise said, her ego reinflating, “There’s me, of course. Then there’s Trixie here, the personal protege of the princess. A super strong earth pony named Maud, two awesome mothers that you don’t want to get in the way of, you’re sister who knows how to wrestle, and Vinyl Scratch and her sound manipulating magic.”
Suddenly in a poof of magic, a letter with the royal seal appeared. Trixie undid the magic seal and read the reply.
To My Faithful Protege,
The Lunar Core has been a pain in my flank for nearly a century now. At least Solaris fight against my rule. But having an extremist activist group do these actions in my name sullies my reputation. There was a time when their actions were flattering…until I learned of just how far they’re willing to go.
I am thankful for you and your new friends for dealing with them. I am also relieved that the fillies are safe. But don’t dismiss them just yet. It’s unlikely that everything is back to normal just yet. An experience like this leaves a traumatic mark on foals their age. You should know that better than anypony. So I recommend that you be sure that everything is back to normal before you make such a statement.
Sincerely,
Princess Luna
P.S. Why do you insist on including “Great and Powerful” to your name even when you’re writing letters to me personally?
After finishing the letter, Trixie looked up to see the pegasus filly sitting on top of the floored Lunarbolt, “Well, that’s one filly I can check off the list.”
My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh…
(My little pony)
I thought I had all the friends I'd need
(My little pony)
But in Ponyville I found a new lead
Raving music
Flying through the air
A motherly love
Power to share
Teaching kindness
A great and powerful feat
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Will you all be my best friends?
Trixie, Surprise, and Scootaloo had met up with Cheerilee, who confirm that the filly didn’t skip school, just that she’s just that fast on her scooter.
“I’m sorry about Scootaloo,” Cheerilee apologized, “It’s just that after school got out, she had zoomed out before I had the chance to even say anything to her.”
“That’s alright,” Surprise said, “It’s cool having an admirer, ya know?” The four of them were walking down the street towards Cheerilee’s house while they continued their conversation.
“I guess,” Cheerilee said, “But still, she should at least have enough manners to knock before barging into somepony’s home.”
“Don’t be too hard on her,” Surprise said, “She had a tough day yesterday, and wanted the chance to thank her savior personally.”
Cheerilee raised a skeptical eyebrow at this, “Right...”
Trixie leaned over to whisper in the teacher’s ear, “Just let her have this,” Trixie whispered, “It’s for Scootaloo’s sake more than anything else.
A smile of realization appeared on Cheerilee’s face before looking towards the pegasi, “Well, if our resident Lunarbolt doesn’t have anything to do today, would you like to spend the day with us?”
Hearing this, Scootaloo had a face-splitting grin. Surprise, seeing this reaction, couldn’t help but smile herself, “Well, I don’t have anything to personally do,” Surprise said, “So how about we start off with a little fly with a Lunarbolt?”
Scootaloo’s expression instantly flipped as her ears folded back, “I…I…” Scootaloo said, having trouble admitting her fault to a Lunarbolt, “I…can’t fly.”
“Well, I can help teach you to fly,” Surprise said, “And for now, you can ride on my back.”
Though the sadness was still in Scootaloo’s eyes, her expression did cheer up, “You’d really teach me to fly?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.
“I won’t lie, I can’t promise anything,” Surprise admitted, “I don’t have any experience teaching foals how to fly. And…your wings do seem underdeveloped. But if nothing else, you can at least have the bragging rights of being taken under the wing of an actual Lunarbolt.”
The mention of her wings appearing underdeveloped caused Scootaloo to look at her wings. She always felt self conscious about her wings, but she always tried not to let other ponies see that.
“We were gonna go for a fly, right?” Surprise asked, leaning down, “Get on.”
Excitement overrode Scootaloo’s disappointment as she climbed onto the white mare’s back. Once on, Surprise took off into the air.
Meanwhile, Trixie and Cheerilee were left behind on the ground, “Did they forget that we can’t fly?” Cheerilee asked.
“That’s just how Surprise is,” Trixie said, “Act first, think never. But I suppose I can take advantage of this. Is it alright if I talk to you about Scootaloo?”
“Oh?” Cheerilee questioned, “What about?”
“Just how she’s doing,” Trixie explained, “I wrote to Princess Luna about what happened with the foalnapping, and she wanted me to make sure the fillies were okay, since something like this can be traumatizing for foals her age.”
“Scootaloo’s a special case,” Cheerilee said, “It’s a personal issue. But she cut herself off emotionally. There are several factors that go into it, part of it being her underdeveloped wings. I’m…”
Seeing Cheerilee struggling, Trixie patted her on the back, “As much as I hate not knowing something, you don’t need to tell me,” Trixie said, hating that she would once again be in the dark about something.
“No, I should tell you. You’ll figure it out eventually anyway,” Cheerilee sighed, “Before I continue, I need to specify that we are only half sisters. We have different mothers. And though my mother is okay, our father and her mother…Scootaloo, by definition, is an orphan.”
“Her parents are dead?” Trixie asked, a slight waver in her voice.
“Yes,” Cheerilee continued, “I’d rather not go into further detail. But she was put under my care, even though she would probably get along better with my twin sister, Cherry Blossom. Cherry was the daredevil, while I was the one taking care of her injuries.”
“You’re the nurturer,” Trixie clarified, “That’s why Scootaloo was put under your care. Your twin may have been able to relate to Scootaloo better. But that doesn’t mean that she’s the better choice to be her caretaker.”
“But out of all this time, I still don’t know how to take care of her on an emotional level,” Cheerilee explained, “I can take care of a whole class, but I can’t take care of a single filly.”
“This was thrust upon you unexpectedly,” Trixie said, trying to comfort Cheerilee, “You shouldn’t beat yourself up about it.”
“But why can I deal with a classroom, but not my own sister?!” Cheerilee said, turning to Trixie with tears in her eyes, “Is there something wrong with me?”
“I may not be experienced with dealing with foals, outside of an audience that is,” Trixie said, “But I think dealing with a single foal so closely would be very different than dealing with a classroom. You’re special talent helps you to be skilled as a teacher. But being a sister or a caregiver isn’t the same as being a teacher.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Cheerilee conceded, “I just wish I knew how to help Scootaloo.”
“I think the best thing you can do for her is to be there for her,” Trixie said, “Just having somepony there can make all the difference. And I’m sure she appreciates you for it. Knowing her, I’m sure she would rather have been put under your twin’s care. But as I said, you’re the nurturer.”
“Do you really think she appreciates me?”
“Young children have difficulty expressing how they feel, sometimes because they don’t even realize it themselves,” Trixie explained, “But I know there’s a part of her that does appreciate your help, as little as it may be. Even if she doesn’t show it now, she will appreciate what you’ve done when she gets older.”
“You sound like you have a lifetime of experience,” Cheerilee said, a small smile creeping onto her face.
“A lifetime would be a blatant over-exaggeration,” Trixie said hypocritically, “But Trixie has experienced her fair share of hardships in life.”
Cheerilee took note of Trixie’s sudden shift to third person, filing it away in her memory for later analysis. She then continued the conversation by shifting the topic slightly, “Do you think Surprise would be willing to spend time with Scootaloo more often?” she asked, “Being a pegasus, she could probably help in ways that neither me nor Cherry would be able to. And if nothing else, Scootaloo has already bonded with her because of being her savior…even if she doesn’t know about what really happened to Surprise.”
“When I told Scootaloo that it was a team effort, I wasn’t lying,” Trixie explained, “Yes, she missed out on a battle that she probably would’ve loved to be part of. Or at least it would’ve been better than being out of commission for it. But she did make finding the fillies quicker, and was there to make sure Ditzy didn’t go charging in and ruining things.”
“I suppose,” Cheerilee admitted with a sigh.
“As for Surprise and Scootaloo, that’s really up to Surprise,” Trixie continued, “But I know her well enough to make an estimated guess that she’d say yes. She loves seeing ponies smile.”
“Well, it does seem like nothing can get her spirits down,” Cheerilee said before a sly grin formed on her face, “That is except a paralyzation spell.”
The two of them share a laugh at that comment.
“It also seems like you’re waiting for Scootaloo to come to you for help,” Trixie commented, “She may not even realize that she needs help, or could just be too stubborn. So you should take the initiative and talk to her. I saw how you just let Scootaloo just walk off and do her own thing. When I saw that, and you told me that that’s just how she is, I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t right.”
“I have tried before in the past, but she just rejects my help,” Cheerilee said, “So I just let her have her space when she needs it.”
“And that’s the problem,” Trixie said, “You aren’t even trying anymore. If giving her space is the best option for a situation, then so be it. But even if she doesn’t accept your help, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t need it. She may be trying to force herself into a more mature mindset as a defense mechanism. But she has to understand that it’s okay to be sad and accept help. Even if that help is nothing more than a sister being there as a shoulder to cry on, it’s still support nonetheless. Just let her know that it’s okay for her to still be a child.”
“Those seem to be wise words,” Cheerilee said.
“Words of wisdom from my grammy,” Trixie clarified, “You should talk to her. Even if it’s unrelated to the foalnapping, she should know that you’re there for her.”
“I’ll have to tear her away from Surprise first,” Cheerilee said with a smile, “Thanks for the talk. I really need that.”
“What are friends for?” Trixie asked hypothetically, “I think I should go see how the other fillies are doing now, seeing that Scootaloo is…I assume this is normal behavior for her.”
“A hyperactive fangirl of the Lunarbolts? Yeah, that’s normal behavior for her,” Cheerilee said, “I should let you know that Silver Spoon may be a bit jumpy. Perhaps some left over paranoia.”
“That probably means I should check on her first,” Trixie said, “How about Dinky? Is she doing okay?”
Cheerilee had an awkward look on her face, “To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” Cheerilee admitted apprehensively, “She didn’t come into class today. So I assume she stayed home.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Trixie said, “I’ll stop by to see Silver Spoon first, since they’re the closest.” With that said, Trixie headed off to see the next filly.
After Trixie left, something occurred to Cheerilee, “Wait, Ditzy lives closer to here than Vinyl and Octavia.”