It was another day in Ponyville. The sun was hanging high in the sky as school let out at the same time it always did. Out the door marched Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, as usual, at the front. They were talking about the party their parents had attended in Canterlot for the umpteenth time, though it seemed they were the only two who cared. Behind them came Snips and Snails. Despite the both of them having gotten their cutie marks, neither of them had a clue what they would do with their lives, and their conversation reflected as much.
“I’m tellin’ you Snails,” Snips argued. “There is no way you can cook a salad without it burning.”
“Duuuh… Oh yeah?” Snails replied, his drawl as plain as day. “Then how do you asplain the fried onions and mushrooms in the salads at Pokey-O?”
“You numbskull, that’s a foreign food place. And that wasn’t a salad; it was fried rice with onions, mushrooms, and peppers.”
“…Oh. You’re so smart sometimes, Snips.”
Following Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Cutie Mark Crusaders marched out with their heads up high and a smile on their faces. They were just happy to be done with school for the day. Now that they were free, they could once more focus their effort on crusading for their cutie marks. Today, they were going to try doll making. Remembering the Smarty Pants incident, they had decided that there might be something to dolls. Even though the whole thing was caused by a magic spell, when the dust settled and everyone had left, the doll had vanished. Apparently, somepony had genuinely wanted it.
As the three little ponies headed off to Carousel Boutique, Scootaloo silently hoped her friends would have another sleep-over. While it was true that they had just had one a couple days ago at Sweet Apple Acres, she had heard that the pegasi were planning another down-pour tonight. The last time that happened, her home took a serious beating. She spent the whole next day repairing the south wall.
Reaching Rarity's store, the Crusaders entered and began scouring the main shop for materials. While they couldn’t all agree on a concept, they HAD agreed that it should be plush. Looking around cautiously, Sweetie Belle made sure that Rarity was gone before delving into her minky. Grabbing several hooffuls, she used her horn to grab some fluffy stuff they could use for stuffing.
Gathering in the central room, the Crusaders set to work on their projects. Several hours passed as they cut and stitched together their figures. Sweetie Belle frowned as she held up her final product. The stitching had been the best of the three and the seams were very well hidden. But just like her attempt at making outfits for the school talent show, her doll had five legs. Some minor adjustments would remedy the situation, but she was still kicking herself.
Apple Bloom had made what looked like a blue version of Big Macintosh. The tail was even cut short, implying it was a work-horse like him, and it was nearly over-flowing with stuffing. While the legs were a bit misaligned, it was still an all-around good likeness of a pony.
Scootaloo’s was the most unusual. The yarn mane and tail were six different colors- three guesses who she modeled it off of-, but the body was purple with a black chest and hooves. Accenting the hooves and neckline were yellow lightning bolts, and the eyes were yellow buttons that Sweetie Belle had clipped to have a menacing angle to them. It almost looked like a Wonderbolts costume, but it was much more sinister.
“Done!” Scootaloo proclaimed. “What do you guys think?”
She held up her doll for the other two to examine.
“Hey, cool!” Apple Bloom declared. “Ya made Rainbow Dash as a Wonderbolt!”
“No she didn’t,” Sweetie Belle spoke up. “The Wonderbolts’ costumes are blue and navy, not purple and black. Besides, Rainbow Dash’s eyes are pink, not yellow.”
“Actually,” Scootaloo interjected, her eyes glazing over with admiration. “Rainbow Dash’s eyes are a light magenta, tinted with the violet of a late sunset…”
After a brief pause, Scootaloo pulled herself from her daydreams about her idol and continued.
“And she’s not dressed as a Wonderbolt, she’s dressed as a Shadowbolt; Princess Luna’s flight team.”
After they all finished their dolls, they went out into town and began showing them off. While many ponies thought they were creative, nopony wanted to have the fillies make any for them. As the sun began to set, the Crusaders packed up their stuff and began to go home. As Sweetie Belle marched up into Carousel Boutique to wait for her parents, Scootaloo hung her head a bit, but thankfully neither of her friends noticed. Nearing the trail leading out of town to Sweet Apple Acres, Apple Bloom waved to Scootaloo before trotting home.
“See ya t’morrow, Scootaloo,” she called as she left.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo called back.
As she watched Apple Bloom go home, her smile faded and she skirted around the outside of the orchard.
“See you tomorrow…”
Silently walking through the trees, Scootaloo headed for the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse. As she came upon it, the great white moon had already begun to rise. Scootaloo looked around to make sure that nopony was around to see her before she entered the ramshackle building.
Once inside, she went over to the far corner and lifted a loose floor board. Underneath it was a raggedy pillow and a small, patchwork blanket. Pulling both of them out, Scootaloo closed the window curtains and set up the bed items to sleep with. Though the floor was cold and hard, she had grown accustomed to it over the last few months. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander a bit as the distant thunder storm begin to roll in Within minutes, the roof began to reverberate with the sounds of rain.
As her mind drifted away from the storm, her first thoughts were of the upcoming winter that she could feel in the air and what she could do to keep it out of what was now practically her home. She then pulled her blanket closer as a slight gust turned her thoughts to how to get warmer. This led her to imagine a better life, perhaps in Canterlot, where she had everything she would ever need. And slowly, as the more pleasant thoughts filled her head, she began to drift off to sleep.
As the night went on outside, the weather grew progressively worse. The thin curtains were no match for the storm rain that rolled in. By midnight, the floor was sporting several growing puddles and the winds had dropped the air temperature considerably. Under her blanket, Scootaloo shivered violently, thankfully unaware of the weather.