"That's all for today my little ponies! Class dismissed!" Chirped Cheerilee.
The was a cacophony of cheers as the school ponies made their way outside, eager to spend the rest of their day playing and having fun. Three specific fillies rushed out together, eagerly planning what they were gonna do for the rest of the day.
"I'm just saying Applebloom..." Sweetie Belle argued, "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Hypnotists might not be the best idea. Remember what happened when we tried being snake charmers? I swear, Rarity looked like she was about to have an anyuerism when she caught us!"
"Well Ah don't rightly know what that is." Applebloom argued back. "But we can't risk not trying something. What if one of our cutie marks is as a hypnotist?" Applebloom sighed. "Scootaloo, what do you think?"
Scootaloo was not paying attention. She had been on the fence about telling her friends what the real story was about her parents all day. On one hoof, they were her friends and deserved to know. On the other hoof, she didn't want pity, or for her friends to see her differently. She was the tough, stubborn pegasus with a devil-may-care attitude, not some pathetic kid who couldn't fight back against her father for years. She bit her lip and gazed up at her friends, who were looking at her expectantly.
"Huh?" Scootaloo asked.
"Ah said what do you think about trying to become hypnotists? Y'all doing alright Scoots? You've been kinda out of it all day." Applebloom asked, worried for her friend.
Scootaloo decided just to bite the bullet and get it over with. They were her friends, surely they'd just take the knowledge and respect that she didn't want to be coddled.
"Actually girls, there was something I was hoping to talk to you about..." Scootaloo trailed off, just to be interrupted by the sight of Rainbow Dash swooping in to land next to her. She had flecks of red all around her muzzle, various small cuts around her face, and smelled like she'd just been in a burning building. "Ohmygosh Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?"
Rainbow Dash laughed awkwardly and looked away. "Heh well uh, so you know how I went to go get that cookbook from Twilight? I tried making you a little afternoon snack of grilled cheese and tomato soup, but I guess I only skimmed the directions and... well you're not supposed to put unopened soup cans on the stove. So the tomato soup exploded on me..."
The three fillies giggled, and Rainbow Dash blushed.
"And then while I was cleaning that up, I forgot the grilled cheese was also on the stove. And that caught on fire. And that's why I smell like smoke. So uh, if you girls are going to head off Crusading, you wanna just meet me at Sugarcube Corner in like, three hours? I'll get you something there."
Scootaloo laughed and ran over to give Rainbow Dash a quick hug. "Sure thing Rainbow Dash. See you then!"
Rainbow Dash leaned over to whisper in Scootaloo's ear. "So hey uh, since the kitchen is a complete mess, you want me to leave that until later so I can watch over you? Fair warning if so, the kitchen is probably gonna smell like smoke for a few hours. If you don't feel safe I'll be ten seconds away though."
Scootaloo paused. While it's true going off alone still terrified her, she could just stick to public areas... And it's not like other adult ponies wouldn't be able to help her if her dad found her. Plus, she was fairly certain her dad didn't know about the clubhouse. And she also did want to tell her friends what had happened, and it might be nice to have some privacy for that. Scootaloo kicked the dirt for a minute then fixed Rainbow Dash with a determined stare.
"I'll be okay for now, but in return you're reading twice as much Daring Do tonight, d-deal?"
Rainbow Dash gently tousled Scootaloo's mane and gave her a proud smile. "Deal, squirt. See you at Sugarcube Corner."
As Rainbow Dash took off Scootaloo gave an involuntary shudder. She wasn't sure of the decision she just made, but if Rainbow Dash had bent over backwards to accommodate her, the least she could do is force herself out of her comfort zone and try and make it easier on her.
Scootaloo sighed heavily and looked over at her friends, mentally steeling herself to tell them the news as a pit formed in her stomach.
Here we go. No turning back now.
"Girls, I need to talk to you about something."
Applebloom's eyes looked ready to bulge out of her head. She walked around furiously, unable to believe all this had been going on and nobody had done anything. Sweetie Belle meanwhile had a look of shock and sadness frozen to her face, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Scootaloo had her eyes downcast, having just taken her friends to the clubhouse and told them all that had been going on recently.
"And so after we talked to Morning Skies and had the scan done, Rainbow and I went out and got ice cream. Then we ran into you two. Rainbow Dash hid on a cloud the entire time because I was too cowardly to be alone. And then... now we're here."
Sweetie Belle gave a sniff and ran over to go hug her friend. Applebloom joined in a moment later. Scootaloo felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her. She had hated lying to her friends.
"Why didn't you tell somebody sooner?!" Cried Sweetie Belle. "Maybe somebody could had intervened!"
"Well..." Scootaloo sighed. "I was scared if word got out my dad would find out and... nobody would ever hear from me again."
Sweetie Belle replied by hugging her friend harder.
"But I don't want you guys telling anybody, okay? Aside from you two, the only ponies who know are Rainbow, Twilight, and Morning Skies. Not even your sisters know."
The other two mumbled their agreement.
Breaking out of their hug, Applebloom gave Scootaloo a solemn nod. "Is there anything else we can do for y'all? Ah feel just awful knowing ah was doing nothing while y'all were going through hell."
Scootaloo thought for a moment. "I don't want things to change. I don't want you guys giving me all sorts of pity now that you know the truth, I just want our friendship to stay the same." Scootaloo glanced out the window. "Also, we should probably get to Sugarcube Corner now. I don't want to be late and worry Rainbow Dash."
"Scoots!" yelled a blue blur as soon as Sugarcube Corner was in sight.
Rainbow Dash zoomed by, grabbing Scootaloo in a tight hug as she flew by.
"You were late, and I was worried something... might have... happened..."
Rainbow Dash blushed deeply as she noticed Sweetie Belle and Applebloom watching her. She softly deposited Scootaloo on the ground and gave an awkward cough. "I mean... good to see you, squirt. How was Crusading?"
The CMC gave off a collective giggle.
"It's okay Rainbow Dash, I just got through telling them everything." Scootaloo reassured.
"Thank you for taking care of her!" Squeaked Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah!" Agreed Applebloom.
Rainbow Dash came to land and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Aw, it was nothing. Scoot here is a joy to have around the house." Rainbow nudged Scootaloo's shoulder softly. "Now c'mon, lets go get some grub. I'm starving!"
Scootaloo blushed herself, but then eagerly followed Rainbow Dash, the rest of the CMC in tow.
Hours later across town, after the sun had set and the moon had risen, Twilight was woken up by a sudden cold shiver down her spine, and a low throbbing pain in the base of her horn.
She gasped in horror.
"Scootaloo!"