Unwelcome Visitor part 3
Bursting through the doors of Sugarcube Corner giggling and full of mirth, the three sole Cutie Mark Crusaders took a seat at the window booth. The bright uplifting atmosphere of the bakery was like the sugary confections the patrons ate, sweet and delightful.
Mrs. Cake sauntered over to the little fillies with a smile. “You girls are in a good mood today. Tell me what has you three in such good spirits?” Mrs. Cake prepared to hear a new epic tale of how they were going to earn their cutie marks.
Scootaloo spread her wings as wide as she could and was about to speak, when a grinning Pinkie Pie cantered out of the kitchen and interrupted. “Okay, everypony, we'll be hosting a surprise party in just a few minutes and you're all invited! Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, I need you to hand out these invitations to Rarity and Applejack quick. Go go go!” Pinkie had shoved the pink invitation letters into Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hooves as she pushed them out the door. “Scootaloo, you are my helper today as we need to make lots of cherry delights!” Within less than a second, Pinkie had carried Scootaloo into the kitchen, placed an apron on her and set her in front of a large mixing bowl. This left Mrs. Cake a tad befuddled, but shook it off as yet another quirk of the pink pony.
Scootaloo was put in front of a long metal table. It held many items for cooking, ranging from mixing bowls, whisks, and an assortment of spoons. “Umm, Pinkie Pie, I don't know how to cook,. If you forgot, we set fire to Applebloom's kitchen last week.” Scootaloo said, with guilt at the resurfaced memory.
Placing a hoof to her chin, “You're right. Here ya go!” Whipping off the apron, Pinkie shoved a large box of decorations to Scootaloo. “Then you can decorate Sugarcube Corner, but hurry. We don't much time. We need to stay- Oh, hi girls!” Pinkie ran from the kitchen to greet her friends. “I'm soooooo glad your here. I need Mrs. Cake, Fluttershy, and Rarity to help me make some cherry pies, cupcakes and some tarts. Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight, help Scootaloo put up the streamers and surprise decorations.” With all that said, Pinkie bounced over Scootaloo who had pushed the box out to the bakery's lobby.
“So, who is the surprise party for?” The ever inquisitive Twilight asked as she levitated some streamers to a high corner.
“Beats me, but any party done by Pinkie is sure to be awesome!” The rainbow-maned pegasus replied, as she hung a welcome banner in an archway.
Sweetie Belle looked up from the table she and Scootaloo were covering with a paper party cloth. “Wait, Pinkie didn't tell you what this party was for?”
“No, she didn't. All she said was that a surprise party for two ponies was being held here today. then gave me my invitation.” Twilight paused in the midst of her decorating. “I wonder who... OH. I got it.” The purple bookworm gave a joyous cry. “We can solve this easily. All we need to do is think of the pony that like cherries!”
“That could work Twilight, but more than one pony in Ponyville like cherries. I like cherries who's ta say it's not for me?” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.
“Other than the fact that you got an invitation the same time I did, if we get the rest of these decorations up quickly, I can make a list of ponies who like cherries that this party could be for.”
Before Twilight could start compiling a list, the door bell jingled and a slightly dejected Applebloom walked in.“Neither Applejack or Big Mac can come, both are working on fixn' the roof over my room.” She sat down and groaned loudly into a table that had yet to receive a paper cloth.
“Hay, there's an idea.” Sweetie Belle cried out. “We could be Cutie Mark Crusader roof repairers!”
“I already thought of that, but Big Mac said it was too dangerous for a filly.” Applebloom let a long sigh echo through the bakery, “And I was hoping that at least one of 'em would come to meet him.”
“Meet who, Applebloom?” Twilight asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Don't tell me Pinkie hasn't told ya who the party is for.” Applebloom lifted her head from the table. “It's for Scootaloo's...” Before she could finish, Applebloom was tackled to the floor by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
“Applebloom, what the hay are you thinking?!” Scootaloo scolded her friend. She looked around the lobby of Sugarcube Corner at the ponies who decided to stay and help decorate, all eyes were now on her, along with those of her long time idol.
“Wait a second. This is a surprise party for Scootaloo and a pony that she knows.” Rainbow Dash now joining the growing number of ponies intrigued that the young orange pegasus knew who the party was for, but wouldn't tell. “Oh wait, I get it.” Rainbow landed next to her number one fan with a sly grin. “Scootaloo, I know what's going on.”
“You do!?” With a bead of sweat rolling down the right side of her face, Scootaloo looked to her idol, expecting the worst.
“Yeah, you can't hide it very well.” Dash gave the little filly a slight jab to the shoulder. “You got yourself a colt friend.” Rainbow gave a triumphant pose she felt she earned, until she heard laughing.
All the ponies in the lobby of Sugarcube Corner watched as the crusaders began to laugh hysterically. Scootaloo, who was laughing the hardest, was clutching her sides as the force of her laughter became painful. A minute passed, and the laughter died down. Scootaloo, gasping for breath, looked up to Dash. “If... you... think I... have a colt friend... Rainbow Dash.” The attempt to speak drew fresh giggles from the young pegasus, as she stared at the bewildered face of her idol.
“Wait, you're saying this party isn't because you have a colt friend? Pinkie came by earlier, saying it was for two special ponies.” The purple librarian, now more puzzled than before, “if you are one of the special ponies, then the other...” Her words trailed off as she turned and walked away from the little filly, lost within her own thoughts. She stopped and whipped her body around. Twilight's eyes were wide and a huge smile plastered on her face, but before she could speak, a loud bang from the kitchen tore everyponies eyes to Pinkie.
Pinkie was covered in a variety of colored frosting, batter and red cherries. “He's here. Quick, hide. Crusaders, to your places.” The ponies in the lobby scrambled to a hiding spot as the three fillies clamored to the front door.
As Blaze stepped through the door, the sight of the little orange filly and her friends smiling cheerfully eased him. After the past had been caught up with Cheerlee, he had gone to the orphanage. Blaze had been used to signing his name for fans, but this time, he had been signing it so Scootaloo could come home. Home. The word echoed in his mind. He hadn't come back to Ponyville in nearly a decade, but it still felt like home to him. With a smile stretched across his face, he had all his attention on his daughter, but that was quickly shattered. With volume equal the Royal Canterlot Voice, the yell of surprise knocked him to his flank as ponies burst from hiding. Blaze rose with a chuckle, “You planed this, didn't you, Scootaloo?”
“Nope.” Scootaloo said with a cheeky grin, the rest of the party goers stared at the stallion who was so friendly with the resident troublemaker. Scootaloo turned her back to Blaze then addressing the all the ponies in attendance. “Every pony, I want you to meet a super awesome pony. Blazewing, member of the phoenixwing daredevil stunt group and he's got a BIG reason for being in Ponyville.” The lobby of Sugarcube corner hummed with the conversations of ponies guessing the why among the crowd.
The sound of Blaze clearing his throat drew every ponies eyes to him. “Scootaloo, I understand that you're excited about this, but are you going to introduce me like this to every pony?” Blaze gave her a questioning look but still had a smirk that betrayed his love of the attention.
“Hay Scoots, why don't ya introduce some of the most awesome ponies in Ponyville.” Rainbow Dash said, trotting up to the young pegasus.
“Oh right, this is Rainbow Dash. One of the most super duper awesomest ponies in all of Ponyville.” Scootaloo couldn't contain herself as she told Blaze about Dash, from being Ponyville's leader of the weather team to Dash's dream of being a Wonderbolt. Dash herself used to the over eagerness of the little filly boasted her own ego with her winning the best young fliers competition and her sonic rainboom.
Blaze, not speaking a word through this conversation, was reminded of his youth in the rainbow-maned mare before him, days he would spend on doing tricks when he wasn't needed to help the crew. He was unable to drift into memory this time as a purple unicorn pushed passed the cyan pony and extended a hoof to him.
“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm Ponyville's librarian and student at Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns.” The young mare had her fears of being a braggart to the new stallion after all. Rainbow was quite well known for it herself. She was surprised when he took her hoof and gave a gentle shake.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sparkle.” Blaze held a smile that felt fake even to himself. He never liked the upper crust noble ponies. To him, they were all a bunch of rich ponies who inherited bits from their families or were big time business ponies with no sense of humor. But this purple pony didn't strike him as either.
Twilight gave him a much more genuine smile. “I want to, on behalf of Ponyville, thank you for adopting Scootaloo.” She took a breath to continue, but a high pitched voice cut her off.
“Twilight, what are you talking about? Hes not here to- OH, that's right. You don't know Blaze is Scootaloo's father.” Pinkie Pie had suddenly appeared in between the Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Her beaming grin, infectious as always, made Blaze smile wholeheartedly, but the two friends of Pinkie stopped, looked to her and put more force in a single word than intended. “What!?”
Rainbow had halted telling Scootaloo about some of new tricks, her gaze now fully on Blaze as the words of the party pony sunk in. Twilight however looked beyond confused in her attempt to process what Pinkie had said. Completely at loss for any more words, she could only open and close her mouth in a vain hope that movement would give her something to say. The outburst had caused Rarity and Fluttershy to trot out of the kitchen loaded with the baked treats.
Rarity quickly placed the slightly less than full trays of cherry tarts on a vacant table and trotted over to her friends. “Why, what in all of Equestria is wrong? Pinkie, could you please...” As her eyes traveled from one friend to the next, she grew increasingly worried until they landed on Blaze. With a gasp, the white unicorn summoned her saddle bag and pulled out many objects including brushes, scissors, and an assortment of quick mane 'n tail conditioning bottles. “How did you get your mane and tail in such a dreadful state, darling? It's so uneven and knotted that even Rainbow Dash is left speechless.” Rarity worked furiously brushing knots out of Blaze's mane, ignoring the odd look he gave her. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo giggled at the fact this stallion was getting a impromptu fashion attack from the unicorn.
Fluttershy very quietly made her way to Pinkie, who sat next to the crusaders giggling herself. She looked over to Dash who looked a tad awestruck by what had transpired. Twilight looked deep in thought as Fluttershy spotted her next. Twilight had her head down with one hoof to her chin and her ears folded back, her eyes shifted from side to side as if she were reading a book. Fluttershy then took notice of the crusaders, as the three giggled with some inside joke that the others finally got. “Umm, is everypony okay?” the butter-colored pegasus spoke from behind Pinkie.
“Oh, everything is A-OKAY. In fact, now that the guest of honor is here, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” Pinkie shouted then bound over to a phonograph to play music for the party goers.
The now exposed Fluttershy caught the eye of Blaze, who gave a smile causing her to hide behind Rainbow Dash.“Oh, so you're the guest of honor. You must be moving into Ponyville for Pinkie to throw such a nice soiree.” Rarity remarked as she removed her tools from Blaze's tail and mane, which now were even and free from the windswept knots. “Oh, how rude of me. I completely forgot my manners,” she said, shocked at her own lack of etiquette. “My name is Rarity. I'm the owner of Carousel Boutique and seamstress here in Ponyville.” She gave a slight curtsy to the stallion. “Please tell me your name and what brings you to Ponyville?”
Blaze cleared his throat, which snapped Twilight from her mental prison and Rainbow Dash from her new found admiration of her number one fan. “Can we first find a table? I've been flying for a good portion of the day and I'd rather be sitting as I'm questioned.” The group of fillies and mares gave a nod and found a large table, and before the last of them were seated, Pinkie and placed a round of their favorite smoothies before them. After taking a long drag from his smoothie, Blaze looked to Scootaloo with a smile, then turned to the five mares around him. “Well, just to make sure everypony is on the level, I'll start at the beginning.” Taking a deep breath, Blaze began. “My name is Blazewing. I'm a member of the traveling daredevil stunt group, PhoenixWings. Roughly twenty years ago, my group came to Ponyville for a show. It was here that I found my special somepony, married, and moved into town.”
“Wait, did you quit preforming after you married?” Rainbow Dash asked with a sudden outburst.
Blaze, having read the two page letter Scootaloo wrote about her idol and the mare's passion for joining the Wonderbolts, knew where this was coming from. “No, but because I decided to live in Ponyville, I was forced to travel long distances to cities and towns on the other side of Equestria. Many times, I traveled without rest just to get home.”
“Forgive me for saying this, but how can you claim to have lived here, yet nopony seems to know you.” Rarity questioned the older stallion hoping to catch him in a lie.
“That's because he left after a humongously big fight with Raindancer about ten years ago. And besides, I know him. I know everypony in Ponyville. You could have asked if I knew him, silly filly.” Pinkie popped from under the table to sit next to Rarity and Twilight, sipping her own cotton candy pink smoothie.
“Wait, what? Who? Pinkie, please make some sense right now.” Twilight groaned as the sugar crazed earth pony added more information that didn't make her understand the situation any better.
“It's sooo simple, Twilight. Blaze here is married to Raindancer. Raindancer and Blaze got into a big fight and Blaze left. Raindancer is Scootaloo's mother and Blaze is her father. You're the smart one here, Twilight. I thought you would have figured it out by now.” The ever jubilant earth pony made her way around Twilight to give a hug to Blaze. “It's sooo good to know your back.” Pinkie's eyes went wide as saucers as an excited gasp escaped her. “That means I can throw you a big 'ol grand birthday bash to make up for all the ones I've missed.”
“OK, now that makes sense, but that raises even more questions like, why didn't you come two years ago when Scootaloo lost her mother? In fact, why didn't you come back 'til now anyway?” Twilight felt that his answer was not going to be pleasant.
Blaze's face lost his smile as the tension around the table grew. “Well, the answer to the first question is simple, I was never informed of my wife's death until two weeks ago, and at the same time I was told she had left behind Scootaloo, whom I hadn't even known was born.” His eyes were on Scootaloo as he spoke. With a sigh, he reached into his saddle bag and presented a letter to the group. “This is the letter I got two weeks ago from Ponyville orphanage. This was the only thing, in nine years, that ever came to me. The reason why I never came back was not because I didn't want to, but because I was told not to.” With another sigh, he sipped a little more of his melting smoothie.
“But who would want you to... leave? You seem like such a nice pony,” the ever bashful Fluttershy spoke up, but ended with a squeak as the eyes of her friends and Blaze fell on her.
With a groan, Blaze placed his hoof over his brow and gave a slow circular massage. “Well, I knew this was going to come up, I just wish it had been later.” He deadpanned as he removed his hoof. “I wasn't what you'd call a model citizen, I was young reckless and branded as a troublemaker even before I came to Ponyville. It was here it all started to catch up ta me. And even after I moved here, it didn't stop me from pulling pranks on ponies before I left to do a show. Only when I came back, I had Raindancer and the Mayor scowling at me and tell me I had to restore the town hall back to normal.” The memory served to give him a chuckle before Pinkie started laughing hysterically.
“I remember that, the whole town had to look at a green and pink town hall for a week until you came back.” Pinkie was on her back laughing and snorting to which Rainbow started snickering at the thought of the discolored town hall.
“I bet the Mayor was mad at that.” Rainbow's laughter couldn't be contained much longer and soon had joined Pinkie on the floor, clutching her sides.
“Oh, she was livid. It took me three days to repaint the town hall and every time I took a break., she shot me this nasty glare. That was my first ever prank in Ponyville, and it was fun at the time, but I had Raindancer to think about and support.” Blaze was smiling again as he launched into more tales of pranks at the request of the crusaders. He thanked Celestia that he was able to shift the topic away from the truth, without lying in the process.
The afternoon wound down as did the party. Many of the party-goers left with a wave and hearty goodbye. Blaze, the crusaders and the five mares around the table soon became the only ponies left in Sugarcube Corner as Celestia's sun touched the horizon and began it's gentle decent.
“Oh my good gracious!” Rarity cried out. “Just look at the time, Sweetie Belle. It's time to go.” Rarity trotted around and nudged Sweetie as she gave her friends a goodbye hug. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Blaze. I do hope you can settle back into Ponyville with little trouble. Oh, and if you ever need formal attire, please come by my shop. I can personally tailor many fine vests for you and I can guarantee that they will be fabulous.” With her ever ladylike smile, Rarity curtsied once more before heading home with her sister.
“Oh, I completely for got about, Angel. He's going to be upset that dinner will be late. I'm sorry, but I need to go too.” Fluttershy got up and flew out the door without making a sound.
“I have to get back to the library. Spike has most likely finished his chores and is waiting for me. It was a pleasure, Blaze, and if you need help, I got lots of books on parenthood that can be great references.” Twilight had turned and was out the door before Blaze could retort to what she had said.
“I gotta say, Blaze, I never would have guessed this little squirt had such a famous father.” Rainbow pointed a hoof at Scootaloo. “I'd love to stay, but I'm Ponyville's lead weather pony and tomorrow is gonna be busy.” With a wave goodbye and one last hug from Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash left.
“Well, Scootaloo, I gotta git home before AJ comes lookin' for me.” Applebloom gave a wave to her friend, turned to head out the door, but was stopped by Blaze.
“I'm sorry, but its too late for a young filly to be walking alone. Allow me and Scootaloo to take you home.” Blaze held a stern face that softened after his offer to Applebloom. As Scootaloo stood next to her friend, for a brief moment, Blaze saw Raindancer in place of her, broken wings and shattered body. Blaze barely heard the objection from Applebloom. Shaking his head to clear the image from his eyes, he looked to the young earth pony. “No buts, and besides I haven't seen Ponyville or Sweet Apple Acre in years, the two of you can tell me everything that's changed as we walk.” He said with a chuckle. The real reason, he was willing to keep from the fillies just long enough.
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The walk through town was mostly uneventful. Blaze had been asking questions about the town and noting how much has changed in his absence. Scootaloo took note of her father holding his head high, as if he was proud to walk the streets of Ponyville again. The setting sun made his orange coat look almost on fire, but his flat brown mane grew a few shades darker as the sun continued to set. She marveled at how tall he was compared to most other grown up stallions she knew, the tallest of them being Big Macintosh and the stallion who owned the orphanage.
Applebloom had somehow managed to coax Blaze into telling the two about the towns and cities he visited. Applebloom asked for more about Manehatten and a small town called Haydale. As Blaze told a story about how he forgot his bit bag and was forced to wash dishes for a meal, Scootaloo caught sight of the Mayor in between two homes talking with a pony hidden in the shadows of the growing dusk. Too far away to hear anything, Scootaloo kept her eyes on the Mayor and noted that she was anxiously shifting from hoof to hoof. Scootaloo reasoned that she wanted to get home and redye her mane as a few pink strands were visible.
As they reached the edge of town, Blaze grimaced at the fact the sun was setting faster then he remembered. “Okay, if we are going to reach Sweet Apple Acre before night fall, we'll need to fly fast. You two hop on my back. I'll get us there in a flash.” Blaze knelt down far enough to allow the fillies to climb on.
“Ah don't know,” a concerned Applebloom spoke. “What if I fall off? I don't have wings like you or Scoots.”
At the mention of her nickname, Scootaloo glared at Applebloom which earned a stifled snicker from Blaze.
“Well, how about this. You can sit in front and hold my mane for safety, Scootaloo can sit behind you and I'll fly low just to be safe.” Blaze gave a smile to the filly doing his best to assure her her safety.
“Applebloom.” Scootaloo grabbed her friend's attention. “Remember the last time you came home after sun down, Applejack doubled your chores for a week. We couldn't go crusading without you. It was the worst week ever.” This caused Applebloom to shudder.
“Okay, just don't go too fast.” Applebloom hopped onto Blaze's back and clutched his mane. It felt sleek because of Rarity's work on it earlier, so she secretly bit into a lock after Scootaloo got on.
“Alright, everypony ready?” Blaze called out.
A bit overexcited, Scootaloo shouted. “Operation: Fly to Sweet Apple Acre is A GO!”
Applebloom responded by holding onto his mane tighter. Blaze unfurled his wings, mindful of his new passengers. Blazes broke into a light trot that quickly picked up the pace to a full gallop. Holding his wings vertically, shielding the two fillies from the rushing wind, he gave a powerful leap into the sky and simultaneously forcing his wings down catching the air to propel him higher than his legs alone would allow. After a few more beats of his wings, Blaze and the two fillies were airborne. Applebloom, still clutching his mane, squealed as the wind whipped her own mane into a flurry.
Scootaloo, however was looking at the ground, transfixed in the simple fact that she was higher than the trees she used to climb. Many times before, she had climbed tree after tree and jumped from each one, furiously beating her wings in her attempts to garner flight. In the end of every try, the outcome was always the same. Cold hard earth and some tree sap. Now looking down at the ground whizzing by faster than she had ever could hope to go, she barely registered the gleeful whoops and hollers of her friend. The flight felt like it lasted for hours to the young orange pegasus, but when they finally landed at the front porch of the Apple family farmhouse, Scootaloo had doubled her wish that her wings would become stronger. She slowly slid off her father's back, her mind racing with an image of herself flying next to her father. The thought didn't scare her, but of the many times she had this image, it was always her idol. It was always Rainbow Dash.
The knocking of a hoof on the wooden door drew Scootaloo from her thoughts. She watched Applebloom plant her hind hooves so she could rapidly smack her front hooves on the door.
The door swung open to reveal a very upset Applejack. “And just what 'in tarnation are you doing Applebloom? It's sundown and you barely made it home 'n time. Why, I was about to go find ya an'... an'... Applebloom, who is this stallion?” Applejack's anger dropped and was replaced with concern as she took notice of Blaze.
“Good evening. I was hoping you could tell me if Big Macintosh still lives here?” Blaze gave a kind smile to the young mare, guessing at her relation to Big Mac himself.
“That depends on who's askin' for 'im.” Her southern drawl slipped a bit further than she normally allowed. She was setting herself to grab Applebloom and slam the door in his face until she heard rustling behind her.
“AJ, what's goin' on?” The red stallion came up behind his younger sibling. He noticed her odd stance which was blocking most of the view out the door. The Stetson hat she wore was hindering his sight even more.
Blaze spoke loud to be clearly heard past the young mare blocking him. “Unless your granny smacked out the good memory you have, I'd hate to reintroduce myself a second time.” A childish grin broke out on Blaze's face as he watched the red stallion move the young mare out the door and to the side.
“Blaze... 'S that really you?” The look of disbelief etched across Big Mac's face. He thought his own eyes were playing tricks on him.
“Eeyup.” Blaze mimicked his old friend's well versed word of choice.
A flash of red was all anypony saw as Big Mac closed the distance between him and Blaze. With one hoof raised he smacked Blaze in the jaw, sending him tumbling to the dirt. Blaze rolled over and back onto his hooves. With a grin, he lunged at the red stallion and the two began to wrestle in the dirt.
Applejack had picked up Scootaloo and brought her to the safety of the porch as the two equally large stallions fought. She was both shocked and amazed that her big brother, who was kind and gentle to anypony he met, just clocked this stallion and started fighting.
“Now hold it!” The grizzled appearance of Granny Smith in the doorway made the two stallions halt and stand at attention. “Now, look what ya gone an' done to yer'selves. We were just about ta eat and you gone a dirtied yer'self up. I thought I taught you better than that Macintosh.” The scolding had made the red stallion drop his head like a young colt. Her sights then turned to Blaze, who held a grin of a colt caught roughhousing in the living room. “And you haven't changed in years, have ya, Blaze? I'd wallop yer flank if I felt it would do something.” Though he never lost his grin, Blaze folded his ears back for he too remembered the scolding his parents gave him. “Now, I say you two go wash up, supper is still hot. Applebloom, would ya kindly put two more plates on the table?” With all that said, the matriarch of the Apple family slowly made her way back into the home.
Applejack and the two crusaders watched as Blaze and Big Mac shared coltish grins as the two gave a hearty chuckle. AJ, coming back to her senses, ushered the two fillies into the house and to the kitchen to help granny. With that done, she took a quick trot over to her older brother. “Big Macintosh, what in the hay was that? I ain't ever seen you clock a pony, ever.” The red stallion stayed silent, unsure of how to answer his younger sibling.
“Yeah, Big Mac, ya hit harder than I remember,” Blaze chimed in, which drew Applejack's gaze to him.
“And that's the other thing. Who in the hay are you? Granny knows ya. Big Mac knows ya. Even Applebloom knows ya. Why, in all of Equestria, don't I know who ya are?”
Big Mac spoke calmly. “AJ, this is my old friend, Blazewing. Back when you were a filly an' goin' ta school, Blaze had just moved into Ponyville.” Blaze cracked a smile at AJ as Big Mac continued. “He's part of a group of traveling pony entertainers. Most of the time when he was in town, you were off at school or half-asleep from working on the farm.”
Applejack was stunned, but a new question slid off her tongue before she could catch herself. “So why did you never talk about this well-endowed stallion?” Realizing what she just said, Applejack clamped her hoof over her muzzle and her cheeks grew redder than her brother's coat. This elicited a roaring laughter from Blaze and a stern glare from her brother.
“Hay!” The sound of Applebloom's yell drew all of their attentions away. “Supper's gettin' cold.” The younger Apple family member beckoned the three to come inside. Applejack took this opportunity to flee from her brother and Blaze.
Once all were seated at the table, supper was served. Applejack had taken the seat next to Granny, who was at the head of the table with Applebloom to her left. Big Mac was at the other end, across from Granny with Blaze to his left and Scootaloo sitting next to her father. Applejack kept her eyes on her plate to avoid any more contact with Blaze or her older brother, who glanced over to her every so often during the meal. Applebloom picked up an old topic from the walk earlier, asking Blaze more about Haydale and his travels around Equestria. Granny had chimed in a few times to ask Blaze what brought him back to town. The news of him being Scootaloo's father hadn't taken Big Mac by surprise, and Granny was joyously commenting how it wasn't hard to see the resemblance between the two. AJ herself winced slightly at the fact that she had inadvertently hit on the older stallion.
With supper concluded, Blaze and Scootaloo said their farewells and began the trek home. Ponyville by nightfall was peaceful and quiet, save for the crickets and the hoots of owls. Scootaloo turned down a street that wrapped around the edge of the town, lost in her thoughts of the days progression.
“Scootaloo?” Her father's voice broke her train of thought. When she looked up to him, he had a look of mild concern. “Where are you going silly filly? Our house is this way.” Her eyes fell to the ground and she pawed at the dirt.
With a heavy sigh, she looked back to her father. “I... I need to be somewhere...”
Blaze held a befuddled look upon his face. “Its nearly ten at night, where do you need to be?”
Scootaloo shifted her weight, very unsure of how her newly acquired father would take her words. “I wanted to go talk to mom... at the... cemetery.”
“That's a good idea, Scootaloo.” He spoke with a calm and understanding tone, with a motion of his hoof, Blaze let Scootaloo lead the way.
As they walked, neither of them spoke. Blaze looked to his young daughter as his mind wandered to darker thoughts. “How has she dealt with having the only parent she knew of pass away, and so early in her life? How does Scootaloo truly feel about me? Did she ever feel like I had abandoned her and her mother? I honestly never knew Raindancer was pregnant. Does Scootaloo hate me? No... she was happy to see me earlier, but was that truly happiness? Is she truly happy that I've come back to take care of her? Does she blame me for not being there for her?”
Scootaloo was not much better off, her own mind also a swirl of unvoiced questions. “I wonder what made him leave Ponyville? Pinkie had said earlier that he and mom had a big fight. He left and never came back. Every time I tried to talk to mom about him, she'd always clam up and never talk. I... I was going to ask her again after school, but I never got the chance.” With a sigh, Scootaloo looked up to see the gates of Ponyville cemetery looming above her. Her father, who hadn't been paying attention, smacked into the iron gate. The sight of Blaze's sudden and painful jerk back into reality made Scootaloo stifle a laugh.
Blaze himself soon began to chuckle at his own absent-mindedness, as he rubbed the sore spot on his muzzle. Clearing his mind, Blaze looked to his daughter again. “Well, at least the gate is open.” This caused Scootaloo to hold back yet another bout of laughter. “Let's go see your mother.” His voice low, nearly a whisper, urged Scootaloo to take the lead in guiding him to the grave.
Scootaloo gave a nod to her father and stepped into the cemetery. The small cobble path broke off many times. The paths she didn't take ended in a cul-da-sac surrounded by the headstones of other deceased. Because she knew the graveyard well, it only took a few minutes to come upon the one path that led to her mother's grave.
Soon enough, the two were standing in front of a tombstone. Blaze's face fell into a solemn expression as he gazed upon earth that now held his dearly beloved somepony. Rummaging through his saddle bag, he pulled a single white carnation that swayed in the breeze blowing through the graveyard this early evening. Taking a step, he placing the flower down and nudging it close to the stone that held the name and cutie mark of Raindancer. Blaze's eyes then read the words carved into it.
“Here lies Raindancer, loving mother and loyal wife and kind friend to all ponies. By Celestia's sun, may she rest peacefully.”
With the final word spoken barely above a whisper, Blaze fell to his knees as the trickle of tears fell from his eyes, blurring his vision. He hadn't even noticed Scootaloo approach his side. As the two of them sat staring at the stone marker, the evening grew colder as the bright white disc of Luna's moon climbed higher in its nightly cycle.
“Two years...Two years too late...” Blaze thought, trying to choke back a sob that threaten to escape. His face caught between a grimace and frown as reality hit hard. When he had gotten the letter he was shocked, but in disbelief. Now kneeling in front of the grave, he could only accept the truth. “Why...why did I never come back? I should have come back a week later, she would have calmed down by then. It never mattered what the Mayor said to me. I just used it as an excuse to get away.” Tears were now flowing from his eyes and harsh sobs echoed throughout the graveyard. Scootaloo turned to her head and watched as her father fall deeper into his sea of sorrow. “Why did I never come back... Because, I knew whatever Cheerlee had seen was wrong, but she chose to believe her over me.” Like a foal that was wounded, Blaze curled up into a ball, his crying growing harsher as his throat grew raw. “I never wanted to see her hurt again, not after that day in Trottingham. And yet, here I am, two years too late to say I'm sorry. Two years too late to admit that my own bullheadedness cost me the one thing I loved. I'm such a foal.” Blaze's body shook, his heart felt void from the loss and his mind began to tune out the world around save for one sound. Turning his head, he spotted, through bleary sight, his daughter crying next to him. His only child felt the same loss he did, the loss of a loved one so close and so dear. Uncurling from his now uncomfortable ball, he placed a wing over Scootaloo, pulling her close.
As two saddened souls lay in front of the grave, a shadowy figure sat watching the two. A scowl of hate crossed its face then turned and left silently.
The two heart-broken pegasi sat in silence leaning on each other. Scootaloo was first to shatter the gloomy silence. “I don't think she hated you... she never talked about you, but I remember her looking at a picture every night, she'd always locked it in her desk and cried herself to sleep long after she tucked me into bed.”
With a hoof, Blaze wiped his eyes clear and gazed upon his daughter. Reaching his head down to nuzzle the young filly, the words she spoke lifted his spirit as he looked down loving at her. Fresh tears burned at his eyes again, yet these were warm in defiance of the chill night and the pain in his heart. Blaze's voice cracked as he tried to speak. “That's... how your mother always was. She was harsh... but loving, she put her hoof down... when I crossed the line. But after... every fight, she would feel bad about yelling at me... even though she had every right to.”
“Yeah, there was one time that I skipped class to try and get my cutie mark. What I didn't know was that Ms. Cheerlee gave us a pop quiz that day. Mom was so angry at me that she took away my scooter until I promised never to skip class again.” Scootaloo gave a weak chuckle. “I didn't make that promise until a week later.” This made Blaze chuckle and Scootaloo told him more about Raindancer during his absence.
With a heavy sigh before turning his eyes back to the grave, Blaze found his voice again. “Sounds like you got my stubbornness, Scootaloo.” Speaking softly at first but grew after another large sigh, “Scootaloo... I have a show to do in Hoofington the day after tomorrow, I... I would like you to come and watch.”
The somber frown Scootaloo held gave way to a bright smile of disbelief. With her eyes growing wide with excitement, Blaze could see stars of the night sky reflected in them. “Really, you'll let me come to your show!?” The tiny filly saw her father nod his head. Bounding out of her father's protective wing and hopping around him with excitement and a cries of how awesome this was. Soon she came to a stop and jumped to give Blaze the strongest hug she could muster.
After a few minutes, they pulled away. Both with bright smiles, the duo turned to leave the cemetery, but Blaze halted after a few steps “Oh, one moment, Scootaloo.” He turned and trotted back to the tombstone. Placing a light kiss upon the rock, he whispered, “I love you, Raindancer.”