//------------------------------// // The Wind-Up // Story: The Greatest Slugger of Them All // by libertydude //------------------------------// “Auntie Lofty!” Scootaloo hollered, bursting through the door with more speed and force than should’ve been possible. The door slammed against the wall, the reverberation shaking throughout the entire house. Scootaloo flipped head over heels, coming to a harsh stop once she landed beside Holiday’s leather recliner. “I need you to come to Family Appreciation Day!” she gasped. Lofty’s eyes had already shot up from her quilt, staring at her panting niece from her quilting table. The sweaty and disheveled filly was a shocking sight to see after the last few hours spent staring at patchwork of smiling dolphins and swaying coral. Behind Scootaloo, the filly’s scooter was sticking out of the dirt, the front embedded in the ground and the back wheels still furiously spinning in the air. A faint trail of dust followed behind the scooter’s resting place, each curvature leading back toward Ponyville. Lofty’s eyes, normally burdened with perpetual bags, widened into a mirthful gaze. “That’s what you raced all the way back here for?” the thin mare queried. Scootaloo’s head furiously bobbed up and down. “What, are they collecting the permission forms in five minutes?” “No, but we need to plan it out!” Scootaloo said between pants. “If you come tomorrow, you can get it done before you and Aunt Holiday go on, well, holiday!” Lofty chuckled. “Shoot, slugger, you didn’t need to run yourself ragged for that.” “I know, I know! It’s just-” Excitement overcame the filly, and she began to run around the room. The couches and chairs that normally granted the tenants rest and reprieve became improvised blockades in a makeshift obstacle course. An orange blur rushed around the furniture, stopping only to hop atop the couch and let out inarticulate squeals of joy. “What’s all this ruckus?” a soft, yet firm voice called out. Lofty and Scootaloo looked toward the hallway to see a scarlet-maned mare trot toward them. Her body was slightly plump, though not in a disagreeable way; everything from her head to her thick legs seemed to fit her rotund form perfectly. “Oh, Aunt Holiday!” Scootaloo said, zooming over to the mare and jogging in place. “Tomorrow’s the first day of Family Appreciation Day and I told Miss Cheerilee that you guys would only be in town for two more days and I asked if I could have my family member come tomorrow and she said yes and oh my Celestia this is perfect!” She took off running again, cartwheeling around Holiday. The mare could only stare in bemusement at her spinning niece, while Lofty emanated nothing but delight at the rambunctious filly. “Shoot, we should just attach a windmill to her!” Lofty guffawed. “We’d get enough power to last us the rest of the year.” With a firm but gentle hoof, Holiday reached out and grabbed Scootaloo’s wheeling form. Fortune landed Scootaloo right-side up, though her eyes continued to spin for a moment in her aunt’s grasp. “Now, Scootaloo,” Holiday said in a kindly voice, her hooves gripping the filly tight and holding her aloft. “Family Appreciation Day is a lovely event and all, but do you mind explaining why you’re in such a tizzy about it?” “Oh, sorry,” Scootaloo said with a sheepish grin. “I guess I didn’t tell you about Pop Fly.” Holiday tilted her head. “The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.” “Oh, he’s one of my classmates. He’s really into baseball and-“ Lofty’s face fell. “Ah,” she said. “So that’s why you wanted me to come.” Holiday saw her partner’s disposition, concern filling her own face. However, she managed to twist her slight frown into a soft smile and shook her head at Scootaloo. “Of course. Always a boy.” Scootaloo’s face turned beet red. “N-No! Not like that!” she squeaked, her legs kicking. “I-I just think he’s cool!” Lofty and Holiday gave each other knowing looks. “Cool, eh?” Lofty said, a thin grin spreading across her face. “That’s always how it starts, isn’t it, Holly?” “Indeed,” Holiday said, easing Scootaloo to the ground. She began to circle around Scootaloo, her head shaking in admonishment. “Be his friend, you tell yourself. Play a couple games. Nothing serious. Just a little fun with the cool colts.” Lofty eased from her chair and joined in Holiday’s circle around their niece. “And one day, cool colts become cute colts.” “And cute colts become cute stallions.” “And cute stallions become handsome stallions.” “And by the time you realize what’s going on, it’s too late.” Holiday came to a stop and stared deep into Scootaloo’s eyes, her own face filled with fear. “Those handsome stallions whisk you away and your poor aunties never see you again…” Scootaloo stared at them, her eyes darting between the two of them as they stared forlornly down at her. Then, with a harsh laugh, she shook her head. “You guys are pulling my leg!” she said in a voice that tried to sound offended, but couldn’t hide the amusement in her tone. The two mares grinned and swept the filly up in a shared hug. “That we are, Scoots!” Lofty said, snuggling into the filly’s purple mane. “Well, mostly,” Holiday said, patting Scootaloo’s back. “You will start thinking colts are cute one day.” “You guys didn’t!” Scootaloo said. Holiday and Lofty looked at each other, each trying to gauge how the other would respond. “Oh, you’d be surprised, Scoots,” Lofty said, her tone rueful. “The road Holly and I took to find each other had more than a few stallions on it.” “Many good stallions,” Holiday added, “whose dalliances would never have told us what we needed to know about ourselves had we not taken them. Sometimes we broke their hearts, sometimes they broke ours.” She gazed over at Lofty and smiled. “But now, I’d say both our hearts are stronger than ever.” Lofty’s grim face morphed into a returned smile, before she gave Holliday a soft kiss on the cheek. “You said it, Holly.” Scootaloo gagged. “You guys are so gross when you’re lovey-dovey.” Lofty gave Scootaloo a sharp, yet playful look. “I’ll remember you said that, missy. So on the day you introduce us to your special somepony, I’ll be watching you like a hawk to see if you do any ‘lovey-dovey’ stuff.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. Will you come to Family Appreciation Day?” Lofty shrugged. “I don’t know, slugger. I’m just married into your family. Figured a blood relative like Holly would be more in the spirit of the event.” “But you guys have been together for years! I haven’t known a time when you weren’t in my life, Auntie Lofty! Surely that counts for something.” “Indeed it does, Scootaloo,” Holiday said, grasping Lofty’s hoof with her own. “She’s as much family to you as your own parents.” Scootaloo beamed and faced Lofty triumphantly. “See? Your own wife thinks you’re family.” “It’d be more concerning if she didn’t,” Lofty said. She saw Holiday stick her tongue out at her, but acted like she didn’t notice. “But I’m still not sure I want to go just to impress a cute colt.” “He is not cute!” Scootaloo huffed. “He’s cool! And besides, you’ll be talking about an important part of Equestrian sports history!” Lofty let go of her hug and wandered over to her unfinished quilt. “Maybe I’d rather talk about my quilts instead. I’ve been working on them for far longer than I ever did in baseball.” “But baseball was a part of your life. You can’t act like it never happened, the same way you and Aunt Holiday can’t act like all those handsome stallions never happened.” A small look of hurt crossed Lofty’s face, though so briefly only an eagle could have caught it. Before Scootaloo caught on, she recovered with a harsh laugh and raised eyebrows. “Would you look at that, Holly?” she chortled. “Tell a filly about your love life once and she never lets you live it down.” “You know what I mean,” Scootaloo said, inching out of Holiday’s grip and toward the quilting table. “You had a hoof in an Equestrian sports team, but you’ve only told me about it, like, twice. Instead of tucking it away where nopony would ever see it again, you could tell a bunch of fillies and colts who might appreciate what you did.” “Perhaps.” Lofty eyed Holiday. “Or maybe your Aunt Holiday would like to share her story.” “But she didn’t play baseball.” Scootaloo’s voice seemed pleading, almost desperate. “Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a story worth telling.” “I know, but…” Scootaloo sat on her haunches and sighed. “I guess there’s no use hiding it now.” “Hiding what, Scootaloo?” Holiday said, placing a hoof on the filly’s back. “Auntie Lofty’s right. I do want to impress Pop Fly. He’s the team captain of the Ponyville Little League team, and I thought maybe I’d have a better chance to get on the team if he knew one of my aunts was a former baseball player. But…there’s another reason.” “Yes?” She looked up at Lofty with shimmering eyes. “I don’t want to be made fun of in class.” Holiday gasped. “Scootaloo, are those fillies you told us about teasing you again?” Scootaloo nodded. “I guess some of it’s my fault. I was talking with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle during recess about who we were going to bring for Family Appreciation Day. They were just going to bring their sisters, so I was trying to decide between you two. I let slip that you used to play baseball, but it wasn’t just the three of us who heard that. Diamond Tiara-” Scootaloo seemed to shudder at the mention of the name, “-She was right behind me and started announcing to everypony on the playground that I had a big league ball player for an aunt and that I’d be bringing her tomorrow.” Scootaloo’s eyes grew wet. “And when she was done, she turned to me and said that she hoped for my sake that Lofty would come or else everypony would think I’m a liar and that’s even worse than being a blank flank and-“ Scootaloo stopped and brought her hooves to her eyes. Holiday hugged her tight to her chest. Lofty stood frozen, her only movement being the slow breaths pushing her frizzy turtleneck in and out. “I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said through sniffles. “I know I should just make an excuse and bring Aunt Holiday tomorrow. Nopony will remember this after a week. I should be the bigger mare and let this slide. But… But you were a ball player, Auntie Lofty. And I know you can prove it and I was so excited when I came home because I knew I’d finally be able to stick it to Diamond Tiara for once and maybe if I could just get this one thing over her, she’d lay off and things would be better at school. Not just for me, but for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo shook her head. “No, that’s not fair. It’s for me, nopony else.” Lofty laid a hoof upon Scootaloo’s head. “Don’t say that, Scoots. I know you want the best for your friends. And wanting to be treated nicely isn’t selfish. It’s what everypony deserves.” “Especially a wonderful little filly like you,” Aunt Holiday cooed. Scootaloo nodded, but it seemed more like an automatic reflex than a cognizant response. Her mind was far away, tabulating how much strength she’d need to get through tomorrow when Diamond Tiara saw no ball-playing aunt and the whole school would whisper about whether there was a cutie mark for lying, then laugh upon noticing Scootaloo didn’t even do that right because her flank was as blank as ever. So lost in her emotional turmoil was Scootaloo that she didn’t notice Lofty turn away to the hallway, her thin form disappearing into the master bedroom. Scootaloo felt only the pats on her back from Holiday’s warm embrace and the thin stream of tears still sliding down her own cheeks. Deeper and deeper into Holiday’s amber fur Scootaloo buried herself, as if she could somehow crawl somewhere where fillies weren’t so mean and- Thunk! Both Scootaloo and Holiday looked up to see Lofty standing before them. In front of her sat a large cardboard box. A thick layer of dust covered the surface of both the box and the items strewn within it. Lofty stared down at the box and sighed. “You’re right, Scoots,” she said barely above a whisper. “You should just grin and bear everything Diamond Tiara gives you. School isn’t forever, and you’re strong enough I know you can take everything a bully like that gives you. And Holly and I should give words of encouragement, talk to Miss Cheerilee, all of that good parenting stuff. We should tell you the mature things to do and make sure you don’t go all Nightmare Moon on Diamond Tiara.” She gave a loud sigh and shook her head. “But darn it, sometimes a filly’s so off the road of decency, you can’t help but give her a kick in the flank to get her back on course.” Lofty lifted her head, face held firm. “So I think it’s time we dusted off this little box of memories.” Scootaloo’s eyes opened wide. “You mean-?” Lofty nodded. “But I’m not going to do all the work. You cease that crying, missy, and go fetch the feather duster if you want my help.” Scootaloo shot up and wrapped her arms around Lofty’s neck. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Auntie Lofty!” Scootaloo blubbered through now joyful tears. “You’re the best!” With that, she ran as fast as she could toward the closet down the hall. Lofty smiled at the display, but soon felt Holiday’s hoof upon her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Lofty?” Holiday whispered. “I know you’d rather talk about anything else.” “I’m fine, Holly,” Lofty whispered back. She looked down at the box. “Besides, Scoots was right. This is a part of me. Maybe not a fun part, but a part nevertheless.” She heard the rustle of Scootaloo rummaging through the closet. “And if I have to dip into that part to knock a little humility into a bully and make my niece’s life easier, well… there really wasn’t any other option, was there?”