//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Home is Where the Heart is // by smileyfacer //------------------------------// When the mares all awoke the day after Rainbow Dash’s spontaneous slumber party, it seemed that their spirits were higher than Celestia’s glorious sun. The six ponies hadn’t laughed like they did yesterday in a long time, and to a certain cyan mare, nothing seemed to go wrong on this day. Her friend had apologized, and removed, almost, any inch of doubt that Rainbow Dash had possessed. Although she knew that Twilight meant her apology from the innermost parts of her heart, and her friend’s kind words came from the same place in theirs, she couldn’t help but wonder, while cooking breakfast. Maybe Twilight did mean it? Maybe she and the others just said it to lie? No, no, no, no! Rainbow, get it together! Scootaloo would really like it, I know she would! And the others said so too! I want her to be my sister, daughter, whatever! “Breakfast is ready!” Rainbow shouted as the grilled grass sandwiches with jam were finished. The mare struggled with carrying the plate with the delicious food with the support of her wings, but smiled widely as Twilight gently levitated it off her back, and onto the table in the living room. Each mare praised Rainbow for her cooking, before they all began to munch down the meal. With her mouth full of food, Applejack was the first to speak. “Sho,” she said, but the glance from Rarity was enough for her to finish chewing before continuing, “how in tarnation are we goin’ to pull off tha’ plan ya’ll came up wit’ last night?” Rainbow Dash shrugged helplessly, although this whole plan was coming together for her sake, and looked at Twilight. To nopony’s surprise, the lavender mare had written their battle plan down, and within seconds, they were all up to date with how they would tackle the future family of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. “Is everypony ready!” Twilight enthusiastically cheered, causing all the other mares to join in on her cheer. With less hassle than the night before, Applejack and Pinkie made it down to the ground with the help of Rainbow and Fluttershy, who then proceeded to carry Rarity and Twilight down with them. “Alright, ponies. Remember, no telling anypony.” The friends all nodded in agreement, but Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but take an extra glance at Pinkie. The mare had managed to pull a piece of cloud off the cloud that was the base of Rainbows home. “Pinkie, I need that piece of cloud!” she said, glaring sternly at the mare, “please try to keep this a secret.” Pinkie quickly let go of the cloud with a guilty look in her eyes, before she nodded vigorously. Her eyes were still on the cloud as it morphed together with the cloudy base. “Seriously, Pinkie, don’t tell anyone.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” the pony cheered, but still kept her eyes locked on the cloud, confused as to where it went, “Oh, oh, oh! Where’d it go! I can’t see it! Are your clouds magical?”, which only resulted in a slight groan from Rainbow Dash. “Pinkie, this involves not just my future, but Scootaloo’s too. We can’t mess this up!” “Alright, Dashie, I promise I won’t mess it up. No telling anypony, gotcha!” Pinkie replied, suddenly focused on the task at hand. Rainbow glanced towards the other mares with a look of uncertainty upon her face. All the ponies besides Pinkie gave her reassuring nods. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, and as she exhaled, it felt as if all of the doubts in her heart vanished. Alright Rainbow. Let’s do this. “Urgh, I am so ready for that sleepover tonight!” Scootaloo cheered, her joy of the weekend’s hasty arrival obvious. The farmpony and unicorn nodded in agreement, smiles as wide as miles. “When do you want us over, Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle chirped, and joyfully bounced up and down. “Well, why don’t ya’ll come on over for dinner? I reckon Applejack won’t mind one bit! I just need to do some chores before tha’ time, so see ya’ll later!” the yellow filly said, and absentmindedly waved to her two friends. They had talked about the sleepover all week, and in a sense, it was being held so Scootaloo could get over the whole Rainbow Dash thing. Applebloom hadn’t mentioned it to Applejack, so it was already turning out to be a well kept secret. The filly hastily trotted through Ponyville. She was sure that Applejack was in town already, at her apple booth. “C’mon everypony, las’ five minutes of apple sales for t’day, come and get ‘em while fresh!” Las’ five minutes? “Applejack!” Applebloom cried, and galloped over to her sister. Applejack gasped loudly as Applebloom approached, but then flashed a wide, almost fake, smile.. “Ah, howdy sis! How was school t’day?” Applejack asked, nervously fidgeting with her booth as she proceeded to close it for the day. “Jus’ fine, thanks. Why are we shuttin’ so early t’day? It’s Friday!” “Ah, ye see, I have business to do back at the farm! Yup, just business to do!” “Sis, you’re the element of honesty! It’s impossible for ye’ to lie!” “It is not!” Applejack blurted, then said the next words in a whisper, “ya’ll shush, and I’ll tell ye when we get home!” Applebloom said no more, but only helped Applejack push the cart towards their home. Applejack didn’t speak either, so the trip home seemed to stretch on for hours. It wasn’t until the two ponies and their shop were safely within the white fences of Sweet Apple Acres, that Applejack dared to take a breath, and turn towards Applebloom. “Alright, Rainbow Dash wants to adopt Scootaloo, but she did some mighty stupid things to upset the lil’ filly, so now she’s planning on doin’ a surprise party thang for her. So don’t go about telling Sweetie Belle, and not Scootaloo either!” “But, AJ, Scootaloo is so upset about what Rainbow did, that she doesn’t want anythin’ to do wit’ her!” “I kno’, sugarcube, but I reckon all we can do is try, so here’s the plan...” Applejack suspiciously glanced around the farm, just to make sure that nopony was around to hear the secret. The mare whispered quietly into her little sister’s ears, almost manically glancing around to ensure that the event later, would stay between the two farmponies. Applebloom gasped loudly as Applejack’s whisperings ceased, and was about to speak, but her sister’s hoof was quickly in her mouth to prevent her from uttering a word. “Now, I don’t wanna hear any jibber jabber from ye’, alright?” Applejack ensured, and spoke only when her sister nodded in confirmation, “now go fetch Sweetie Belle, and remember,” the mare got inches closer to her sister’s face, “speak to nopony...” Applebloom let out a sheepish grin, before quickly trotting back to Ponyville. She shook her head as her tiny hooves pounded the earth beneath her. Applejack’s lost it for sure... “Sweetie Belle, darling, is that you?” Rarity chimed as the bells went off upon Sweetie Belle’s enter. “Yeah, it’s me!” the unicorn filly hollered, Rarity gracefully descended from the stairs, her indigo mane and white coat complimenting each other perfectly. The mare nuzzled her little sister, before giving a her a stern, but loving glance. “Dear, it is called, yes, it is I.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. One day, she’d be a true lady, like Rarity, but today was not that day. “Ahem, Sweetie, sit down, please. I need to share something with you.” Rarity said, and gently patted on the empty seat next to her, on her chaise longue. Sweetie Belle didn’t hesitate to jump up on the piece of furniture, and happily awaited Rarity’s words. “You see, Rainbow Dash cares an awful lot for Scootaloo, and has been wondering for quite awhile, if she should make her a part of her family. I-” “Like us?!” Sweetie squeaked, and had trouble sitting still on the chaise longue. A hoof was gracefully, but sternly, placed upon her shoulder to force her to sit still. “Yes, like us, darling. Now, today, us girls are aware of the slumber party you three are having, but it is actually a-” “SURPRISE PARTY FOR SCOOTALOO TONIGHT!” Applebloom cried, as she burst the door open, leaving it almost off its hinges. The farmpony glanced about the boutique, only to giggle sheepishly at the stare Rarity was giving her. “Eh, I guess ya’ll were fixin’ to tell Sweetie everythin’?” Rarity slowly nodded, before huffing and stomping her hooves as she made it over to the door, to shut it, and walk back to her previous position. “Sit down, Applebloom.” The little filly swallowed hard, before slowly coming closer. Rarity coughed slightly, before she spoke again. “Ahem, girls. I am certain that you have been told of the current situation, and that we must act swiftly! So, Sweetie, you are to help Applebloom with getting everything ready. The others will be there shortly, to prepare the festivities. Now, shoo!” Applebloom didn’t hesitate to head for the door, and Sweetie Belle followed shortly after. Rarity let out a smile, and turned to continue on her latest design, but bumped into something on the way. She glanced down, and before her stood Sweetie Belle, with an even sterner gaze in her eyes. “Aren’t you coming too?” Oh, rats. Rarity let out a nervous laugh. “Of course, darling! I wouldn’t want to miss this for the world!” Sweetie Belle grinned widely, and left the boutique in a fast gallop, Rarity following shortly after. Scootaloo was unsure of how to kill time before the slumber party later that evening. But she had never really thanked the little mare that stood up to her on the field trip, and lately when the mean colt had tried to bully her. She thought that if there was a time to do it, it was now. The instant she stepped into the orphanage, Scootaloo searched for the filly. She had never bothered to pay much attention to the other orphans, but she couldn’t let a good deed go unnoticed. Now she thought about it, she didn’t even know her name. “Hey, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo quickly spun around, and saw the exact filly she was looking for. She was an earth pony, with no cutie mark, and a light green coat. Her blue mane was held back with a headband, and Scootaloo was sure that she had never seen such a wide smile on anypony before. The filly didn’t have a cutie mark, but that wasn’t what the pegasus noticed. It was the size of the filly. She seemed older than Scootaloo, but instead, she barely reached the pegasus to her chest in height, and she looked so frail. Scootaloo had to contain herself in order to not scoop up the filly, and protect her until she was bigger. “Um, hi! How do you know my name?” The filly grinned slightly. “Everypony knows Scootaloo!” Scootaloo blushed slightly, and ruffled her mane with her hoof. “So, thanks for standing up to me that day. I... I had a lot of things to think about.” The filly shrugged, before smiling even wider, if that was possible. “No need to worry! We all have stuff to think about!” Scootaloo giggled, before nodding her head in agreement. “Heh, yeah, definitely. What’s your name?” “Daisy Darling! But you can just call me Daisy, or Darling, whatever you like the best!” Scootaloo thought of the name, and found it to be fitting. She looked just about as fragile, and beautiful as a flower. “I like that, it’s pretty.” Daisy smiled again, and motioned for Scootaloo to follow. “Wanna walk around Ponyville with me?” Scootaloo was hesitant at first. For whatever reason, she felt like it was some sort of betrayal against Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, to have more than just those two as friends. But the thought disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and with a spring in their steps, the two fillies decided to walk Ponyville then. Just after a quick stop at Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie hadn’t been, which Scootaloo found very odd, the two fillies had a break at the fountain in the center of Ponyville. For reasons the pegasus couldn’t explain, she enjoyed the company of the frail filly. Daisy’s positive attitude seemed to rival the one of Pinkie, but Scootaloo quietly kept that to herself. Daisy was great at telling stories and jokes, and just when she had told a particularly funny joke, crumbles of Scootaloo’s cupcake were sent flying in a fit of laughter. The pegasus could barely keep her eyes open and her laughter seemed indefinite, but when she opened them again, she noticed something peculiar. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were up to something. The two fillies were obviously doing something that was supposed to be a secret, but as always, neither of them were able to cover up their antics. Daisy quickly noticed Scootaloo’s intense glance, and followed it. The scrawny filly cocked her head curiously. “I wonder what they’re doin’?” Scootaloo nodded, then a mischievous grin spread upon her face. “Let’s find out!” The two fillies, like the two they followed, did their best to remain unseen. Without drawing too much attention to themselves, Scootaloo and Daisy Darling followed Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle impatiently glanced at Rarity, who gracefully came trotting along for just a few minutes, before, to nopony’s surprise, she insisted on stopping several times, claiming her hooves were aching horribly. They had stopped at a bench not too far from the marketplace, where Rarity casually watched ponies stroll by. Scootaloo and Daisy hid behind a cart, and intensely tried to listen to their conversation. Sweetie Belle groaned loudly before she spoke. “Rarity! You already showed up late, because you just had to get a hooficure before we left! How can they be sore?!” Sweetie Belle chirped. Rarity scoffed loudly. “Darling, I swear, when those hooficures are over, your hooves need rest, not going to Sweet Apple Acres for that silly party of yours.” Scootaloo gasped, and glanced at Daisy. The filly looked just as shocked. “What party?” she mouthed quietly, a hoof shushing in front of Daisy’s face as Scootaloo tried to make her quiet. Scootaloo’s ears perked up in an attempt to hear more of the conversation. “It’s not silly! And you need to be there for her, she’s my friend!” A faint blush grew on Rarity’s cheeks. “Why, yes, of course... Very well, let’s go and make the party for Scootaloo fabulous!” The two younger ponies cheered wildly as Rarity quickly trotted up next to them, and made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres, but Scootaloo and Daisy were shocked. Scootaloo had lost her tongue, and didn’t speak until Daisy carefully poked her shoulder with a hoof. “Eh, Scootaloo?” The pegasus said something the earth pony couldn’t hear, so Daisy poked her again. “They are having a... party? Without me?” “Maybe it’s a surprise party for you?” Scootaloo’s eyes got a faint shimmer of hope in her eyes, but it vanished quickly. “I don’t think so. Maybe it’s for somepony else...” Daisy was as uncertain about Scootaloo’s attitude, as Scootaloo was about showing up at Sweet Apple Acres later that night. “Don’t be silly, who’d it be for, if not you?” “Do you really think so?” Scootaloo mumbled, her uncertainty obvious in her voice. Daisy seemed just as uncertain as the pegasus, but suddenly, her eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Of course, I think so, you silly filly. How about, I follow you there, and we can be there together, just in case it sucks. Alright?” Scootaloo wasn’t too happy about either idea. If she was going alone, and it was for somepony else, it would suck, but if she was going with Daisy and it was for her, it would suck for her. In the end, she decided to trust the gut instinct that Daisy had, and tried to convince herself that the party, could in fact, be for her. The pegasus swallowed hard, before nodding, meekly glancing towards the vanishing trio. “Great! Now, wanna hang out till the party starts?” Scootaloo allowed herself to nod and smile, and tried hard to enjoy the rest of the day she spent with Daisy. But no matter how much she tried to laugh and joke with the earth pony, a cold and harsh voice kept whispering cruel things into her ears. Whether it concerned herself, her social circle or anything of the like, the whisperings wouldn’t stop. Whenever Daisy looked the other way, Scootaloo caught herself submitting to the thoughts by agreeing to them. It was like torture, she thought. It was bad enough to have the knowledge of somepony disliking you, but the opposite was worse. After carelessly strolling around Ponyville for what seemed to be hours, the fact that Scootaloo was in the dark, was almost driving her insane. She had to know if the party was for somepony else, so some time before the planned sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres, she and Daisy made their way towards the farm. The two fillies walked in silence. “So, are you nervous?” Daisy quietly asked as they walked. Scootaloo meekly shrugged, causing the earth pony to turn her head, and roll her eyes. Although the pegasus had felt better ever since confessing to Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and the headmistress, she still struggled to share what she truly felt. The ‘I’m a tough cookie’ mask had been on her for so long, that she had problems with letting it fall off. “Very, actually... Maybe we should just go home!” she blurted out, and quickly turned, only to face Daisy, with a somewhat stern look in her eyes. “No, Scootaloo. You’re going to that party, and that’s the end of it.” Surprised by the tone in Daisy’s voice, the pegasus obliged and turned to continue towards Sweet Apple Acres. The two said no more, but inside of Scootaloo, a wide variety of feelings were fighting each other. Excitement, regret, nervousness, and the strongest one of those, fear. If it was some sort of fraud party, just for somepony else, she was unsure of how she’d react. It had been a very difficult task of her to share her feelings with her two best friends, yet even though it had a positive outcome, as of right now, Scootaloo couldn’t handle anymore troubles with friends and her own self-doubt. Scootaloo had never felt more selfish, but if the rumoured party was not for her, she was going to be back at square one. “Scoots?” “Mhm?” she replied, and glanced towards Daisy, who hid behind a nearby tree. The earth pony motioned for Scootaloo to come next to her. The two fillies carefully tried to spot some of the Apples, but everything seemed oddly quiet at the farm. Both the barn and the house lights were on, and there seemed to be a lot of ruckus, both noise and light wise. Lights kept flickering off, and it sounded like furniture was being scraped across the barn floor. But Big Macintosh and Winona were not around on the acres, so both fillies assumed that they were inside. “You’re the bravest pony I know, Scootaloo.” Daisy blurted out, as they began to sneak into the farm. Scootaloo looked at the pony with an incredulous expression on her face. “Me?” she hissed, trying to keep her eyes on the bumpy road, but stopped dead in her tracks instead, “why me?” Daisy let out a wide smile before she replied, and stopped too. “Because, I can see you’re shaking with fear, but nonetheless, you carry on, no matter how scared. Being brave isn’t about doing great things, or overcoming your fears. It’s to be scared, but going on anyway. Scootaloo, you’re the bravest pony I know.” She repeated. Scootaloo’s blush was hard to see in the dim moonlight, but that was all the pegasus needed to hear to go forward. The two fillies snuck up to the barn. The noise was still getting louder as they got closer, and the light even stronger. To their luck, the barn doors were slightly open, and let out a bright ray of light. With a pounding heart, Scootaloo motioned Daisy to come closer. Had Daisy not been as tiny as she was, there was no way that the two fillies could glance inside the barn without changing positions. As they gazed inside of the barn, Scootaloo’s heart pounded even harder. She saw numerous banners all over the barn, with her name on all of them, but with different messages. Balloons adorned the walls and ceiling, and she noticed Pinkie trying to catch the ones that flew up to the ceiling, to no avail. Both fillies glanced at each other, and held up their hooves to withhold their giggles. Scootaloo also saw Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, working together to make a huge heart, similar to the one they gave miss Cheerilee on Hearts and Hooves Day. “I bet’cha Scoots gonna love this! This is better than the one we made fo’ miss Cheerilee!” Applebloom exclaimed, proudly showing the result to Applejack. We <3 u Scoot! Best friends 4 eva! “That’s mighty fine, girls!” Applejack praised, and tipped her hat before she went to check on Rarity’s decorations. The unicorn did have a knack for decorations and clothing, Scootaloo had to admit. Whereas the heart the two fillies had made was charming and pretty in its own charm, Rarity’s decorations seemed to be at a whole new level. The colors matched perfectly and the threads as well. “Look, over there!” Daisy whispered, and Scootaloo quickly turned her gaze to where the earth pony was standing. Where she looked, stood none other than Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy next to her, working on a sculpture made of cloud. It wasn’t complete yet, but it was clear, what it depicted. Two pegasi stood next to each other, one clearly a filly, and the other an older mare. The grown one had her wings spread out wide with pride, whereas the other one had hers folded. For once, Scootaloo didn’t mind the fact that her wings were small, the sculpture depicted perfectly what she so much longed for. Somepony to call family. “Fluttershy, could you put juuuust a bit on my flank? It looks like Rarity’s!” Rainbow Dash said, and handed Fluttershy some more cloud. “Excuse me! My flank is perfect! It is finely sculpted, unlike your... Muscular, bulky one!” Rainbow glanced at her own flank, and grinned. “Just the way I like it!” Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed loudly, before returning to her decorations. Rainbow smiled again, and continued to add just a few pieces of cloud to the sculpture. Within a few hoofstrokes, the sculpture was finished, and the pegasus exhaled in joy. “Alright, neither one of us is gonna look more awesome than we look now! Everypony, can I get your attention, please?” All of the ponies who had been there to help out with the surprise party, stood at attention. Scootaloo held her breath as Rainbow Dash stood right in front of the barndoor, blocking out most of the light that came from the barn. As if speaking to recruits, the cyan mare began to pace back and forward, before stopping, and letting out a huge sigh. “I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate all of this. I can’t express how happy I am, that all of you ponies wants to make another dream of mine come true. Besides all of you, Scootaloo is one of the most important ponies in my life, and it’s...” she swallowed, “it’s difficult to explain how much I really... love that filly, and want her to be a part of my family. I don’t want her to ever be alone anymore, and this night, will change that forever.” The two fillies held their breaths in silence, and listened to Rainbow Dash’s speech. The mare continued on speaking about her more emotional side, that Scootaloo never thought she had, yet recognized for herself. It was as if Rainbow were confessing to the same things that Scootaloo had earlier. Daisy glanced at Scootaloo, and she noticed water in the little filly’s eyes. “Scoots, are you okay?” she whispered, and withdrew from the small opening in the barndoor. Scootaloo nodded, and let out a small smile, that grew for every passing second. Her heart fluttered wildly, and she was about to reply, when a tiny fly landed on her muzzle. “Oh no...” Daisy muttered, and tried to wave the fly away with her hoof. But whenever it flew away, it landed straight on Scootaloo’s muzzle. The pegasus scrunched her muzzle in an attempt to get rid of the fly, but it stayed, and the movements of its tiny legs on her, was enough for her nose to tickle. “Achoooooooo!” The sneeze abruptly ended Rainbow’s speech, and she suspiciously glanced towards the creaking barndoor. “What was that? Is anypony outside?” she said, and didn’t hesitate to open door with a heroic buck and pose to follow. Scootaloo and Daisy Darling had no time to move, and as the doors opened quickly, the two fillies were kicked a few meters away from the barn. “Ouch!” “Oof!” All of the ponies inside the barn, gasped loudly as they left the wooden building, to see the two eavesdroppers. “Scootaloo?!” they all exclaimed, and glared incredulously at the filly. Scootaloo couldn’t help but laugh loudly, with tears of joy streaming down her face. This is going to be one of the final chapters, so everypony prepare for that! Hope all is well with all of you, and that the wait hasn’t been too excruciating. :) ~This has the C Note mark of approval. =)