Twilight set the dishes in the sink to be cleaned later, “Scootaloo,” She began, “I think we should tell your parents about me teaching you how to fly. Otherwise they may be concerned.”
Scootaloo looked up from the table, shocked, “Well, uh, I’m sure they’d be okay with it.” She squeaked rather quickly.
Twilight gave her a reassuring smile, “I am too, but it’s still polite to ask. I’ll come with you.” She suddenly realized that she had no idea where the little filly lived, “You’ll have to lead the way.”
The orange pegasus sighed, pushing herself away from the table, she had to think of a lie, and she had to think of it quickly. She didn’t want to end up in an orphanage, she could hold her own just fine. Twilight wouldn’t understand. She put on a fake smile and headed to the door, “Well, what are we waiting for?”
Two ponies trotted out together onto the street, heading north towards Sugar Cube Corner, but planning to move far past that. Scootaloo planned to spot a pony that looked similar to her in color scheme, and make them think she had some sort of mental illness when she called them “Mom” or “Dad.” She believed that if they thought she had some sort of disease, they’d just go with the flow. It was a long shot, but it was all she had.
After about twenty minutes of trotting around aimlessly, Twilight was starting to lose patience, “Scootaloo, we’ve been walking for a long time. Can we just get to where we’re headed?” Her voice was kind, but was tinged with her impatience.
Scootaloo flinched slightly, she had to think fast. As a last resort she trotted over to a disgruntled looking white earth pony with a pink and indigo mane. “Hey, mom!” she said, staring at the mare, hoping against hope that she would comply with her plan.
The mare looked confused, “Scootaloo? I’m not your mom. Go away, I’m waiting for somepony.” She turned her back and placed her head on her hoof, taking a sip of her water.
Scootaloo’s heart sunk, she had nowhere else to turn, her ears drooped. “Twilight…I have something to tell you. Can we go back to the library?” She looked up into Twilight’s purple eyes with her pink ones, tears beginning to well up and drip into her soft fur.
Twilight looked curious, but sympathetic, “Sure, Scoots.” She set the filly on her back and trotted off towards the library at a brisk pace.
***
“So, what do you have to tell me?” Twilight gently set Scootaloo down in a lounge chair, she herself going to sit in one adjacent to it.
Scootaloo began to cry harder than before, making whimpery noises as she forced the words out, “I-I don’t have parents. At least, not anymore. They died in the huge explosion in Detrot.” She sniffled, curling up into a ball on the chair.
This was the last thing Twilight expected to hear. She got up from her chair quickly and walked over to the crying pony. Saying nothing, she wrapped her hooves around the little filly. She never would have thought that daring, brave Scootaloo was an orphan.
The two ponies stayed like this until Scootaloo pulled herself together, she looked up at the unicorn gratefully, “Thanks, Twilight, I needed to let that out.” She wiped her eyes with her hoof and sniffled one more time.
Twilight moved back to let Scootaloo have some air, she ruffled the little filly’s mane and gave a small halfhearted smile, “So, how do you survive out there?” It was a rude question, but she was curious and wanted to get to a new subject.
Scootaloo shrugged, “I sleep in the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, and I counted on Pinkie not to tell anyone, so she always slipped me some food.”
“Pinkie knew?!” Twilight was shocked; she always saw the party pony as a big blabbermouth. The fact that she kept a secret this large for this long was crazy! Then she realized, “You made her Pinkie promise, didn’t you?”
Scootaloo gave a curt nod, “Yeah. Sometimes, Pinkie seems more dependable than Applejack. But of course, it’s easy to see why Pinkie is the element of laughter.” She chuckled softly, almost to herself. Then her face contorted into one of horror, “You’re not gonna send me to an orphanage, are you?”
Twilight softly nuzzled the little crusader’s ear, “No, of course not.” She smiled warmly, “If you want, you could stay here with me and Spike.”
She’d hardly got the sentence out when Scootaloo was bouncing up and down, “Really?! Could I?!” She was so excited, she felt like her heart would burst.
Twilight stifled a giggle with her hoof, “Of course you can! You can have the guest room. Come on, let’s go get your things and move them over here.” She headed once again to the door.
Scootaloo followed, leaping up and down the whole way, “All my stuff is in the clubhouse.” She said giddily, although she was aware Twilight probably had already figured this out.
The librarian gave a small acknowledging nod before heading out of the library. Scootaloo followed close behind her, still jumping.
They reached the clubhouse quickly, and Twilight made to climb up the ladder before Scootaloo jumped into her way, “Sorry Twilight, only Crusaders allowed.” She said dutifully before climbing the ladder herself and entering the clubhouse.
She quickly grabbed her scooter and helmet, pushing them out onto the clubhouse’s porch, then grabbed the blanket she used to sleep on. These were her sole possessions, save for her saddlebag, but the blanket was the most important thing in the world to her. Her mother had made it for her when she was little. It was a soft pink, much like Fluttershy’s mane, and it featured a scooter that looked similar to her own.
She came out of the clubhouse with the blanket tucked neatly away in her saddlebags, she nudged her scooter softly, letting it fall to the ground before strapping her helmet on.
Twilight looked surprised, “Need me to carry anything?”
“No thanks, I don’t have much.” She hopped onto her scooter, “Well, let’s head back, it’s getting late.” She gave a small nod to the purple unicorn, then sped off.
Twilight galloped behind, attempting fruitlessly to keep up. She eventually slowed to a trot as she accepted the fact that she would never catch up to the scooter.
Scootaloo, as expected, reached the library first. She waited outside, unsure if Twilight would want the scooter inside. Sitting down, she gazed at the stars from under her helmet, thinking of her parents for the first time in months. It felt nice, but depressing at the same time. She pulled her eyes to the image of a small unicorn in the distance, growing steadily larger. Twilight was returning.
“Why are you out here, Scoots?” Twilight asked, panting. “You could have gone in.”
“I didn’t know if you’d allow the scooter in.” Scootaloo blushed, scuffing her foot around in the snow.
Twilight opened the door, then put the scooter inside using her magic, effectively answering Scootaloo’s question. She headed up to the guest room, where Scoots had stayed last night. The filly followed, happy to finally have a family after all this time.
Reaching the room, Twilight set the scooter down by a closet and let Scootaloo find a place for her helmet and saddlebag, she didn’t know about the blanket. “This is your room now, Scoots. Decorate it any way you like.” She announced.
Scootaloo looked happier than she ever had in her life; she immediately jumped on the bed, tired after the day’s charades. She snuggled under the covers and smiled at Twilight.
Twilight walked over to the bed and tucked the covers in around Scootaloo, she smiled back, “Good-night, Scootaloo.” She said softly before turning to leave.
Just before the door closed Scootaloo spoke up, “Twilight?” She called out softly.
Twilight opened the door again, “Yes?” She looked back curiously as the slit of light coming from the hallway lit up Scootaloo’s joy filled eyes.
“Thank you.” The filly said simply, then cuddled into the nice, soft pillow.
Those two words brought tears to the element of magic’s eyes, saying nothing, she closed the door and let the room go dark.